Wicca is probably the most common and well-known form of Paganism. Wiccan practices are inspired by ancient rituals and folk magic, but Wicca as we know it today actually only dates back to 1954 when Gerald Brousseau Gardner published Witchcraft Today in England. Gardner spent most of his life studying esoteric and occult literature, especially that of British occultist Aleister Crowley. Piecing what he learned together, Gardner created a spiritual movement that revered nature, worshipped the Goddess and other deities, and practiced magic. By the 1960s Wicca had taken root in the US as well. It’s important to note that while all Wiccans are witches, not all witches are Wiccan. Wicca is a religion, whereas witchcraft is spell work and magic that can practiced by people of any religion. 

Most Wiccans follow what is called the “Wiccan Rede,” which was first noted in a speech by Doreen Valiente in 1964.  The Rede is a poem comprised of couplets that lays the moral foundation for the religion.  The best-known couplet states: “Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An it harm none do what ye will.”

Within the Wiccan community there is a wide variety of practices, rituals, and specialties. As with Neo-Paganism, eclecticism is not only allowed, but encouraged. Some practice in a coven, and some are solitary. Some practice green witchcraft, which focuses on nature, while others practice kitchen witchcraft and weave magic into everyday household tasks. There are even some modern Wiccans who practice tech-witchcraft by utilizing technology into their spell work – the possibilities are only limited by one’s imagination!