Religion A-Z: Wicca and Neopaganism

Wicca is an initiatory, nature-based Neopagan mystery religion. Wicca was founded in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired civil servant, amateur folklorist, and naturist.

Gardner’s Wicca was modeled on the romanticized “witch cults” of pre-Christian Europe, and incorporated ritual and symbolism drawn from ritual magic, including initiatory passages from Aleister Crowley’s OTO.

Today, Wicca refers to any number of offshoots or reinterpretations of the original, and is sometimes used as an umbrella term for any Neopagan faith.

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