Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The history of Wicca documents the rise of the Neopagan religion of Wicca and related witchcraft-based Neopagan religions. [a] Wicca originated in the early 20th century, when it developed amongst secretive covens in England who were basing their religious beliefs and practices upon what they read of the historical witch-cult in the works of such writers as Margaret Murray.
Wicca (English: / ˈ w ɪ k ə /), also known as "The Craft", [1] is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion.Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant.
1893: Swami Vivekananda's first speech at The Parliament of the World's Religions, Chicago, brought the ancient philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. 1899: Aradia (aka The Gospel of the Witches ), one of the earliest books describing post witchhunt European religious Witchcraft , was published by Charles Godfrey Leland .
Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world, with approximately 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion adherents, respectively. [1] Both religions are Abrahamic and monotheistic, having originated in the Middle East. Christianity developed out of Second Temple Judaism in the 1st century CE.
Before the 20th century, Christian institutions regularly used paganism as a term for everything outside of Christianity, Judaism and – from the 18th century – Islam. They frequently associated paganism with idolatry, magic and a general concept of "false religion", which for example has made Catholics and Protestants accuse each other of ...
In ancient Judaism, there existed a complex relationship with magic and witchcraft, with some forms of divination accepted by some rabbis, yet most viewed as forbidden or heretical. In the medieval Middle East, under Islamic and Christian influences, witchcraft's perception fluctuated between healing and heresy, revered by some and condemned by ...
There are two separate definitions of the term Wicca that have been used in Paganism and Pagan studies since circa 1980. [1] The first developed in England during the 1960s. Broad and inclusive, it covers most, if not all, forms of modern Pagan Witchcraft, especially if they share sufficient theological beliefs and ritual practices to be considered denominations within a common religious movement.
The masculine form was wicca ('male sorcerer'). [32] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, wicce and wicca were probably derived from the Old English verb wiccian, meaning 'to practice witchcraft'. [33] Wiccian has a cognate in Middle Low German wicken (attested from the 13th century). The further etymology of this word is problematic.