The Meaning of "Wicca": A Study in Etymology, History, and Pagan Politics

Authors

  • Ethan Doyle White None

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.185

Keywords:

Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Paganism, Witchcraft

Abstract

This essay provides the first comprehensive examination of how the term "Wicca" - used in reference to the modern religion of Pagan Witchcraft - has been utilised throughout the faith's history. Examining its antecedents, including the Old English "wicca" and the early Gardnerian "Wica", the author looks at the many definitions that the term has seen over the last seventy years, and comes to conclusions that provide a new interpretation of not only how the term has been used in the Pagan community of the past and the present, but also how it can most effectively be used in the future.

Author Biography

  • Ethan Doyle White, None
    A Londoner by birth, and currently studying at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. Particular interest in the Late Prehistory of North-Western Europe as well as contemporary Pagan and esoteric history.

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Published

2011-06-05

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Doyle White, E. (2011). The Meaning of "Wicca": A Study in Etymology, History, and Pagan Politics. Pomegranate, 12(2), 185-207. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.185