• “wicca” A wizard, soothsayer, sorcerer, magician. A male practitioner of magic Pronounced wee-cha (Old English noun)
• “wicce” A witch or sorceress. A female practitioner of magic. Pronounced wee-chay (Old English noun)
• “wicche” A witch or sorceress. (Middle English noun)
• “Wikken“ to use witchcraft or to predict (Low German verb)
• “Wicken” to use witchcraft or to predict (Low German verb)
• “Weik” having to do with magic or religion (Indo-European) This word is possibly the originator of the others.

To summarize what those words meant, and now mean:

Wicca (historical term) – referred to sorcerers, diviners and soothsayers, and was subsequently translated as “witch.”

Wicca (modern term) – an adherent to the modernized religion of Wicca.

Witch (historical term) – a practitioner of magic and or divination.

Witch (modern term) – can refer to both 1. an adherent of modern Wicca or 2. a practitioner of magic or divination by someone of any religion.

Witchcraft (historical term) – the practice of magic or divination.

Witchcraft (modern term) – can refer to both 1. The practice of magic or divination or 2. The practice of (modern) Wicca.

The terms “witch” and “witchcraft” are derived from words historically used to describe any practitioner of magic and or divination. Although these practitioners likely had a religious practice they ascribed to, the terms did not describe adherents to a particular religion. The modern term of “Wicca” is derived from the teachings of Gerald Gardner in the 1950’s. He used the word “Wica” (later changed to “Wicca,” the first evidence of which is in 1969) to refer to adherents of his particular tradition of witchcraft. Although I should note, he did not use the word at all in his first book. The religion that sprung from his teachings was then named Wica/Wicca. His teachings are thought to be based on a combination of an established witchcraft tradition, supplemented by additions by himself, Crowley and the Golden Dawn. But his story, and the debate surrounding his claims, are beyond the scope of this topic.

In summary, the terms “witch” and “wiccan” are not synonymous, nor are the terms “witchcraft” and “Wicca.” There are non-Wiccan witches and there are practitioners of witchcraft that do not practice Wicca. What makes it more confusing is that practitioners of Wicca call their religion the “Craft” or “witchcraft,” so those that have not fully researched the subject may assume that all witches are Wiccan and that witchcraft refers to religion. To further confuse the issue, many notable authors (including Raymond Buckland and Doreen Valiente) took Gardner’s lead in failing to differentiate the practices.

And as if all that was not confusing enough, what happens when someone calls themselves Wiccan, Wicca, or Wicce, using the original meaning (in Old English) of a practitioner of magic, and they are not part of the religion of Wicca?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I am for or against the modern religion of Wicca. I am just saying that when early Wiccans adopted general terms to define their specific practice, they caused infinite confusion. And the only way I personally see the confusion being cleared, is if non-Wiccan (modern term) witches coin a new term for themselves. Not unlike the way the term “magick” was brought back in place of “magic” to differentiate it from illusionary magic. Which seems rather unfair since the general terms to describe a witch predate the modern dual definition by quite a bit, at least according to the evidence. But, such is the continued abuse of the English language.

So the next time someone tells you they are a witch, you may want to clarify by asking what religion (if any) they are.

~Anyanka

P.S. Might I add that this is a very good example of why it is a poor idea to reuse words. Especially when they have meanings that relate to each other in part, but are not synonyms.

I’ve done my best to separate the Wicca books from the witchcraft books in my store, but there will always be some overlap