Is wicca wicca anymore

Most times, a mod will catch this and move it to the appropriate section.

However, if it even remotely Wicca related, I think it honestly depends on how someone practices it. Some people are completelyeclectic on thier definition of Wicca. However, some people like to go by the books and learn the traditions and rites.

I have often remarked on this site, that if Gerald Gardner was alive today he would not recognize the religion he started!
I don't think Jesus would recognize Christianity, either!

There still is the traditional Wicca, but to learn it you need to join a coven, and who wants that? it's hard to find one in your area, and they might want you to do things there way, but you could just google it and do your own thing. Wicca is a very open and accepting religion, but i think that's taken advantage of. 'i agree with British Traditional Wicca, except for this one tiny point, so i'm founding my own path!' then someone comes to this new path and says the same thing, until eventually you have Christian Wicca, Dianic Wicca, even Fae and Draconic Wicca which i'm not oppose to, but they're not Wicca outside of say the rede and threefold law. [which is all you need to be Wiccan, right?] Christianity is similar, they all believe the same story but focus on different aspects, one prays to Mary, others sing songs, handles snakes, prays more, long confusing list.

as much as i love him, i think Scott Cunningham played a major part in this view of Wicca being whatever you want it to be so long as you don't harm someone [unless they deserve it. again, that's still Wiccan, right?] i own most of his books and i do love them, but i actually didn't read his most famous work Wicca: A Solitary Guide until a few years ago. maybe it's just me, but i was a little frustrated with the book. sure it had definitions, but it was mostly 'do what you feel'. which some Wiccans i know applaud Cunningham for that, i still prefer Raymond Buckland because he wrote with some conviction and it wasn't until later in the book, [once you have 'the basics' and a footing] did he say you can change some stuff to fit your needs. i feel that's the hard part of Paganism in general, you can't say most things without someone jumping up to say 'in my path...'

Wicca is probably going to get more and more watered down as time goes by, but those who want the core of the faith will seek out covens [not saying you need a coven to practice, just if you want to learn from generations of a path] i mean, i'm an eclectic Wiccan, but i follow rather closely to Bucklands path, but i'm not in a coven, so i can't officially call myself anything beyond eclectic really.

Wicca remains solidly Wicca.

Certainly those Traditions of British Traditional Wicca continue to follow the core beliefs and practices of Wicca as set down by Gerald Gardner and the rest of our elders such as Doreen Valiente, Patricia Crowther, Eleanor Bone, Alex and Maxine Sanders, etc. Even a number of Traditions that are not part of British Traditional Wicca hold to the central tenets of Wicca.

There is certainly room within Wicca for individual practices that suit the practitioner; however, in my opinion, if the core beliefs have changed then what the person is doing is not Wicca. It might be a valid spiritual practice for them, but it no longer ought to be called Wicca.

The problem we have today that leads to this sort of confusion are writers such as Scott Cunningham who said " Wicca is whatever you want it to be ." This is patently nonsense. Wicca is a very specific religion with very specific beliefs and practices. To say it is anything you want it to be means that you could practice child sacrifice and call it Wicca and by what Scott wrote you would be correct. Obviously this is ridiculous and taken to an extreme, but if you have no limits then you can't complain when someone turns your religion into something crazy.

I think that the reason that many people get confused about Wicca is that there are so many poorly written books out there that are readily accessible. Someone reads one of these and calls what they do Wicca. The biggest error I generally see is someone saying they are Wiccan because they cast spells. Wicca has nothing to do with casting spells and most Wiccans I know cast few if any spells.

I believe that it is a matter of educating those here who come in saying they are Wiccan and pointing out to them what, exactly, Wicca is all about. I'm not going to jump on anyone for claiming to be Wiccan just because they are misinformed.

I don't want you guys to think I'm calling anyone out, I'm just saying that what some of the things people are doing and calling Wicca is not what Wicca was put out to be.

I understand that not having a coven makes it very difficult to learn Wicca but what I'm saying is you can't just make a completely eclectic path and just slap the title Wicca on it. I think it's OK to have a more eclectic path but calling it Wicca when it's not falling in with the core beliefs and principles of Wicca it shouldn't be called Wicca you should just be called an eclectic practitioner.

If I may ask, can't someone be a solitary wiccan?

I believe so but their have been contradicting statements saying you need to be initiated my father who is a British traditional wiccan believes it is very necessary to be initiated

you refer to yourself as 'innergod' which explains the pretentious thread.

What does my username have to do with my post? I was only stating a opinion.

Regenlief, there are varying opinions on that topic.

Personally I do not believe that it is necessary to be initiated nor part of a coven in order to be Wiccan (And I am a 3rd Degree initiate in a Gardnerian coven) Certainly Wicca was originally created as a coven practice, but things have changed over the years and now solitary practice is more common that coven practice.

But to understand why some of those who are British Traditional Wiccans often have an issue with others who claim to be Wiccan without benefit of training or initiatation you might want to read my post at http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_posts.html?post=609224