Full moon esbat
A monthly rite at the full moon.
- Choose a quiet space and light a candle.
- Mark a circle with a cord or by walking its edge.
- Speak your intentions, or your thanks for the month.
- Close the circle and share a simple meal or drink.
Paganism · path
Wicca
A modern initiatory witchcraft religion founded in 20th-century England.
Origins
Wicca was first described publicly by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s. Historians do not support claims that it descends from medieval witch cults. It is a modern religion that drew on folklore, ceremonial magic and older ideas.
Beliefs and values
Most Wiccans honour a Goddess and a God, keep the eight festivals of the Wheel of the Year, and hold monthly rites at the full moon, called esbats. A common ethical guide is the Wiccan Rede, usually summed up as harm none and do as you will.
Timeline
- 1921
- Margaret Murray publishes The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, a theory that historians now reject.
- 1951
- The Witchcraft Act is repealed in Britain.
- 1954
- Gerald Gardner publishes Witchcraft Today, introducing Wicca to a wider public.
- 1960s
- Alex Sanders and others found new traditions, and Wicca spreads to the United States.
- 1979
- Starhawk's The Spiral Dance and Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon appear in the United States.
- 1999
- Ronald Hutton publishes The Triumph of the Moon, the standard scholarly history.
Key terms
- coven
- A small group of Wiccans who meet to practise together.
- Book of Shadows
- A personal or coven notebook of rituals and spells.
- Wiccan Rede
- A short ethical saying, usually given as 'An it harm none, do what ye will'.
- sabbat and esbat
- Sabbats are the eight festivals of the Wheel. Esbats are meetings at the full moon.
- initiation
- A ceremony that admits a person into a coven or tradition.
How it keeps the festivals
Wicca popularised the eightfold Wheel of the Year in the middle of the 20th century. Its eight festivals are called sabbats: the four solstices and equinoxes and the four cross-quarter days. Covens usually meet on or near each sabbat, and also at the full moon.
Many practitioners have adapted the Wheel to suit their region and hemisphere, and solitary practitioners keep the festivals in simple ways at home.
See the Wheel of the Year and the glossary.
Where to read
- Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today
- Doreen Valiente, An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present
- Ronald Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon
Cautions
Traditional Wicca is initiatory and passed on within covens, while many people practise a solitary or eclectic form learnt from books. Both exist, so be clear about which one you mean.
Practices
Casting a circle
A way to set a space apart for ritual.
- Walk clockwise around your space, starting in the north.
- Picture a ring of light as you walk.
- Face each of the four directions in turn and greet it.
- When you finish, thank each direction and walk anticlockwise to open the circle.
More on Paganism
Where to begin
A gentle starting guide for newcomers: read first, start small, find people carefully.
Read more
Ethics and cautions
Common values, cultural borrowing, how to judge sources and claims, and finding communities safely.
Read more
Glossary
Plain-English meanings for the terms you will meet, from altar to Wheel of the Year.
Read more