"The mysteries of life can only be understood through experience and revelation " Wicca, Witch, Pagan Definitions

"Study of Old English shows us that consistency in spelling and word usage was slow in developing, and some variations of any given word may be found only once in old documents.
The word "witch" was spelled many ways including: wych, wice, wic, wyc, wyche, weyche, wich, wicca, wiccian, wytche, wysshyn, wycchyn, wycca, witche, wiech, weche, weach, vytche, vyche and weech.

Other words found using the root word of "wych" are:

"wicca" A wizard, soothsayer, sorcerer, magician
"wicce" A witch, sorceress
"wicce-craeft" Sorcery, magic art
"Wicce-dom" Witchcraft, sorcery, magic
"Wiccian" To practice witchcraft

The word wicca was originally pronounced "wich-a" and would have pertained to an action or a person performing and action (witch-er) rather than applying to a religion. Gerald Gardner chose the word "wicca" (and pronounced it wik-a) as the name for his newly created religion.

The Teutonic prefix of "wik-" means to bend, and is applied generally to various forms of trees which have pliable branches. These would include trees whose branches were used to bake bows such as the "Wych Elm". Other pliable trees include "Witch-wood" (Mountain Ash or rowan-tree), witch alder, and witch hazel. These are all so named because of the flexibility of their branches. As far as we are able to determine the people who came to be called "witches" were so named because of their use (or supposed use) of various pliable branches in their work. Use of a branch for "witching" water (a divining rod used for finding underground water sources), for example, pertains first to the use of a flexible branch for the process, and only later to the person using the branch."

"Gerald Gardner is said to have studied with, and been initiated by witches who had been practicing in England for several generations.

The actual truth and details of his background have been the subject of much speculation and are probably known only to those who personally studied with him.

Gardner created what we know as "Wicca" by drawing rituals and traditions from many sources, and incorporating both folk magic and ceremonial magic.

In 1949 Gerald Gardner wrote a book entitled, "High Magic's Aid" which is a novel about a coven of witches, and in 1954 he published, "Witchcraft Today", which is a non-fiction book on the history and practice of witchcraft.

He had suspected that his was the only coven in existence, but after his books came out he began receiving letters from other witches from all over the world.

Today covens descended from Gardner's original coven can be found in many countries. All covens which we call "traditional Wicca" trace their lineage to Gerald Gardner. Most solitary practitioners of Wicca and eclectic Wiccan groups also (sometimes only loosely) base their practices on the religion designed by Gardner.

 Meaning of paganism and neo-paganism:

The Latin: Paganus - is generally thought to mean "a country dweller, a peasant or countryman." The earliest use of the word referred to country people outside the city of Rome who refused to join the Roman army.

 It gradually came to mean anyone not keeping up with the beliefs and changes in the progressive city of Rome, and then eventually it was applied to anyone not of the most modern religions.

Today most people define "pagan" as someone who is not Christian, Jewish or Muslim, and/or more specifically someone who follows a polytheistic religion such aboriginal Australians, the Kogi of South American, and many other indigenous, tribal peoples including many native American tribes.

We call modern Earth religions, such as Wicca, which borrow early polytheistic religions, "neo-pagan" to differentiate them from the pagan religions who's practices have changed little since pre-Judeo/ Christian times.

What traditional Wicca is:

The religion of Wicca has several components which most all be present for it to be traditional Wicca.

Spirituality:

Wicca is a way of life and a way of relating to the world around us. Wicca provides a way for each individual to find his or her best way of relating to deity. We acknowledge a force in nature which is around us and within us, but not above us or "in charge" of us.

Wicca enables to see the beauty and the magic in everything we sense and do. Wicca is about developing relationships with the gods, goddesses and elements for a better understanding of how we can work with them to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

Enlightenment:

Traditional Wicca is an initiatory mystery religion - based on the ideas found in the ancient mystery schools. Mysteries can not be taught, lectured about, written down or explained. The mysteries of life can only be understood through experience and revelation. 

We are on a constant quest for answers and explanations to questions such as: "Who are we?", "Why are we here?", "What is our place in the grand scheme of things?", "What does reincarnation mean to us?"

The purpose of a mystery school is to create an atmosphere which can enable the student to come to a certain understanding of the. There are no guarantees. The level of understanding a student achieves will depend on many factors not within the teacher's control.

Wiccans are not afraid to question anything and everything about the world around them, and best of all, we do not feel a need to find the "one and only true right answer".

Answers lead to more questions, which leads to more meditation, and more enlightenment. We never stop learning. We believe that the greater our understanding of nature, the better able we are to work with the energies found there. Enlightenment is not a goal - it is an on-going process.

Magic:

We use the energies around us to strengthen the power within ourselves. We do not use this power for "power over" others, we use this power to help ourselves, the Earth, and others in positive, non-harmful ways. We believe that the ability to do magic is a gift from the gods which must not be abused. In return for this gift we must always do what we can to help and preserve Nature."


Source and More Information
http://bluemoonwicca.org/class01.html