Wicca is a modern pagan religion that emerged in mid-twentieth-century Britain. Its public face was shaped by Gerald Gardner, who claimed to have been initiated into a surviving coven of witches and who published accounts of their beliefs and rituals in the 1950s. Whether the continuity he asserted was historical or creative remains debated; what is clear is that Wicca quickly developed into a distinct and growing movement.

Core features include the worship of a Goddess and a God, often understood as dual aspects of a single divine reality; the celebration of eight seasonal festivals known as sabbats; the practice of magic as a natural and ethical craft; and the formation of small groups called covens, though solitary practice is also common. Rituals frequently take place in a consecrated circle and may involve the four elements, the directions, and tools such as the athame, chalice, and wand. The Wiccan Rede—“An it harm none, do what ye will”—serves as a basic ethical guideline.

Wicca has no central authority. Traditions diverge in theology, structure, and emphasis. Some are initiatory and oath-bound; others are open and eclectic. Feminist and ecological concerns have been influential in many branches. Public perception has shifted from suspicion to a degree of mainstream recognition, though stereotypes persist.

For practitioners, Wicca is a living path of relationship with the sacred as it is encountered in nature, in the body, and in the turning of the year.