Review article
WICCA: A CONNECTION OF MAGIC AND RITE OF PRE-CHRISTIAN CULT OF FERTILITY WITH THE WESTERN ESOTERIC AND OCCULT HERMETISM
Maja Mandić
; Institute Ivo Pilar
Neven Duvnjak
; Institute Ivo Pilar
Abstract
Neopagan religious movements at European area (including Wicca) originated from pre-Christian
cult of fertility and from the Western esoterism. In the majority of branches of Nepaganism from
Europe there is a religious, esoteric and mystical ecclectism present, because the majority of them is
based on a number of historical sources. These sources are: Mediterranean and European agrarian
cult of fertility, Western esoterism and various local old religions. This paper aims at presenting
Neopaganism and Wicca to the interested scientists and laymen from the areas of Croatia and
former Yugoslavia where Neopaganism and Wicca have been spreading over the last decades, but
are inadequately scientifically treated and elaborated. As a religious movement and magical and
occult doctrine Wicca in its emergence and formation absorbed inspiration from the two sources:
the first source of Wicca is European rural magical cult, the so called „Witch’s cult“. The second
source of Wicca is Western esoteric and occult tradition. Rosenkruetzers, Free masonry, theosophy
and Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) influenced the Wicca directly, while Druidism, Hermetical
order, Golden Dawn and Thelema indirectly. To conclude, Wicca connected esoterical occultism of
the Western tradition with the Celtic mythology and convention and with the rite and magic of
the old European cult of nature.
Keywords
Neopagan religious movements; Wicca; European rural magic cult; witch’s cult; Western esoteric and occult tradition
Hrčak ID:
233777
URI
Publication date:
4.6.2019.
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