Since around 7th grade, I have been hearing about “Wicca”. The new age movement of modern day here and now witches. Except that they don’t want to be called witches, they want to be called Wiccans (with a hard ‘k’ sound). At the time, I thought, OK, that name is dignified. They must be serious. Wiccans. Like African-Americans. It is quite a dignified upgrade.Seventh grade was a long time ago. I have a revelation to share with every Wiccan on the planet.
MUFUKKA, “WICCA” IS PRONOUNCED “WITCHA”. IT IS THE SAME WORD, PRONOUNCED THE SAME WAY. A WICCE IS A WITCH.
Here it is in the dictionary. Wicce was a female witch. A wicca was a male witch. Wiccecraeft was... well, you figure it out. All pronounced more or less like we do now.
A lot of times, old English words were spelled with a slightly different system than we would use today, especially for sounds like “j” or “ch”. “Ecg” meant edge, and it’s the origin of the phrase ‘egg someone on’. Pronounced ‘edge someone on’, as in poke them with your sword until they get pissed off, but it just happened that nobody says it that way anymore. See how it’s the same word? And wicc- is witch. IT IS THE SAME EXACT WORD. I was bullied into calling one of my stranger classmates a ‘Wiccan’ in 7th grade; never again. The entire Wiccan movement is just a bunch of silly people who don’t understand that historical spellings weren’t necessarily the exact same as modern ones. Poseurs. Somehow I doubt they can understand the depths of ancient wisdom if they can’t even comprehend their own name from a few centuries ago.
8 comments:
Interesting Alex,
We happen to have some witches in our midst... an interesting story too since the three with me have never heard of the seasonal celebrations... which is I understand sort of like a Christian not knowing about Christmas... makes me think that it was just one more way that the parents could add moron to the long list of stupid things that they did to the kids...
Laura
Funny. Good post. Sorry for the curt comment, but life beckons.
thanks! I'm not sure why I got so angry about this last night. I think I saw someone's wiccan blog, and I got all riled up.
I guess I think it's strange when people are horribly offended by one word and are pleased as punch to be called a slightly different version of the same word. Like negro, n*gger and black. Think of all the rancor caused over the last couple centuries by the subtle shifts in which of those words was acceptable. Aren't they really the same word? Not that I'm saying it should be OK to use those interchangeably - I don't use the "n" word and I feel weird even typing a censored version of it... but think about how odd it is that saying one word can be OK, saying its Spanish translation can be OK, but saying a slightly distorted pronunciation of the Spanish translation makes you a horrible monster. Same thing here with wicc/witch. The things we get offended by are so arbitrary sometimes.
Hi there. I just happened to be passing through doing some research on Wiccan pronunciations and caught your blog. I am a Witch - a priest in a gay men's Witchcraft tradition. Trust me, there may be fluffy bunnies out there but I and my friends are very serious about what we do. I'm not sure where your anger and animosity come from but proper pronunciation of archaeic words and their origins are much debated. You have quoted one source, but there are others with different information about the origin of the word Wicca and it's original meaning. Still, even if what you say is true, you simply point out that words change in their pronunciation and meaning over time. Can you not consider that Wicca with a hard 'K' is simply another evolution in the history of this word? Let's be open minded, and thanks for the chance to respond.
Prometheus P. O. "X" The Minoan Brotherhood
I can understand your frustration with some young (7th grade is what...13 years old?) people who call themselves Wiccan and claim to know everything about it when it's obvious that they are missing out on a few of the fundamentals, but to put down an entire faith based on ones opinion of pronunciation is a little much. I am a Wiccan (with the "k" sound) and have been for more than 13 years now. I've had various discussions about the origin of the name and the only real conclusion that we've reached is that words change over time. You have stated this yourself and shown that you are an intellectual person, yet you then condemn the entire religion as a "bunch of silly people" based on your experiences involving a few young individuals. Yes, there are people who say they are Wiccan and make a big stink about it when they know almost nothing about the faith. Every religion has those types. The pronunciation Wiccans use doesn't come from the sources you sited, nor the other ancient and forgotten root words in latin or greek. It comes from Gerald Gardners interpretation of those roots and the slight changes that happen to all words over time as they travel geographically and chronologically. Next time some young Wiccan is giving you grief over something as petty as pronunciation please just let them know that true wiccans understand that each person is entitled to their own view and then do them the favor of respecting theirs.
You make a valid point, as do those who have responded. I don't have much to add to the debate, however, I was wondering if the Wicca (with a "k" sound ) isn't perhaps preferred because of the silly Disney type images the word witch conjours up in the average mind. I am not a witch myself, but would certainly (were I one) feel a bit silly calling myself such. Either way, we all see the world from a different angle, I hope you are enjoying your view!
i have been envolved with the craft for well over 30yrs. and your point of view draws enormous debate. buy some more books and go back to school is about all the suggestions i could offer you at this time.
faxon~
)O(
I was browsing wiccan pics and came across this. i read it and found it very interesting...i just want to correct a few people.
i am going to do this because i was born and raised and trained completely in this field. i'm a hereditary "wiccan" as they call it these days and actually have historic documents dating way before the takeover the god bearing religions in rome.
First off, everything started in rome, and actually in the the heart of rome, they wanted a more unified religion and did not want it sparatic so they formed the religion which is now based from the bible, to convert those who practiced the old ways they combined a lot of things from those practices into the religion. from there the persecutions started and here we are today.
There is no TRUE practice of the relgion...the only TRUE part is the Goddess of Fertility and the God of Hunt. that is it. Worshiping these two dieties is the religion. And it can be done any way.
Eventually somebody made what's now called the wiccan rede...same concept as what i just stated lots more words.
As for pronounciation...Wicca and Wicce is celtic... Its Weess and Wee-sah. male and female versions. that's it. that name was put in about the fourteenth century.
And yes...the holidays we have now are all based off of the pagan holidays. Christmas derived from yule, halloween from samhain (SAW-WAHNE), valentines day from imbolc/imbolg...but most people don't fully understand the holidays...Every pagan holiday falls on the equinox and solstice. and again...that's all new age stuff. But to be a true pagan...just worship and understand that everything comes from the God of Hunt and Goddess of Fertility. that's the true base. oh and everythign MUST BE EQUAL you can't have good without bad and visa versa. there's that...glad to share my knowledge with you.
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