What is Wiccan, and what deities do they have?

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Wicca is the religion initially synthesized and promoted by Gerald Gardner, and then refined and expanded on by scores of writers since. Importantly, Wicca has never specified a particular deity, and practitioners are free to select whomever deity they wish.

Wicca is esoteric, meaning it focuses on secret, hidden bodies of knowledge. Another esoteric religion is Scientology. Another Western religion that is not Christian and not esoteric is Islam. Esoteric religions are usually studied alone or in small groups.

While Wicca is esoteric, it is not necessarily Gnostic. Gnosticism is esoteric monotheism focusing on Jesus, while Christianity is non-esoteric monotheism focused on Jesus. If you want non-esoteric monotheism that’s not Christian, look to Judaism. Many Wiccans practice duotheism, worshipping a nameless God and Goddess. Others, like the coven I was a part of, are pantheistic, accepting of any god or goddess, working with whichever fits their needs or demanded attention at the time.

Wiccan practice focuses primarily on the use of ritual, modeling ancient polytheistic practice. Gerald Gardner was a contemporary and friend of Aleister Crowley, and Crowley’s big schtick was High Magick, the creation and raising of energy through the use of relatively large gatherings of people. Crowley was not himself Wiccan, he was closer to ancient esoteric practices such as Gnosticism, Kabbalah and Hermeticism than to paganism. Gardner took the High Magick rituals, made them his own, and incorporated them into Wicca. Wiccans in general do not try to pretend to themselves be continuing an ancient practice, but rather the ancient tradition. The themes used are typically Celtic or Greek in nature, with some Norse flavor often tossed in.

A big part of Wicca’s esoteric nature stems from its embracing of the occult. Occultism is less a religion than it is a theme. A few ways we can distinguish it from other similar terms is that while other forms of esoteric practice, such as hermeticism and traditional mystery religion, might reject or be indifferent to modernity and science, occultists embraces it, often trying to find scientific support for their theories and practice. Occultists are wont to call their disciplines ‘sciences’. Wicca is very friendly to occult ideas and themes.