Witchcraft, also known as wicca, is a religion with ancestry in an ancient Pagan religion of Northern Europe which pre-dates the Christian era (Simms 30.) It is an earth religion and its main deity is a goddess. Most participants worship the earth and belong to a coven, or group of believers, run by a high priestess. Most covens meet on days determined by solstices and equinoxes or on seasonal or full moon rituals(Luhrmann 46.) During such rituals, many symbols emerge so important that the ritual would not exist without them.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of modern witchcraft is that of the Goddess. She is very different from that of the Judeo-Christian god. She is considered both a deity that controls the earth and she is the earth itself. The Goddess is the personification of nature and is ever changing as the earth is ever changing. The Goddess is symbolized by the moon. It is said that each phase of the moon symbolizes a different time in the Goddess's life or in the cycle of life. The new moon phase symbolizes the Goddess giving birth to the Sun Child and new light is born. The first quarter phase signifies the point just before life bursts forth and

The four factors needed to sustain life are also seen as important symbols in modern witchcraft. These factors are earth, air, fire, and water. During a ritual, each is represented by a specific object. Air is characterized by a feather. Fire is denoted by a candle that burns throughout the entire ritual. The candle both gives light and can symbolize the Goddess and air when the feather is waved in the flame. Water is a feminine aspect and is represented by a chalice. The chalice is filled with a beverage to drink during the ritual. Wine is often used, but some covens use milk or water (Simms 117.)

Simms, Maria Kay. The Witch's Circle. (Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 1998.)

Some Wiccans and other Neopagans bless themselves and others with the sign of the pentagram. Their hand passes from their forehead to one hip, up to the opposite hip and shoulder, across to the other shoulder, down to the opposite hip and back to the forehead (Pentacles and Pentagrams.) This blessing action further enforces the importance of the pentagram. It is comparable to the significance of the Christian's crucifix or cross. Like the pentagram is a symbol of a special goddess, the cross is a symbol of Jesus, an important figure in Christianity. Without the belief and symbolism that the cross possesses to Christians, it would not exist.

the chains of winter are broken. The full moon phase indicates the joining of the Sun King and the Queen of Summer, a time of abundance ad fulfillment. The last phase in the l

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