WICCA: A CONNECTION OF MAGIC AND RITE OF PRE-CHRISTIAN CULT OF FERTILITY WITH THE WESTERN ESOTERIC AND OCCULT HERMETISM

Sa？etak 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