Etymology of Wicca view that associated witchcraft with darkness. Historian Ronald Hutton states that he knew of three "Wiccan" covens founded in the 1980s who began to describe themselves as "Traditional Witches" in the 1990s. Etymology of Wicca In Modern English, the term "Wicca" () refers to Wicca, the religion of contemporary Pagan Witchcraft. It is used within the Pagan community under competing definitions. One refers to the entirety of the Pagan Witchcraft movement, while the other refers explicitly to traditions included in what is now called British Traditional Wicca. Although pronounced differently, "Wicca" is related to the Old English word "wicca", which
Wicca have referred to it as a "magico-religion". Wicca is also a form of Western esotericism, and more specifically a part of the esoteric current known as occultism. Although recognised as a religion by academics, some evangelical Christians have attempted to deny it legal recognition as such, while some Wiccan practitioners themselves eschew the term "religion" – associating the latter purely with organised religion – instead favouring "spirituality" or "way of life". Although Wicca as a religion is distinct from other forms of contemporary Paganism, there has been much "cross-fertilization" between these different Pagan faiths; accordingly, Wicca has both influenced and