Wicca «vs» Eclectic NeoPaganism

I do believe that Wicca does have plenty of room to continue growing and developing more denominations. However, as stated, what continues to market itself as "Wicca" in mainstream Pagan, Witchcraft, and Occult materials is actually largely Eclectic NeoPaganism- which is not, itself, truly a form or denomination of Wicca; Cousins, true. But Wicca it is not and hasn't been for a long time.

Indeed, at this point Eclectic NeoPaganism functionally has little in common with actual Wiccan denominations at all for numerous reasons. And this is true despite 1. Claiming the name "Wicca" for itself; and 2. Being derivative of it historically.

Firstly, historically speaking, the reason so much Witchcraft acts like Wicca is because it's directly derived from it as one of roughly three original base systems of the revival to begin with (most of which looked and acted similarly with few differences). Later on "The Pagan Way" was intentionally conceptualized by individuals from these founding movements as a sort of Pan-Pagan system that was easy to use cross-traditionally. And for that reason it became the foundation of public gatherings during the Festival Movement- engendering hundreds of smaller movements and groups to the system ... It's no wonder, then, why so many systems look, act, and sound like Wicca these days.

Today's Eclectic NeoPaganism, however, derives from many sources- but most prominent among them was the initial movement away from the initiatory system of Wicca. This was solidified within the NeoWiccan movement of the late 1900's and early 2000's- and was mixed heavily with the Eclecticism that'd already been practiced within certain corners of Wicca for decades. It also became mixed with New Thought, and the general New Age community, creating a new system which merged the two.

Then, secondly: In the late 2000's and early 2010's, there was a movement within mainstream Witchcraft to "de-Wicca-fy Witchcraft" and move away from Wicca as the primary mode of Witchcraft. This was followed closely in the mid 2010's with a further push to "secularize" Witchcraft; I was directly involved with both of these movements as an active voice at various points, and both of these movements are still ongoing in the current day.

As a result of both, while many Wiccan practices arguably still persist as foundational elements of modern Witchcraft in various formulations? These practices have ultimately very little to do with Wicca now ... Their original Wiccan contexts, myths, purposes and intent (and so on) have been removed from them; they've been stripped down to virtually nothing, making them mere shades of their original practices compared to what they originally were- and in some cases they've been reframed within entirely different contexts and practices.

This has unfortunately led to several negative and frequently incorrect understandings of many of these practices which originated from Wicca- which makes it very difficult for actual Wiccans to discuss and educate on their true practices ... But the most important result is that they therefore no longer retain their original links or ties to Wicca at all to begin with. Thus, by their very wishes- as well as, arguably, the very rules and structure of the Wiccan faith itself? The modern traditions which utilize these stripped practices can likewise no longer be considered Wiccan themselves; they are merely Eclectic NeoPaganism, and have become divorced from Wicca- not another denomination of it.

As for why these practices continue to appropriate to name "Wicca", as this happens largely in publications I don't truly believe it's the fault of actual practitioners themselves (most of the time, anyways) ... But rather that the fault is multifold:

1. A for-profit publishing industry which ultimately remains detached from the actual religions it serves, and whose main goal is to make as much money as possible off of its materials ... And in that regard
2. Wicca is an easily identifiable and understandable term many are familiar with, that can be used to sell books quickly and easily ... Which unfortunately causes
3. A misunderstanding of Wicca and what it actually is among people seeking out information about Paganism, Witchcraft, and the Occult in general in mainstream spaces- something which is easily rectified, but not often actually attempted as most people aren't actually seeking in depth information.

That being said, I don't believe there is anything inherently wrong with Eclectic NeoPaganism as a broad umbrella of individual solitary practices (as it's so often positioned); I do believe the vast majority of issues people say they have "with Wicca" are really issues with Eclectic NeoPagansim, and that the community deserves better and should better educate itself on the difference. I also believe that Eclectic NeoPaganism has a lot to do in regards to "cleaning up its act" so-to-speak, and deserves much of its criticism ... However, I also believe it's still young, and that there's plenty of room for improvement if people can be bothered to be mature about it.

But that will be up to those who find themselves within the walls of that practice- and only they can decide the path their tradition takes moving forward ... Whatever path that is, though, it must include divorcing themselves from the idea that they are Wiccan (though that does not include ignoring or erasing the history of their connection to Wicca as so many in the modern Witchcraft, Pagan, and Occult community unfortunately often do). You actively cannot be a form of a religion whose practices you've taken but stripped all inherent spiritual and religious significance from and led an entire movement against that religion to condemn it, after all. It simply doesn't work like that.