Ask 13 witches and you’ll get 13 different answers. Deciding to dedicate yourself to the Craft, come out of the broom closet, or even claim the title of Wiccan is deeply personal—and often a milestone on our magickal path.

In many of the older or more formal traditions, there are specific steps a dedicant must complete to be considered a Witch or Wiccan. But as the Craft continues to grow and evolve, eclectic traditions like ours offer more flexibility in how we approach this. Within our degree program, every student is considered a dedicant—you’ve made the commitment to seek, to learn, and to explore witchcraft and Wicca more deeply.

So what does that actually mean? Well…what do you want it to mean?

In my view, if you’re walking the path—learning, practicing, and honoring the ways of Wicca or Witchcraft—you have every right to call yourself Wiccan. Wicca is a living, growing spiritual path rooted in magick and reverence for nature, with its modern form emerging in the 1950s and continuing to blossom in all directions.

As for having a ritual to mark this as a rite of passage, absolutely—there are many ways to do that. In British Traditional Wicca (BTW), it’s common to begin with a formal dedication ritual. This often involves making a declaration to walk the Wiccan path, to honor the gods, and to commit to the learning and discipline required. In those traditions, initiations follow at set stages—sometimes after each degree—and those rites often include an oath to a particular coven or lineage.

It’s important to recognize that initiation and dedication are not the same. Initiation is a big step, usually done within a coven, and involves pledging yourself to that group and its tradition. It’s a serious commitment and not something to be entered into lightly. Dedication, on the other hand, is a personal vow—between you, the gods, and the path you are choosing to walk.

And yes, self-dedication is entirely valid. While some traditionalists may argue that a proper dedication or initiation must come from a coven’s High Priestess or High Priest, the truth is, a self-dedication can be just as meaningful and spiritually potent. You don’t need a formal group to affirm your path—only your heart, your will, and your connection to the Divine.

So if you’re feeling called to mark your dedication with a ritual, follow that inspiration. Let it be your moment, crafted in your way, full of intention and magick. We are all here to help you find the tools you will need as you continue forward.

I 100% agree with everything Lady Lilith A’micia Pinao said.

Sorry- I hit enter before I meant to… I’m still learning this page. I really truly believe that you can feel comfortable calling yourself Wiccan or a Witch any time you want to, with or without any kind of ceremony or ritual. You will hear people say stuff like, “You can’t be a Witch unless you are from generations of Witches and belong to a coven and take all these steps… yada yada yada…” Not true. Please don’t put crazy rules on me, that’s one of the reasons I’m not part of the church, it’s like you have to constantly prove yourself. Who needs that stress? I discovered Wicca back in ye olden days of the mid 1990’s. I started calling myself Wiccan pretty quickly. It just felt right. And even though I tend to be a perfectionist who wants to do everything “right”, I quickly learned Wicca and Witchcraft are very individual so there is not one way to be “right”. And I was always a solitary practitioner. Several years down the road I realized I was more a Witch than a Wiccan and have called myself Witch for a while. Again, not belonging to any particular group or doing anything to “dedicate” myself. Not that there’s anything wrong with a group or dedication, I just didn’t have that option. Now I can call myself a 2nd degree Cabot Priestess because I did decide to take Witchcraft classes through Laurie Cabot, who I had been following since the very beginning in the 1990’s. I called myself Witch long before I took the classes though. Honestly, do what’s in your heart. It will be different for everyone, but it won’t be “wrong”. I asked Laurie Cabot’s daughter if she does a whole formal circle every time she does any magick (because I’ll still struggle with trying to do things “right”) and she said no, there’s not always time or space, etc. And she simply said, “I know my magick.” I LOVED that. Don’t overthink it. Just simply know your magick.

Definitely agree with all that is said here. Lady Lilith would know the correct terminology, for sure. Personally, when I first began actually practicing (actually celebrating Sabbats, Esbats, etc.) I did call myself a Wiccan. When I joined Sacred Mists and began my formal training, I described myself as a Dedicant in a Wiccan Community (back then, the word "coven" still had a bit of baggage). This is certainly a personal decision, and I think it is great that you are thinking about this and asking what others think.

I totally agree with the comments above!!! I very recently committed myself to a C
oven. Even if i didn't, I would consider myself an Eclectic Wiccan Witch. I also, can't leave my faith to god and the saints I honor too. I am not the typical Orthodox Cristian but I don't identify Cristian faith as an obstacle because I think everything is connected and I honor the God and every good spirit. It took me only twenty and more years to accept my witchy nature. I wouldn't mind if I hadn't found a Coven to commit to. I think we only know our own Craft. We just have to mind the ethics.

I also totally agree with what Lady Lilyth said. I'm just going to share my experience....fairly early on in the path I did a dedication ritual, dedicating myself to the God and the Goddess and this path (and also formally cutting my ties with Christianity). After that was when I called myself Wiccan. I also did a self-initiation (which I realize can be controversial). To me, those steps were very important for several reasons. I do think ritual is an important part of Wicca in particular and witchcraft as a whole, but maybe that is because to me the Craft is my religion and not only my practice, and I personally think religious ritual, to some degree, is a basic human need. I think for those of us who have been formally intitated in another religion, there might be a unique need for something to cognitively mark that step away from that and into something else.