To the powers that be of this great site, I had a question. Should I post here my review of The Wicca Academy? I’ve been getting bombarded by their ads on my social media and was asked to review them for another site and a local group that I’m part of. I thought I would ask before doing so because with anything, Witches are always learning and sharing information.
8 Likes
If you took classes there, it’s perfectly fine to review them from your perspective. There are others who may consider going to the Academy & if it was a wealth of information for you & you continued to learn, say what you thought of the layout, courses, what you learned, the instructors, setup, all the things.
I will be taking a couple of sets of courses this year. In the Spring I will be taking classes to become a certified accredited crystal healer & advanced practitioner. I will also be taking another class more Celtic/Druid centered this year. I’m not leaving the forum though. I will share my knowledge gained & answer any questions that I am able to on the subjects.
It’s perfectly fine, it’s part of how you learned about your path & a part of you.
9 Likes
Greetings @LadyDennaRahl! 
Thanks for checking in! 
As for sharing, I agree with Siofra- forms exist to share information between people, and I think reviews are especially helpful! Please feel free to share your honest thoughts about any witchy classes you take. Your feedback will likely be very helpful to others considering taking the same classes! 
Blessed be!
7 Likes
What! That is so freaking awesome @Susurrus I am going to go check out the site and see what it’s all about knowing you are doing the same.
@LadyDennaRahl yes please, if it’s approved I would love a review from your point of view. I assume this Academy will come at a cost, I already spend a lot of money already 
6 Likes
Thanks, everyone. I’ve been busy with family things and working on my in-depth review of the Wicca Academy. And its courses and layout as well as the information is given. I have also added an in-depth review of the website and such.
5 Likes
@LadyAuld.ofChico the crystal energy school that I will be doing is online & the this is the link:
The other school that is more Celtic/Druid focused & goes through the 13 moons is:
5 Likes
@Susurrus thank you so much. I am interested in both of these. 
A few weeks ago I asked Spirit to send me more to learn and boy they are coming through left and right! 
5 Likes
I’m happy for you! The only thing that learning more is going to do is enhance your practice.
5 Likes
Hello beautiful souls,
I took the courses at the Wicca Academy, I’ve earned my 3rd degree there. I really enjoyed the courses there there is a lot of good information and things to learn. I think you will enjoy it. Sending positive vibes your way. Love and light!!
4 Likes
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the Wicca Academy, @Sapphire! 
Positive vibes back to you too- blessed be! 
2 Likes
I should point out before I go any further that I have been writing reviews for products, classes, online courses, and more off and on semi-professionally for a number of paid survey groups like Pinecone research for over 13 years. I mean no disrespect to the creators, staff, or material presented. My views while critical can still be positive and supportive. My goal is not to harm whatever I review but to assist it to grow. I know that not everyone will agree with my review but I do hope it helps. This took me 9 days to complete only because I had other more important things to attend so I took almost 5 days off in total. While reviewing The Wicca Academy.
This last week or so has been rather interesting, I decided to try the free courses from The Wicca Academy after their logo and school had been plastered all over my social media and other places where algorithmic advertising is used. I started by finally giving in and clicking on the link to the website. I was brought to the smartly made and beautifully basic main page of The Wicca Academy. The young 18-year-oldish female model of a witchling sitting oddly on the ground her face hidden by her classic style Witch’s hat as she reads a book (I swear it is one of the Zelda or other video game guide books). The triple goddess crest is visible on another book nearby as a weft of smoke drifts up from a small cast iron pot. Her Harry potter deathly hollows tattoo is in full view. The school’s catchphrase. “Learn Wicca Online: Become who you were meant to be! Start with the basics of Wicca, then advance and earn degrees at your own pace.” Hits you right in the face before you scroll down and learn what you can gain from learning the Wiccan path. Scrolling further down you have the classic Learn at your own pace banner. The Banner next to it is what piqued my interest: “Whether you’re a beginner looking to get started, or a seasoned Witch, we have you covered.” The site boasts an impressive 4.8-star rating from a site I’m not very familiar with called Sitejabber.
Like all school sites, only the highest reviews are shown going through the over 40 pages of reviews. I find it hard that not a single person who has taken part in the courses did not find any issue or notice any mistakes in the courses. But hay it can happen so, this was when I decided to try the free account and see how I liked it. The free course is one of the 8 that are offered for a $19.99 a month surcharge for an at your own pace video educational course.
After signing up for the free course I was offered a 50% discount for the first month of the school after the trial ended, I decided to accept. This first month’s fee includes a handsome-looking mass-produced notebook with a white screen-printed logo of the school. I was then offered for another $19.99 a Wicca Academy labeled gel pen and lunar phase bookmark. Which I passed on because even the most prestigious schools are not charging $20 for a cardboard bookmark and what looks to be a disposable gel pen bearing their name. That being said if the pen is of the type that you can replace the ink, I would consider it for $10 or $15 for the pen. Though with mass-produced items like this I do not often find them to be refillable and nothing was stated about it.
After completing the designated number of courses, you can earn a degree that classifies you as a 1st, 2nd,3rd degree Wiccan. The following is taken right from the site to explain how the degrees are earned.
• Earn your 1st degree after completing 3 video courses
• Earn your 2nd degree after completing 6 video courses
• Earn your 3rd degree after completing all 8 video courses
The school’s store is what you would find on any basic online school store. A hodgepodge of cheaply produced items sold at a huge markup. For example, crystal chip bracelets that are sold for under $5.00 sometimes a buck at dollar stores. Being sold for $20.00, Stainless steel necklaces that come in a set on Amazon for $10.00 are being sold separated for $20.00 each with the random 50% off sale thrown in to make one think the buyers are getting a bargain. Other classic school items, like notebooks boasting the school’s logo, bookmarks, bumper stickers. What truly surprised me for a Wiccan school was to not find any of the basic starter items that most Wiccan sources suggest to those learning the craft to acquire. They missed a huge opportunity here as they could have offered basic alter kits or parts, spell candles, smoke cleansing tools, and more. The one thing that frustrates me to no end is that they are charging $45.00 for the transcripts of the video lessons whereas most schools would include this to assist people like myself who are hard of hearing or deaf. This could cause them issues with countries that have laws regarding how they accommodate people with disabilities.
I completed the first three course sets in less than four hours in total. The courses for each of the three degrees are as follows:
• 1st degree: Basic Signs and Symbols (Free), Wiccan Holidays, Dreams and Psychic Visions
• 2nd degree: Basic Magick and Advanced Spells, Meditation and Elements, Tarot Card reading
• 3rd degree: Zodiac Signs, Spirits and Familiars
I say 3 or 4 hours like this because I kept stopping to do other things throughout the day and was pausing and starting the timer as I did so. This was not a straight-through endeavor and I did take a few days for dealing with other things. I would also like to point out that they force you to follow their course layout with exactly no exceptions even when told you can. Meaning unlike many at your own pace study schools you cannot bounce from one course to another or one topic to another with the course. This to me kills part of them at your own pace or study as you want motif. This is because for example. I might want to work on the Tarot course today and Basic Magick and Advanced spell tomorrow.
I found that the school’s courses could with a little effort could in fact be finished within a weekend even if one was to take breaks to do other things at times. One could set it up a few hours where they do one course in the morning one at midday and another in the evening. You could complete it before ever spending more than the initial $19.99. Nothing more comes from the school, no downloads of worth, or course-related reference materials whatsoever. There is no community support either.
The site does offer a number of decent articles like a well-made collection of DIYs, wheel of the year, and a more in-depth look at holidays than the course offers. I will say a number of the articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. I have to wonder if they received permission to do so as the articles are only available to paid accounts. They also include 6 video spell demos. They also offer some extremely well-made backgrounds to show your support for the school on a multitude of devices. Some cute colouring pages are taken from a number of different sources. The Witchy news section that offers a collection of pagan and witchcraft-based stories from some semi-well-known news outlets and some lesser-known. It also offers daily horoscopes.
The Wicca Academy states that it can bring a non-experienced Witch all the way up to a fully realized Witch through its so-called comprehensive coursework. The instructor is a young woman I would have to say in her early 30’s. She claims to have been part of the faith for over 20 years. Though there are no references to her education into Wicca further than that. There is no about me section and no other instructors are introduced throughout the courses. This fact can make it hard for people who need auditory changes when it comes to learning. I found that the instructor’s enthusiasm came across as she was putting on an act at times almost forced, but that could just be me. I will admit that she does seem well-versed. Though at times the videos come across as though she is reading a teleprompter. I also noticed they utilize a couple of culturally appropriated terms and rituals. Smudging and Native American cleansing baths just to name them. I will say they do make it a point to allow the student to follow their own deity and path though they do not offer any real guide as to how to find the deity or path one may resonate with. Nor is it mentioned that it is okay if you don’t resonate with anyone in particular, Nor follow any one given path.
The free course covers the first video and test set, Basic signs and Symbols this involves 6 videos with run times that stem from 6 to 10 min. with not a single one over ten min. The videos in this set are basic signs, herbs, crystals and minerals, Chakras, Elements, lastly spells and Rituals. Each video is at its core is a basic refresher or introduction even those that offer some ritual work, are basic and offer little in what I would consider true experience as an introduction to Wicca as a faith and lifestyle. The free course feels more like a hodgepodge to get people’s attention more so than a complete course. The course name honestly doesn’t match with the included content. I finished the first course set in a little over an hour with scores of 90% to 100% with the ability to go back and retake the tests till I got 100% on them. I also found throughout the course that many of the tests had typos or are worded in a manner that either gives you the answer, is common knowledge, or was a only passing comment in the video. I also found that more than one of the correct answers either directly contradicted what was stated within the video or was not mentioned within the videos at all. A number of the tests throughout the entire school’s courses for a few questions reverted to an earlier video. I Should note that for people who thrive on multitasking, most of the videos cannot just be listened to as they do display many things as they go as well.
I do want to point out that I did reach out and let them know about the issues with the typos and the mislabeling of a couple of the courses as well as issues with some of the tests. I was pleasantly surprised to have received an email addressing this and thanking me for pointing this out and that they were going to work on finding and correcting them. They fixed a few of the extremely noticeable issues right away and are still looking into the others I mentioned. This shows that they do have an active site administrations person. This makes them in some ways already better than some of the other Wiccan educational sites out there.
Starting the courses for the second degree I will say I was pleasantly surprised. The Basic Magick and Advanced Spells start off strongly. With the Basic Magick Overview video. This video gives I think a decent beginning instruction for learning to craft your own spells and rituals. This is where the Wicca academy really starts to feel more put together. But also shows some of where it is lacking. They mention more than once casting a circle and closing it, yet never teach how to cast more than a basic circle or extremely basic means to close one in the earlier videos. This is where they should have gone into a more in-depth circle of protection and different ways to cast and close them. A video like this would not only empathize the importance but the differences in types of circles and strengths. The test for this section is basic and then hits you with a question that not only has not been talked about in any video thus far but makes no sense because it contradicts the teachings so far. Otherwise, it’s a decent starter for a new and upcoming witchling.
The Candle magic section is decent and highlights just one of the many ways that candle magic can be used and performed and they do make it a point in all of the videos to make it will-known, that this is just one way and that not all Wiccans will agree with their thoughts on anything. That is a big deal to me. It really points out one major positive of this school’s entire course set and their incorporation of all forms of Wicca. Even if it starts to become a broken record by the end of the school’s videos.
After finishing the rest of the Basic magick and advanced spells section. I will say that for what they are they are well done. While I might not agree with some aspects of the crystal magic section it was still extremely informative. I personally would have gone about it in a slightly different way.
The earth magick and advanced earth magick course were well written and interesting even though they were short, the spells offered are decent and great for people just starting out and have yet to encounter them.
The divination course is in every way really a very basic introduction into how to do it and a few of its many forms. I think it would have been better if they had made it into its own course set as they did with tarot. Because of honestly how vast divination magick is in itself can become overwhelming.
The next part of this set was in my own opinion the most difficult. Not because of how it was written or presented but because of how I was taught when it comes to Crystal Balls and Gazing with them. That being said I will say I’m pleased to see that they also provided another means to do this other than the ball. By suggesting the use of a shard of Quartz and a bowel of water. They also do stress to be careful what you wish for. This is good advice for new users of the ball as it can be unnerving at times. The colour context within the ball follows the classic known chart. This same set goes into using the pendulum but only in a very basic manner such as what type to use and how to hold it. Then it explains how to see the way it answers yes and no before asking questions. For both parts, I feel they left out a major part, the attunement of one’s self to either the ball or the pendulum. It the course also doesn’t mention that pendulums can be used similarly to spirit boards which means one needs to be careful when using them.
The tarot set is the final of this course set. Well balanced and put together for a beginner’s guide to tarot. Including some of the history, a few examples of types of decks. It also goes into protecting the deck, getting to know it, and more. Though it doesn’t mention cleansing the deck or attuning to it in any major depth. While they do mention the old tradition of being given your first deck as a superstition, they do this not to make people think that this is the only way but just in passing. They suggest more than the person finds a deck that calls to them and go from there. They also cover in this set what the basic 3 card spread. While I like the tarot video in the section as a whole, I feel that this belongs with the rest of the tarot in its own section as it just feels out of place fully.
All in all, this so far has been the best set of videos for the entire school. While there is much that could be said, it does do a decent job of getting the basics out there and in the hands of new witches. I wholeheartedly believe that they could and should expand on this much more. But I will go into that once I finish the entire school’s coursework.
The 5th course set in the Wicca Academy is Meditation and elements. Because of how different meditation is for everyone I cannot be overly critical of the first 4 videos. In fact, I find them to be perfect for someone who has never practiced the subject matter before. Well scripted and explained well and not overly long. The exercises are simple and should be able to help most reach their goal. The rest of the videos focus on using the meditations as well as elemental meditation or elemental observation within your practice and life. These videos I found were decent and well put together. The testing for them I feel could have been made into two tests one for the first set of the 4 meditation videos and one for the 4 elemental videos. The one downside was that this set had more than one question that made little sense in conjunction with the source material.
Course set 6 is all about Tarot. This was by far one of the most comprehensive courses in tarot I’ve seen. Starting with a simplified history of the tarot only slightly expanded on from the first in the magick collection. While pleasant and well put together I found a few issues that were more personal than anything. For example, they make it a point to bring up the old tradition of your first deck or your first replacement deck after a tragedy to be gifted to you as a superstition instead of an age-old tradition when it comes to tarot that dates back to the 15th and 16th century. Let me point out that I was taught this tradition by tarot practitioners who have a long family history with the cards. I also understand that not everyone can or wants to follow old-world traditions and don’t expect people to do something that they are uncomfortable or unable to do. Tarot just like Wicca has a deep-rooted and long-standing set of traditions and practices. I feel that this should have been stressed more rather than calling age-old aspects superstitions. The next 6 videos followed the basics of learning the basics of preparing to read the cards, Then the explanations for major and the minor arcana, with the last 2 focused on learning to read the cards. While well done my biggest issue with this course is with the spread videos Because they are mainly simplified overviews and don’t really get into how to read the spread except for where the placements are while it might seem like common sense to read in order one to whatever. It can very easily confuse those who are extremely new or have learning disabilities. Every spread has a different reading order and that is not discussed well. This could lead to confusion for new users of tarot when it comes to certain spreads. The best explanation for learning to read spreads is the last in the course set teaching card combinations, Timing, and seasons. Honestly, I feel as though the ordering of the videos could have been done differently. That being said I still feel that the videos are some of the best-made beginner videos that I have seen in a long time. They do a decent job in many ways explaining things in such a way that the most inexperienced in tarot can understand and retain the basic information. All videos in this course are done using the Rider-Waite deck. I did find a few issues within the course set when it came to the test answers that. The issue I had was a number of correct answers are marked wrong till you retook the test more than once. Then suddenly the answer is marked correct. I did inform the school of this error. I will say the tarot section might be the longest to get through for some, as it is full of so much information to take in it could become overwhelming for some, and at times it comes across drily.
Course 7 focuses on the Zodiac Signs and Astrology. For me, this was a chore to get through because of a few reasons. 1. I found it dry and hap-hardly put together and without any real effort. 2. Astrology has never been my strong suit and I’ve never really found it totally interesting.
Of all the course sets this has the most videos at 13, most of which are under 6 min and are read off as though they were taken directly from the “Understanding your horoscope.” section of your local newspaper or fashion magazine. The whole section feels like the instructor is just reading off a teleprompter and trying to make it look like she’s not. The whole course set feels forced and inattentive. With the ending segments being near cut and paste with the signs and order changed. I would have liked an in-depth class in how to find one’s birth chart, not just a short overview and then being told to look online because it’s easier. One thing I found annoying was in the first video they stat that if you wanted to jump ahead to your birth sign before the others to do so. I tried this and found that just like the other classes you cannot skip around and are presented with a banner telling you this. Honestly, the whole course could be omitted and not affect the rest of the school’s offerings. The other thing I will say is that this course is solely based on Ptolemy’s charts mainly his tropical zodiac which is almost solely used by the western world and does not include the sidereal zodiac sign of Ophiuchus which is used by most of the Eastern world.
The last course in the school’s syllabus is Spirits and Familiars. This course set you can tell is the favorite of the instructor as her whole demeanor has changed and is full of excitement as she sits with her dog on her lap. You can tell by how she is presenting the first video this is her strongest suit and seemingly where her passion lies. I want to point out that there is some conflicting information on the domestication of animals. This is in major disagreement currently in the academic world with the advent of prehistoric DNA collection. As one of the most current reports states that dogs were the first to be domesticated 18,800 – 32,100 years ago, while another 33,000 years ago. With sheep being the first domesticated for food 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. In the videos, she states that the domestication of animals started 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. This information is not entirely true and stems only from the cultural transition to an Agrarian society. While I do not fault her for this misinformation, I feel that is due to most likely the fact that this has been a constant hotbed of academic controversy for the last 100 years, and the fact that there is much controversial information to be found both online and in the academic world. This course set is by far the most research intense and very well done and, it is explained in a manner that isn’t overwhelming or boring. Every video is full of well-researched history and information. This is by far the pride and joy of the school as it is only the second-course set that does not feel as though it is being read off a teleprompter and the instructor’s enthusiasm is genuine. You truly can tell that this was where the instructor put the most work in research into the subject. I will say that these videos while great for those who already have a decent footing in Wiccan practice. Could be a little bit more advanced for a beginner as I believe that one must have a firm grasp in casting much stronger protection circles, protection, and banishing spells prior to attempting to contact spiritual or non-corporeal familiars. This being said when they do talk about how to perform a non-corporeal familial ritual, they do say to cast a circle, but again they do not explain how to do anything but the basic circle in this school. They do mention that corporeal familiars are for the advanced practitioner though I have always been taught and told by many more experienced practitioners that both corporeal and non-corporeal familiars are not for those just learning the craft as there are many aspects to consider from safety both physically and spiritually as well as emotionally.
All in all, the Wicca Academy is a decent introduction but in no way shape, or form does it live up to its current goal of bringing a non-experienced Witch all the way up to a fully realized Witch. I will say they can achieve this goal, and more if they evolved their site and course work more. By doing some of the following
• Offering downloadable pages for the different rituals and spells they talk about would be a great start.
• Followed by offering downloads to explain things that they may not include within their videos.
• A community forum or portal for students new and old to communicate with each other, Ask questions, share information and more would allow for further growth and guidance.
• An about me section that gives a simplified autobiography of the instructor or instructors if more join the staff. This section will clear up any confusion about the persons teaching the classes credentials and experience.
• A links section for further education, and reference to their sources.
• They could take this entire course set except for the familiar’s section and then turn it into the required learning just for the first degree. Then do another collection of more intermediate videos for the second and advanced for the third.
• The very first-course set should be pulled out of the degree list and renamed to something like “An introduction to the Wiccan arts”. Then a new more proper Basic signs and Symbols video set refilmed completly with new.
• Offering group events via zoom or even YouTube or twitch would also add more authenticity to the name of this school.
• A faster means to send questions to the instructors if a student is confused or has a question.
• Closed captioning for the videos if they are not willing to offer transcripts freely for those with hearing issues.
• And so much more
While I really like their article section, I’m forced to question the legality of having YouTube videos embedded into something that from what I can tell is only available to paid subscribers. At the same time, I question if they have the right to offer the colouring pages with their logo embedded onto them as well.
In conclusion, I feel that the Wicca Academy could become one of the better Wiccan schools with work. They have a great basis for potential and growth. Even with its flaws I would still recommend it to someone interested in learning about Wicca but would caution them to study a number of other sources at the same time, as well making sure they are linked to an online group for support. I would not consider this in its current state good for more experienced witches and would stress to those who are experienced to not bother. Though I do believe that this could change in time as they grow.
6 Likes
I am not sure why my post was reformated the way it nor how to fix it within the site’s formatting options. I also wanted to apologize that it took me longer to post than it really should have as I had personal things going on.
4 Likes
@LadyDennaRahl I did some basic reformatting to make it easier to read, I think it was the indentations for the paragraphs 
but I’m not really sure. I didn’t add any emojis or anything, but hopefully it looks better for you. Let me know if you need anymore help with it 
3 Likes
Thank you Could have been I formatted it like I would always do so who knows.
4 Likes
This is a very comprehensive review! Thank you for taking the time to write it all out. It sounds like you had a pleasant and educational experience with this particular online school!
3 Likes
This is a really valuable review, Charlaine- thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts! 
I really appreciate this point you made about the importance of using multiple sources. I’ve found that that piece of wisdom carries through to everything- not just magickal studies!- and it seems to be the best way to have a well-rounded and solid foundation of knowledge.
I’ve found that hearing things across many sources (that are sometimes complementary and sometimes contradictory) helps a witch develop what feels most right to them, helping them to be confident and secure in their practice 
Cheers to this- a supportive community of like-minded people is a must! I really don’t know how I got by before Infinite Roots and the amazing folks here in the forum. It is an invaluable resource to be able to ask questions and receive magickal support
All in all, I really enjoyed your review, Charlaine- thanks again for sharing it! 
3 Likes
Welp I just posted my review to their official Review site.
4 Likes
I love this frum/coven, and Site more and more every day. Even when someone is promoting a site that would be considered direct competition, perspectives and opinions are respected.
So happy to be here!
Blessed Be!
4 Likes
@LadyDennaRahl Great job, Charlaine! Thanks again for sharing
@Franklin Awww Franklin, we’re blessed to have you here too! 
The magickal community is a comparatively small and close-knit one, so rather than infighting, it just seems to me like a much more wholesome practice to promote sharing and connectivity. We may not be able to change the world overnight, but I truly believe that peace and harmony begins in these precious “bubbles” of loving and supportive communities.
Forgive me for rambling a bit haha! Many blessings back to you, Franklin 
3 Likes
Honestly, in many ways the Wicca Academy is in no way shape, or form any such competition to Spells8. This is for many reasons. That being said over the years I have learned that the Witchy, Wiccan/ Magickal community is more like a family than it is a competition. With many members connected on a number of other platforms many times without each other’s knowledge at times and many times with it as well. Whether it’s from stores, Facebook, Discord, forums, and even bbs’s the community works together as a whole more than any other community out there. Wicca/witchcraft, paganism is all about being decent people helping those where you can, and so on.
4 Likes