Short answer: Presently, there is no short answer to this question.
Longer answer: As usual within the Neo-Pagan community, there are a number of things that could be meant by the following terms: "Neo-Wicca," "NeoWicca," "Neo Wicca," and "Neowicca."
Patti Wigington in "What is NeoWicca?" About.com Guide 2013, wrote:
The term NeoWicca (which essentially means "new Wicca") is typically used when we want to distinguish between the two original traditional forms of Wicca (Gardnerian and Alexandrian) and all other forms of Wicca. Many people would argue that anything other than a Gardnerian or Alexandrian tradition is, by default, NeoWicca.Below are different points of view, which I list as A to T. Many of these points of view do not exactly agree with each other. I occasionally add my comments at the end in brackets.
A. So called "Neo-Wicca" often strays far from Traditional Wicca.
B. Many Wiccans are adamant that anyone who has not been initiated is not allowed to refer to themselves as Wiccan.
It is inappropriate to call oneself "Wiccan" when one has not gone through the training and initiation, nor knows anything of the Inner Court material, or the Wiccan Mysteries.
Those who are propertly initiated into the Old Religion must spend time in intense training for a year and a day in order to be permitted to initiate. Then, they must pass through a valid initiation during which the secret Inner Court material will be transmitted to them.
Those who simply observe the eight sabbats are basing their practice on the Outer Court material and are somewhat inaccurately called "Neo-Wiccan."
C. The term "Neo-pagan" makes sense. The term, "Neo-Wiccan," does not. Wicca isn't old enough to be "Neo" anything. [True, Wicca is already sort of new. Wicca, also refered to at the time as witchcraft, was created, or recreated, by Gerald Gardner in the mid 20th century. Gerald Gardner is honored as the "founder of modern Witchcraft," the "Grand Old Man of Wicca" and the "Father of Wicca."]
D. Generally anything that you read about "Wicca" (e.g. Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner) really applies to "Neo-Wicca." [In the early 1980's Scott Cunningham was the author of several books on Wicca and magic. In 1988, Cunningham wrote Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner. Cunningham has been accused of writing "watered down Wicca."]
E. Gardner and his original group, including Doreen Valiente often rewrote and revised the "traditional" materials. They added fleshed out the rituals, teachings, and practices where and when needed. Wiccans have been doing it ever since. Accepting that fact renders the Wicca vs Neo-Wicca debate kind of moot. [Doreen Valiente, honored as the "Mother of Wicca," re-wrote large portions of the Gardnarian Book of Shadows (BOS).]
F. Wicca is constantly evolving and adapting; it's impossible to acurately define what Wicca or Neo-Wicca entails. New traditions or systems pop up every 10 seconds.
G. Any form of Wicca that doesn't have a "British Traditional Wicca" lineage isn't really genuine Wicca--therefore some people might call it "Neo-Wicca" or 'Neo-Pagan." [Interestingly, Wiccans in Britian and the UK generally do not like the term "British Traditional Wicca" (BTW). The term is an American one. Among Americans, the term can mean simply "Gardnarian and Alexandrian" or "a Wiccan tradition originating from a coven in the New Forest area." According to folks in the UK they prefer the phrase "Gardnarian and Alexandrian" or simply "Wicca."
H. Western Pagans are different. They worship randomly all sort of gods or deities, claiming real or fake heritage and have fun. Neo-wicca(n)s is a term I(we) use for those people who tried to do the same things as traditional wiccans do but without the proper initiation(s), knowledge and lineage.
I. Neo-Wicca is one of those "make it up as you go along" pagan traditions. In other words, a "new" sort of eclectic path, rather than a traditional path.
J. Neo-Wiccans accept self-intiation. Tradtional Wiccans do not. [Raymond Buckland actually poses an interesting conundrum in the discussion about Wicca and self-intiation. Buckland began writing about Wicca in the early 1970's. He was an early American 3rd degree initiate of British Traditional Wicca. Gerald Gardner, himself, attended the initiation when Buckland was intitated by Gardner's High Priestess, Monique Wilson, in 1963. Buckland brought Gardner's Wicca to the USA. He is revered as the "Father of American Wicca" in the USA and has written many influential books about the religion. In 1974, Buckland wrote about "self-initiation" in Wicca in his ground breaking book, The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft. ]
K. "Neo Wiccans" and "Wiccans" are largely following the same rituals and beliefs; the "Neo Wiccans" simply have the "crap-linages."
L. No initiate I know refers to someone who is not initiated as wiccan in any way, shape or form. Doing such contributes to the watering down of the term and spreads disinformation as to what Wicca is because few people bother listening to whether there's a "neo" at the start. Eclectic pagan is the general term used. This is just another attempt to commandeer a title with no validity.
M. Neo-Wiccans are basically practicing a more sanitized version of the original Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Tubal Cain, etc. The "originals" called themselves "witches" or "practioners of Wica" (one c). The rituals had nudity (skyclad), sex (Great Rite in true), and BDSM (Bondage and Scourging) as part of the religion. The Neo-Wiccans seem to be more sanitized than the old school Wiccans were. They worry about "karma," an Eastern concept. They also didn't like the nudity and sex of the original Wica, so they dropped it. Many Neo-Wiccans dropped the term "witch" in describing themselves too.
N. "Neo-Wicca" is NOT "Traditional Wicca"; yet, because it is based off of Wicca, it is considered a new "form" of Wicca. [Since outsiders might be misled into thinking "eclectic neo Wicca" is the same thing as "traditional Wicca," it could be labled "Eclectic Neowicca" to emphasize it is a "new" form of Wicca.]
O. NeoWicca is a system of beliefs based on certain Outer Court teachings of Wicca, as in the "Pagan Way" trad created by Ed Fitch, (i.e. Magical Rites from the Crystal Well, 1984) [Ed Fitch is a 3rd degree intiate of Gardnerian Wicca tradition. These same materials were republished in Fitch's A Grimoire of Shadows: Witchcraft, Paganism, & Magick,2002. Attributed to Herman Slater, A Book of Pagan Rituals, 1978, also contains much of Fitch's Outer Court rituals and teachings.]
P. Anyone who just calls themselves "Wiccan," and doesn't get initiated into a genuine coven to learn the religion is actually practicing Neo-Wicca. In the early 1980's, the uninitiated practioners of the "Old Religion" were just called "Pagan." The saying was: "All Wiccans are Pagan but not all Pagans were Wiccans." Now [in the 2000's] there are all these other people practicing radically different paths (Asatru, Kemetic, Druids, Greek) which have different ritual structures. These other paths are now called Paganism or Neo-Paganism. It's a new lable for people using the published Wiccan materials.
Q. Neo-Wiccans incorporate things like Yoga, Feng Shui, New Age Holistic health practices, Taoist Yin/Yang concepts, etc. into their spiritual practices.
R. You can call yourself Neo Wiccan but it doesn't make you any kind of Wiccan. I tend to treat those sort of people with contempt whether they deserve it or not. Someone who can't really work out what they are and be honest about it is not any kind of Wiccan that I know of.
S. Neo-Wicca, as practiced by Starhawk, is very attractive to upcoming feminists who want to worship the Goddess.
T. Fuffy bunny spiritual practices, such as chanting "Spirits of abundance,/Hear my verse,/Gold and Silver,/Fill my purse," are Neo-Wicca, not part of Tradtional Wicca.
According to the Urban Dictionary:
Neo-Wicca. Any Wicca-based tradition that deviates heavily from the traditions set up by Gerald Gardner and his initiates. Most tend to put emphasis on the religious aspect of Wicca, rather than the fact that Wicca is an iniatory, mystery based priesthood and often aren't initiated as according to tradition.Practicing this does not, however, constitue one being a fluffy bunny.
Some people credit Cunningham for the Neo-Wiccan movement, but some say that it really started with Buckland.
-- Urban Dictionary: Neo-Wicca: 2006
2. Neo-Wicca. Any form of Wicca that deviates from the liniage of Gardner's Wicca and the traditions that grew from them. Neo-Wicca focus more on the religious aspect of Wicca and does not require initiation and can be practiced solitary. Though the pracitioners of Neo-Wicca tend to be more ecclectic, there are traditions of Neo-Wicca, and practitioners still have to follow the core tenants of Wicca to be defined as such, namely the worship of a God and Goddess, adherance to the Wiccan Rede, belief in the Threefold Law/Law of Return, etc. Neo-Wicca is no less credible than Traditional Wicca.
-- Urban Dictionary: neo wicca, 2005.
I can't provide a definative answer to "What is meant by the term 'Neo-Wicca'?" because the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan community hasn't quite agreed on the meaning of the term.
Clearly, the "Neo-Wicca" lable means it is different from "Wicca," partially because it is newer than the "old Wicca" who are the "orginals" or "Tradtional Wicca."
The general consensus apparently is that something important which is in "Wicca," is missing altogether from the newer "Neo-Wicca."
Yet--at least among Americans--there is no clear agreement on what it is lacking, whether it is either:
1. a valid BTW (British Traditional Wicca) lineage;
2. an initiation into a genuine coven;
3. use of Traditional Wiccan practices;
4. teaching of secret Inner Court Wiccan lore.
Alas, there is no clear answer to what "Neo-Wicca" is unless one can first provide a agreed upon definition the following terms within Wicca:
1. "lineage;"
2."valid," as used in "valid BTW" or "valid lineage;"
3. "genuine," as used in "genuine coven;"
4. "traditional," as used by Americans, in "Traditional Wiccan practices;"
5. "secret Inner Court Wiccan lore" as used in discussions of the Inner Court and the Outer Court teachings and material.
Aside from agreeing, we in the community would have to establish on the importance of each term in our criteria. Personally I don't see that happening anytime soon.
copyright 2013 Myth Woodling
Sources:
Urban Dictionary: Neo-Wicca, 2006.
"What is NeoWicca?" About.com Guide 2013.
Plus, Myth reading and listening into a whole bunch of online and in person discussions and making note about what was said.