Category: Our History

Later Developments In Wicca

Wicca has developed in several directions and institutional structures from the time it was brought to wider attention by Gerald Gardner. Gardnerian Wicca was an initiatory mystery religion, admission to which was at least in theory limited to those who were initiated into a pre-existing coven. The Book of Shadows, the grimoire that contained the Gardnerian rituals, was a secret that could only be obtained from a coven of proper lineage. Some Wiccans such as Raymond Buckland, then a Gardnerian, continued to maintain this stance well into the 1970s. Further degrees of initiation were required before members could found their own covens. Interest outstripped the ability of the mostly British-based covens to train and propagate members; the beliefs of the religion spread faster by the printed word or word of mouth than the initiatory system was prepared to handle.

Other traditions appeared. Some claimed roots as ancient as Gardner’s version, and were organised along similar lines. Others were syncretistic, importing aspects of Kabbalah or ceremonial magic. In 1971 “Lady Sheba” published a version of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, dispelling what little secrecy remained as to the contents of Gardner’s rituals. Increasing awareness of Gardner’s literary sources and the actual early history of the movement made creativity seem as valuable as Gardnerian tradition.

Another significant development was creation by feminists of Dianic Wicca or feminist Dianic Witchcraft, a specifically feminist faith that discarded Gardnerian-style hierarchy as irrelevant; many Dianic Wiccans taught that witchcraft was every woman’s right and heritage to claim. This heritage might be characterized by the quote of Monique Wittig “But remember. Make an effort to remember. Or, failing that, invent.” This tradition was particularly open to solitary witches, and created rituals for self-initiation to allow people to identify with and join the religion without first contacting an existing coven. This contrasts with the Gardnerian belief that only a witch of opposite gender could initiate another witch.

The publications of Raymond Buckland illustrate these changes. During the early 1970s, in books such as Witchcraft – Ancient and Modern and Witchcraft From the Inside, Buckland maintained the Gardnerian position that only initiates into a Gardnerian or other traditional coven were truly Wiccans.

However, in 1974, Buckland broke with the Gardnerians and founded Seax-Wica, revealing its teachings and rituals in the book The Tree: The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft. This “tradition” made no claims to direct descent from ancient Saxons; all its ritual was contained in the book, which allowed for self-initiation. In 1986 Buckland published Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, a workbook that sought to train readers in magical and ritual techniques as well as instructing them in Wiccan teachings and rituals.

Traditional Wicca

 

Often Traditional Wiccans are asked to describe our religion and beliefs for interested people, who may or may not have confused us with other Pagan religions, with inversions of Christian/Islamic religions like Satanism, or with purely magical traditions with no religious base. There is a lot of flexibility in the ways that we describe ourselves, and one characteristic of Wicca is a large degree of personal liberty to practice as we please. Still, there is an outline that can be described in general terms. Many traditions will depart from one particular or another, but groups departing from all or most of these features are probably non-Wiccan Traditions attempting to stretch or distort the Wiccan name to cover what they want to do.Mysteries and Initiation

Wicca is an Initiatory religion descended from the Ancient Mystery Religions. A mystery religion is not like Catholicism where a Priest is the contact point between the worshiper and the Deity, nor like Protestantism where a sacred Book provides the contact and guidelines for being with the divine. Rather a Mystery Religion is a religion of personal experience and responsibility, in which each worshiper is encouraged, taught and expected to develop an ongoing and positive direct relationship with the Gods. The religion is called a “Mystery” because such experiences are very hard to communicate in words, and are usually distorted in the telling. You have to have been there in person to appreciate what is meant. Near and far-Eastern religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto are probably Mystery traditions, but Wicca is very western in cultural flavor and quite different than eastern religions in many ways.

A Blend of Pagan Roots

Most Wiccan Traditions, K.A.M. included, have particular roots in the British Mystery Traditions. This includes traditions of the Picts who lived before the rise of Celtic consciousness, the early Celts, and some selected aspects of Celtic Druidism. American Wicca is directly descended from British Wicca, brought in the late 1950’s by English and American Initiates of Gardnerian, Alexandrian and Celtic Wicca. These traditions are a little like the denominations in Christianity, but hopefully far more harmonious.

While British Traditions are very strong in Wicca, or the Craft as it is sometimes called, other Western Mystery traditions feature prominently, including the ancient Greek Mysteries of Eleusis, Italian Mysteries of Rome, Etruria and the general countryside, Mysteries of Egypt and Persia before Islam, and various Babylonian, Assyrian and other mid-eastern Mysteries that flourished before the political rise of the advocates of “one god”.

What’s In a Name

Wicca, Witchecraft, and “The Craft” are used interchangeably at times by many kinds of people. It is fair to say that all Wiccans are Witches, and many of us believe we are the only people entitled to the name. It is important to know that many people call themselves witches who are not in the least Wiccan, and that Masons also refer to themselves as “Craft”, with good historical precedent. Carefully question people on the particular things they do and believe as part of their religion rather than relying on labels. Any real Wiccan would welcome such honest inquiry.

Traditions and Flavor

There are specific Wiccan beliefs and traditions, including worship of an equal and mated Goddess and God who take many forms and have many Names. Groups who worship only a Goddess or only a God are not traditional Wicca however they may protest, although they may be perfectly good Pagans of another sort. The Wiccan Goddess and God are linked to nature, ordinary love and children – Wicca is very life affirming in flavor.

Because we have and love our own Gods, Wiccans have nothing to do with other people’s deities or devils, like the Christian God or Satan, the Muslim Allah or the Jewish Jehovah (reputedly not his real name). Christians often deny this fact because they think that their particular god is the only God, and everybody else in the whole world must be worshipping their devil. How arrogant. They’re wrong on both counts.

Traditional Wicca is a religion of personal responsibility and growth. Initiates take on a particular obligation to personal development throughout their lives, and work hard to achieve what we call our “True Will”, which is the best possibility that we can conceive for ourselves. Finding your Will isn’t easy, and requires a lot of honesty, courage and hard work. It is also very rewarding.

Wicca is generally a cheerful religion, and has many holidays and festivals. In fact, most of the more pleasant holidays now on our calendar are descended from the roots Wicca draws on, including Christmas, May Day, Easter and Summer Vacation. Wicca is definitely not always serious. Dancing, feasting and general merriment are a central part of the celebrations.

Wiccan Ethics

Wiccans have ethics which are different in nature than most “one-god” religions, which hand out a list of “do’s and don’ts”. We have a single extremely powerful ethical principal which Initiates are responsible for applying in specific situations according to their best judgment. That principle:

“An (if) it harm none, do as ye Will”

Based on the earlier mention of “True Will”, you will understand that the Rede is far more complex than it sounds, and is quite different than saying “Do whatever you want as long as nobody is hurt”. Finding out your Will is difficult sometimes, and figuring out what is harmful, rather than just painful or unpleasant is not much easier.

One Religion at a Time

People often ask “Can I become a Wiccan and still remain a Christian, Muslim, practicing Jew, etc. The answer is no. The “one god” religions reject other paths besides their own, including each other’s. “One-god” religions also do not exalt the Female as does Wicca, and mixing two such different traditions would water them both down. Besides, you’d have to ask how serious a person who practiced two religions was about either one. Being Jewish is an exception, since it is a race and culture as well as a religion. There are many Wiccan Jews, but they practice Wicca, not Judaism.

Magick and Science

People interested in Wicca are usually curious about the magick that Wiccans can do. While magick (spelled with a “k” to distinguish from stage conjuring) is not a religion in itself, it is related to our religious beliefs. Wiccans believe that people have many more abilities than are generally realized, and that it is a good idea to develop them. Our magick is a way of using natural forces to change consciousness and material conditions as an expression of our “True Wills”. Part of becoming a Wiccan is training in our methods of psychic and magickal development.

Because we believe that everything a person does returns to them magnified, a Wiccan will not work a magick for harm, since they would pay too high a price. But a helpful magick is good for both the giver and receiver! Wicca is entirely compatible with the scientific method, and we believe all the Gods and forces we work with to be quite natural, not supernatural at all. We do not, however, hold with the kind of scientific dogma or pseudoreligion that sees everything as dead matter and neglects its own method trumpeting “facts” without honest examination of evidence

Priestesses at Large?

Long ago the spiritual (and sometimes physical) ancestors of Wiccans were Priestesses and Priests to the Pagan culture as well as devotees of their Mystery. Now that a Pagan culture is rising again, some ask if today’s Wiccans could resume that role. This seems unlikely.

Today’s Pagan culture is very diverse and more interested in exploring and creating new forms than in building on existing traditions. A public role would either dilute our traditions or force them on an unwilling audience. The neo-Pagan community generally prefers “media figures” and rapid membership and growth. This is not compatible with our slow methods of training and Initiation, the insistence that livelihood come from work outside the Craft, or our needs for privacy. Our religion is not accepted in the American workplace or political system, and may never be. The most powerful Priestesses are often unknown to all but their Coveners. While all Wiccans are Pagans, all Pagans are not Wiccan, and it is best that it remain so.

Wiccan Fundamentalism

Wiccan Fundamentalism

by Ben Gruagach
http://www.WitchGrotto.com
This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, providing that this original copyright notice stays in place at all times.

Religious fundamentalism is characterized by literal belief in specific spiritual claims, often about a particular religion’s history, regardless of any available evidence. A particular dogma is promoted as the One True and Only Way and anything that deviates is considered heretical.

The Roman Catholic church has an office within its organization called the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. In previous times this office had another name: the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Despite the name change the office’s role has remained the same. It is responsible for keeping doctrinal discipline and confronting and eliminating deviations in doctrinal thought. It’s all about maintaining the authority of the Vatican and the Pope and ensuring that all Roman Catholics are following the same religion and respecting the established hierarchy.

Wicca is a religion based on autonomy. It draws its basis from Pagan religions of the past but primarily from lore about witches and witchcraft. Most today consider Wicca to trace back directly or indirectly to a single man, Gerald Gardner, who promoted the religion starting in the 1940s or early 1950s in Britain. Gardner described Wicca as based on covens with each coven being autonomous. If there was dissent within a coven the rules as Gardner presented them allowed for the dissenting parties to separate and form new covens. This way of dealing with conflict resulted in encouraging diversity within Wicca and reinforced the idea that there was no central authority which would dictate that one coven was wrong and another right on matters of philosophy or practice.

Gardner also insisted that there were other Wiccans out there that he did not know about who had been practicing before he was initiated. He did this partially to promote the debatable claim that he was merely passing on an intact ancient religion. One consequence of this is that it left the door open for others to come forward and claim they were witches or Wiccans too from a common mythical ancestry and Gardner could not really insist they were wrong. Even if these other Wiccans practiced things differently, Gardner’s “old laws” clearly made it acceptable for variety in the way covens and practitioners did things. He might not have intended to do so but Gardner’s decisions regarding how to handle things in his own group had set the stage for Wicca to become much more than just his own teachings in his own groups.

The result of all this was that Gardner essentially gave away the right to exclusive ownership over the label Wicca for his groups and those directly descended from them. He might not have anticipated this possibility but in any case it is what happened. Many groups, sometimes with conflicting philosophies and ways of doing things, have come forward under the banner of Wicca. New groups have been created and old ones have splintered into other quite distinct groups. Autonomy was there so of course it was exercised!

Not everyone has been happy about this. Some of Gardner’s direct spiritual descendants have argued that only they and a few select groups that they approve of should have the right to call themselves Wiccan. However the autonomous structure had already been set up and no one group has the authority to dictate to the rest of the community. Wicca did not have a central authority structure in the past and it does not have one now. It is highly unlikely at this point that a central authority could be established which the majority of Wiccans would respect.

There have been attempts to seize power and establish a central Wiccan authority but these have all failed. One example is when Alex Sanders proclaimed himself the King of the Witches but it was quickly pointed out, particularly by Gardnerian Wiccans, that he did not have any authority outside of Alexandrian Wiccan covens. Another example is when in 1974 at the Witchmeet gathering in Minnesota, Lady Sheba (a.k.a. Jessie Wicker Bell) declared herself the leader of American witches and demanded that everyone hand over their Books of Shadows to her so that she could combine their contents and then establish a single authoritative Book of Shadows which all American witches would be expected to follow. She was laughed at and needless to say was not successful in establishing the central authority she sought.

It was at that same 1974 Witchmeet where we had probably the closest thing to a central Wiccan authority created in the declaration of the Principles of Wiccan Belief. This set of thirteen principles attempted to outline in a very general way the basic foundation of Wiccan philosophy. The concept of autonomy of both groups and individuals is clear in the document. It also specified that lineage or membership in specific groups was not a requirement in order to be Wiccan. Many Wiccans, both as groups and individually, consider the Principles to be the foundation of their spiritual path. However, true to the autonomy inherent in Wicca, there are some Wiccans who do not consider the Principles to be part of their individual or group philosophy.

Some are not satisfied with how things are in the Wiccan community and actively work to establish a central authority with their own particular outlook of course identified as the One True and Only Way. They are not satisfied with the fact that the autonomy they personally enjoy in Wicca also means that other Wiccans are free to follow their own different paths. These are the Wiccan fundamentalists who see variety as heresy. As far as they are concerned, if you’re not practicing things the way they personally do, and don’t believe things exactly the way they personally do, then you must be wrong and should either correct your ways or else stop calling yourself a Wiccan.

Perhaps these attitudes are carried over from previous religious education where the idea of One True Way was key, such as in many varieties of monotheism, particularly the evangelical and literalist varieties. Often the Wiccan manifestation of the One True Way idea comes through as a literal and absolute belief in the truth of a particular teacher’s work. Most often the teacher elevated to the status of never-to-be-questioned guru is Gerald Gardner since he was the one who began the Wiccan movement in the middle of the twentieth century. In the mind of many Wiccan fundamentalists, if Gardner taught it then it must be absolutely true!

Unfortunately for the literalists Gardner has turned out to be a mere human being just like the rest of us. Some things he got right and some things he got wrong. The history of Wicca that Gardner presented, especially the part that explains what came before Gardner was initiated, has proven to be largely speculation with very little evidence to support many of its major claims. Historians aren’t completely ignorant of what happened prior to the 1950s in England. We have enough evidence to know that Gardner’s historical claims were not completely accurate nor were they completely supported by the evidence.

A religion’s value does not depend on the literal truth of its historical claims. Many millions of people find Christianity to be meaningful despite the fact its history is not absolutely settled. Buddhists seem to still find their religion to be valuable despite the questions regarding the provable history of the religion’s founders. Wicca too is a precious treasure for those who practice it even if they don’t believe one hundred percent of the historical claims made by Gardner.

Some religions do consider blind obedience to authority to be a virtue the faithful are expected to cultivate in themselves. Wicca though cherishes autonomy and this is in direct conflict with blind obedience. Wiccans who value blind obedience are welcome to make that a part of their religious practice but they are out of line in expecting others to abide by their dictates. Wicca does not have an Office of the Holy Inquisition and many Wiccans will actively fight against the establishment of such. And that is to be expected.

Wiccans who play the fundamentalist mind-game of proclaiming that those who do not agree with them are not “true Wiccans” deserve the same reaction that Lady Sheba got back in 1974 when she declared herself Witch Queen of America – they should be laughed at and then ignored. Wicca is not a One True Way religion and never has been. Those who would make it over into one are in for a long hard struggle that they will likely never win. Is it really worth it for them? After all, if they wanted a One True Way religion there are plenty of those out there for them to join. Wicca is for those of us who are free-thinkers, rebels, nature-worshippers, who laugh and love and dance in the name of our Gods and Goddesses in spite of what the stiff-shirt self-declared authorities around us tell us is right and proper. Others can try to co-opt our religion and turn it into yet another fossilized dogma of right and wrong to be blindly followed on pain of excommunication or threats of torment in other lives. The witch’s cat is already out of the bag and has been for some time now, and we’re all enjoying the nighttime revels and the daytime ignoring of arbitrary conventions too much to just follow what someone else tells us is the One True Way.

References

Bonewits, Isaac. “Witchcraft: A Concise Guide.” (Earth Religions Press, 2001.)

Heselton, Philip. “Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration.” (Capall Bann Publishing, 2003.)

Hutton, Ronald. “The Triumph of the Moon.” (Oxford University Press, 1999.)

Lamond, Frederic. “Fifty Years of Wicca.” (Green Magic, 2004.)

Valiente, Doreen. “The Rebirth of Witchcraft.” (Phoenix Publishing, 1989.)

Beliefs and practice Of Wicca

Beliefs and practice Of Wicca

Its is commonly understood that Wiccans worship two deities, the Goddess and the God sometimes known as the Horned God. Some traditions such as the Dianic Wiccans mainly worship the Goddess; the God plays either no role, or a diminished role, in Dianism. Many Gardnerian Wiccans do not claim to be duotheistic, but rather, may practice some form of polytheism, often with particular reference to the Celtic pantheons; they may also be animists, pantheists, agnostics or indeed any of the other spectacular range of possibilities.

Wiccans celebrate eight main holidays (or Sabbats): four cross-quarter days called Samhain, Beltane (or Beltaine), Imbolc (also called Imbolg, Oimelc, or Candlemas) and Lammas (or Lughnasadh), as well as the solstices, Litha and Yule, and equinoxes, Ostara (or Eostar or Eostre) and Mabon (see Wheel of the Year). They also hold Esbats, which are rituals held at the full and new moon.

Generally, the names are of ancient Germanic or Celtic holidays held around the same time, although two do not have any historical precedent. Ritual observations may include mixtures of those holidays as well as others celebrated at the same time in other cultures; there are several ways to celebrate the holidays.

Some Wiccans join groups called covens, though others work alone and are called “solitaries”. Some solitaries do, however, attend “gatherings” and other community events, but reserve their spiritual practices (Sabbats, Esbats, spell-casting, worship, magical work, etc.) for when they are alone. Some Wiccans work with a community without being part of a coven.Many beliefs hold that the ideal number of members for a coven is thirteen. When a coven grows beyond their ideal number of members, they often split into multiple covens, yet remain together as a group. A grouping of multiple covens is known as a grove.Wiccans weddings can be called “bondings”, “joinings”, or “eclipses” but are most commonly called “handfastings”.

Some Wiccans observe an ancient Celtic practice of a trial marriage for a year and a day, which some Traditions hold should be contracted on Lammas (Lughnasadh), although this is far from universal. When someone is being initiated into a coven, it is also traditional to study with the coven for a year and a day before their actual initiation into to the religion, and some Solitary Wicca choose to study for a year and a day before dedicating themselves to the religion.

A much sensationalized aspect of Wicca, particularly in Gardnerian Wicca, is that some Wiccans practice skyclad (naked). Though many Wiccans do this, many others do not. Some Wiccans wear a pure cotton robe, to symbolise bodily purity, and a cord, to symbolise interdependence and which is often used during rituals.

Others wear normal clothes or whatever they think is appropriate. Robes and even Renaissance-Faire-type clothing are not uncommon.In usual rites the Wiccans assemble inside a magic circle, which is drawn out in a ritual manner followed by a cleansing and then blessing of the space. Prayers to the God and Goddess are said, and spells are sometimes worked. Traditionally, the circle is followed by a meal. Before entering the circle, some Traditions fast for the day, and have a thorough wash.

Many Wiccans use a special set of altar tools in their rituals; these can include a broom (besom), cauldron, Chalice (goblet), wand, Book of Shadows, altar cloth, athame (personal knife), altar knife, boline, candles, and/or incense. Representations of the God/Goddess are often also used, which may be direct, representative, or abstract. The tools themselves are just that–tools, and have no innate powers of their own, though they are usually dedicated or charged with a particular purpose, and used only in that context. It is considered rude to touch another’s tools without permission.

There are different thoughts in Wicca regarding the Elements. Some hold to the earlier Greek conception of the classical elements (air, fire, water, earth), while others recognize five elements: earth, air, water, fire, and spirit (akasha). It has been claimed that the points of the frequently worn pentagram symbol, the five pointed star, symbolise five elements.

The pentacle (a pentagram (five-pointed star) inside of a circle) is most often shown with its point facing upward. Alexandrian Wicca believe that the upper point represents spirit, and the four remaining points symbolise earth, air, fire, and water. This symbolism has slowly worked itself into other traditions such as Solitary Wicca and Seax-Wica, but most Gardnarian Wicca will deny that the points of the pentagram or pentacle actually represent anything at all.

Some people believe that the top point of the pentacle was chosen to represent the spirit as it is often recognized as being more important than the four elements. When, in Satanism for example, the pentacle is usually inverted, the point representing spirit faces downward, and it is often taken that this symbolises that it is less important than physical things.

Another much less common view on the symbolism of the pentacle is that the upright pentacle is a protective charm which protects its wearer through passive energies, such as good will or pleasing emotions, and that the inverted pentacle protects its wearer using aggressive energies, such as curses or angry emotions.

In either case, these are the elements of nature that symbolize different places, emotions, objects, and natural energies and forces. For instance, crystals and stones are objects of the element earth, and seashells are objects of the water element. Each of the four cardinal elements, air, fire, water and earth, are commonly assigned a direction and a color. The following list is not true for all traditions, or branches of Wicca:

  • Air: east, yellow
  • Fire: south, red
  • Water: west, blue
  • Earth: north, green

Elemental, directional correspondences, and colors may vary between traditions. It is common in the southern hemisphere, for instance, to associate the element fire with north (the direction of the equator) and earth with south (the direction of the nearest polar area.) Some Wiccan groups also modify the religious calendar to reflect local seasonal changes; for instance, in Australia Samhain might be celebrated on April 30th, and Beltane on October 31st to reflect the southern hemisphere’s autumn and spring seasons.

Morality Of Wicca

Morality Of Wicca

Wiccan morality is ruled according to the Wiccan Rede, which (in part) states “An it harm none, do what thou wilt.” (“An” is an archaic word meaning “if”.) Others follow the slightly adapted Rede of “An it harm none, do what ye will; if harm it does, do what ye must.” Either way, the Rede is central to the understanding that personal responsibility, rather than a religious authority, is where moral structure resides.One of the major differences between Wiccans and other types of witchcraft is the Rede.

Many “traditional” witches or witches that follow other paths do not believe in the Rede. This is a major topic of controversy within the Wiccan and Pagan communities.Many Wiccans also promote the Law of Threefold Return, or the idea that anything that one does may be returned to them threefold. In other words, good deeds are magnified back to the doer, but so are ill deeds.

Gerina Dunwich, an American author whose books (particularly Wicca Craft) were instrumental in the increase in popularity of Wicca in the late 1980s and 1990s, disagrees with the Wiccan concept of threefold return on the grounds that it is inconsistent with the Laws of Physics.

Pointing out that the origin of the Law of Threefold Return is traceable to Raymond Buckland in the 20th century, Dunwich is of the opinion that “There is little backing to support it as anything other than a psychological law.” Her own personal belief, which differs from the usual interpretation of the Threefold Law, is that whatever we do on a physical, mental, or spiritual level will sooner or later affect us, in either a positive or negative way, on all three levels of being.

A few Wiccans also follow, or at least consider, a set of 161 laws often referred to as Lady Sheba’s Laws. Some find these rules to be outdated and counterproductive.Most Wiccans also seek to cultivate the Eight Wiccan Virtues. These may have been derived from earlier Virtue ethics, but were first formulated by Doreen Valiente in the Charge of the Goddess. They are Mirth, Reverence, Honour, Humility, Strength, Beauty, Power, and Compassion. They are in paired opposites which are perceived as balancing each other.

Many Wiccans also believe that no magic (or magick) can be performed on any other person without that person’s direct permission (excepting pets and young children who can be protected by parents and owners). Sometimes when permission is expected but not yet attained magical energy will be placed on the astral plane for the receiver to gather if and when he/she is ready.

Basic Philosophy of Wicca

Wicca, or Witchcraft, is an earth religion — a re-linking (re-ligion) with the life-force of nature, both on this planet and in the stars and space beyond. In city apartments, in suburban backyards, in country glades, groups of women and men meet on the new and full moons (Esbats) and at festival times (Sabbats) to raise energy and put themselves in tune with these natural forces. They honor the old Goddesses and Gods, including the Triple Goddess of the waxing, full, and waning moon, and the Horned God of the sun and animal life, as visualizations of immanent nature.

Our religion is not a series of precepts or beliefs, rather we believe that we each have within ourselves the capacity to reach out and experience the mystery — that feeling of ineffable oneness with all Life. Those who wish to experience this transcendence must work, and create, and participate in their individual religious lives. For this reason, our congregations, called covens, are small groups which give room for each individual to contribute to the efforts of the group by self-knowledge and creative experimentation within the agreed-upon group structure or tradition.

Not all practisioners are in Covens, Some prefer to follow a Solitary path, sometimes refered to as Solitry Wicca. Most who practice solitary Wicca follow more of an Eclectic path, There are some who still follow the same traits as covens.

There are many traditions or sects within the Craft. Different groups take their inspiration from the pre-Christian religions of certain ethnic groups (e.g. Celtic, Greek, Norse, Finno-Ugric); in the liturgical works of some modern Witch poet or scholar (e.g. Gerald Gardner, Z Budapest, Alex Saunders, Starhawk); or by seeking within themselves for inspiration and direction. Many feminists have turned to Wicca and the role of priestess for healing and strength after the patriarchal oppression and lack of voice for women in the major world religions.

There are many paths to spiritual growth. Wicca is a participatory revelation, a celebratory action leading to greater understand of oneself and the universe. We believe there is much to learn by studying our past, through myth, through ritual drama, through poetry and music, through love and through living in harmony with the Earth.

Origins Of Wicca

Origins Of Wicca

The history of Wicca is a much debated topic. Gardner claimed that the religion was a survival of matriarchal religions of pre-historic Europe (see V?), taught to him by a woman named Dorothy Clutterbuck. Many believe he invented it himself, following the thesis of Dr. Margaret Murray and sources such as Aradia: Gospel of the Witches by Charles Godfrey Leland, and the practices of Freemasonry and ceremonial magic; and while Clutterbuck certainly existed, historian Ronald Hutton concluded that she is unlikely to have been involved in Gardner’s Craft activities. While the ritual format of Wicca is undeniably styled after late Victorian era occultism, the spiritual content is inspired by older Pagan faiths, with Buddhist and Hindu influences. Whether any historical connection to Pagan religion exists, the aspiration to emulate Pagan religion (as it was understood at the time) certainly does.

Gardner probably had access to few, if any, traditional Pagan rites. The prevailing theory is that most of his rites were the result of his adapting the works of Aleister Crowley. There is very little in the Wiccan rites that cannot be shown to have come from earlier extant sources. The original material is not cohesive and mostly takes the form of substitutions or expansions within unoriginal material, such as embellishment of Crowley lines.

Philip Heselton, writing in Wiccan Roots and later in Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration, argues that Gardner was not the author of the Wiccan rituals but received them in good faith from an unknown source. He notes that all the Crowley material that is found in the Wiccan rituals can be found in a single book, The Equinox vol 3 no. 1 or Blue Equinox. Gardner is not known to have owned or had access to a copy of this book.The idea of primitive matriarchal religions, deriving ultimately from studies by Johann Jakob Bachofen, was popular in Gardner’s day, both among academics (e.g., Erich Neumann, Margaret Murray) and amateurs such as Robert Graves.

Later academics (e.g. Carl Jung and Marija Gimbutas) continued research in this area, and later still Joseph Campbell, Ashley Montagu and others highly esteemed Gimbutas’s work on the matrifocal cultures of Old Europe. Both matrifocal interpretation of the archaeological record, and the foundations of criticism of such work, continue to be matters of academic debate. Some academics carry on research in this area (consider the 2003 World Congress on Matriarchal Studies). Critics argue that matriarchal societies never actually existed, and are an invention of researchers such as Margaret Murray.

The idea of a supreme Mother Goddess was common in Victorian and Edwardian literature: the concept of a Horned God–especially related to the gods Pan or Faunus–was less common, but still significant. Both of these ideas were widely accepted in academic literature, and in the popular press. Gardner used these concepts as his central theological doctrine, and constructed Wicca around this core.

Water Magick

Water Magick

The properties of water are both constant and variable at the same time. Water exists on the Earth in three forms: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (evaporated). Water magick is very versatile; it incorporates techniques that bring about changes both within and without. For water magick to occur within, one must consume the water or call upon that aspect of the self. For it to occur without, one must bathe in it, swim in it, cleanse with it, etc.

Not all liquid magick belongs in the realm of water. For instance, brews that incorporate vinegar or alcohol as the primary ingredient fall in the domain of fire.

The magickal properties of particular types of water can be used for the following purposes:

Creeks and streams:  Purification, harmony, cleansing

Dew:  General health, eyesight, beauty. Dew is said to be especially powerful if gathered at dawn on Beltane.

Fog and mists:  Creativity, balance, partnerships

Ice:  Transformations, balance, creativity

Pond or lake water:  Peace, contentment, relaxation, self-reflection.

Rain water:  Energy, protection, cleansing. The first rain that falls in the month of May is considered sacred to the Water Witch

River water:  Cleansing, moving forward, protection

Seawater:  Health, magickal power, manifestation of goals. An old Welsh belief states that a spoonful of sea-water a day will ensure a long and healthy life.

Snow:  Transformations, balance

Spring water:  Growth, holy water, cleansing, protection, prosperity

Swamp and  waste water:  Banishing, binding

Waterfalls:  Power, energy, success

Well water:  Healing, wishes, intuition

The Water Witch also has an attachment to the ares surrounding the water, which can be used for the following magickal purposes:

Beaches:  Rituals, spells, fascinations, meditations

Harbors:  To promote abundance and prosperity; to serve as an aid in banishing things

Riverbanks:  To increase personal power

In Santeria practices, water from particular environments is offered as food to specific Orishas, as follows:

Ogun and Babalu-Aye:  Pond water

Oya:  Rain water

Oshun:  River water

Yemaya:  Seawater

In addition, Santeria incorporates the use of a special cleansing water called omiero. Omiero is comprised of sacred herbs, belonging to the Orisha being petitioned, and water. It is steeped upon coals to bring out the magickal properties. The making of omiero is complicated and has a full ceremony attached to it. The resulting product is used for initiation purposes.

Water Witch Lore – Water Horses

Water Horses

Here is yet another dark little tidbit about water. In Celtic regions, there was a creature called a water horse. This creature was so powerful-looking and enchanting that once see, a person could not help but wish to ride on its back. If he tried, he would soon regret it. It would run so fast that a human would not be able to catch his breath, whereupon the horse would plunge back under the water, carrying the rider with it to a watery grave.

Thought to be most prevalent in the month of November, these magnificent creatures could shapeshift into human form. In this capacity they were known to eat their victims. It was said that the only way to kill a water horse was to hold it over a roaring fire until it melted.

In Scotland, this creature was known as the water bull and was a guardian of the entries into the fairy realm.

Water Witch Lore – Legendary Rivers

Legendary Rivers

River in general have some rather dark folklore about them. In Scotland and Ireland, superstition holds that each river demands one life as its due each year. Rivers are a common theme in mythology as gateways to the other side, the land of death. The river Styx, for example, was the portal to the land of the Underworld.

Styx was considered so holy that to swear by it was sacred, even for the Gods. The person making the promise was bound by the river to tell the truth. The water was undrinkable  – it would cause even a deity to lose their voice for nine years. If one swore an oath by the Styx and did not keep it, Zeus himself would force the oath breaker to drink from its waters.

In order to cross the river Styx into the land of Hades, one had to pay the ferryman, Charon. The ancient Greeks buried the dead with coins under their tongues to ensure that their loved ones would be carried safely across.

Styx, which translates to “river of hate,” was only one river in the Greek Underworld. The other four rivers in the Underworld were as follows:

Acheron:  The “river of woe”

Cocytus:  The “river of lamentation”

Phlegethon:  The “river of fire”

Lethe:  The “river of forgetfulness”

In Norse folklore, the Underworld was known as Niflheim. It was ruled over by the Goddess Hel. It was said to have eleven icy cold rivers, which eventually emptied into the river Styx. The river Slith was a combination of floating blades, blood, tears, waste and poison. The river Gjall was called the “river of echoes.” It had many waterfalls, strong currents, and bones floating in its waters.

Though the connection between rivers and the Underworld in folklore may be a dark theme, rivers have their light side too. It is said that no vampire, demon, ghost, or attacking spirit can follow one across a river.

Rivers with an inspirational overtone far outnumber the darker rivers of myth. The Nile, the Ganga, and the Niger just to name a few, are thought to be life-giving. Millions of lives depend on the waters from these rivers. The Nile River is said to be responsible for Egypt’s existence, as it could never be what it is without her power. The people also credit the river with growth in the areas of friendly personalities, generosity, and love. When it comes to rivers in general, the Water Witch understands that sitting on a riverbank and watching the sun sparkle on the water is actually a way of soaking up the love of the universe.

 

An Air Ritual For Calling the Wind

An Air Ritual For Calling the Wind

The first step to working with the Elements is remembering what it felt like in the past when you encountered that Element. Remember and focus on as many details as you can. What did the wind feel like on your skin? Was your hair tousled? What smell was in the air? Did the wind whistle or howl? As much as you can, relive the experience in your mind. This puts out to the Cosmos that you are ready for this experience. You are open.

Practice going through your day noticing what the wind and the air around you feel like. In the evening, try to recall as much of the experience as you can. This is like an ongoing meditation. The more you do this, the easier it will become to call up the Wind. You are focused.

The first few times you call up the Wind, do it alone. Company can distract you from your magick. Also, these things take practice and your first few attempts might not put you in the Witches’ Hall of Fame, it’s between you and the Wind.

Go to an open place outdoors. Higher ground is better. Use an athame, if you have one – or your extended arm, if you don’t – and draw a magick circle around yourself to mark you sacred space. Open to the experience of the Wind moving around you. Focus your mind and bring up images of more Wind blowing all around you.

Try to incorporate as many senses as possible when you remember wind and visualize Wind. Now reach down and pick up a handful of dust or grass. Holding your arm out to your side and slightly above eye level, slowly let your hand’s contents filter through your fingers. Watch the air between your hand and the earth catch the offering. You may want to quietly chant, “I call the wind. I call the air. I call the mother’s breath.”  Now concentrate hard on experiencing wind. Focus as hard as you can. Hold the feeling for several minutes, and then stop. Clear your mind of your wind images completely. Wait for the breeze to pick up and the wind to answer your call. Be confident.

Spirits of the Element of Air

The Elemental spirits associated with Air are called sylphs, and their ruler is named Peralda. The word sylph comes from the Greek word sylpha, which means “butterfly.”  When you see butterflies fluttering on the wind, sylphs are inevitably nearby. Sylphs may be the easiest entities to invite to a ritual because air exists as easily in a tenth-floor apartment as it does in an outdoor circle. Sylphs especially tend to gravitate to creative endeavors, so they are most easily called by artists, writers, poets, and musicians. They inspire the creative spirit, much like muses, and aid in shaping clear communication. It isn’t unusual to feel a sylph touch your hand or toss your hair while you’re busy creating. Don’t be alarmed;they are just giving you some creative encouragement.

Sylphs stimulate mental balance, freedom, and curiosity. They assist us in coordinating our perception and in verbalizing them. They enhance the power of speech, music, and the written word, especially poetry. They, teach us about the relationship between all things, which allows us to see and know the great web that connects all of life. This, in turn, brings about a desire for greater harmony. Sylphs stimulate creativity, intuitiveness, and inventiveness, and they awaken the intellect. They can open us to the realm of ideas and help us with mystical experiences and world views.

Like the wind they dance on, sylphs are changeable, volatile, and occasionally flighty. If you’ve ever experienced writer’s block, you now what it means to have the sylphs disappear and take their creative energy with them. Bt it’s easy to call them back.

Symbols and Associations of the Element Air

Air has the qualities of coolness and dryness and associations with breath, life, and communication. In astrology, Air rules the zodiac signs Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra. People born under the Air signs think, communicate, analyze, and theorize. They love freedom, truth and justice, and have the ability to change circumstances with amazing speed. As thinkers, they rely on rationality rather than on intuition or emotions. Their philosophical approach to any situation allow them to endure hardship. Air signs can tolerate almost any circumstances, as long as there is a rational explanation for it. They have great leadership capabilities, with a reputation of being fair. Interested in almost everything, they are lifelong students.

The Element of Air becomes a negative one when Air folks require family and friends to uphold the same standards they live by. Air people cannot understand why everyone does not think and act as they do When they make a mistake, they tend to rationalize instead of using the situation as a learning experience. They are devoted to abstract ideas and have difficulty making decisions, making them sometimes exasperating to work with. In addition, they tend to procrastinate.

The Element of Air

Air is the Element of the East, and might be represented on an altar by incense, feathers or an athame. It can be as soft as a whispered breath and as violent as a tornado, so it isn’t an Element to be taken lightly. It should come as no surprise that particularly persistent winds have even been given names — the Scirocco winds in the Mediterranean and the Santa Ana winds on the United States West Coast, for example. When these winds blow, they can literally change people’s temperaments an often fan wild fires. When mixed with another powerful Element, Water, Air can produce a fury we call hurricanes.

But Air is a necessary and benevolent Element, too. Without even thinking about it, we use our breath to blow out candles, sing songs of celebration, and whisper secrets. How often have you “stepped out for a breath of fresh air?; Used during meditation and to alleviate the pains of childbirth, the Element of Air is healing and vital.

Air Witch Lore – Dragons and Serpents

Air Witch Lore – Dragons and Serpents

The ancient Aztecs depicted the element of ai as a large feathered serpent who would “swim” across the skies. He was known as the god Quetzalcoatl. Curiously enough, such air creatures are found in many mythologies. The Japanese have a similar creature, without the feathers, in the Oriental dragon. Other beings of this sort are the rainbow snake (African) and the world snake (Egyptian).

Humans have documented sightings of these creatures since the year 793. The last recorded encounter with a sky serpent was as recent as November 29, 1983 in Maryland, and was witnessed by multiple people.

Sky serpents/dragons have shown themselves all over the world. In India, the primary home of colored rains, there is said to be a sky dragon whose urine will rot the skin of all it touches. Sky serpents are said to cluster around frankincense trees due to the pleasing aroma.

In China, sky dragons are seen s benevolent, wise and protective creatures. They live for thousands of years.

Air Witch Lore – Sylphs and Fairy Folk

Air Witch Lore – Sylphs and Fairy Folk

Sylphs are the nature spirits that inhabit air. They weave together the fabric of thoughts, dreams, communication, breathing, destruction and secrets. Thought to be offspring of the Sidhe, sylphs are small in stature, transparent, and winged and they move very quickly. Sylphs sometimes take on the form of birds and other times clouds. At one time they were believed to favor virgins with their kinship. It is thought that sylphs control the winds and weather.

The Banshee is a member of the fairy realm that particularly relates to ai. Described as a wailing shrouded figure with red eyes, the Banshee is thought to warn of impending death. Considered by some to be an aspect of the Morrigan, the Banshee is seen as a withered old crone with unkempt gray hair.

Italian folklore presents fairies that like to ride the noonday winds and steal kisses. Similar fairies appear as grasshoppers or as short gentlemen and women who are well dressed. Wind spirits are known to be playful and mischievous.

Modern society views almost all fairies as being of an airborne nature. Tinkerbell, the Disney character, is  manifestation of that view. Magick transports itself primarily through the vehicle of air, although in an etheric form, so the correspondence between the two is reasonable, if a bit misguided.

Lady Of The Lake

Lady Of The Lake

In the Camelot legends, the Lady of the Lake is a mysterious personage. Foster mother to Lancelot, it was said that she raised him beneath the water, grooming him to become the powerful knight he became. She also gifted Arthur with the magickal sword of Excalibur, at the behest of Merlin, and later took it back when it was thrown into the lake. She was one of the three ladies who lead Arthur to Avalon after his death.

Because she is identified as many different women in various texts, it is argued that “Lady of the Lake” may have been a title instead of a name, used to identify a high priestess. It is further suggested that the lady was a water Goddess or a creature from the fairy realm.

Judging by her actions, we can perceive that the Lady of the Lake’s essence was wise and benevolent and tends to function according to intuition.

Water Witch Lore – Merfolk

Water Witch Lore – Merfolk

Whole books have been written about mermaids and mermen. The mermaids are the female version of this race of water beings. They are said to be exceptionally beautiful and have the upper body of a human woman and the lower body of a large fish. Scottish folklore states that human legs are just beneath the fish scales.

Merfolk are usually spotted by fisherman, most often while the merfolk are sunning themselves on rocks. They are said to have enchanting singing voices and have been credited with leading many sailors to their deaths. They are also said to be portents of particularly violent storms.

As members of the fairy realm, merfolk are thought to be soulless. It is a common belief that they can gain a soul by marrying a human and remaining on dry land. Moreover, it is also commonly accepted that to gain a mermaid wife, a human must steal her comb, cap, or mirror and then hide it. If the mermaid cannot find et, she will remain on land. Eventually, she will be overcome with homesickness and slip quietly back into the water.

Merman, in stark contrast to the beautiful females of the species, are said to be ugly. They have green hair, large mouths, snub noses, and green teeth. They reportedly give off a “wild” vibration. They are said to be adversarial and cause storms or large waves unless offerings are made to them. Frequently, the ship’s captain would tend to this by placing any dead bodies with the offerings and then tossing them overboard.

One well-documented merfolk encounter took place in Denmark, in the year 1723. It seems that a royal commission had become so plagued with merfolk tales that they set out to disprove their existence. Along the way, they themselves encountered a merman. He was said to have risen from the water and stared at them. After a few minutes of this, they were so disturbed that they turned the ship around. Once they did, the merman growled at them and dove back into the water.

There are hundreds of accounts from people claiming to have seen a mermaid. Even Christopher Columbus claimed to have encountered mermaids in his voyage to the West Indies.

Some tales of merfolk-type creatures are quite ancient. The Babylonian God Oannes, who was human from the waist up and a fish from the waist down, was popular around the year 300 BC. Oannes was credited with imparting knowledge and culture to humans. Other deities of the merfolk type were worshipped in India, Greece, and Rome.

In Ancient China, around 3322 BC, the deities of Fuxi and his wife, Nu Gua, were thought of as the founders of Chinese civilization, after the great flood. Half-human, half-fish, they created the system of the I Ching.

Water Witch Lore – Rains

Water Witch Lore – Rains

One of the most obscure and most exciting natural phenomena is colored rains. During the evaporation process, the rain sometimes picks up colored pigments in the dust or dirt near an area or in the atmosphere. The result is rain that leaves a colored stain on the ground or on exposed objects. There have been reports of green, yellow, black red, and brown rain in various places all over the world.

In 2001, almost the entire country of India was visited by colored rain. Scientists theorized that it was due to a meteorite stirring up dust in the atmosphere. A few years earlier, Afghanistan was visited by yellow rain, which was thought to be caused by a heavy concentration of pollen in the air.

The red rains have been referred to as “rains of blood” by many and can be quite alarming if one does not know what they are. The red minerals picked up over clay-laden lands can cause this rain to be bright scarlet, exactly like blood. Cases have been investigated for hundreds of years in the southeastern states of the United States. The most amazing part of the blood-rain cases is that man eyewitnesses claimed that actual tissue matter fell along with th rain. Scientists ay this is an exaggeration due to a hysterical reaction to red rain, but other reports speculate that it may possibly have been bird tissue.

The red rains are thought to be more dangerous than the other colors of rain. It has been said that the red rain burned those it fell upon. As red is also the color of anger, this is not at all surprising. but what is surprising is the sudden appearance of swarms of butterflies directly after a red rain.

In parts of the world that boast of extremely high mountains, red and pink snow has been known to fall. This is commonly called “watermelon snow” and has been said to even smell like watermelon. Aristotle mentioned this type of colored snow in one of his works. Other colors of snow include green, yellow, and orange, although they are not as common as watermelon snow.

What is Progressive Witchcraft?

What is Progressive Witchcraft?

By Terminus

“We do not see our ‘trainees’ as empty vessels, waiting to be filled up, but as individuals with a wealth of experience and ideas which they can contribute to the craft. (Rainbird, 1993)

The use of the term progressive arose from a discussion between Ariadne Rainbird and Tam Campbell in London in the late 1980s (*3) They were discussing the evolution of Wicca, and the fact that it had moved on over the decades, beyond the labels of “Gardnerian” or “Alexandrian”. They clearly stated that the term was being used to describe a trend, not a tradition, and that any coven that was eclectic in its approach and not limiting itself to the Book of Shadows was being progressive.

In 1991 Ariadne Rainbird formed a network for covens who subscribed to a more eclectic view of Wiccan practice, called the Progressive Wiccan network (*1). This network included covens in Wales, England, Germany and Canada. 1991 also saw the first Grand Sabbat, at Lughnasadh, with around 30 witches from six different covens meeting up to camp out in the wilds of South Wales and celebrate together. This tradition was to continue for some years, developing into an annual weekly gathering in Cornwall for members of different covens to work together.

In 1992 David Rankine became the editor of the magazine Dragon’s Brew, which became the magazine of the Progressive Wiccan movement. Dragon’s Brew was created by Chris Breen in 1990, originally as the house magazine for the Silver Wheel Coven (*1).

To quote from the magazine (1992):

“Progressive Wicca is a movement which spans the traditions and emphasises networking, closeness to nature, personal growth and co-operative development. Personal experience of other paths is welcomed and integrated into covens, and we do not slavishly follow a Book of Shadows, as we see Wicca as an ever growing religion and the Book of Shadows changes and grows with each new Witch.” (*1)

Contact details for a number of covens were given in the back of each issue of the magazine. The editorial stance of the magazine was actively supportive of environmental protection, detailing protests, distributing leaflets and supporting organisations like Dragon (eco-magick environmental network) and Friends of the Earth Cymru in their actions. Campaigns like the ones to save Oxleas Wood and Twyford Down were covered, as well as events in other parts of the world, like proposed wolf culling in Canada, tiger conservation in India, and anti-nuclear testing by the French in the Pacific. (*1)

Dragon’s Brew ran quarterly until 1997, with a circulation of several hundred copies, and covered a wide range of subjects, from chakras and kundalini to Enochian magick and running effective open rituals. Different pantheons were also explored, including the Welsh, Greek, Sumerian and Egyptian. A number of prominent academics also contributed to the magazine, which received articles from distinguished figures such as Professor Ronald Hutton and the Egyptologist Terry DuQuesne. (*1)

By 1994 Progressive Witchcraft was widely known throughout Europe. David Rankine gave a number of talks at events like the Talking Stick Meet the Groups conference in 1994, and at various University Pagan Societies. The growth of the movement was acknowledged by Michael Jordan, who gave it a sizeable entry in his 1996 book Witches: An Encyclopaedia of Paganism and Magic. (*3)

To avoid some disharmony caused by the term “Progressive” in the Wiccan community the term was changed from “Progressive Wicca” to Progressive Witchcraft in 1993, as was demonstrated by the cover of Dragon’s Brew (*1). In combination with this Ariadne Rainbird and David Rankine set up the Progressive Witchcraft Foundation, to deal with enquiries about Progressive Witchcraft, and also ran workshops under the banner of Silver Wheel with other coven members on a variety of related subjects.

In 1994 Ariadne Rainbird and David Rankine started running correspondence courses on natural magick based on much of the (non-oathbound) Progressive Witchcraft material. This material was to form the basis for their book Magick Without Peers: A Course in Progressive Witchcraft for the Solitary Practitioner, published by Capall Bann in 1997. (*2)

Reference Material

————————-

(*1) Dragon’s Brew, a Magazine of Magick, Paganism & Progressive Witchcraft, (1992 -1997)

(*2) Magick Without Peers, A Course in Progressive Witchcraft. Capall Bann 1997

(*3) Witches, An Encyclopaedia of Paganism and Magic; Michael Jordon, 1996

Patchwork of Magic, Julia Day, Capall Bann, 1995

(*4) Talking Stick Magical Directory, 1993

This article was written by Terminus, 2000 and provided for free distribution.

————————————————————–