What is Wicca? Although in many ways, Wicca defies explanation due to the diversity
of its practitioners and its depth of meaning, I have attempted to provide a comprehensive
description of the religion of Wicca. I have brought together a group of definitions and descriptions of Wicca to this end.
According to Marion Weinstein in her book Positive Magic
, Wicca is "an ancient Celtic magic-religion," the "craft of the wise" according
to some interpretations of the origin of the word Wicca. Nor is Wicca "exclusively
a religion in the modern sense because witchcraft dates from that early time when
religion, theater, art, philosophy, science and magic were all part of the same package." The
Origins of Wicca, whether or not it is indeed continuous, could be as much as 6,000
years in the past.
The Craft is "monotheistic" (still according to Weinstein) because it is based on
an underlying belief in "one energy source of the universe." That is, there is a
concept of a prime deity, although we polarize that deity into male and female aspects.
(Not all Wiccans, I must add, believe in a prime source of all life; in fact some are
atheist.) Therefore, it is pagan because of the acknowledgment of two primary aspects
of deity: female and male. (Weinstein)
On the other hand Wicca is polytheistic as well "because it affirms that the one Power
manifests in every life form.... all human, all animal, all spirit life and all forces
of nature." (Weinstein) Wiccans call upon many aspects of deity with many forms and names according to the influence needed at that time. We are able to sense the presence
of deity all around us in all things. To us, God/dess is an ever-present part of
our lives.
Margot Adler interviewed many Witches in Drawing Down the Moon
both individually and in groups. In one interview a Witch named Lady Cybele says
that Wicca is "a pagan mystery religion with a polarized deity and no personification
of evil." The Covenant of The Goddess
is an organization of Witches of different traditions who have compiled some definitions
or descriptions of Wiccans. Wicca (according to COG) is a religion whose practitioners
(among other beliefs) 1) Worship the Goddess, and 2) Are bound by craft law - not the same in all traditions.
Ethics; the Laws of Wicca
Although there are indeed many traditions of Wicca, Wiccans have one ethic in common
"An' it harm none, do what thou wilt." Wicca has no concept of sin per se, but
it does have a strong system of ethics--the individual laws may vary slightly from
tradition to tradition. These ethics are based in a kinship with all things and beings. We
believe that we must weigh our actions in relation to the good of all as far as we
are able to, not just to others in our group.
Buckland, in his book Complete Book of Witchcraft
lists a set of "Principles of Wiccan Beliefs" adopted by the now disbanded Council of American Witches
. Some of these principles further describe the religion of Wicca. These are as follows:
1) We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythms of life forces
marked by the phases of the Moon, the seasonal Quarters, and Cross Quarters; 2) We
recognize that our intelligence gives a unique responsibility toward our environment,
3) We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average
person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called "supernatural,"
but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all; 4) We conceive
of the Creative Power
in the universe as manifesting through polarity--as masculine and feminine--and that
this same Creative Power
lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine.
(Buckland pp 9-10)
Gerald Gardner, to many the father of modern Witchcraft, states in The Meaning of Witchcraft
, "It must be understood clearly that Witchcraft is a religion. It's patron God is
the Horned God of hunting, death and magic .... who...rules over the After-World....
where he welcomes the dead and assigns them their places; where they are prepared,
according to their merits and wisdom, for rebirth into a new body on this earth, for which
they will be made ready by the love and power of the Goddess, the Great Mother ....
who gives rebirth and transmutation, and love on this earth, and in whose honour
and by means of ritual the necessary power is raised to enable this to be done." (p. 26)
In The Spiral Dance
, Starhawk describes Wicca as "a religion, perhaps the oldest religion extant in the
West," and "predates Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism." It is "closer
in spirit to Native American Traditions or Arctic shamanism." It has "no dogma or
set of beliefs." And she states that Wicca "takes its teachings from nature and reads inspiration
in the movements of the sun, moon and stars." Further she states that Wicca is "a
religion of poetry not theology. The myths legends and teachings are metaphors for the absolute reality our limited minds can never completely know."
Teachings of Wicca
But because Wicca has no theology or dogma this is not to say that it teaches nothing.
Again Starhawk has much to say along this vein. She states that Wicca teaches love
for life in all its forms and, while the craft recognizes that life feeds on life
and that we must kill (plants, food animals) in order to survive, life is never taken
needlessly--never squandered or wasted. We can extrapolate this to mean not only life
in general but specifically our own lives as well.
Starhawk also believes, along with many other Wiccans that we are in fact stewards
of life on the earth and perhaps beyond. "Serving the life force means working to
preserve the diversity of natural life to prevent the poisoning of the environment
and the destruction of species."
What Wicca is NOT
I have gathered a lot of information here and we still don't have a pinned down definition
of what Wicca is. Here I also want to state what Wicca is not. Many people equate
Wiccan Witchcraft (and that's the only one I know anything about) with Satanism and further with antisocial practices. Antisocial
meaning bringing harm to others. I have heard it described as a cult (even by Gerald
Gardner).
First, to address the label of "cult." According to sociological definition a cult
is a religion based on the teachings of a charismatic leader. By this definition
Christianity is more of a cult than Wicca. Many Wiccans work in groups and some of
these might be cults. However, the majority of Wiccans are so highly individualistic that they
can hardly agree on the time of day (in a friendly way of course) much less become
programmed to one narrow point of view, i.e. a set of teachings put forth by one
person. (Just who does he/she think he/she is anyway?)
Now to address the issue of Satanism; I suppose that any non-Christian religion is,
according to some practitioners of that faith, necessarily Satanist. If one takes
a broader point of view Satanism is the worship of Satan, the Judeo-Christian God's
archenemy. Wiccans and Pagans do not believe in Satan or any personification of evil. We
believe that nothing in nature is, of itself, evil. Many Wiccans believe that what
evil there is caused by human's actions, when these actions harm others. This is
caused because the person does not take into account the needs of other fellow beings. All
of us are responsible for our own actions and what we do returns to us via karma
threefold. If we sow good--good returns; if we sow evil--evil is our due. We are not
tempted by an outside force to do evil, the potential for evil is within us and it is only when
we try to separate that potential from ourselves that it can gain control. If we
accept that some times we are selfish and that is a part of us then we can be unselfish.
So Wicca is not Satanism nor is it evil. We cannot worship what we do not believe
in and we do not choose to give power to an external personification of evil.
What Wicca IS
In summation, Wicca is a nature religion the adherents of which worship a deity who
is divided into male and female aspects. The adherents of Wicca attempt to attune
themselves with nature and to see themselves and all life as part of nature. The
religion does not have as a component, a personification of evil, such as a devil but believe
in personal responsibility for one's acts.
In my general description of Wicca I have touched upon some Wiccan beliefs. Earlier
I quoted Starhawk as saying that Wicca has no dogma nor set of beliefs. This means
that Wicca has no strict set of beliefs that everyone agrees upon. There are beliefs
held by enough practitioners of Wicca to warrant further mention and explanation. Specific
beliefs vary from tradition to tradition and person to person.
I have emphasized the belief in a polarized (divided into male/female) deity in the
religion of Wicca. Most Wiccans do believe in a divinity although there are some
that are actually atheist. The God is the "Lord of animals, lord of Death and beyond."
(Gardner) He is the "initiating life force, the essential phallic creative energy in all
men and women." (Weinstein) The God is visualized as a horned man, as the sun. He
is the energy and wildness of the universe.
The Goddess is the personification of nature: the Moon, the Earth, or both. She is
conceived of as the triple Goddess in her aspects of Maiden, Mother, and Crone and
we look for her attributes around us and within us. According to Starhawk, "The Goddess
does not rule the world; she is the world." She is "the primary symbol for that which
cannot be told."
Whether or not the God and Goddess are viewed as real, "the concept of the God or
Goddess, that is personification of the gods, is the means to make contact with divine
reality." (Weinstein) And it is noteworthy that deity, as nature, is in all life,
all of the world seen and unseen, including manifest within each person. So to contact
the deity, He/She must be awakened within oneself. This means that God/ess is always
with and all around each being. Our Gods are very much a part of our everyday lives.
Life After Death - According to Many Wiccans
I have also discussed the concept of karma and so skimmed the surface of Wiccan beliefs
of the afterlife. Again I must say most Wiccans believe in reincarnation and the
birth-death-rebirth cycle. I think Starhawk best sums up this concept in The Spiral Dance
.
"Existence is sustained by the on-off pulse, the alternating current of the two forces
in perfect balance. Unchecked, the life force is cancer, unbridled, the death force
is war and genocide. Together, they hold each other in the harmony that sustains
life, in the perfect orbit that can be seen in the changing cycle of the seasons, in the
ecological balance of the natural world, and in the progression of human life from
birth through fulfillment to decline and death - and then to rebirth."
Death is not an end; it is a stage in the cycle that leads on to rebirth. After death,
the human soul is said to rest in "Summerland," the Land of Eternal Youth, where
it is refreshed, grows young, and is made ready to be born again. Rebirth is not
considered to be condemnation to an endless, dreary round of suffering, as in Eastern religions.
Instead, it is seen as the great Gift of the Goddess
, who is manifest in the physical world. Life and the world are not separate from
Godhead; they are immanent divinity.
Branches of the Wicca
There are many different traditions or branches of the Wicca. These depend upon the
original location of each coven's ancestors within the area known as Western and
Insular Europe. Each is different in many ways: The way in which the rituals are
performed, the wear (or lack of wear) within the circle, the language which is spoken within
the circle, the system of training, the symbols used, etc. All are the same in that
they honor the Deities of Nature, live by the philosophy of "Harm none and do what
you will," believe in reincarnation, and have the knowledge of working a specific form of
magic.
There are many so-called "courses" on "How to become a Witch" ranging in price from
a dollar to several hundred dollars, none of which are enlightening to the well read,
nor do they reveal any of the secrets of the Wicca. For the curious, perhaps, they
can be of benefit--for the serious, they are at most worthless, and more often than
not, dangerous and inaccurate. The following are brief descriptions of the various
traditions within Wicca:
Gardnerian
--A branch of Wicca deriving its name fromm Gerald B. Gardner who was initiated into
a coven of Witches in the New Forest in Britain and who helped greatly in the advancement
of the truth about Wicca by his love for it and his writings on the subject. It is
inherently Celtic in origin encompassing rituals as practiced in Southern England.
Ritual nudity is required at all times.
Traditional
--Many branches of the Craft which claim tto be pre-Gardnerian. This covers a lot of
territory, again depending upon the area of origin (i.e., Wales, Scotland, Ireland,
etc.). Ritual nudity is sometimes required. Some groups are strictly robed.
Alexandrian
--A branch in Wicca deriving its name fromm Alexander Sanders. This is a form of Gardnerian
Wicca (rather, a form which "borrowed" much of Gardnerianism). It is very ceremonial,
encompassing much of Quabalistic magic, etc. Ritual nudity plays a part but it is not required, the choice being left to the individual Witch.
Continental
--This can be put under the heading of "Trraditional," again depending upon origin (France,
Germany, Spain, Basque, etc.).
Stregeria
--This can be put under the heading of "Coontinental." It is Witchcraft as practiced
in Italy and Sicily, each area of Italy and Sicily practicing according to their
own folk-tradition. These are extremely secretive peoples, but much can be learned
about them by reading Leland's Aradia: The Gospel of Witches
and Leo Martello's Witchcraft: The Old Religion
.
Hereditary
--Pockets of Hereditary Witches do exist iin Europe and America, carrying on their family
traditions. They are usually the most secretive, preferring to work alone or only
within their families. Their form of Witchcraft is almost entirely different than
what we know as Wicca.
Dianic
--This branch of Wicca lays a great stresss on the Goddess, sometimes entirely ignoring
Her Horned Consort. I do not know much about them, but they seem to be similar to
Gardnerian (or vice versa). Perhaps this was the original tradition that Gerald Gardner
was initiated into.
The New Reformed Order Of the Golden Dawn
--neo-Gardnerian or quasi-Gardnerian groupp founded by a Californian named Aidan Kelly.
They are a beautiful and idealistic form of the Wicca, constantly researching into
our ancient heritage.
American/Celtic
--Perhaps the largest and fastest growing form of Wicca in America originating out
of the Twin City area (Minneapolis-St. Paul). Their form is akin to Gardnerian, though
ritual nudity is not required by all of their covens.
Two of the newest branches of the Craft are the Seax-Wicca
, formulated by Dr. Raymond Buckland (formerly a Gardnerian), based upon the religion
of the Saxons. It is a unique system which has eliminated the Degrees and operates
upon a democratic level. Unlike other traditions, non-initiates are permitted at
times to witness the rituals. The other of the two is simply called WICCA and was formulated
by Edmund M. Buczynski from nine years of study and research into pre-Celtic and
Celtic religions. It also is operated upon a democratic level. However, the three
degrees have been kept as well as ritual nudity. Only initiates are permitted to attend
meetings. There are many other groups, many are "underground" and shun any publicity.
Most are small and isolated (like the Boreads
, a lovely tradition who call themselves the "children of the north wind"). The fact
remains that all of these groups are legitimate representatives of Wicca in the world
today.
Welsh-Traditional
--This is a Celtic-derived tradition whichh incorporates the teachings and mythology
and traditions of Ancient Wales. There is a large group at present in Georgia, California,
and New York.
Minoan Brotherhood and Sisterhood
--These groups are worshippers of the Crettan snake goddess whose holy priests and priestesses
were historically homosexual. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood meet separately at the
Esbats, but meet together at Sabbats.
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