Wicca (also
known as Witchcraft) is part of the modern family of earth-centered religions know as
Neo-Paganism. First, to define the term “Neo-Pagan”: neo (meaning new) and Pagan
(meaning polytheistic, or “many deities”). So, as the term implies, Neo-Paganism
is a category of modern religious beliefs that
reflects a return to an older way of looking at the divine – a time long ago when all
of nature was alive with divinity and the higher power was multifaceted. The word Pagan itself is simply Latin
for “country dweller.” The term gained its somewhat negative connotations from
the fact that when Christianity spread through Western Europe, replacing the old
nature-centered religious belief systems of that time and place, it “caught on”
in the cities first. The farmers of the countryside were exposed to the new religion later
and, therefore, were behind the times and out of fashion so to speak. Note that not all
Neo-Pagans are Wiccan, but all Wiccans are Neo-Pagans.
Secondly, we
must define the often misunderstood term -- the scary “W” word –
Witchcraft. Real, modern Witchcraft is synonymous with Wicca. They are the same religion,
the two words deriving from the same root – the old English word “witta”
meaning wise or skilled one. Witches do not worship The Devil, as pictured in horror
movies and erroneously reported by some fundamental members of other religions. Witches do
not ride brooms or eat children, as portrayed in fairy tales. Real, modern-day Witches are
the practitioners of a contemporary type of shamanistic
earth-based religion and most likely live quietly and peacefully within your very
community. Unfortunately, the negative and fear-based connotations associated with that
word have very old roots. During the period of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages, fear
and superstition ran through aspects of the Christian Church and those who elicited this
fear were persecuted. This may have included those who still practiced the old ways, but
more often it was simply the outcasts of society – particularly women without
husbands to protect them or their property from the seizure by the church that customary
went along with the proceedings of a “witch trial”. Our modern ideas of
“Witches” being evil or having something to do with Satan of the Christian myth
system stem from this dark misogynist time in history during which an estimated 2 million
people were tortured and killed by the church (mostly woman).
Wiccans also
refer to their religion as the “Old Religion,” even though it is essentially a
modern religion, as we will see below. This is because Wicca is based upon the pre-Christian beliefs of Western
Europe – particularly the Celts – yet the religion does not claim an unbroken
line of worship and ritual directly to that time. Like ancient agriculturally-based
peoples, Wiccans celebrate the cycles of nature, the sacredness of the earth, and a
dual-deity system that recognizes both feminine and masculine aspects of divinity –
The Goddess and The God of nature. Wiccans do not hold their belief system to be the
“one and only” spiritual way or better than other religions. Most Wiccans
believe in the validity of all of the world’s spiritual paths and that all religions
share the common goal of attempting to teach us about the deeper truths of existence.
Gerald Brosseau Gardner, a retired British civil servant, is credited with the development of Wicca. Gardner came from an upper middle class background, traveled abroad during his successful career as a tea and rubber merchant, and had a life-long interest in mysticism, archeology, folklore, and anthropology. He retired to the English countryside in the years just before WWII and, according to his subsequently published works, in 1939 joined a group of people in the little town of New Forest who claimed to be still practicing the “Old Religion” of Britain. In the early 1950s, after the last remaining British anti-witchcraft legislation was repealed, Gardner published several books detailing his “discovery” of the Old Religion, including The Book of Shadows and Witchcraft Today. From that point forward, interest spread, throughout England at first, but eventually to the United States in the 1960s.
The Return of the Goddess
The Wiccan concept of deity -- or the higher power/universal creator – is somewhat different from the Judeo-Christian concepts with which we are familiar, yet one might be able to see patterns of similarities with other religions. Wiccans recognize a unifying force or energy that is dynamically creative and within all things, living and non-living, in the universe. This force – known as The All -- is the ultimate source of all creation and life and is similar conceptually to some of the ideas of divinity found in Eastern traditions. The All, however, is so vast and vague that it is hard to work with on the personal, human level. Therefore, akin to the religious traditions of India, more humanized and understandable versions of deity are used in day-to-day spiritual workings. For Witches, these are the God and the Goddess of nature here on earth – which is our home as humans and our little microcosm of the big universe.
Unlike fundamental religions, the Wiccan Goddess and God (also referred to lovingly by Witches as the Lady and Lord) are not usually taken literally. They are fully understood by most practitioners to be the stuff of myth – to be archetypal. They are seen as representative partners in a dynamic system of death, rebirth, and cyclic change. The Goddess is associated with the Earth, from which all life springs, and the mysterious Moon, which is a source of universal energy and power. The God is associated with the Sun, which helps to give and sustain life on earth. Just as man and woman, male and female, unite to create life, so too are the God and Goddess of nature seen as lovers and givers of life. The Goddess is stressed above the God in most traditions and it is this related appeal of the feminine divine that attracts many women to the Wiccan traditions.
The origins of the universe are generally considered by Wiccans to be beyond human understanding, but scientific explanations such as the “big bang” theory and evolution are not incongruent with the Wiccan energetic model of the universe. Wiccans do not believe in a heaven or hell. The cyclic nature of their religious myth system (as we shall see below) supports the generally universal Wiccan belief in reincarnation. They see correlations of the spiritual in nature. As the seasons return again and again in a great circle of death and rebirth, it makes sense to Neo-Pagans that all living things are engaged in such a cycle. Again, similarly to what is seen in nature, Wiccan ethics are considered to be a result of “natural law” or a type of karma. Punishment for wrong doings is not seen as coming from a personal “god” or “goddess” apart from humanity, but from the very energetic system in which the entire universe functions. Witches subscribe in the belief of the “Three Fold Law,” which basically states that what actions one takes in ones life return in some form “threefold”. In other words, it is the very energy of ones thoughts and actions that have an effect on the entire system and, therefore, ultimately effect the individual. Seeing all beings as united in The All and, therefore, essentially part of a whole, Wiccans subscribe to the belief that one should “do no harm to another” or interfere with another’s path or free will. A profound respect for all living things and for the concept of individual freedom is built into this essentially otherwise doctrineless religion. Many Wiccans are active in the environmental movement and many are vegetarians.
The Wheel of the Year
The core of the Wiccan myth system is the ancient Celtic solar holidays that demarcate the major seasonal transitions throughout the year. There are eight Sabbats, consisting of the two solstices and equinoxes that mark the turning of the four major seasons, as well as four “cross-quarters” at the midway points between these important solar events. These holidays were celebrated for so many eons in ancient Europe that many still exist in one form or another in today’s modern calendar. The year begins at Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice – a celebration of the return of the light. The next holiday is Imbolc, which exists today as Ground Hog’s Day on February 2. The Spring Equinox, or Oestera, is next on or about March 21st. This is followed by May 1st – May Day – known to Wiccans by its ancient Celtic name of Beltane. Litha, or the Summer Solstice, follows May Day. Next comes the harvest festival of Lammas, which is followed by the second harvest, Mabon, at the Autumnal Equinox. The final Sabbat, considered the end of the year, is Samhain, known on modern calendars as Halloween.
The Sabbats are celebrated as turning points, during which the changes in nature are considered representative of inner spiritual/psychological changes in the individual. They are a time of celebration, meditation, community, and connection with the spiritual aspects of life. Special meals are prepared, altars are decorated with seasonal beauty, and friends and family gather together in ritual.
Magic as Prayer
As a shamanistic religion, Wicca involves ritual during which sensitivities to the subtle “energies” of the universe’s inner workings are honed and connection with the divine is sought. Wiccan rituals commonly involve the burning of incense, prayers or “calls” to the elements of nature and/or the God and Goddess of nature. Mediation and other activities to augment the transition from ordinary awareness to ritual consciousness such as chanting, singing, or dancing are also common. Traditionally, rituals take place within a “circle” of sacred space created by the Witch (or Witches) either in the home, or preferably out of doors. The circle is considered a special symbol of the cycles and sacred renewal of nature and of life. A Wiccan circle is truly a special place to be, customarily filled with candlelight, lovely smells of burning Frankincense, and a peaceful feeling akin to being in a church or other temple – it feels sacred just as any other place of worship does. Circles are cast for the Sabbats, often at full moons, and for special reasons such as desired healing or other positive magic.
Wiccans do perform ritual magic (sometimes spelled magick to differentiate it from the slight of hand practiced by magicians), but true Wiccan magic is far from what most non-Pagans would expect. The magic that is the “craft” of Witchcraft is seen by Wiccans as a skill of intense meditative discipline. As Wiccans believe in the energetic interconnection of everything in the universe, and human thoughts and emotions are also forms or sources of energy, it can be conceptualized that skillfully directed thoughts and emotions, i.e. will, can have the potential to affect other things. Wiccan magic is rarely done casually and, due to the inherent ethical boundaries set forth by the Three Fold Law and the “harm to none” standard, it is never to be done in a manner that either harms another or oneself or interferes with the free will of another. Magic has been described by some Wiccans as a form of meditative prayer, but, as mentioned above, is not something that is done casually as it is believed that forcing changes into the dynamic system of the universe can have potentially far-reaching and unforeseen consequences. It is often stated in the Wiccan community that the older, wiser and more powerful a Witch becomes, the less magic he or she does, simply because experience has taught the practitioner respect for the natural order of things (akin to Taoism).
Wiccan Community
There exists no centralized Wiccan “church” or single organization that acts as an absolute authority of doctrine or practice for Witches. Most Wiccans practice in small, interpersonally intimate groups called Covens. Some Witches follow their path alone and are called solitaries. The most traditional and highly structured groups are known as Gardnerian Covens and follow the original ritual structure set forth by Gerald Gardner. There exists a traditional method of initiation in Wiccan groups, usually after a period of training or apprenticeship. Every practicing initiated Wiccan is known as a Priest or Priestess, as the Wiccan relationship with divinity is personal and does not come via other “experts” or any other hierarchic system. The leaders of Covens are sometimes known as High Priestesses or High Priests, but some groups are entirely democratic and have no set leader. Over the years many variations of ritual and practice have developed and an individual interested in Wicca as a religion need only visit a well-stocked bookstore to find examples of guides and information for novices. Covens accepting novice members often have websites and can be found in most areas of the United States and the United Kingdom.
Wicca is a highly personalized religion. Although most Wiccan groups share basic ritual structure and celebrate the Sabbats, great variations of expression and methodology do exist. There are a few large national and international Pagan organizations, such as CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) that hold annual spiritual retreats for Wiccans and have monthly newsletters and the like. The Witch’s Anti-Defamation League is a national organization that offers legal support to those Pagans who have been persecuted or victimized by prejudice because of their religion.
Unlike most of the major world religions, Wicca inherently stresses equality of men and women both in doctrine and in practice. Going beyond mere equality, in can be argued that Wicca almost stresses female superiority. In most traditions, the Goddess is stressed as the main creative force in nature and takes a slightly higher position in the pantheon than the God. Some Wiccan groups even forget about the God altogether, and worship the Goddess only. Those who practice in this manner are known as Dianic Witches – many of whom are lesbians.
Women make up a larger percentage of Wiccans overall and are most often the leaders of Covens. The High Priestess’ position is considered slightly superior to the High Priest. His role is generally as her helper and intimate assistant and he is often her husband or partner. This relationship is seen as a reflection of the myth of the Great Goddess and her Consort, the God, and as part of the natural order of human relationships. Keeping with the feminine model of power, Wiccans tend to reject the strictly hierarchic/ power-over model of human interactions and gravitate towards egalitarian/democratic group structures.
Both men and women are drawn to the female-oriented mystery traditions of Witchcraft because of this value placed on the sacred feminine. Many Wiccans see the concept of the divine feminine as balancing and healing to the individual psyche, as well as offering Western culture a needed counter-balance to the effects of a long history of male domination. Many Wiccans see their spiritual path as a vehicle to positive social change and to a renewed respect for nature needed to help heal the planet from the effects of the irresponsible use of the earth’s resources by humans and the resulting environmental damage.
Many thanks to April Fox for submitting this article on Wicca and allowing me to post it here.
FA Farrell 10/31/03