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CHAPTER 1

The Wiccan Religion

"Religion. A daughter of hope and fear, explaining to ignorance the nature of the unknowable."

— Ambrose Bierce

To thousands of practitioners, Witchcraft is more than just a religion; it is a way of life, involving a complex mixture of magick, ritual custom, and reverence for deity. In its principal modern form, Wicca traces its origins back to the early 1940s and a British occultist named Gerald Gardner. It was Gardner's frustration with both Christianity and ceremonial magic (which uses psychic skills through rituals, traditions, and the laws of nature), the only "occult" alternative, that prompted him to create something different.

Gerald Gardner's religion was based on pre-existing spiritual concepts, which he combined in a new way to form a new system. His mixing of ceremonial magic with hereditary Witchcraft and Masonic ritual was nothing less than genius. And, with the help of people such as Doreen Valiente, Dion Fortune, Ross Nichols, and other notable scholars, he was able to create a new and dynamic religion.

Witchcraft, or Wicca, as we know it today, is not the sole survivor of antiquity, nor is it an entirely modern creation. Rather, it is a blend of many different spiritual persuasions. Despite the fact that Pagan rites, Shamanic customs, and Goddess worship predate Christianity, there is still no reliable evidence of an established Wiccan religion before 1951.

After the final repeal of the English Witchcraft Act in 1951, Gerald Gardner broke the vow of secrecy he held with the New Forest Coven. He published several books and soon the whole world knew that Witchcraft was alive and well, and being openly practiced.

From the early 1960s on, people involved with Witchcraft, magick, and related Pagan ideals began to speak out. More books appeared on the market, covens were started, and Wicca was on its way to becoming a recognizable religion. Today, there are hundreds of Wiccan organizations in the United States and Europe that support Gerald Gardner's ideas.

One reason that Witchcraft has become so popular is that it tends to focus on the individual. Wiccans are taught to think for themselves, take responsibility for their lives, and live by the Wiccan Rede, a sort of a witches' golden rule, which says, "An ye harm none, do what ye will."

Most Wiccans are attracted to the Craft because it helps them regain their personal power and rekindles their spiritual desire. In some cases, the lure is the Goddess herself. The idea of balance between sexes, rather than male superiority, and the feminine leadership in the Wiccan priesthood are very attractive to many Wiccans.

Modern Witchcraft has two branches: Devotional and Functional. Devotional Witchcraft deals primarily with the worship of the God and Goddess, whereas Functional Witchcraft employs the use of magick in its rites. Both branches work with the phases of the moon and the changing of the seasons to enhance mystical rites.

Within the Wiccan movement, there are various subgroups, known as traditions. Traditions are Wiccan spiritual systems built from an individual or group's emotional and learned experiences that are repeated and shared over a number of years, eventually creating an organized belief and ritual practice. Most of the well-known traditions that have managed to survive are descendants of original or hereditary sources. Others are the modern creations of scholars and notable authors.

Gardnerian Wicca

Gerald Gardner set the precedent for the modern Wiccan movement. Sometime during the late 1930s, Gardner was introduced to a hereditary Witch named Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, who initiated him into a group called the New Forest Coven. Prior to this, Gardner had been involved with the Masons, Oriental mysticism, and the Golden Dawn system of ceremonial magic. Gardner's new religion did not blossom overnight. It took years to perfect, with the input of other Witches and occultists. Gardner's publication of three books — High Magick's Aid (1949), Witchcraft Today (1954), and The Meaning of Witchcraft (l959) — brought the Wiccan ideal out into the open.

The religion that Gardner created, Gardnerian Wicca, stresses the worship of the Goddess and the Horned God. Covens are always headed by a High Priestess, and they have three degrees of initiation, paralleling those of the Masons. Religious celebrations occur at the eight seasonal shifts, and full moons are considered to be a time of great power and potential.

Most Gardnerian groups work skyclad (naked), and polarity (the balance between the masculine and feminine) is emphasized. Covens tend to have equal numbers of male and female initiates, and couples are encouraged to join. During ritual, power is raised through chanting, meditation, and symbolic sexual union, as enacted during the Great Rite. Symbolic tools include the four weapons of ceremonial magic (wand, athame, chalice, and pentacle), in addition to the scourge and cord.

Alexandrian Wicca

Alexandrian Wicca, an offshoot of Gardnerian Wicca, was founded in the early 1960s by Alex Sanders and his wife, Maxine. Alex Sanders proclaimed himself "King of the Witches," and claimed to have been initiated at age 7 by his grandmother. This was later found to be untrue, as it was revealed he had been initiated into a regular Gardnerian coven.

Alexandrian Wicca tends to focus on training, and it places much more emphasis on ceremonial magic than most Gardnerian groups do. Alexandrian Wiccans make use of Kabbalah, the magical system of the ancient Hebrews, and Enochian, the magical language of angels, which has its own alphabet and grammar. Covens usually meet once a week for training, and at full moons and seasonal shifts for worship. Most Alexandrian Witches work skyclad, use the same symbolic tools as Gardnerians, and stress initiation as the formal means of entrance into the group.

Dianic Wicca

There are two distinct branches of Dianic Wicca. The first is Old Dianic, formed in the early 1960s by Morgan McFarland and Mark Roberts. This original branch of Dianic Wicca places primary importance upon the Goddess, but still recognizes and honors the Horned God as her consort. Emphasis is on reclaiming female power and the goddess within. Rituals are eclectic. Tools and times of celebration are the same as Gardnerian Wicca.

The second branch of Dianic Witchcraft is feminist in orientation. Only women are allowed, and only the Goddess is worshiped. Often covens have lesbian participants only. Most groups are loosely structured, rituals are often experimental and spontaneous, and symbolism will vary from one group to another. The focus is always on the female aspect, and there is usually a political agenda attached to the group.

Eclectic Wicca

This branch of Wicca covers groups and individuals who do not follow any one tradition, but who incorporate the elements of several different traditions into their practices. They work with different deities from different pantheons, rather than concentrating on one specific god and goddess. Eclectic Wiccans mix and match symbols, myths, and ceremonies according to preference and experience.

Hereditary/Traditional Wicca

Witchcraft practiced within a family unit that lays claim to a lineage predating the Gardnerian revival is considered Hereditary or Traditional. In the early days of Wicca (1960s and 70s), this was the bandwagon to be on. Many, many people claimed a Wiccan heritage that extended from the dawn of time and was passed down to them by their grandmothers. It seems that in the 1960s and 70s, grandmothers were a busy lot, baking, sewing, and initiating the wee ones into Witchcraft!

Generally, the hereditary Witch comes from a family that practiced folk magic and herbal medicine. In the case of a true hereditary Witch, there will be cogent evidence of the direct line of descent from ancestors who were initiated Witches. The largest factions of hereditary/traditional Witches are found in Europe, where the roots of the Wiccan tree are firmly planted. These Witches pass down their Craft within the family circle. Very rarely will they allow an outsider in and they usually only initiate within the bloodline.

Hereditary/traditional Witches have a slightly different method of doing things than the post-Gardnerian Wiccans do. In general, most do not use the standard set of magical tools, but rely on everyday items to serve as symbols of their craft. Importance is placed on nature deities, fertility, charms, amulets, and herbal potions. Full moons are generally used for divination and the working of magic, and seasonal celebrations focus on the prosperity and protection of the family unit.

Strega Wicca

Italian Witchcraft, called Stregheria or Strega, dates back to the 14th century and is steeped in ancient folklore. It is believed that Strega descends from an ancient tribe that worshiped the moon and used nature and spirits to work its magic. The religion acknowledges the polarity of gender and personifies this in the form of God and Goddess. In Strega, the year is divided into the God months (October through February) and the Goddess months (March through September).

In keeping with tradition, the eight seasonal shifts are acknowledged and celebrated within a ritual context. The four tools of magic (wand, athame, chalice, and pentagram) are accepted as symbols of power and potential. Magic is considered to be an integral part of the religion, as are spells, omens, and charms. Talismans are used to manifest desire.

Strega recognizes a spiritual teacher in the form of Aridia, who is sent to earth to form a covenant with her followers. All those who follow Aridia and her Old Religion are blessed with insight and personal power. A great deal of importance is placed on lunar rites, star magic, and mythical prophecy.

Principles of Wiccan Belief

"Man is born to believe. And if no Church comes forward with its title-deeds of truth ... to guide him, he will find altars and idols in his own heart and his own imagination."

— Benjamin Disraeli

Like most genuine forms of spirituality, Wicca creates a sense of security and stability within the believer. This sense of stability, of knowing there is something more to life than just the physical, brings promise for the future. When this sense of security is combined with a true love for deity, the void of the soul is filled and true peace of mind is found.

One of the most outstanding features of all religions is belief — belief in deity, sacred scripture, and ritual custom. Beliefs form the nucleus of all religious systems. They are the roots and trunk from which the religion grows and flourishes. Without strong beliefs, no religion can weather the tides of time.

Because Witchcraft is a child with many fathers, and the offspring of a thousand claimants, it is difficult to place the beliefs of one tradition above another. No one knows for sure where most of Wicca's doctrines actually come from, and, to complicate matters, most contemporary Wiccans frequently disagree when it comes to religious matters.

However, there is one thing that most Wiccans and Pagans will agree on: The Principles of Wiccan Belief. These principles form the cornerstone of modern Wiccan belief, much as the Ten Commandments do for the Christian religion. The principles, which follow, were adopted by the Council of American Witches at their 1974 spring meet in Minneapolis. Most Wiccans still hold fast to these principles, even though the council disbanded shortly after its spring meet that year.

The Council of American Witches finds it necessary to define modern Witchcraft in terms of the American experience. We are not bound by traditions from other times and other cultures, and owe no allegiance to any person or power greater than the Divinity manifest throughout our own being. As American Witches, we welcome and respect all life-affirming teachings and traditions and seek to learn from all and to share our learning within our Council. We therefore ask that those who seek to identify with us accept these few basic principles.

Council Principles

1. We practice Rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the seasonal quarters and cross quarters.

2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment.

3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is 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 of the Universe as manifesting through polarity — as masculine and feminine — and believe that this same creative power lives in all people and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magical practice and religious worship.

5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds — sometimes known as the spiritual world, the collective unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc. — and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magical exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

7. We see religion, magic, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it — a worldview and philosophy of life that we identify as Witchcraft, the Wiccan Way.

8. Calling oneself a "witch" does not make one a Witch — but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.

9. We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know and to our personal role within it.

10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.

11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, or the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.

12. We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil," nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the devil," as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefit can only be derived from denial to another.

13. We acknowledge that we seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

The Wiccan Rede

One of the nice things about Wicca is its live-and-let-live philosophy. There is room for everyone and for everyone's personal belief system. Most Wiccans consider it unethical to impose their beliefs on others, let alone tell them how they should worship. This mandate to tolerate and respect others is passed along to each new initiate in the form of the Wiccan Rede — the Wiccan golden rule.

The Wiccan Rede

Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
Live and let live — fairly take and fairly give.
Cast the Circle thrice about to keep the evil spirits out.
To bind the spell every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch — speak ye little, listen much.
Deosil go by the waxing moon — sing and dance the Wiccan Rune.
Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane.
When the Lady's Moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the Moon rides at Her peak, then your heart's desire seek.
Head the North wind's mighty gale — lock the door and drop the sail.
When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss thee on the mouth.
When the West wind blows o'er, the departed spirits restless be.
Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them quick and burn them slow.
Elder be ye Lady's tree — burn it not or cursed ye'll be.
When the Wheel begins to turn, let the Beltane fires burn.
When the Wheel has turned to Yule, light the log and let Pan rule.
Heed ye flower, bush, and tree — by the Lady blessed be.
When the rippling waters go, cast a stone and truth ye'll know.
When ye are in dire need, hearken not to others' greed.
With the fool no season spend, or be counted as his friend.
Mind the threefold law ye should — three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow, wear the blue star on thy brow.
True in love ever be, unless thy lover's false to thee.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, an ye harm none, do what ye will.

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Excerpted from "Exploring Wicca"
by .
Copyright © 2006 Lady Sabrina.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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