Wicca

Wicca is a Neopagan religion that is found in many English-speaking countries and several other countries as well. It was originally founded by the British civil servant Gerald Gardner most likely in the 1940s, but was first openly revealed in 1954. Since its founding, various related Wiccan traditions have evolved or been created, the original being Gardnerian Wicca, which is the name of the tradition that follows the specific beliefs and practices established by Gerald Gardner.

History of Wicca

Origins

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 Völva), taught to him by a woman known as "Dafo" or "Old Dorothy" (often assumed to be Dorothy Clutterbuck, although modern researchers such as Philip Heselton have theorized that Dafo and Clutterbuck were two separate individuals). 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. Nonetheless, the most widespread theory is that after Gardner retired from adventuring around the globe, he encountered Clutterbuck and her New Forest coven in the region of the same name. He was supposedly initiated into the coven in 1939, where he stayed for years until England's ban on Witchcraft-related books was repealed. At this point, fearing the Craft would die out, he worked on his book Witchcraft Today, releasing it in 1954. He followed it with The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1959. It is from these books that much of modern Wicca manifested.

Related Topics:
Europe - Völva - Dafo - Dorothy Clutterbuck - Philip Heselton - Dr. Margaret Murray - Charles Godfrey Leland - Freemasonry - Ceremonial magic - Ronald Hutton - New Forest coven - Region - Witchcraft Today - The Meaning of Witchcraft

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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.

Related Topics:
Victorian era - Buddhist - Hindu

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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.

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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.

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Today, Gardner's role in Wicca's origin is controversial. Some criticize him for breaking the secrecy of Wicca, and that his explanation that he feared the Craft would die out wasn't substantial. Others hail him as the savior of the Craft, and argue that Wicca would still be unknown today had he not publicized it.

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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.

Related Topics:
Matriarchal - Johann Jakob Bachofen - Erich Neumann - Margaret Murray - Robert Graves - Carl Jung - Marija Gimbutas - Joseph Campbell - Ashley Montagu

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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.

Related Topics:
Mother Goddess - Edwardian - Horned God - Pan

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Later developments

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. The practice remains in a few covens still today. Ray Buckland introduced modern Wicca to America after moving to Long Island. Buckland continued writing the Book of Shadows. 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.

Related Topics:
Gardnerian Wicca - Initiatory - Mystery religion - Book of Shadows - Grimoire - Raymond Buckland - 1970s

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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 what she claimed was a version of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, although the authenticity of this book has never been validated. Increasing awareness of Gardner's literary sources and the actual early history of the movement made creativity seem as valuable as Gardnerian tradition.

Related Topics:
Syncretistic - Kabbalah - Ceremonial magic - 1971

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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.

Related Topics:
Feminists - Dianic Wicca

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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.

Related Topics:
1970s - 1974 - Seax-Wica - 1986

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