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their forefathers/mothers. This may not be a bad thing in itself. if the revisions were
acknowledged as such and not cloaked in supposed ancient traditions.
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Witchcraft Or "Wicca"
The Neo-Pagan Religion
Definition Of Terms
If the reader will notice, I have divided the subject of witchcraft into two parts. When we
speak of witches and witchcraft, we must consider both generic (lower case "w") and a proper
noun (upper case "W") definitions of these terms. In this section, the latter terms will be
considered. I will use Witch to mean a person (male or female) who follows the religion of
Witchcraft or Wicca (more about this usage later). The terms: Witchcraft, Wicca, The Craft
will all refer to the religion, as opposed the practice (discussed in the next section).
Wicca, Wicce & Wiccan
Before going on into the religion, I should make some comments on the terms: Wicca, Wicce
& Wiccan. These terms came into vogue only very recently, possibly to avoid the negative
connotations of the "w" word (witch). The only problem I have with the new terms is that their
use is more often than not grammatically incorrect. Wicca is Anglo-Saxon or Old Englsh for a
male witch (feminist practitioners, please note) and Wicce is a female witch. Wiccan is plural.
"Wiccans" is incorrect, like "geeses", "womens", "mices", etc.
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Witchcraft/Wicca - Origins
Similar to Neo-Paganism (of which Wicca is a part), Wicca or Witchcraft is a relatively new
religion which has dubious claims to ancient origins. This is not to say that there is not an "Old
Religion" (actually more than one religion) whose adherents are witches.
G.B.Gardner & D.Valiente
Much of what passes for Witchcraft today owes its origins to Gerald Brosseau Gardner
(1884-1964) and Doreen Valiente. Modern Witchcraft began no earlier than 1939 and it
developed into the modern pagan religion from that time until Gardner's death in 1964. Even
though Gardner may have exaggerated The Craft's origins in antiquity, he must be credited
with the beginning of not only modern Craft, but also the Pagan Renaissance itself. We are all
indebted to him and Valiente.
The above Craft mini history, that does not mean to imply that there were no Witches before
Gardner & Valiente. Quite the contrary, but those Pre-Gardner Witches did not contribute
significantly to the modern Craft movement. Most were either individuals, families or small
groups who worked in private. They generally avoided revealing their practices to the outside
world. Often their knowledge was passed on to only one other person. After Gardner, many of
these older tradition Witches did graft some of Gardner's contributions onto their own
practices.
If one is interested in further study of modern Witchcraft (the religion), read:
To study an earlier, documented, practice of Witchcraft as a religion, then one should read
Charles G. Leland's ARADIA:. This was about Leland's findings of a witch-cult through his
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interaction with a Tuscany strega, or witch, named Madellana. His Vangelo or Gospel describe
the beliefs and practices of a group of people still adhering to La Vecchia Religione or "The Old
Religion". Leland's book was first publised in 1890 and it shows the remnants of a pagan and
magical religion, existing in 19th Century Italy.
While this religion was devoted to the ancient Roman goddess, Diana, and Her daughter
Aradia, it does show the influence, even if negative, of Christianity. It contains references to
Cain, The Church, Lucifer (including the Christian connotation of that name), Mary, etc.
Furthermore, it can be readily seen that the theology of "La Vecchia Religione" is incomplete in
the sense of a fully developed religion. Gardner was well aware of Leland's finding (which can
be seen in his "Book Of Shadows") and perhaps he was attempting the "fill-in" the theological
holes.
One of the two most interesting things about La Vecchia Religione, is the blend of magic
working and religious devotion (see witchcraft in next section). The other interesting thing is
it's understanding of "class struggle" and The Goddess's preference for the oppressed class. She
(Diana) commissioned Her daughter (Aradia) to teach the oppressed the arts of poisoning and
magical working against their oppressors. Even the practice of skyclad, or nude worship,
(which Gardner adopted) has an earlier connection to class stuggle. Gardner conveniently
omitted this reference in his version of "The Charge Of The Goddess".
To buy of the books mentioned above, visit our Bayou Saint John Catalog Page
~~~~~~~~~
What Is A Witch?
In recent years the answer to the above question has become more confusing as the number
of popular books on "Wicca" increases. There was a time, in the 60's, 70s' that the question
could be more easily answered. There was more or less a standard of beliefs held or aspired to
by most Witches.
These beliefs consisted of three basic ideas or "laws" about the universe - the Witch's
cosmology, so to speak. The Laws are:
To paraphrase (very loosly) Jo Dixon, a High Priestess and early American Craft theologian,
subscribing to all three of the above laws and the primary devotion to the Goddess are the
defining factors of a Witch.
Aside from subscribing to the three Laws, Witches also had the Goddess as their primary
focus of devotion. Some, even older Witches, will argue here that the God is equal. And so be it,
but, on both sides of the issue, the Goddess is never less than equal. Even where Witches fell on
the equality side of the issue, there was still a focus on the Goddess - if only to restore Her
position after so many years of patriarchy.
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