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nix
B.V. Info Seeker
Joined: Oct 31, 2001
Posts: 2052
Location: UK
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 Posted: Wed May 22, 2002 8:41 pm Post subject: Wicca |
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Wicca is a widespread religion today, with many traditions and many variations. This page is to explain to those new members of the pagan clan just what those differences and similarities are, and why it\'s important.
Wicca goes by many names, among them are the Old Religion, Wisecraft, Witchcraft and the Craft. The followers of Wicca worship Goddess and God, in their various guises of ancient pagan deities, we respect the Earth as a living organism, many of us are involved in ecological movements such as Greenpeace and abhor cruelty to any living thing.
The themes of Wicca are joy in life, learning from life, and respect for nature\'s cycles of life and death. One of the things that sets Wicca apart from other more organised religions is that it is a way of living. Our faith is a part of our every thought and deed, we aren\'t just Witches on the festival days and full moons, we are followers of Wicca 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It influences the way we live our lives, the choices we make, and our very personalities, and because of this the Old Religion is never the same for two people, there is no book to which we all adhere, or laws by which we must abide.
Wicca is as flexible as those who practice it need it to be. The \"themes\" above are the underlying influences of Wicca, but there are as many ways of practicing the religion as there are Wiccans.
Since the open revival of Witchcraft by Gerald Gardner, possibly after initiation into an existing Goddess-based tradition by Dorothy Clutterbuck, many people became initiated into Gardner\'s tradition, known as Gardnerianism.
This branch of Wicca is still the largest tradition, with initiates throughout the world. The main characteristics that emerged were three degrees of initiation, the magick circle, the four watchtowers, and dancing to raise power.
The second largest tradition is the Alexandrian one, which began with the couple Alex and Maxine Saunders, initiates of Gardner. Alexandrianism and Gardnerianism are very similar in ritual and beliefs, the main divergence is on the styles chosen for ritual and points of emphasis. Alexandrians tend towards ritual magick and ceremonialism with far less interest in folk magick, kitchen witchery and informal faith than Gardnerians. Essentially they are both divisions of the same tradition.
The majority of smaller traditions have originated from Gardnerianism, although they have been adapted to the tastes and preferences of their founders. The use of ancient deity pantheons to define a new tradition is common and very successful among covens and solitaries alike.
From the relatively well known Asateru tradition which mimics ancient Norse worship of the Odin, Freya, Thor pantheon, to the Egyptian traditions of Isis and Osiris, or like my own of Bastet and Anpu, and other deities in the extensive Egyptian pantheon.
There are those who follow the Celtic tradition, which in itself has divisions of Anglo-Celtic, Cymri-Celtic, Irish-Celtic and Scottish-Celtic with according deities; Don in the Welsh, Dana in the Irish etc. Then there is also Pictish Wicca based upon the very old magickal and religious practices of the Picts. Faery Wicca is another well known tradition, involving Faery magick and incorporating the Fae outlook of spontaneity. And then there is the eclectic…
Eclectic Wicca is, I believe, the most popular form of Wicca. This is where a coven may \"pick and mix\" from many traditions, pantheons and practices to suit themselves.
They may write entirely new rituals in any form they please, and are free to invent and create the \"face\" of Wicca they feel most comfortable with. It is easy to understand how this un-tradition appeals to so many people. I consider myself to be eclectic.
There have been many heated discussions over the years about the existence of hereditary traditions; traditions which are familial in nature with the knowledge and faith being passed from parent or grandparent to each new generation for an uninterrupted length of time dating back to the Old Religions. It would be very hard to prove such a descent with any degree of accuracy, and I would suggest that it isn\'t necessary to do so. We are all Her children, all sisters and brothers, and we have remembered our faith from the times we practiced before. The religion brings us joy, a sense of community and \"home\", our Self has brought it with us from the Old times. That is enough.
There are also the Dianic traditions, which tend to be feminist in nature and centered around Goddess to the exclusion of God and male coven members. Vivianne Crowley states that \"the Dianic Craft…was inspired by the Women\'s Movement\". The Dianic tradition also shares origins in common with the Aradian tradition which was first brought to the public by Charles Leland in 1899. The Aradian Craft is a branch of Stregheria, in the sense that it comes from an old Italian tradition; the word \"Strega\" means Witch. Possibly the only tradition to remain unbroken for centuries in the care of women who learnt spells and healing from their mothers as part of the training they gave so that their daughters would be able to take care of their own families.
Within all of the above traditions and many others I haven\'t mentioned, there are solitary witches. Practitioners of the Craft who, either by choice or circumstance, follow and practice their faith alone. Commonly the Kitchen Witch and the Hedge Witch are solitary practices based on folk & nature magick within and around the home.
Whatever tradition you are from or will be in the future, we are all part of a welcoming, warm, caring community; our Clan. We are all a part of each other and have the capacity to express love in it\'s pure form towards our brothers and sisters. Although your personal tradition is important because it defines your style of working and reflects your personality, the most important thing to remember is that you belong to a wonderful family called Wicca.
Ayla
2nd August 2000
Taken from the website- http://ayla.brinkster.net |
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_________________
"And I mean this in a pink, slightly special way" |
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