The Wisdom of wicca: Modern witchcraft illuminated

I’m dating myself, but I'm from the generation that anticipated Thanksgiving each year for a reason other than turkey and dressing.

Before the advent of VHS and DVD players, it was only possible to see the Wizard of Oz once a year, and network television typically aired the movie around Thanksgiving. In my early years of waiting impatiently for the motion picture event of the year, my family still had a black and white television set. Needless to say, when the horseof- a-different-color turned several vibrant hues in a matter of seconds, I was clueless.

Naturally by seeing the movie only once a year in black and white, subtleties were lost. Gained was the impression that in addition to the three very bad witches, there might be a good witch. In pink chiffon, nonetheless--Glinda, the pagan. Shazam!

Preconceived ideas about wicca seem the logical place to start here because the facts about wicca have been as poorly aimed as Dorothy's bucket of water. Or more accurately, the arrow of misinformation was perfectly aligned. Just as the water liquidated the Wicked Witch, the misrepresentation still dilutes an alternative spiritual practice that had at its core a creed similar to the Hippocratic oath, “Do no harm.”

There are an estimated 750,000 wiccans in the United States. Nonetheless, the main confusion about witchcraft continues to be its association with Satanism. For the majority of wiccans, the association couldn't be farther from the truth. As Oberon and Morning Glory Zell, founders of the Church of All Worlds, a neo-pagan religious organization, write on their website, “A Satanist is a renegade Christian, who, in his rebellion against the authority of the church, worships Satan rather than Christ.” But wiccan’s don’t even believe in Satan, let alone worship him.

The terms and concepts of wiccan, pagan and witchcraft are intertwined and overlapping. Simply put, wicca is a contemporary pagan religion. Pagan religions are natureoriented, the word “pagan” being derived from the Latin “pagani,” meaning country. Pagans (and wiccans) generally believe in many gods and goddesses, rather than one supreme being; some wiccan practices center on a god and goddess, the male and female aspect of the divine.

Some, but not all, wiccans practice witchcraft. Here’s an important distinction: Witchcraft is not a religion; it’s a craft, the skill of being able to work magic—or magick, a traditional spelling which is still preferred by some. A witch, one who practices the “craft,” can belong to any religion, whereas wicca's spiritual roots can be traced to Shamanism and the reverence for nature. When a wiccan does practice witchcraft, it is always and only for good—for example, to quit smoking or have more patience with others. Magic used for improper purposes has a fierce payback. Additionally, magic must only be used with the consent of the person being helped—for example, if your sister were ill, you wouldn’t cast a spell to help her get well unless she specifically asked you to.

Historically, the witches of pagan Europe were women who practiced herbal medicine, midwifery, augury, spellcasting, divination and counseling. Many of these practices have been handed down to modern witches. When these same witches refused to follow the Judeo- Christian theology of worshipping only one god, persecution by the church began in earnest. The church had another major dispute that contributed to the oppression—the fact that many pagan gods and goddesses were very sexual, and were considered evil by the early church, especially for females. The church successfully drove witchcraft and wiccan practices underground by the mid-1400s, where it remained until the early part of the 20th century.

A local practitioner who preferred to remain anonymous says interest in wicca has grown because it's the celebration of femininity, or getting in touch with the deity in a feminine way.

"The feminist movement of the 1960s started us there, but we seemed to go through a long period where women were trying to become like men,” she says. “Now it seems to be swinging the other way and wicca is a voice for that."

Some people claim the roots of modern witchcraft go back 400 years, but the current movement probably dates to around 1921, when Margaret Murray published The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. The explosion of wicca is, however, identified with Gerald Gardner, an Englishman who was also a superb publicist. Gardner was a retired customs official who dabbled in spiritualism, anthropology and folklore. After England repealed its anti-witchcraft laws in 1951, modern witchcraft became a major component of the neo-pagan resurgence. Gardner enlisted famed occultist Aleister Crowley to compose rituals for his new religion and in 1954 published Witchcraft Today, a book not far removed from Margaret Murray's earlier effort.

But Gardner's book proved timely, and within a few years there were groups or covens of witches in virtually every British city. Gardnerian witchcraft incorporated innovative, sometimes kinky rituals, while still relying on the symbols, seasonal days of celebration, beliefs and deities of ancient Celtic society. Following Gardner's death in 1964, the largest well-defined witchcraft group was led by Alex Sanders and his wife Maxine. The group, known as Alexandrians, further popularized the “craft,” and most modern wiccan practices encompass both traditions. Seasonal festivals are very important to the tradition, and there are usually eight main festivals, or sabbats, evenly spaced during the year.

The sabbats celebrate the wheel of life and the cycles of nature. They begin with the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, and end the following year on Halloween, when the veil between the worlds is said to be thin.

The sabbats include:

Yule (winter solstice), December 20 to 23

Candlemas, February 2 Eostar (spring equinox), March 20 to 23

Beltane (May eve), April 30

Litha (summer solstice), June 20 to 23

Lughnasad (lammas), August 1 to 2

Mabon (fall equinox), September 20 to 23

Samhain

Unlike the typical Halloween celebration, wiccans celebrate Samhain reverently. "The sabbat rituals are intended to put us in touch with ourselves, the earth and the gods,” says Judith Brownlee, a local practitioner for 30 years. “They remind us what is important about different times of the year. The fall sabbat culminates with the harvest. It's a time to sit down and contemplate, to look within ourselves, consider our own mortality and honor those who have died in the past 12 months."

Many of the ancient Celtic customs are re-enacted in conjunction with Samhain. Single candles are lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors home. An extra chair might be set at the table to welcome them. Apples might be buried along roadsides to provide for lost spirits. Bonfires are lit. "Modern traditions vary in appearance or from altar to altar, but the crone, or wise woman, is critical to most,” Brownlee says. “She invites us to the crossroads, where the four directions converge. The crone knows the importance of choice, of making good choices for yourself."

In practicing witchcraft, wiccans honor any number of ancient gods and goddesses, including the triple goddess of the waxing, full and waning moon. The moon goddess, commonly called by her Roman name, Diana, as well as the horned Greek god Pan, lord of the animals and seasonal ruler of the underworld, are universal wiccan traditions.

But again, there are no hard and fast rules. According to Silver Raven Wolf, a contemporary witchcraft author, wicca as it is practiced today is a new religion, barely 50 years old, and modern wiccans don’t use the same techniques as those used even 30 years ago. “Why would we want to?” she asks. “The idea is to go forward with the knowledge of the past, tempered by the tools of our own age.”

Whether or not they follow ancient or modern traditions, Wiccans have at least two laws to which they strictly adhere, laws which are found in the wiccan Rede or Crede. In modern language they are, “And it harm none, do what you will,” and “Whatever you do comes back threefold.” No matter what religion we follow, it seems difficult to escape what many of us know as the golden rule or karma.

Getting started on the wiccan path can be tricky; after years of misrepresentation, wiccans are understandably reserved and circumspect about revealing their practice. "Usually people have started their pursuit of wicca by reading books,” Brownlee says. “There are people who are merely curious. Then there are those who know they want something different but don't know what sort of different they want. And then there are those who are absolutely sure.

Everyone has his or her path to find. We honor the Jewish path, the Buddhist path, the Christian path, the agnostic path. We just want our path honored in a similar manner." Like most new pursuits, Brownlee says choosing a teacher to apprentice with should not be taken lightly.

Perhaps the best advice for understanding the intricacies of wicca come from the late Scott Cunningham, a popular neo-wiccan author. “Wicca has been, up until the past decade or so, a closed religion, but no more. The inner components of wicca are available to anyone who can read and has the proper wit to understand the material.”

Resources, local and beyond

For more information, see the following resources: