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Grey Cat writes a controversial and heart-felt article on the study and practice of Wicca. She makes a strong case for those searching for their own religious path to differentiate between non-interchangeable Wiccan and Pagan traditions. |
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| When I got into modern Paganism, Wicca was just about the only way to go. Prudence Priest (1) was just beginning to find words to describe a path based on the allied Nordic pantheons and Ray Buckland put together a form of Wicca that also acknowledged Germanic roots. Some groups whose practice was more or less similar to that of Gardnerian Wiccans called themselves “Druids”, Leo Martello had introduced the idea of Italian Wicca or “Strega”, and ‘just Pagans’ hardly existed. At that time, most people focused on obtaining traditional Wiccan training. As today, different people had different sorts of luck in finding a coven and/or a teacher. Some found fakes and frauds, some found power trippers, some found individuals who had read a couple of books and were good at sounding like they knew what they were doing, and some found good groups with good teachers and leaders. A lot of people did not make it through the training, just like now, and those who did developed a strong sense of accomplishment that not everyone appreciated. However, there are several differences between the early 80s and today: for one thing, we now have choices within Paganism. Wicca is no longer the only game in town.
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| Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of people, by no means all of them new to Paganism, who think that Pagan and Wiccan are synonyms – they are not and never have been. I suspect that one reason for the confusion is the fact that many Pagan rituals are led by Wiccans. This happens primarily because Wiccans are trained in writing and leading ritual, not because nobody else should lead them. These days you will find rituals at Pagan gatherings led by people of a variety of paths (and, no, it doesn’t make everyone happy either). In addition, the majority of books published on Paganism claim to be Wiccan or at least Witchcraft – even though many contradict a lot of Wiccan traditions. What a lot of people are failing to understand is that Wicca is not and was never intended to be everyone’s path. Good Wiccan teachers really do try to discourage those who want to be their students – not because they want to keep everything secret but simply because if you do not have persistence, determination and a very real desire to study this particular path, you should be discouraged from attempting it. If you have got your mouth all shaped to sneer, ‘elitism’; you are entirely correct! Wicca quite simply is not for everyone.
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| Studying
Wicca To be truly Wiccan demands a lot more than merely completing a difficult course of study. While many people complete first degree training and take that initiation and go no further, many work several more years to achieve full clergy status. This commonly takes five to seven years and much more study, reading – and a lot of work with the coven and the general Pagan community to learn and hone leadership, ministerial and teaching skills. Then, when you reach third degree initiation, you spend even more time teaching, writing and leading rituals, administering a coven, teaching people, counseling and going to meetings. Seriously, Wicca has to be right up there with spouse and children and a bit ahead of job or career for it to work.
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| Wicca is more than a choice of religious affiliation; it’s a serious commitment and most people really do not want to give their religion that much of their time and energy; and I surely do not blame them. However, I am sure many Pagan readers are already typing up a rebuttal and calling me all sorts of unpleasant names. I really do not know why being ‘Wiccan’ has become so important to so many people: so important that many are foolish enough to adopt the title ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ (not knowing that this is only used by a couple of very traditional groups and then mostly only in formal coven or ritual situations) and pretending to a training and initiation that is obvious to every trained Wiccan they do not have. When you visit Wiccan sites on the Internet you can find any number of well-written pleas that Wicca be made more easily available, that it be open to everyone, that Wiccan leaders stop being so elitist and so difficult to find and work with. They ask that Wiccan leaders be less judgmental about the play-Wiccan groups that form out of a couple of books and a lot of make-believe. They demand that Wicca be open and accessible and at the same time get so well organized that we can prevent pretenders and exploitative individuals from victimizing newcomers.
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This book focuses on the needs of leaders in witchcraft, Wicca, and paganism, this guide provides valuable advanced knowledge for well-informed practitioners. Ancient and modern pagan history, pagan beliefs and concepts of deity, and the sources of modern Wicca are discussed. |
| Practicing
Magic and Ritual Despite all the invective one hears and sees dissing the so-called fuzzy bunnies (2) and all the whining from those who may qualify as the said fuzzy bunnies about how badly treated they have been by haughty Wiccans, Wicca will probably remain much as it has been: difficult, somewhat exclusive and not for everyone. Most Wiccans are happy to design and lead rituals for non-initiates – Pagans – but Wicca itself isn’t a path that makes much allowance for a ‘congregation’. Some Wiccan groups have made provisions for a separate set of rituals for an “outer grove” made up of individuals interested in the path but not wishing to seek initiation. I consider this a very good solution on a small scale. Obviously there is also a need for Pagan “churches” – organizations which can provide Pagan religious rituals and activities for the large number of people who seek to be members of Paganism without either selecting one of the specialized paths or investing a large part of their lives into what is essentially ‘clergy training’. These groups are forming and some of them are led by Wiccans. Others have designed training programs for their own clergy not necessarily based on Wiccan beliefs or patterns. Some patience and a lot of community support is needed to help these efforts succeed if they are to build a congregational Paganism. Pagan ‘churches’ are not in competition with Wicca in any meaningful way: they fulfill needs which Wicca is not designed to address and their congregations consist of people who are not ‘called’ to the intense dedication required for a Wiccan or a Druid. There are not enough trained and initiate Wiccans in America to train as Wiccans all the people wishing to become a part of Paganism and Wiccans should not try. Wiccans need to realize that they are not losing membership to the Pagan congregations and the Pagans need to realize that, just as not every Christian or even every Catholic is called upon to be a Carmelite Nun or a Franciscan Brother, neither are all called upon to become Wiccans or Druids. We are all different nodes in a religious movement, not in competition but all needed to provide the spectrum of choices that is a major part of the attraction of Paganism.
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Grey
Cat © 2004 Grey Cat |
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| Footnotes: (1) Prudence Priest leads Freya's Folk, a coven with a Norse focus that has been together for more than 20 years. (2) A Fuzzy Bunny is a) A newcomer to Paganism who is bubbly and euphoric about their discovery and who talks a bit too much and has read and experienced a bit too little; or b) a New Age hangover who grossly overemphasizes the positive aspects of Wicca, who has a sweeping and totally strict interpretation of the Wiccan Rede, and who, possibly, is too concerned to sound 'nice' in order to encourage public acceptance of the Pagan paths by the general society; or c) an individual who knows little and intends to learn less and who having slept with 'Wicca for Idiots' under their pillow for a week, has become Lady Know-it-all and is accepting students for 8th degree initiation. |
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| A report of one of the lectures given at the Pagan Federation Conference , Croydon, UK, a yearly event that takes place during November. This conference always has a multitude of interesting lectures and is well worth attending. This report is brought to by our editor, Judy Farncombe.
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| I managed to miss the opening section of the talk as I had been enjoying drumming at the 'Mani Vannan and friends' drumming workshop [great fun it was too]. So I missed Phyllis’ biography and introduction. Later on in her lecture she said that she was a member of the Children of Isis. Information regarding her is not yet available on the internet, searching on her name brings up three references, the Pagan Federation gig I was attending, an actress in a television film about the Heaven’s Gates suicides, and a lady involved in criminal fraud in the States [she used the name as an alias]. The third reference could not be this beautiful lady with the magnificent and sonorous voice that was bewitching me. I could well believe that anyone with a voice like hers could, and should, be active in the world of the media, but whether she was the actress in the film, I have no idea.
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| I arrived as she was explaining that ‘Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil – this was said in the South’ and she went on to explain how in African-American myth, if you stand by the crossroads at night you could meet ‘The Man’ himself. He wrote the song ‘Crossroads Blues’ about the oral mythic traditions of the deep south. In fact many of his songs were based on HooDoo, and he was thought to practice it. Many of the terms that are in his songs come from HooDoo: |
 The
Complete Recordings Click
image to visit Amazon.co.uk. Prices range from £9 used to £10.99
new.Robert Johnson - Delta Blues click underlined pink text to visit Amazon.com. Prices range from $7.75 used to $10.99 for new. |
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| Crossroads Mojo Stones in his passway/pathway |
A
major magic-making place Spells Foot track magic, a major aspect of curses in HooDoo |
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| HooDoo is not VooDoo, Santeria, Candoble or any of the various magical forms that resulted when ethic peoples own shamanic religions of the Old World married Catholicism in the New World. It was a form of magic brought in to the southern states by the Africans stolen sold in to the slavery of the cotton fields. It involves the use of conjuration and root work, and contains an ethos, esoteric customs and folklore. HooDoo also included sacrifice, this could be of an object, animal or even a human. The folklore kept a social cohesion going within the stolen society that remains to the present day, hidden but alive. Magic and religion is one in the African American society of the Deep South, this can be seen best in the manifestation of possession that commonly occurs during celebrations. There are rules concerning the act of possession. One of the deities would take control of the person involved and use their body to ‘speak’. On finishing, they would leave the body and the person would pass out. The ‘priest’ would help the person to fall, or lie down, and recover themselves. The act of possession would be a temporary thing. The beauty of this aspect of the nature-based religion of HooDoo was that it has passed in to Christian practice - what is the Baptist Church's ‘speaking in tongues’ but a continuation of this type of possession under a different name?
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| The
practice of root work was the bailiwick of the medicine man. To understand
its place in HooDoo you need to understand that the most valuable possession
of an African-American was his Assai – [spelling unknown] life-force.
When a society has had everything taken from it forcibly, and sold into
exile as a workforce, then the only possession they would still have was
their own life, hence the importance of Assai. The Root man healed injury
to the life force. They could also invoke magic to harm it. HooDoo recognised,
and used, the duality of good and evil, male and female, the eastern yin
and yang. The opposite to the medicine man was the sorcerer, who would
use his or her skills to curse, not to heal. Another interesting aspect
of HooDoo magic was that the supplicant could always look for a stronger
Roots man or Sorcerer to break the spells that had been cast upon them
– magical one-upmanship. Phyllis mentioned that to find the Root
man in a local community you need only visit the local church. There was
no differentiation between magic and religion so the local HooDoo practitioner
would also be a church member. |
 Hoodoo
Mysteries: Folk Magic, Mysticism... click
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So what other interesting titbits did she share with us? There is a strong connection between river cults and HooDoo. They have always been a major factor in African religions, and the fact that Christian Baptism involved submersion increased the cross-over connections between HooDoo and Baptism. The man at the crossroads is not the devil. He offers an exchange – but you need to give him a coin in recompense. He opens the way to wisdom. Is he analogous with Thoth, with Hermes the trickster? It was the man at the crossroads that gave Robert Johnson his genius of music – or so rumour has it. The ethics that are passed on through the practice of HooDoo are; a deep respect for the unseen around you; a form of ancestor worship [grave tidying every April is one aspect of this, it is paying homage to the bones]; and a deep connection to water. She ended her lecture with a wonderful piece of blues, sung by a woman. It was a fascinating lecture. I learnt a lot about a religion that I had never heard about previously. As a blues fan I will listen to the lyrics with more knowledge and understanding in the future.
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Interesting HooDoo Related Websites: www.luckymojo.com ©
2004 Judith Farncombe |
 Sticks,
Stones, Roots and Bones: Hoodoo,... click
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for new.Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones click pink underlined text to visit Amazon.com. Prices range from $4.48 for used to $10.47 for new. |
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| UK Events: LONDON Gods
and goddesses of early paganism? The evidence from archaeology –
Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains, Venus figurines, etc. The Gaelic feast of Imbolc (festival of Candlemas) – Brighde and Bridget The history of early modern European witchcraft – introduction and general overview of the persecutions – how the ‘witch’ stereotype was constructed, who by, where and when. Its artistic portrayal – Goya, Molitor, Brueghel, etc. The role of the Malleus Maleficarum – a Spanish case study. British witch trial evidence compared and contrasted: case studies from Essex, Sussex, North Berwick, Aberdeen and Auldearne. Theories on the persecution: anthropological, feminist, theological, and shamanic. Bridging the gap between then and now – the place of the cunning folk. The Spring Equinox – Eostre – Easter. All
classes are illustrated throughout with videos, audiocassettes, slides
and handouts together with supporting reading for further research. Discussion
is encouraged. |
 LondonAvalonia Presents: 22 January 2005 The ArchAngels How
to work with the ArchAngels from the perspective of a Magickian working
in the Western Mystery tradition. The archangels are immensely powerful
beings, yet they are often ignored, especially the planetary archangels
who can focus and direct energies to help us achieve our magickal goals.
This workshop will include meditations and invocations of the ArchAngels,
to help explore and familiarise us with their natures and the techniques
most effective for use with them. 5
February 2005 13
March 2005 If you have an interest in Hekate, as a Goddess to work with as a modern Pagan or Witch, you should find this workshop interesting. There will be plenty of practical work, including guided visualisations and we will conclude the day with a ceremony to honour Hekate, drawing from ancient Greek sources! Limited
to 12 places only. Book early to avoid disappointment. |
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Monday 20th
December at 7.30pm Tuesday February
1st at 7.30pm We also plan to hold regular Dark Moon ceremonies in the Temple beginning in November. At the dark moon, we can more easily let go of that which we no longer need, and in the ceremonies we will also acknowledge and honour our deepest impulses and desires and how they connect us one with another. The dates of these will be: Monday,
January 10 2005 All at 7.30 pm All are welcome. Admission, as usual, free but donations will be welcomed! |
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If there are any events that our American readers want to announce for the first part of 2005 please send them to us at: |
