Wicca - The Rise of a Western Mystery Religion Based on Witchcraft

Wicca is a Western mystery religion₂ invented and founded by Gerald Gardner in the UK in the 1950s, followed shortly by the very similar Alexandrian Wicca in the 1960s, although the two strands are now very closely intertwined₃ and Wicca is decentralized. Wiccan practices centre on ritual, nature veneration, natural cycles, and magical and spiritual learning₄. Much of it derived from pseudo-folklore. Its festivals are held on the eight yearly Sabbats. Divinity in Wicca is seen as both male and female (typically as the Horned God and Mother Goddess₄), as are the general forces of nature which emanate from the male and female principal_5,6, and these two sides complement one another_3,7. Groups of adherents are called covens and as with other mystery religions entrance to Wicca comes by way of initiation, a process which requires study and the gaining of the trust of the others. Covens aim to have thirteen members, which are then traditionally seen as "full", and growth comes by way of splintering₃. Solitary practitioners are called hedgewitches. Compared to other new religious movements in the West, adherence to Wicca takes up a surprising amount of dedication and time₃.

1. Roots
   1. Paganism and the New Age
   2. The Founding of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca
   3. The Causes Behind the Rise of Wicca and other NRMs
2. Features
   1. An Educated Religion With No Conversion, No Proselytisation and No Childhood Indoctrination
   2. Divinity: Mother Goddess and the Horned God
   3. Environmentalism
   4. Feminism
   5. The Natural Cycle of Seasons (the Wheel of the Year)
   6. Sexuality: A Mature and Adult Religion
   7. Tolerance for Others' Beliefs
   8. An Invented Past - Where Did Wicca Really Come From?
3. The News of the World's Campaign Against Wicca
4. Page Index Search

---

1. Roots

1.1. Paganism and the New Age

Paganism encompasses a range of religions, belief systems and practices_8,9,10,11: these include Asatrú, Celtic revivalism, Druidism, Goddess Spirituality, Heathenism, Paganism, various magical groups, some of the New Age, a few occult groups, Sacred Ecology and Wicca. It also covers the interest of previously-uninvolved Westerners in Shamanism, Native American and Native Australian spiritualism, and other primitivist belief systems. The Pagan Federation defines a Pagan as "a follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion"₁₁. In general, followers and fans are called Pagans with a capital "P" in order to differentiate them from "pagans", a historical religious term to mean anyone not a member of the traditional monotheistic religions. In the USA the term neo-Pagan is used for the same purpose.
General modern Paganism "is not a doctrinaire movement" and it is based "on experience rather than on blind faith"₁₂. The various forms of Paganism tend to share an individualistic approach, are spiritually and magically oriented, reject monotheism₁₃, involve a goddess of some sort ("a religion without goddesses can hardly be classified as Pagan"₁₁), and veer away from commercialism. They claim ancient and timeless "wisdom" and draw upon elements of religions from around the world, especially Western esoterism, romanticised versions of native beliefs and Indian spirituality, and share a creative use of myth and a seasonal cycle of festivals₁₄. Also normal are a positive and moral approach to environmentalism and feminism (or at least gender neutrality) and a generally liberal approach to human (and animal) rights in general. They do not consider the world to be bad nor ourselves to be inherently sinful₁₅.
The resulting kaleidoscope of beliefs and practices are mostly indulged in quite lightly, all described and merged using mystical and airy language which, however kindly it is meant, tends to lack any philosophical cogency and sits, generally speaking, within the realm of the mythical and the irrational. Concerns abound from Christians and other representatives of world religions who are clearly worried about the new competition from this popular and young suite of newcomers to the world stage, however, it must be noted that "most people's prejudices [towards Paganism in general] are based on misrepresentation by the media"₁₄ and some people still confuse Paganism with Satanism₁₆. Critics of Paganism can also be found amongst historians, skeptics, scientists and intellectuals based on the negative effect it can all have on common sense, and, complaints also arise from the natives and other genuine gurus of the traditions from which Paganism has drawn. Despite those problems and the addiitonal one of "Pagan" not referring to any particular belief system, "there is both official and academic recognition that Paganism is a serious religion"₁₄.
In the UK and in other countries it has spread to (principally, Germany and the USA) Wicca remains small despite the growth of Paganism in general. Wicca is hierarchical and formal, whereas many Pagans are individualistic and freelance, preferring to draw ideas and beliefs from traditions freely and not conform to a particular belief system. Some consider Wiccans to be the 'priests' of a Pagan laity, but, Wiccans (and Pagans) do not see it like that. Nonetheless academic researchers and observers generally hold that Wicca is a much more serious affair than Paganism in general.₁₇
If Wicca is seen as a relatively high-commitment and serious side of Paganism, it is easy to imagine just how much further away it is placed to the New Age. Many have gone out of their way to point out, if they are Wiccans, that they heartily do not count themselves as New Age (which they consider commercialist and faddish), and if they are a New Ager, that they are certainly not a witch of any kind₁₈. There is a general feeling that Wicca and the New Age are two opposite sides of modern popular alternative spirituality, and in the middle is neo-Paganism in general.

1.2. The Founding of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca

Wicca was invented and founded by Gerald Gardner in the UK in the 1950s₁₉. He had served in the Far East as a civil servant, and when returned to the UK, he moved to live in the New Forest with his wife. He was a "freemason, Rosicrucian, and member of the Ordo Templi Orientis and other secret societies"_3,20. The general emergence of magical and occult societies in Europe in the preceding decades paved the way - Aleister Crowley, for example, was very influential on Wicca₂₁. Gardner conversed with the Fellowship of Crotona, a co-Masonic community (called "co-" because they were brave enough to accept women, unlike mainstream Masonry). He claimed that within this community were an even more secret group of hereditary witches - that is - witches who have passed down their art from parent to child throughout the generations, and therefore have preserved ancient craft knowledge, unknown to the rest of the world. He says they initiated him in 1939. He left them, published a growing series of books on Witchcraft, doing the work required for the founding of Wicca, "a highly ritualistic, nature venerating, polytheistic, magical and religious system [... which] slowly became more widespread and public after the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951"₃.
Gardner's book Witchcraft Today (published 1954) was the centrepiece, and with some encouragement from Gardner, some people began to declare themselves witches, and organize themselves into covens. In the 1960s, a perfect decade for the growth of alternative religions, it spread to the USA, and Gardner died shortly after, in 1964₃.
Alex Sanders arrived on the scene in the early 1960s, founding alternative Wiccan covens in Europe (especially in the UK and Germany). He was a sensationalist attention-seeker₂₂ and had come from the increasingly discredited world of Spiritualism. His own stories of how he discovered an ancient religion, Wicca, both managed to contradict themselves in important details, but were also undermined by the fact that the Book of Shadows he produced was recognizably a Gardnerian one₂₂, and, his claims that he met Aleister Crowley when he was a boy also turned out to be untrue₂₂.

1.3. The Causes Behind the Rise of Wicca and other NRMs

There are a few general causes of the continual growth of unusual, novel, small, untraditional, often magical, seemingly counter-cultural and Earth-centered religious movements. The New Age, the Celtic revival (Druids, et. al.), neo-Paganism and Wicca all seem to share some features and often share actual practices, beliefs and members₂₃, and all are growing in sync. Likewise, there are often similar motivations for people to get involved with these types of movements:

• Some adopt new religious movements and alternative spiritualities as reactions against the complexities of science and of reductionism₂₄ and many members of the New Age in particular maintain attacks upon science, calling it closed-minded and limited in scope_25,26. But the same rhetoric against the modern world can be found in conservative Christian and Muslim groups, so this does not entirely explain the growth of NRMs in particular.
• Anti-consumerism and anti-materialism supply common motives alongside general disillusionment with Western capitalism and globalisation₂₇. Two scholars who have comprehensively examined modern Paganism state that the rise of interest in Paganism is "a response to an increased dissatisfaction with the way the world is going ecologically, spiritually and materially; people are disillusioned by mainstream religion and the realisation that materialism leaves an internal emptiness" (Harvey & Hardman 1995₂₈). But these feelings are also shared by many other traditional and world religions and by secular critics. For example, zany Pentecostal Christianity, also a growth sector in religion, shares these traits. Harvey Cox in his analysis specifically states that Pentecostalism is a response against contemporary materialism, giving expression to "the language of the heart" and supporting "chaotic emotions without suppressing them", and providing people with an "alternative" life, all within a Christian context₂₉. All very similar proclamations to those supporting the New Age and many NRMs.
• Activism. Areas of popular concern are often taken up quickly by small and new religious movements. Activist causes have found accord with neo-pagan groups and bolstered their numbers and popularity, in particular from the 1970s. As liberal Christians have embraced many of these same concerns₃₀ we can see that they are not the reserve of NRMs but of modern religious liberalism and moral conscientiousness.
• Environmentalism is commonly proclaimed by all kinds of pagan, Celt, pseudo-Native and New-Agers, and attracts many people on the basis of their concerns and passions for the world that we live in. A "desperate" reaction to the sad loss of the countryside and rapid urbanisation from 1890 onwards made people turn towards paganism_31,32 as a theoretical solution - and soon enough, neo-pagan religions arose to take on the challenge. Predictably, such people are nature-deprived city folk "as is usually true of those who love nature (the farmers are too busy fighting it)"₃₃. Many alternative spiritualities now sell themselves as representing "green religion"₃₄. Conservationism and sustainability are ubiquitous and this is the case both amongst the emoting of individuals and the doctrine and stance of organised groups.₃₅
  Pagans are especially into environmentalism, preservation, sustainability and other 'green' endeavours. Prudence Jones writes that "by experience we know that we can be transported into rapture by the beauty of Nature. [...] For Pagans the divine, transcendent powers seem to be present within Nature itself, and by deliberate ritual and contemplation the devout Pagan can make contact with these"(1995)₃₆. A study published in 1986 brokedown the reasons that American Pagans gave for becoming involved, and the positive and green stance on environmentalism was amongst the top 6 most commonly given motivations₃₇. Researchers William Bloom and M. York state that this has also been a strong trend within the New Age; according to York a New Ager "through interdependence and interpenetration, accepts responsibility for the planetary state"₃₈. Author Kenneth Rees imagines that we might expect to find that one hundred percent of all Pagans are environmentally-conscious and "professing a green spirituality"₃₉.
• See: "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)
  Feminism: Neopaganism and Wicca formed strong associations with early feminists. Feminists joining Dianic witchcraft in the 1980s (influenced by authors such as Zsuzsanna Budapest and Starhawk) outnumbered all other kinds of convert in that decade₄₀, and Paganism in general attracts those who are interested in feminist spirituality and goddess worship₄₁.
• Emotionalising, escapism and primitivism ('golden age' romanticism): Many NRMs are sourced from the vagaries of human experience, human credulity and introspective emotions: spiritualities where whim and fancy trump historical and scientific skepticism. It is related to what sociologists call "cultural primitivism": a romantic view of a past 'Golden Age' in a pre-industrial world, where a less sophisticated life is deemed more desirable, less spiritually constrained, and the idea helped along by a sense of mystery aided by a lack of concrete evidence on distant cultures₄₂. Those who adopt "native" mores are particularly likely to have a cultural primitivist outlook₄₃. Escapism and romanticism easily merge with mysticism, attracting many of those who now find Christianity too dogmatic, organised and proscribed.
• Native Peoples' Fandoms include a wave of Native-American "aspirational Indians" and British-orientated "Cardiac Celts" (Bowman 1996), interlinked with the New Age in a haphazard manner, whose audience are often those disaffected souls who espouse rhetoric against capitalism and modern technology. (Porterfield 1999, Mumm 2002 p114,p120)
  

  2. Features

  2.1. An Educated Religion With No Conversion, No Proselytisation and No Childhood Indoctrination

  Also see:
  

  • Religion and Intelligence.
  Wiccans tend to be much better educated than average. A UK survey by Pearson (2000) found "half of the Wiccans were university educated, seven had a masters degree, nine had doctorates, and one was studying for a doctorate. [...] Only one person was seeking employment"₄₇. Needless to say, other authors have noted the same. The historian Ronald Hutton states that Wiccans display "a higher than usual love of reading and commitment to constant self-education" (1999)₄₈ and J.B. Russell also notes that "most witches are relatively well educated" (1991)₄₉.
  Harrington studied 102 Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wiccans and compared them to the conversion motifs of John Lofland and Norman Skonovd, who in their 1983 work broke down all religious conversions into six major forms. Of these, the intellectual and mystical categories were best suited to Wiccans. The least influential conversion factor was coercion.