What Wiccans Do

The term ‘Wicca’ seems to have had even more general public interest than the word ‘Paganism’, perhaps due to the recent catch-all use of the latter in relation to anything remotely concerning magic, the New Age Movement or Goddess spirituality.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term 'Wicca' refers to "the practices and religious cult of modern witchcraft" (at least it was able to be concise). I'd probably add the word 'Pagan' between 'modern' and 'witchcraft' there, as it is rare indeed to meet the non-Pagan Wiccan; we might not all use the term 'Pagan' to describe ourselves, but the tenets of Wicca are clearly so inclined. I would also add the point that the word 'cult', used regularly by Wicca's founder, Gerald Gardner, ought not to be misconstrued:

"The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult is derived from the Latin cultus, meaning 'care' or 'adoration,' as 'a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same'. In English, it remains neutral and a technical term within this context to refer to the 'cult of Artemis at Ephesus' and the 'cult figures' that accompanied it, or to 'the importance of the Ave Maria in the cult of the Virgin.'

Secular cult opponents define a 'cult' as a religious or non-religious group that tends to manipulate, exploit, and control its members...The common anti-cult definition summarised, 1) Manipulative and authoritarian mind control over members; 2) Communal and totalistic in their organisation; 3) Aggressive in proselytizing; 4) Systematic program of indoctrination; 5) New membership of cults by middle class."

~ Sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult.

Since Gardner was speaking in the 1950's, before the general social fear of 'cults' and 'New Religious Movements' had properly emerged, it ought to be clear that his Wicca was only a cult as defined by the former paragraph, not the latter. The Craft is not in any way segregatory, communal or totalistic, indoctrinating or authoritarian, and its membership includes people from a wide range of social backgrounds. Most Wiccans are also very independently minded. And - like all the various branches of Paganism - Wiccans never proselytize (seek coverts); indeed, this is particularly true of Wicca since there are always more seekers than teachers, and only a small minority of seekers turn out to be suitable, just like in any other disclipline or priesthood.

In its purely traditional form, Wicca is a Pagan mystery cult into which new members are initiated by those within. In its modern and more diluted form, Wicca appears to be either a new-age spirituality particularly popular in America, or a (pseudo-) feminist spirituality in which the Goddess is given (at least) equal prominence to the God. I will speak mostly of the former, traditional version, since this is the version of Wicca which I personally know and love.

I began my training in 2003 and received my First Degree Initiation in April 2004. As part of my initiation I affirmed my dedication to the Craft, took on a new name (only to be used in Circle, aka ritual space) and made certain oaths of secrecy which were in no way personally repugnant to me as an ethical, creative, and fully compassionate being. The ritual itself remains secret for obvious reasons; it bears some similarity to the Masonic First Degree Initiation, although not as much as is popularly assumed.

Part of the framework of Wicca is that the successful initiate becomes a 'priestess' or 'priest', and later (upon elevation to Second, or in some traditions, higher, Degrees) 'High Priestess' or 'High Priest'. There is large scope for misunderstanding here, not to mention abuse. The fact that certain people have paraded themselves in public (usually wearing long white robes and a butter-wouldn't-melt expression) whilst claiming exorbitant amounts of money for the benefit of being in Their Holy Company, hasn't helped. The public use of 'High Priestess' and 'High Priest' may be beneficial for book sellers; but it does not help public relations for genuine Wiccans, most of whom keep themselves to themselves and abhor the idea of charging for training, initiations or private workings.

Just as the Freemasons have their inner ranking system, so too does Wicca. Just as proclaiming oneself an Entered Apprentice Freemason will mean nothing to Joe Bloggs (although he may very well look impressed), so should the inner workings of Wicca have little impact in the public realm, and the quieter the practitioner the more likely he is to be the 'real thing'.

Indeed, initiation means very little if the candidate is not ready to receive it. As a fellow Wiccan once ranted, to initiate means ‘to begin or enter into’ – it is not the be-all and end-all of magical practice, and does not automatically bestow amazing powers or make one part of ‘the spiritual elite’.

One may notice a certain amount of hypocrisy in this article, since I have been arguing for secrecy on the one hand ('To Know, To Dare, To Will and To Keep Silent' as some ritualists might say) yet at the same time proclaiming my own involvement for all the world to see. I want to be open about what I do in order to help clear away some of the crap, and I also want to warn people not to take everything at face value, since there are 'posers' on the scene. But none of this is (or should be) what Wicca is about.

People seem to have a fairly detailed idea of what Wiccans get up to behind closed doors. Not least entrenched are the lurid concepts of skyclad rituals and the Great Rite or hieros gamos as popularised in the recent film version of the Da Vinci Code. While many initiated groups certainly do work skyclad (naked), the idea that this would automatically lead to steaming orgies shows a particularly British naivety which I imagine is less often encountered upon the continent. Perhaps such orgies would be more likely if the image of the witch as a nubile and unattached young female (as featured on the covers of books) was anything to go by, yet when you consider the vast array of different ages in the Craft from young to ancient, and the many different shapes and sizes from gargantuan to skinny - not to mention all those middle-aged middle-class monogamites that also happen to be Wiccan - surely the presumption of lurid sex acts becomes a little ridiculous.

The Great Rite or Sacred Marriage, meanwhile, is nearly always performed symbolically. At the end of most Wiccan rituals the Rite is performed by dipping a blade into a cup and thus blessing the wine, which is shared around the circle. While Wicca has no problem whatsoever with sex - sexuality and the body is seen as sacred, after all - there are precious few initiates voyeur enough to be content to watch/be watched by others during the sex act. Some couples may practice tantra behind closed doors, but you don't have to be Wiccan to do that.

Wiccans are primarily ritualists. We ritually honour the seasons and changing tides, and we revere the divine as potentially both masculine and feminine, as well as androgynous. Thus the mention of 'the God' and 'the Goddess' comes in, although traditionally neither aspect is given greater precedence than the other.

Some Wiccans are duotheist or monotheist, viewing all the various deities as aspects of the One or the Divine Pair ('all gods are one god and all goddesses are one goddess, and there is but one initiator'). Yet others are pantheist, polytheist, agnostic or atheist; you don't have to believe in anything and there is no religious dogma. Many Wiccans are incredible cynics, and it has even been said that the sceptic makes a better witch.

As witches, Wiccans usually (although not necessarily always) 'practice magic'. This sounds incredibly farfetched and silly until one starts going into the concepts of positive affirmation, the power of prayer and even quantum mechanics. If one is willing to ridicule a person for believing that they are personally able to magically alter reality, or at least to affect change in some external way, then one should also be willing to ridicule all those religious adherents - Tibetan monks, Catholic priests, shamans, saints and likewise - who have prayed, chanted, meditated or spiritually journeyed their way through human history. Spiritual workers from all creeds and cultures have frequently affected change for the better, even if it be 'merely' a sense of divine comfort in the face of adversity, or a sense of beauty in the divine creation. Even in today's 'scientific' culture nearly 70% of the British population claim to believe in some form of deity; this is not the realm of 'irrational impulse' or 'imaginative fantasy', but a universal human trait necessary for our very survival.

While the structure of rites may vary, there is a general format; versions of which can be found in most Pagan Idiot's Guides. One member of the group will often be chosen to 'sweep' the space with a broom, symbolising that both physical and spiritual detritis is being removed from the area. This is not as easy as it sounds when you're out in the woods, but it works just fine on a domestic floor.

A circle is then 'cast' to create and define the sacred space, since Pagans today do not worship in pre-built churches, but look upon the starry sky as their cathedral roof. This involves imagining a protective sphere of light or energy around the area. The rest of the group are formally invited to enter the space, and may be consecrated with blessed water or 'cleansed' with sweet-smelling incense.

Frequently, the Mighty Ones of the Four Elements or Watchtowers are now invited to attend the circle. Each element (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) is given a corresponding direction (North, East, South, West) which may vary among traditions and locations. This serves to remind us that we are of the world and that the world is sacred. It also 'centres' us spatially, and is not unlike the Catholic practice of devoting seperate areas in a church to different saints. Furthermore, the biblical angels are also associated with the elements, and some Pagan practitioners actually work with the angelic names Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael and Michael in correspondance to the four directions.

Within the circle, Wiccans may use a wide variety of magical and spiritual techniques. Dancing, singing, and chanting are not uncommon and the enaction of myths as sacred play or ritual play-acting can be very rewarding. Aspects of the self, of nature and of the divine (all of which are believed to be intrinstically connected) may be honoured, invoked or paid homage to. Thus I might chant poetry to Sedna or Sophia in a rite to honour those aspects of the sacred divine self. Yewtree (www.handstones.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/yewtree/) has written numerous poems to the moon, Lilith, Herne etc. and these might be used in reference to previously gleaned wisdoms and/or to encourage reassociation with the divine subject.

'The Rite of Drawing Down the Moon' is a heavily popularised example of this. A woman (often, but not always, the group's High Priestess) is chosen to represent the Goddess. She is adored as such in a very moving piece of ritual which serves to encourage personal self-forgiveness and self-love. She is then asked to connect with the feminine divine energy, and to speak if She is so inclined. The male counterpart of this is called Drawing Down the Sun, although not all Wiccans find the moon/goddess sun/god analogies personally appropriate.

There is one other main theme which I ought to broach here, and that is the concept of Wiccan ethics. It seems to be a presupposed truth that "all Wiccans adhere to the Wiccan Rede, 'An' it harm none, do what ye will' and furthermore believe in the Law of Threefold Return". One particularly nauseating book has little 'Caution' boxes in many of the bottom right-hand corners of the page, which state something along the lines of: "Remember, kids, don't do anything harmful to anyone, or you'll get it back three times!"

You can imagine how much this idea gets ripped apart. After all, it's hardly as advanced a concept as, say, traditional concepts of karma. If we all stopped harming things, we'd be dead; even taking a breath causes harm on some level to something. The 'Caution' boxes in certain How-to Guides strike me as incredibly puritanical, moralistic and judgemental, suffixing 'gods' where 'God' once sufficed as the avenger of 'sin'. Yet the unswerving popular focus upon the Wiccan Rede and Law of Threefold Return shows an essential misunderstanding of the nature of those concepts and how they are actually used. I suspect that the ideas were simplified in order to highlight the fact that Wiccans do not do 'black magic' (whatever that may be), and instead work under ethical guidelines frequently stricter than those of your average evangelical ‘prayer-warrior’ (see by way of example Mark Twain's War Prayer, which is available at: www.positiveatheism.org/hist/twainwp.htm).

24-year-old Sarah Fisher is a trainee Interfaith Minister, law graduate and Wiccan from South Wales. She has been Pagan for as long as she can remember and has worked with a Gardnerian coven for about four years. She can be contacted at Telesilla@aol.com