Wicca FAQ (Open)

[Ravynne Sidhe]

Introduction

The purpose of this FAQ is to educate on what is Wicca or what is commonly known as British Traditional Wicca, as well as what is Solitary Wicca, along with the giant debate between both of them. The purpose is to dispel any misconceptions about Wicca as well as give resources to those still interested in being Wiccan or deciding to find their own path. As well as to help others understand that neither side is really at fault for the whole friction, and that some day people will open their eyes, while others will keep them closed as with most things in this life.

 

[Ravynne Sidhe]

How Wicca Got It's Start

Wicca was established in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, who at the time was a civil servant in Britain. Prior to the concept of Wicca, Gardner was initiated into the New Forest Coven by Dafo. However the evidence of this coven has been up in the air, we don't know if it did or didn't exist. However this doesn't make the New Forest Coven; a Wiccan coven. There are some witchcraft traditions that do require it's members to initiate first before practicing the rituals or gaining admittance.

Prior to Wicca being established in 1954, witchcraft was illegal in Britain dating back to the first Witchcraft Act in the 1500's. Anyone who was basically caught practicing witchcraft would be arrested, and probably executed which was the norm at these times. The Act was repelled, and had came back for at least 5 times up until 1736 which was left inacted until 1951. In 1944 there was a woman who was arrested because she claimed to conjure up spirits. In 1951, the British government decided to do away with the law due to many spiritualist urging it to be repealed.

Even though Wicca is a fairly new religion, it has many roots that date back to the ancient ages that existed in Britain along with freemasonry, as well as some more modern roots that came from the Order of the Golden Dawn, and Thelema.

 

[Ravynne Sidhe]

What is British Traditional Wicca?

British Traditional Wicca is what is known in America as Traditional Wicca. Wicca was established in 1954 by public civil servant Gerald B. Gardner. Prior to being involved with the New Forest Coven, Gardner was involved in many secret socieities, namely the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Alesister Crowley's Ordo Tempeli Orientis. Gardner took from these secret societies knowledge of keeping secrets hidden for years and only allowing those initiated to know them. When he was initiated into the New Forest Coven by Dafo he began work on his religion of the Wica. His reasoning for writing Witchcraft Today after the repel of witchcraft laws, saying such a thing exists and he found a way to preserve histories of initiated witches by writing their experiences in a Book of Shadows that was kept within covens.

Contrary to popular belief, Wicca didn't get it's start as an earth based religion. It first started out as a fertility religion, honoring and centering on fertility that occurs in nature. Because of this, many of the rites involved sexual themes such as performing the five fold kiss on the different aspects of the human reproductive system (which is more like a peck), doing rituals skyclad or ritually naked, etc. Because of this it is recommended that people interested in BTW be initiated at 18 or 21 in a coven.

British Traditional Wicca didn't start as polytheistic or monotheistic. It is however a ditheistic faith that reveres both the Lord and the Lady of the Isles as equals. The reason for this is it focus on gender polarity often seen in fertility and to describe each of the holidays and rituals. They are not worshiped greater than the other, or lesser than the other.

British Traditional Wicca wasn't just a religion but also a practice. The official term for it is an orthopraxy, which basically means right practice, whereas other religions are an orthodoxy, which means right belief. What qualifies someone to be apart of British Traditional Wicca is knowing how to do the right practices, how to properly use the tools effectively, how to invoke the Lord and Lady of the Isles, how to cast and consecrate the circle properly, etc. According to the more elitist British Traditional Wiccans If you change the orthopraxy far from it's actual core, then it ceases to be Wicca. They maintain that in order to be a Wiccan you must be initiated in order to even know what the practices are.

Much of what is inside British Traditional Wicca is bound by oath. What is inside British Traditional Wicca is often known as the Inner Court. To the more elitist types, they maintain that no one on the outer court of Wicca can know the practices or even the names of the Lord and Lady of the Isles. However, according to the Ardanes, the 161 laws of Wicca, whosoever breaks their oaths will suffer the curse of the Goddess, and be sent to the Christian Hell. However, this doesn't mean that those who break their oaths will be sent there. Instead it's used to describe that separation from the Goddess is a bad thing, and oaths are very sacred.

British Traditional Wicca as explained briefly earlier, is initiationary. The initiation ritual introduces one formally to the Lord and Lady of the Isles, it is also when you learn the names of the Lord and Lady. The initiation is often done cross gender, which means that depending on your sex you will initiate with either the High Priest or High Priestess. If you are a female, you would initiate with the High Priest, if you are a male, you would initiate with the High Priestess. The initiation rituals also do include some sexual themes as well. You will either be required to stand skyclad, or ritually naked or perform the five fold kiss on the High Priest or High Priestess (which is more like peck, not an actual kiss. On the female the High Priest will perform it starting with both feet, both knees, the womb, the breasts, and the lips, starting with a kiss on the right pair. One the male the High Priestess will perform it by kissing both the feet, knees, phallus, both breasts and the lips starting with the right). British Traditional Wicca is also a priesthood, so initiating shows that you have completed your training as a priest or priestess. Not everyone is meant to be come a priest or priestess and not everyone is even ready to even be initiated. Because of this the High Priest or High Priestess of each coven will determine who is what the believe is a Proper Person. This is a list of criteria that helps them determine if the initiate has received the call to priesthood. The criteria for proper personhood varies from being able to spell correctly, using proper grammar (it is a possibility. And when I said it varies from anything, this would be anything) to being able to stand skyclad, being comfortable with performing the sexually themed rituals, to being emotionally stable, mentally stable, etc. Please note that British Traditional Wicca is not for everyone. Not everyone hears the call to priesthood. Once a British Traditional Wiccan is initiated they are declared both a Witch and a Priest/Priestess.

British Traditional Wicca is classified as a mystery witch cult. The mysteries are the different things that people can perceive to be true. The mysteries in Wicca are built around a specific event, if you do the ritual right, as long with the people around you, it builds the needed framework to make this event happen. In order to understand the mysteries you need to experience them yourself, when doing the rituals. You cannot learn the mysteries out of a book.

Lastly not all Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede. The Rede was written by Doreen Valiente 10 years after the conception of Wicca. However the problem with the Rede is that it is mere advice. You don't have to follow the Rede if you don't want to. What British Traditional Wiccans do follow as law are the 161 laws called the Ardanes. To the non-initiate they don't make any sense, they seem old and outdated. However to the initiated British Traditional Wiccan they make sense, and they are law.

The Traditions of British Traditional Wicca are as follows:
-Gardenian
-Alexandrian
-Moschian
-Central Valley
-Kingstone
-Assembly of Wicca
-Majestic
-Greencraft
-Daoine Core
-Silver Crescent

 

[Ravynne Sidhe]

The Solitary Wiccan Movement

Following the establishment of Wicca, much social reform had been popping up in several places in America from the 60's and 70's. Among these calls for reform was the establishment of Solitary Wicca, or Neo-Wicca. In the 70's a man named Scott Cunningham published his book Wicca: Guide to the Solitary Practitioner. Prior to that Cunningham was initiated in Gardenian Wicca, and was an initiate for about 10 years and then left. According to many British Traditional Wiccans this doesn't make him qualified to teach on Wicca because what he had were the outer court rituals, but it was enough to cause a shift in Wicca that would last till the modern age. There has been much speculation as to why Cunningham established Solitary Wicca. Some speculate that he didn't like how only one group of people could claim Wicca and others could not. Whereas others say it had to do with him being gay and that Gardner was known for being quite...homophobic. Whatever the case was, Cunningham brought to us a way where we could feel at home with Wicca.

Solitary Wiccans also believe in the Lord and Lady of the Isles. Now while they aren't initiated in a coven, dedicate themselves to the Lord and Lady. Some even have gnosis or spiritual insight where the deities themselves show themselves to many practioners and tell them their names.

Solitary Wiccans like British Traditional Wiccans, follow the Wheel of the Year holidays, and venerate both the God and the Goddess. They perform somewhat similar rituals found in the outer court. Neo-Wiccans believe in the Wiccan Rede as simple advice, some use that advice, whereas others don't. Though there are people who to this day demand that the Wiccan Rede is law. They also believe in reincarnation which is when a soul becomes reborn into a new body after going to a rest stop or a teaching ground called the Summerlands which goes over the mistakes we made in the past life.

While Neo-Wiccans might have elf-dedication rites, the oaths that they make to the Lord and Lady of the Isles isn't something that should be discounted. An oath is an oath is an oath. Oaths are very strong things that bind us to both the Lord and Lady of the Isles, and they last for a lifetime.

 

[Ravynne Sidhe]

The Great British Traditional Wicca vs Solitary Wicca Debate

As many already know the great debate occurring in the forums as well as many guilds on Gaia revolves around British Traditional Wiccans and their pagan...sycophants trying to tell other solitaries what is Wicca and what it isn't.

Some of the BTW's that are out there do feel threatened in a way by solitaries because according to them, there are people running around claiming the title of Wicca because a few books told them it's cool (generalization). They call anyone who claims to be a solitary Wiccan a fluffy bunny. In their minds they assume everyone believes the work of Silver Ravenwolf to be truth, that they only read one book as if they were one of the Abrahamic faiths. However this example is extreme to pin on the majority of Solitary Wiccans and can only apply to the younger generation who don't know any better, and the older generation that should know better but believe because they've been doing this a long time that they're the universal knowledge on all things Wicca, as if they're the Pope. (Why yes I'm bitter!)

Like any beginner in either religion, a career, etc, solitary Wiccans study their hardest, learning from books, websites, etc. Basically taking in a lot of information from different sources trying to sort through what is right and what isn't right. Not everyone takes information from one book, we all learn that from school so making that assumption isn't even correct nor accurate. Most Solitaries learn from all sources, including that of Gardner, Hutton, Valiente, and Adler. They explore the world around them and learn, learn and learn. It is a never ending battle of education that will never end. The term Wicca may have been used by Gardner but he himself never said one had to do xyz. It's inferred by those either initiated by Gardner, or been initiated by people who were initiated by Gardner etc. Unfortunately Gardner is deceased so we'll never know his opinion.

The bottom line is: Not every Solitary Wiccan out there is a fluffy bunny, and not every British Traditional Wiccans is an elitist p***k.

 

[Ravynne Sidhe]

Glossary of Terms

Ardanes: 161 laws of Wicca.

British Traditional Wicca: Also known as simply Wicca in Britain. Was established in 1954 as an initionary, oathbound, mystery, fertility, witchcult started in Britain after the witchcraft acts were nullified and was later brought to America in the 1960's.

Fertility: worship of the fertility cycle as it appears in nature.

Fluffy Bunny: Someone who doesn't wish to learn, and holds onto their ignorance.

Gardenian Wicca: The Catholicism of Wicca, it is the first tradition of British Traditional Wicca, named after Gerald Gardner.

Gerald Gardner: A British civil servant who was initiated in the New Forest Coven while he was writing to establish Wicca. In 1954 he established the religion of Wicca with the release of his book Witchcraft Today.

High Priest: Male leader of a coven

High Priestess:Female leader of a coven.

Illusion: also known as stage magic. Given the name illusions, this form of magic performed by street magicians, or illusionists, plays tricks on the brain.

Initiation: In BTW, initiations with a priest and priestess depending on your sex is necessary to become apart of BTW. As well as the second and third degrees.

Magic(k): The spiritual force within us that is brought out when working rituals. The k is significant in Thelema as being ceremonial magic, and has a numerological meaning.

Mystery: Within Wicca, the very nature of the rituals and the deities is shrouded in mystery within the Inner Court. In order to access these mysteries they need to be experienced.

Oathbound: In British Traditional Wicca, much of the Inner Court is bound by an oath.

Oathbreaker: Someone who breaks their oaths with the Gods and Goddesses. Another word for an oathbreaker was traditionally a warlock.

Oath: a spoken word binding oneself to the Gods and Goddesses.

Neo-Wicca: See Solitary Wicca

Priesthood: When someone is initiated in British Traditional Wicca, they are declared both a witch and a priest/priestess.

Solitary Wicca: Started from a split of Wicca caused by Scott Cunningham. Solitary Wiccans are people who practice on their own without a coven using the Outer Court material of Wicca. Many are solitary in hopes of being initiated, whereas others just feel comfortable with it.

Wicca: Got it's start in 1954 by Gerald Gardner. It is recently split between what is known in America as British Traditional Wicca and Solitary Wicca.

Witch: someone who practices witchcraft.

Witchcraft: Also known as the Craft. A practice that uses magic.