A VERY Basic History of Wicca

Author: Jon "Athrawon"

Wicca is a religion.

There ya go, you were wondering what Wicca was and what is all about… Oh, I forgot that one…

Wicca is a religion… that worships the divine in all things with a particular focus on nature…

So there ya go again… So the only question is…

Did ya hear about the Zen Wiccan?

They worship the tree that is not there.

Wicca is a modern religion, began by Gerald Gardner in the mid last-century, and is loosely based upon the practices of the old Pagan beliefs and religions of antiquity.

There is plenty to read about Gerald Gardner (http://www.geraldgardner.com/index/main.shtml) and much speculation behind whether he actually was a member of the New Forest Coven and an associate of “Old Dorothy” Clutterbuck. In her book, The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Doreen Valiente investigates Gerald Gardner, his claims and his history.

Now you may ask, who is this Doreen Valiente? Go ahead, ask it…

Doreen Valiente was Gerald Gardner’s first high priestess of this new religion he began. She affirms much of the information that is attributed to Gardner, including the existence of “Old Dorothy.” She also goes on to state she recognized much of the things Gardner used in his rituals, such as “The Charge,” which she recognized as being partly from Aleister Crowley’s Book of the Law as well as Leland’s Aradia. She also disproves many things Gardner claimed and even pointed out that his original Book of Shadows was written, in a large part, in the hand of Aleister Crowley.

With all of the disproving she did, she also confirmed many things and even states, referring to Gardner’s alleged educational background for which she disproved, “Gerald was certainly a merry old devil; but if the ‘MA’ stood for ‘Magical Adept’, he had more right to that title than anyone else I have ever met.”

Gerald Gardner had many students and these students went out and started new covens and groups. One of the most closely related traditions is Alexandrian Wicca, formed by Alex and Maxine Sanders in the 1960s. Other traditions include Dianic (two branches), Seax, Georgian, British Traditionist, and many others. The most common tradition is known as Eclectic, which borrows from whatever tradition it wants or other religious practice and incorporates it into their own practice. Many times these ‘eclectic” traditions end up being a regular one that many may recognize.

Read through the resources provided and fill that brain of your up. Take all information that says it is gospel and judge by the information it provides. Folks that link to other resources as justifying their argument, check out those resources before believing everything. You will find that there is a lot of stuff, especially in Paganism, that is simply a repeat of someone else who does not know anything either.

Source: www.thepagancampus.net