Historical Influences and Precursorsjporter/001 wicca combo 2013.pdf · Hermetic Order of the...

43
Introduction to Contemporary Witchcraft Historical Influences and Precursors

Transcript of Historical Influences and Precursorsjporter/001 wicca combo 2013.pdf · Hermetic Order of the...

Introduction to Contemporary Witchcraft

Historical Influences and Precursors

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888)

•  Dr. William Westcott •  Samuel Liddel

MacGregor Mathers •  The Isis-Urania Temple of

the hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

•  Influenced by Rosicrucianism (Christian Rosenkreuze) and Freemasonry

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Dr. William Westcott Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers

•  Great White Brotherhood (White as in Spiritual, not white as in caucasian!) –  Three orders: Third (5 levels); Second (4

levels), First (three levels – spirit beings only) •  1. Belief in Correspondences •  2. Trained Will (Willpower) •  3. Astral Planes, Astral Entities

Aleister Crowley •  Initiated in 1898, rose

rapidly through the ranks

•  Left in 1900, conflict with Mathers

•  Wrote The Book of the Law (1904)

•  Aiwass (spirit guide) •  Law of Thelema •  Age of Horus •  Bad reputation (sex

magic!) •  Died 1947

The Witchcult in Western Europe

•  Margaret Murray (anthropologist)

•  The Witchcult in Western Europe, (1921)

•  Operative and Ritual Witchcraft

•  Dianus/Janus •  Devil and Queen of Fairy •  Sabbats & Esbats •  Covens •  Fertility Rituals

Witchcult Ritual Sacrifices

•  Murray says the witchcult had a variety of rituals – –  Worship of god;

dancing to increase fertility; rainmaking rituals to increase fertility of land; ritual sex; communal feasting; sacrifice.

•  Blood Sacrifice •  Animal Sacrifice •  Child Sacrifice •  God Sacrifice

•  Joan of Arc

Criticisms of Murray’s Thesis

•  Many are critical of Murray’s thesis.

•  Three main reasons: •  Unbelievable Stories •  Influence of

Inquisitor’s Manuals –  Malleus Mallificarum

(Sprenger & Kramer) •  Confessions under

Torture

Gerald Gardner •  Born 1884 •  New Forest Coven •  Meets “Dorothy

Clutterbuck” 1936 •  Initiated 1939 •  Repeal of the Witchcraft

Act (1951) •  Writes Witchcraft Today

(1954) •  The Meaning of

Witchcraft (1959)

Gardnerian Emphasis

•  Goddess Oriented •  Skyclad worship •  8 Seasonal Festivals •  The High Rite •  3 Levels of Initiation:

–  Witch –  High Priest or Priestess –  Queen or Magus

The Origin Myth of Wicca

•  Pan-European Goddess Religion

•  Fertility, nature based spirituality

•  Feminine aspect respected •  As Christianity spread,

elements of this religion were incorporated or redefined by Christians, eg: Yule becomes Christmas, Horned God redefined as the Devil in Christianity

The Origin Myth of Wicca

•  Old Religion kept alive in secret

•  Multi-generational witches (unbroken lineage back to pre-Christian times)

•  8 Seasonal festivals •  Wiccan Rede

The Origin Myth of Wicca

•  The Burning Times – 15th - 18th centuries

•  Margaret Murray’s thesis – that those killed for witchcraft really were witches

•  Repeal of Witchcraft laws allowed some multi-generational witches to go public

•  Modern witchraft/wicca is therefore the direct inheritor of unbroken tradition

•  True story? A symbolic story of origins?

The Impact of Historical Influences on broader witchcraft/pagan

movement •  Very diverse movement, but also many common elements: •  Some commonalities stem from widespread influence of Golden

Dawn & Crowley (hierarchical, correspondences, astral planes, human Will = magic, Law of Thelema)

•  Others come from Murray - (sabbats, esbats, covens) •  Most can be traced to Gardner - not all Witches acknowledge

debt to Gardner, but most do –  Current debate among wiccan scholars - should ALL modern

witchcraft be called “Gardnerian” to acknowledge importance of this historic source?

•  Widespread influence of historic elements leads to common worldview, many common practices among contemporary Witches.

Wiccan Worldview

Wiccan Worldview

•  Monistic •  Every Act is

meaningful •  Magic is possible

through ties that unite all things

•  Nature/universe/human beings are spiritual/divine in essence

Wiccan Worldview •  Multi-Level Reality •  Spiritual or astral

planes •  Power of human

imagination – everything you can conceive of exists on some level

•  God/dess exists on this level

Wiccan Worldview •  Intentional and

Progressive •  All things happen for

a reason •  Life has purpose –

spiritual goal is to pursue purpose

•  Universe sends signs to indicate path to take

Wiccan Worldview

•  Nature Based •  Earth conceptualized

as Goddess- Gaia •  Reverence for body –

especially female – women as goddess

•  Feminism •  Environmentalism

Wiccan Worldview

•  Cyclical •  Seasonal emphasis •  Spiritual life cycle –

birth, death, rebirth •  Reincarnation •  Communication with

“dead” possible •  Karma

Wiccan Ethics

“Bide the Wiccan Laws we must In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:

“an ye harm none, do what ye will.”

Lest in Thy Self-defense it Be, Ever Mind the rule of Three.

Follow this with mind and heart, And merry ye meet And merry ye part.”

•  Wiccan Rede •  “An it harm none,

do as ye will” •  Law of Threefold

Return

Becoming a Witch

•  Born a witch •  Interpretive Drift •  Conversion

Theology •  Bi-theistic

–  The triple Goddess - Maiden, Mother, Crone –  The God – Hunter, Lover

The Goddess

•  Maiden •  Diana •  Youth, purity •  Romantic Love •  Spring

The Goddess

•  Mother •  Gaia •  Fertility, Home,

Family •  Success, Protection •  Summer

The Goddess

•  The Crone •  Hecate •  Age, Wisdom •  Anger, Aggression •  Death, Rebirth •  Autumn

The God

•  Hunter/Warrior/Holly King

•  Action, Aggression •  Protection, Strength •  Power, Death •  Winter/waning year

(Midsummer to Yule)

The God

•  Lover/Oak King •  Potency, Desire •  Energy, Creativity •  Renewal, Lust, fertility •  Summer/waxing year

(Yule to Midsummer)

Organization •  Solitary Practitioners

(Solitaries) •  Witch (first degree of

initiation) •  High Priestess or High

Priest (2nd degree of initiation

•  Lady/Queen or Lord of Witchcraft (3rd degree, rarely found outside of Gardnerian Covens)

3. Lady/Queen or Lord

of Witchcraft 2. High Priestess

or Priest

1. Witch

Circle or Coven Solitary witch

Varieties of Witchcraft •  Gardnerian

–  Strong emphasis on lineage –  Formal rituals –  hierarchical organization –  3 levels of initiation –  symbolic scourge –  skyclad worship –  nine-foot circle –  the Great Rite –  Goddess-centred, God as

consort –  Drawing down the Moon as

central ritual (Charge of the Goddess)

–  Matrilineal (generally) –  Alexandrian Witchcraft as major

variant (Alex Sanders)

Varieties of Witchcraft •  Wiccan (eclectic)

–  Less hierarchical –  Often only two levels of

initiation –  flexible ritual style - drawing on

Gardnerian traditions as inspiration, but also on many other sources

–  rarely skyclad (but skyclad okay if weather permits!)

–  rarely scourge –  usually goddess/god balanced –  Adaptable (ie seasonal

festivals can change, depending on what region of the world you live in)

Varieties of Witchcraft •  Dianic

–  Women’s spirituality –  Feminist political agenda –  no hierarchy (single level

initiation only) –  Goddess as Crone

emphasized –  God role minimized

(sometimes seen as human lover/son of divine Goddess)

–  males often/always excluded –  Kore, Inanna – mythic

goddesses who unite life, death

Dianic/Reclaiming ritual: The Spiral Dance

Rituals: Casting the Circle

•  The Sacred Space is the Circle

•  Casting the Circle is the first ritual step

•  Calling the four quarters

•  Raising energy •  Opening the circle

Witch’s Tools

Wand - symbol of air, thought, imagination, east

Athame - symbol of fire, willpower, conviction, south

Cup - symbol of water, life, birth, emotion, west

Pentacle - symbol of earth, stability, the body, north

Wheel of the Year Quarter days & Cross Quarter days

Samhain (Oct. 31) - New Year’s Eve, Endings and Beginnings, veil between worlds thinnest

Yule (Dec. 21) - mid-winter, longest night, return of light

Imbolc (Feb. 2) - fertility, return of spring

Eostar (Mar. 21) - fertility, new beginnings, cleaning

Beltane (May 1) - fertility, beginning of summer, bonfires, maypoles, handfasting

Midsummer (June 21) - longest day, emotion, passion, marriage

Lammas (Aug. 1 or 2) - harvest, thanksgiving

Mabon, Harvest Home (Sept. 21) - harvest, reincarnation, contemplation

Samhain

Wiccan New Year – Oct. 31st-Nov.1st - the end of the old year, first turning towards winter -the day that the veil between worlds is thinnest – communication with the dead possible here - Feast of the Dead, rituals of remembrance - God as Hunter’s influence grows; Goddess as Crone. - Bonfires, New Year’s resolutions, contemplation - 3rd harvest festival

Yule Mid-Winter (Dec. 21st) -  longest night of the year -  - rebirth of light into the

world – new life, new beginnings

-gifts, family, celebration of life - yule log, holly, mistletoe - Hunter gives way to Lover, Goddess as Maiden grows

Imbolc Feb. 2 (Candlemas, oimelc) -  1st Fertility Festival -  Thanksgiving, return of

spring -gifts, family, celebration of life - Celebration of new life, new births – animals, babies, etc. - Feast of Brigit – Goddess as Maiden celebrated here – memory, knowledge, healing, wisdom, thankfulness for light, life

Ostara March 21, spring equinox -  Eostar, Easter -  2nd fertility festival -  Symbolized by the

egg -fertility, fruitfulness - Seeds, new life - Cleaning – physical and metaphysical – out with the clutter, new possibilities

Beltane

May 1st – May Day -  Beginning of

summer -  Bonfires, maypoles,

flowers -handfasting - 3rd fertility festival - Goddess as Mother, God as Lover

Summer Solstice

June 21 -  Longest day of the

year -  Mother’s power

turns towards winter, Crone

- marriage - God as Lover turns towards Hunter - Emotion, passion, life

Lammas

August 1, 2 (Lughnasadh) -  1st Harvest festival -  Gathering grains,

fruits, making preserves – getting ready for winter

- community, friendship -  Thanksgiving, winter

is coming

Mabon

Sept. 21st -  2nd Harvest festival -  Autumn equinox –

day and night in balance

- Winter comes -  Thanksgiving, winter

is coming -  Reincarnation -  contemplation