History of Wicca
Wicca in its present form is a relatively new religion, founded in the 1950s and borrowing many aspects from cultures and religions dating back as far as the 9th millennium BCE. Upon its recent conception, it was referred to as “witchcraft” by its founder, Gerald Gardner, and it does borrow several aspects from the centuries old craft, as well as from nomadic and agriculture-based tribes in ancient and medieval Europe, namely the Celts. Today, it is considered a neopagan religion, recognized by the United States government as a legitimate religion for over twenty years. Modern Wiccans espouse the use of magic, the celebration of eight solar-based holidays, and a code of morality that supports any action that doesn’t harm others. It remains a polytheistic religion that has its roots in harvests and agriculture and keeps its members tied to and in care of the Earth through reincarnation.
Early influences of the religion can be found as far back as the Paleolithic period, in which cave drawings expressed similar values as would one day be supported by the group. Gods of the Hunt and figures of pregnant females with fertile, swollen breasts (most famously, the Venus of Willendorf figurine) showed a reverence for nature and for fertility of any kind. By the Neolithic period, values began to change as people settled into a less nomadic, hunting-based lifestyle and began to farm. Keeping the idea of appeasing nature for its help, cultures began to notice more about the world around them, and attribute their thankfulness to the moon and seasons. Early carvings in antlers dating back to 7500 BCE showed the phases of the moon. This was the first time the moon came into a period of reverence- an idea that would become crucial in the Wiccan religion- and the female menstrual cycle, the ultimate embodiment of fertility and life, was connected to the moon’s cycle. The feminization of the moon was an early sign of the dual-gendered deities of Wicca. The female began to represent all that was important: agriculture, seasons, nature, and fertility.
The influence of the moon on the values of European tribes in the following centuries continued to grow. The three phases of the moon (waxing, full, and waning) continued to represent most aspects of life and death. Women went from virgins, to mothers, to old, thin, and dying women. Agriculture went from blossoming, to harvesting, to dying out. Similarly, deities experienced the phases as well, as they were tied intimately with nature. In fact, the gods showed a great deal of malleability and lifelike transformations, especially when cultures met and merged. Gods and Goddesses met, changed, reproduced, and died with changing cultures and values.
The most recognizable influence on the shaping of what would one day become modern Wicca and Neopaganism was the Celtic people. In 450 BCE, the Celts were the dominant force in the British Isles and in areas not under Roman control. They had previously been able to conquer the widespread and unstable tribes throughout the isles and were able to spread their religious influence as a result of their unity. In keeping with the mysterious, mystical nature of the religion, little written history of the Celtic influence is present, as it was an oral culture, but it is certain that the four main holidays celebrated by the Celts would one day become four of the eight solar sabbats observed by the Wiccan religion (and several even have modern day secular counterparts).
The celebration of Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and was the Celtic new year. Imbolic was a celebration of purification and, occurring in early February as a way of predicting the seasonal patterns for the next year, was the precursor to Groundhog Day. Beltane was the Celtic celebration of May Day and the start of the summer growing season and Lughnasadh in August marked the start of the harvest season. All the celebrations showed a reverence and delight for the incontrollable, unexplainable, and therefore powerful ways of the natural world and all put the people at the mercy of the moon and seasons. The fact that almost all of the Celtic holidays have modern day equivalents (though some just in Ireland) shows that the moon’s cycles still play a large role in modern life, especially for Wiccans and their celebrations of the eight sabbat observances.
In the years between these early ancestors to Wicca and the modern, Neopagan incarnation, Pagans faced a great deal of turmoil and persecution. Often compared to Satanists (a shaky argument, considering the lack of a Pagan Satan figure) and targeted by Christians, they were legally outlawed by a 13th century Papal decree branding all Pagans as heretics. The decree set off centuries of paranoia and fear based out of misunderstandings to such a great extent that the phrase “witch hunt” in the modern lexicon refers to any fear-based hunt with shaky foundations. Even though Christians often tried to sway Pagans by pointing out their female (near)deity of the Virgin Mary and had adopted certain Pagan holidays (Christmas finds its roots in Pagan solstice celebration), they remain the biggest opponents to Pagans, Neopagans, and Wiccans in the modern day.
The fact that Wiccans are now officially recognized and thus protected by law has lead to the period of most stability for the group. There is no longer a legal punishment for declaring oneself a Pagan or Wiccan, and as a result, United States censuses showed nearly 140,000 people identifying themselves as Wiccans in 2000. The number may be larger due to varying labels for Wiccan sub-groups. Countries worldwide have opened up their censuses to include Pagan and Wiccan groups, though many lump Wiccans in with Heathens and Druids in a “Pagan” category to ensure large enough numbers to call for representation. A current estimation of the number of Wiccans worldwide stood at 800,000 in 2005, though the number could very well exceed one million.
As numbers have grown and media has become further reaching and instantaneous, Wicca has received media attention and, as a result, many misconceptions have arisen. Exploitative movies, literature and television shows grasped onto Wicca starting in the 1960s. As the public became aware of this new religion, the media realized that they had a more detailed, real-world version of the tired witch/cult clichés and movies like The Touch of Satan arose. Wicca fell into the realm of monsters and Satanists due to early media coverage until the misconceptions started to become clichés themselves. The subject fell out of fashion in the horror genre, but not before lasting damage was done to its reputation. As mentioned, Wicca has been compared to Satanism, though there is no belief in a Satan-like deity. There are no blood sacrifices and animal sacrifices are confined to small, nontraditional Wiccan subsets and are rare. No harm is meant by the traditional magic practiced and so-called orgies are nothing more than stories. In 1996, the media approached Wicca and withcraft again, taking a less exploitative approach and incorporating some actual facts. The film The Craft introduced a new generation to the religion and injected it into the popular culture in unique ways, such as fashion. The film is credited with renewing interest and opening the doors for more positive portrayals. As factually inaccurate as they were at portraying Wicca, many Wiccans hailed the introduction of television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed in the late 1990s. The television shows steered clear of the misconceptions and, while not always presenting a completely factual picture, embodied the benevolent and correctly spiritual feel of the religion when it entered the storylines.
Bibliography
Shelly Rabinovitch and James R. Lewis, eds., The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism (New York: Kensington Publishing, 2002).
Neopagan Religions. Retrieved October 4th, 2008, from Religious Tolerance
Website: http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm
History of Wicca and Paganism. Retrieved October 4th, 2008, from About.com
Website: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/wiccanpaganhistory/
