The Ramblings and Wanderings

Posts Tagged ‘Wicca’

Last night I dreamed that I was on a long, multi-day, chartered bus trip with many of my co-religionists. The hired bus driver was a quiet and professional Muslim.

My fellow bus mates became very upset that the bus driver did not want to make friends and socialize with them. They were angry that he refused to listen to the usual “Pagans are not Satan worshippers, we are good people” spiel.

It go the point that most of them had all piled up at the front of the bus demanding to know why the bus driver wouldn’t accept the fact that Wiccans and Pagans are good people too! “Why didn’t he join us for meals and talk to us?”

The driver kept repeating that he was just a bus driver and it wasn’t his job.

The Pagans grew more and more insistent and upset. Sad and angry the bus driver did not want to be friends or hear about how they are good people. “Why won’t you validate us?’ they cried. “You monotheists are all the same! Judgmental!”

The driver was getting so distracted that the bus began to swerve on the hiway. I climbed my way into the aisle of the bus and hollered at everyone for their attention.

I said:

“Guys, he is just the bus driver. He is a professional. It’s his job to get us home not make friends or learn about the Lord and Lady. He doesn’t give a shit what you believe.”

They all turned and looked at me, pouting. I waved my fist in the air and shouted; “Everyone doesn’t need to accept you! Now quit distracting the driver before you get us all killed! Stupid assholes! Sit down and shut up!”

From Fire Lyte, over at Inciting a Riot:

So, Project Pagan Enough is a movement, a cause, a Harmonious Riot that includes bloggers, podcasters, pagans, non-pagans, me, you, and the whole pagan community. It is my hope that the Project Pagan Enough logo becomes a beacon of progress and change for those of us living a magical life. By putting the Project Pagan Enough icon on your podcast’s site, blog, or other website, you’re making a set of promises:

1. You are pagan enough, despite how you look, act, smell, dress, believe, or are.
2. You recognize that others are pagan enough despite their appearance, smell, manner of dress, belief, practice, or other aspect.
3. You recognize that you can have an academic debate on the finer points of belief or practice, but that it does not take away from someone else’s level of being pagan.
4. You welcome, befriend, and encourage others in the pagan community despite their appearance, dress, or other physical or superficial characteristic.
5. You promise to treat members of other faiths, despite the faith, with honest-to-goodness fairness, equality, and grace, not judging them or their faith based on the actions of fringe members of their same faith.

Like the points of the pentacle, these 5 tenets of Project Pagan Enough work together and will, I hope, launch our community into a new era of tolerance, love, and all of the qualities we like to think we have.

You may copy the Project Pagan Enough logo for your own website – below – but please make sure to link back to the original blog page to allow others to know what promise you’ve made to the community at large.

What’s your Path?

I am a Hedgewitch. Meaning I am a shamanic practitioner of folk magick (that’s the short explanation). My spirituality is Celtic/Anglo-Saxon Paganism. I started in Wicca like many do, but have moved further away from it more and more of time. I am not however a Wicca-basher like many non-Wiccan Witches are.

Do you have an altar?

Sometimes I use an altar and sometimes not. An altar is simply a workspace to me. I have laid out elaborate altars on tables, simple altars in dirt, and none at all. Sometimes I use my stang as a kind of portable altar, but that is not its only purpose.

A shrine?

I have shrines, many in fact. I like them. One in each room of the house, some simple and small. The main one in the living room is the largest and has the most “stuff”, it also receives the most attention. Right now I have no shrines outdoors, partly due to it being winter and partly due to being trapped in an apartment. Which I hate, I miss the country life so very much!

Do you believe in deities?

I believe in the gods as surely as believe in the air we breathe and land beneath my feet. You could call me a poly-animist (which I suppose is rather like pantheism but it just doesn’t quit fit the bill)

What form of spellwork do you do?

Whatever is needed. Folk magick, low magick, whatever you wish to call it. I am not a big fan of categories.

What tools do you use?

Many and varied. The longer I practice the simpler they become, trading in fancy crystal for plain rocks, silk ribbon for homespun thread.

Who is your favourite author when it comes to your chosen path?

Most of the books out there on Hedgewitchery are crap.

Nigel Jackson, Eric de Vries, Owen Davies, Nigel Pennick, Andrew Chumbley (to name a few) have some books that might interest.

I do enjoy some of the more Wicca-ish books sometimes, and there are a few good Kitchenwitch and Greenwitch books out there that are worth reading as well. I like Arin Murphy Hiscock.

I also enjoy books on Shamanism, nature of any sort and folk lore; I’m a big history and eytmology nerd as well.

Dear Everyone,

You may or may not know me, Juniper from the Hedge.

I was born in 1980. I will be thirty in the Spring. I went to high school with a girl whose mother had been in a Coven for almost as long as she could remember, since about ’85 or ’86.

I grew up watching many of our now Pagan Elders, or at least Notorious Pagans, on Discovery Channel or the BBC at least every October talking about how Witchcraft is a religion not evil yada yada yada … I grew up on the X-files and Oprah interviewing ex-Satanists and all that jazz.

I don’t remember a time before OBOD, ADF or Circle Sanctuary. They’ve always been there from my perspective.

Watching Paganism grow on the web, and helping it do so, seemed to be the most natural thing in the world to me.

I was twelve when my Mom’s then boyfriend took us to a “hippy farm” for Summer Solstice, to join the small gathering there. I still remember the children’s play was about Pan and Gaia inspiring the owners of the land to build a hedge labyrinth. I grew bored and wandered off with another girl about my age to make-out in the bushes.

Granted, I live in a part of the world where you are up to your eyeballs in hippies and tree-huggers and eco-villages, but still.

Folks wonder why I can be so angst-y about the Pagan Community. They ask how dare I show so much rebellion at times? Well, because from where I’m standing the Pagan Community is big enough and strong enough to take it.

The Pagan Community is already BUILT and has been for as long as I’ve been a member. Which was a little over half my life ago, and all of my adult life thus far.

We are established, solid, and humongous. Large enough, tough enough, organized and established enough to have folks like me rail against it and have it stand firm.

The only reason we argue about whether or not we really have a community is because some areas are more solidly built, and more mature, than others. If we didn’t have a real community we wouldn’t be arguing if we did or not. Let’s stop the denial game shall we?

It is time to stop talking Community Building like it doesn’t already exist. We need to be opening up dialog about Community Management, how to RUN it. How to keep it growing the best way we can. “Best” in every sense of the word, for everyone.

The time of multiple generations of Pagan is already here folks. Wake up and smell the Community. The Pagan Community is alive and growing. I hope we can make it grow in a good way, but we won’t with all of us floundering around waiting for someone else to do something.

I thank the generations that came before who built this Community, with blood sweat and tears, from the very bottom of my heart and soul.

Now lets get down to the business of running it. Come on now everyone; roll up your sleeves.

It’ll be great; this is going to be FUN!

I’m excited, aren’t you?

Some differences between Traditional, and Contemporary, Witchcraft and Wicca

The Wiccan Rede is not used in Witchcraft.

There is no Threefold Law, though there is something like the concept of the Law of Return or the Law of Attraction.

Knives and such are NOT used during any invocations or summonings. Why would you hold a weapon in your hand when inviting someone or something to your ritual?

Circles in the Wiccan or Ceremonial sense are not cast.
Witches do not create sacred space as in Wicca. Witches believe that all space is sacred; as such they acknowledge the sacredness of a space, and the spirits that reside there. Some different methods are used such as Compass Round, Digging the Bloody Acre, Laying or Raising the Hedge.

There is no Lord or Lady in the Wiccan sense. Witches know and understand that some deities are archetypes, some are part of some greater universal spirit, and others are separate individuals in their own right. Some are older, some are younger, and some are “stronger”. A few are primal (going back to creation, or being a part of creation). Some gods may have once been ancestral heroes as well. While sometimes other spirits may be recognized or mistaken for gods (and they may allow you to continue to be mistaken).

Most Witches would lean towards polytheist belief and/or animism.

There is some difference in terminology; words like “athame” and “bolline” may not be used. Usually a Witch calls a knife a “knife” and a broom a “broom”.

The 8 festivals in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year may be used, but often having somewhat different symbolism. Typically Witches celebrate the festivals traditional in their heritage or adopted culture. Heathen Witches will follow a Germanic inspired calendar for example. Gaulish Witches may follow the Coligny calendar.
They also follow the rhythms of the land they live on, and may choose to celebrate Lughnasadh along with the harvest of the first fruits, rather than on a solar or lunar date.

In Wicca, males are equal, but females are more equal. In Witchcraft we are all different but of equal value.

The Ancestors play an important role in Witchcraft

There is more shamanic practise in Witchcraft.

Familiars, Totems, and other Allies are used in Witchcraft.

While some Witchcraft groups may call themselves Covens, they may also use Family, Manor, Clan, or House. There are also a few groups who have started to use Hedge in a similar manner as Druids use Grove to name their group. “House Stagthorn”, “Stagthorn Clan”

In Witchcraft you may be Initiated into a Tradition and Adopted into a Family, House, Clan, Coven etc

There is typically 3 degrees in most traditions, and color-coded cords are won. First white to represent bone, then that cord is dyed red to symbolize blood. Finally another cord is added, which will be blue, black or green depending on tradition.
Paradoxically, in some traditions there are no degrees at all. Though this is usually left to those of a more solitary path, such as Hedgewitches, as well as Contemporary Witchcraft traditions, such as Kitchenwitchery.
Self-initiation into degrees is actually allowed in many traditions, but you better be worthy of it! This is usually done when a Witch has, through whatever means, had made clear by spiritual guides and allies to do so.

Group structure tends to be organized in a more organic manner and based on the various member’s own abilities and talents.

There are always groups obsessed with lineage. However there is no need for lineage; you can, and are even encouraged to, create your own tradition, as a group or as a solitary.

There is no universal symbol. Different traditions, groups and individuals choose or create their own.

Some tools typical to Wicca, especially those borrowed from Ceremonial Magick are not used as often, while others not seen in Wicca may be used. A few examples: Swords are less common, and the Stang is possibly the most important tool. The Chalice has less importance but the Cauldron is still used. Brooms are used as well as the Witches Whisk. Tools in general have significantly less importance in Witchcraft. Tools also tend to be less showy and fancy, they are also often household, farming and garden tools.

Altars, and their specific arrangement are of less importance. A table that is a good working space and practicality are the priority.

Ritual structure is much less formal and not as scripted, spontaneity and joyfulness are encouraged. The focus is on WHY you are doing what you are doing, not exactly on what you are doing.

While a Witch may have a journal or even a Book of Shadows, Traditional Witchcraft is an oral tradition, like Druidry. More contemporary traditions (such as Kitchenwitchery) may use a Book of Shadows or Grimorie, or even a website.

Just like Wicca, there are many different traditions. You can be a Celtic Greenwitch, a Heathen Hedgewitch; a Greek inspired Traditional Witch etc etc. You tailor suit your path, or rather, your gods, ancestors and allies do that. You can also mix Wicca and Druidry (etc) with Witchcraft, though this is not Traditional, it would be considered Contemporary.

Witchcraft is more “hardcore” than Wicca. There are often skulls, bones, fetishes, bodily fluids etc used in ritual and magick.

Witchcraft does not focus on the Light, but on the balance of (and the constant dance of give and take between) the Dark and Light.

Yes, you are allowed to curse and hex. Just be willing to accept the consequences.

Practicality and doing what works is what matters.

Working with nature spirits, household spirits, and such is an important part of Witchcraft.

Witchcraft is inherently eclectic. *gasp* Especially Contemporary Witchcraft. This does not mean stealing from other cultures, but it does mean looking at different lore, practices and traditions close to own in order to help create a well-rounded spirituality.

Witches believe that there are many things that may happen to you when you die, but most likely you will be re-incarnated.

The concept of the World Tree and the Otherworlds is integral to Witchcraft.

Witchcraft is often even more nature-based than Wicca.

Low magick and folk magick are practiced, however, high magick or ceremonial magick is typically not practised.

Being an impressive intellectual or scholar is not necessary. Practice and actually doing is far more important.

Witchcraft looks to the practise of pagans, cunning folk, wise wo/men and witches in Europe through out history. They do not come from an unbroken line, nor are they reconstructionalists; they consider themselves the inheritors of those of people and ancestors.

There are a number of rituals not used in Wicca. Such as Tapping the Bone, a ritual act where one lightly taps upon a symbol of the Ancestors (usually a painted or carved faux human skull), asking for knowledge before a meditation or journey.

Mixing pantheons is not recommended. Witches do have patrons and matrons, both personally and particular to a group.

Home, family, the hearth, the garden and such are all integrated into Witchcraft practice.

What is a Mystery?

So what are these Mysteries Pagans, especially Wiccans, are always talking about? Why does the word get a capitol “M”?

A Mystery is a “Divine Secret” or spiritual truth. It is the very moment of enlightenment. A Mystery is something that causes one of those earth shattering, life changing, spiritual moments that changes who you are as a person.  Basically, a Mystery is when something happens that causes you to take a leap or sprint ahead on that development of your soul. The Mystery is the wisdom, knowledge, realization, inspiration etc that comes from those moments in time.

You do not have to be Wiccan to experience such things, nor do they have to occur during an initiation. Mystery is simply the word Wiccans (and most modern Pagans) use to describe a very old thing. A great example of this is the “Shamanic death” it in itself is an initiation of a different sort (and horrifically traumatic), it is certainly not Wiccan, but it is a Mystery that has been part of the human spiritual experience since we lived in caves.

And it’s simply that such things tend to occur during (or shortly before or after) initiations, but not only then.

It is the Gods, our guides, totems and ancestors who are the custodians of the Mysteries. A High Priestess, teacher, or some such person may guide you toward the Mysteries. But it is up to the spiritual beings in your life to decide when you are ready to receive a Mystery, and what that Mystery may be. I’d like to point out that experiencing a Mystery can be rather traumatic, due to the fact that it changes not only your perceptions but it changes YOU. This is why it is safer to have a teacher, friend, or group to help you, and why a solitary practice is so difficult.

I have been both prepared and supported for such things, and not at all. When left on my own and not ready (mistakenly thinking that I was) it was rather like being an insignificant worm that has just been stepped on. The recovery and assimilation from/of the Mystery is incredibly difficult on your own. It can be difficult with the support of others as well, and they can only do so much for you. Each Mystery is a personal experience.

When you are new to your Path, it’s natural to want to rush headlong into such things, like the short child desperate for a growth spurt. I know I was once desperate to FEEL some special spiritual something…looking for some sort of validation or proof.

There is a fantasy novel by one of my favorite authors in which a rather bitter saint (someone who has talked to the gods and done their “dirty work”) comes across a group of pilgrims. One pilgrim talks the saints ear off about her devotion to the Mother and what she would do if the goddess ever showed Herself to her. The saint thought to herself something along the lines of ;
“Yeah right, if the Mother showed herself to you; you’d be kneeling on the floor, pissing yourself from fright and weeping at the unfathomable-ness of it”

Do not allow someone to claim they can teach you the Mysteries, they can only guide. Do not allow someone to claim the Mysteries belong to their Tradition alone, this is not truth. Do not feel left out or like there is something wrong with you if you have not experienced such a thing, it will come when you are ready. Keep studying, keep practicing, keep meditating and eventually it will come. Be prepared to not be the same person you were before it did.

Juniper