Notes On: To Be Wiccan Or Not To Be Wiccan
That Was The Question

Go to To Be Wiccan or Not To Be Wiccan Part One.

Go to To Be Wiccan or Not To Be Wiccan Part Two.

• Note 1: In England proper Witches were generally hung rather than burnt. In Scotland and the rest of greater Britain, as on the Continent, burning was quite popular.Return
• Note 2: In keeping with what may appear to be a rather silly Wiccan tradition, since the words Witch and Wiccan are normally written in lower case in order to deny the legitimacy of this ancient religion, I will offer the words christian, bible and church in lower case. Sometimes small acts of rebellion are enough to soothe the pain felt by oppressed peoples and I honor this. Return
• Note 3: I dare only footnote this, although it is completely true. A male Witch is a "Wicca" and female Witches are "Wicci." Since the 'Feminist Crafte,' as most Crafters, refer to the Old Religion as the Wiccacrafte and its initiates as 'Wiccans,' they are actually employing the male noun. In other words, they are referring to the "Crafte of the Wise" as the 'Men of Wisdom.' Again, this is standard throughout the Crafte, but considering the stress which is placed on inclusive language, I wonder how many of the Neo-Wiccans know this. Me thinks it just a bit ironic. :-) Return
• Note 4: According to other traditions the God is seen as the seed-giving presence within Nature. He is particularly manifested in certain animals, plants, sacred places, etc. where the male principle is especially strongly manifested or perceived. Return
• Note 5: As Dr. Margaret Murray has noted: "Among all these races [the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples], the Horned God was preeminent ... and was not dethroned even by the coming of the Iron Age. It was not till the rise of Christianity, with its fundamental doctrine that a non-Christian deity was a devil, that the Horned God fell into disrepute" (God of the Witches, page 14). Return
• Note 6: Six female, six male and a male or female 'priest,' depending on the time of year. This does not exclude all male, all female or all homosexual Circles however. Women may wish to focus on the feminine Power, men on the masculine (or either on the other) and gays on the interjacent (or either of the other two), but not to the exclusion of the other two aspects. Ideally, one would work with a primary Circle which is balanced by gender, and employ exclusionist Circles as a supplement, if desired. This would seem the most traditionally 'correct' method. Personally however, I usually prefer to Work alone or with one other person; 'If it harms no one, do whatever works.' I have also Worked with a few gay Circles (often called 'Fairy Traditions,' a word play on the negative stereotype). The energy which is 'raised' in these Circles is often quite powerful. There are also those, gay and straight, who believe that homosexuals are the very embodiment of the third or interactive power interjacent of male and female. This would make them especially well suited for Ritual and the manipulation of Power. Often in these Circles the role of the God and Goddess is played by the coven members regardless of their gender. While tradition, to my knowledge, is mute about the role of gays in the Crafte, in its reemergence they are carving out an important place, one which very few complain about. Regardless of the type of Circle employed, the Lady and the Lord are always honored. Return
• Note 7: As always, 'And it harm none, do what you will' is 'the whole of the Wiccan law.' Most contemporary Wiccans and Pagans accept Crowley's famous addition to this ancient law as well: 'If it harms none, do what you will. Love is the Law, Love under the Will." Despite the rampant media and church hype, sex with young children would not generally be accepted by the Crafte as children are too young to have a choice in the matter. Child abuse, ritual or otherwise, therefore is utterly unacceptable to the Wicca. There are crucial and major differences between Wiccacrafte, Druidism, Satanism, Voodoo and Devil-Worship. This is not the place to comment on these other movements, but for the Crafte, regardless of the tradition, child abuse is perhaps even more repugnant than it is to the general population. Incest between consenting adults would generally present no difficulties. There is, in fact, strong reason to believe that adolescents were commonly 'initiated' into the 'mysteries of sex' by their parents. In defense of this practice, one might ask, who more than a loving mother or father could show gentleness and sensitivity during one's introduction to physical love? We are not talking about rape as is currently thought of in connection to incest, but a family based system of education into the sexual arts. The damagewhich incest causes is not normally physical, but emotional, the shattering of trust and control of one's own body. This system would not cause such pain. But again, the vast majority of Wiccans today do not practice this type of education. Return
• Note 8: A Wiccan 'Priestess' I know says that "A Witch without the God is like a child without a father - impossible." Return
• Note 9: I was further taught that the use of the term 'warlock' for male Wiccans is insulting. A war-lock is a "lake of pestilence," a Witch who has violated the Sacred injunction, 'If you harm none, do what you will.' Return
• Note 10: Persuasions of the Witch's Craft, T.M. Luhrmann, Harvard University Press, 1989, page 52. Return
• Note 11: Sybil Leek is one of the few traditional Wiccans to publicly discuss the Crafte. Today unfortunately she is generally ridiculed by ignorant pseudo Wiccans who, despite their claims, reject the real Crafte in favor of more exciting recently developed versions of New Age ' Witchcraft.' Return
• Note 12: Sybil Leek defines herself as a Celtic Witch. For information about her tradition, which is based in the English New Forest, see The Complete Art of Witchcraft, Sybil Leek, Signet Books, New York. For information on standard Gardnerian Witchcraft one might begin with Witchcraft Today, Gerald B. Gardner, Magickal Childe (Rider & Co.), New York or Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minn. For information on Satanism, The Satanic Bible and The Satanic Rituals by Anton Szandor LaVey (Avon Books, New York) are standard works. Return
• Note 13: The Complete Art of Witchcraft, Sybil Leek, Signet Books, 1971, page 15. Return
• Note 14: The Complete Art of Witchcraft, Sybil Leek, Signet Books, 1971, page 15. Return
• Note 15: This also implies that the male Witches were a powerful force which threatened the christian overlords and their political/religious establishment. Return
• Note 16: A Popular History of Witchcraft, Montague Summers, page 8. Return
• Note 17: Example: Ezekiel. 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15. Return
• Note 18: God of the Witches, Margaret A. Murray, Oxford University Press, page 128. Return
• Note 19: The very existence of such Goddess lore suggests that the persecution was leveled against the God more then the Goddess. Return
• Note 20: More accurately however, it was viewed as an exclusively Goddess based cult. It was generally denied that Wicca qualified as a religion due to its alledged 'demonic nature.' Return
• Note 21: Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler, Beacon Press, 1986, page 49. Return
• Note 22: Some say Edward VI was Wiccan. It is certain that at various times Wiccans sat on the throne. Return
• Note 23: Nine of his ten histories were written during her reign. Return
• Note 24: I.e. non Wiccan. Return