Feminist Spirituality and Goddess Religion Thousands of years ago, the Goddess was viewed as an autonomous entity worthy of respect from men and women alike. Because of societal changes caused by Eastern influence, a patriarchial system conquered all aspects of life including religion. “Furthermore, most feminists interested in goddesses are women who strongly reject western patriarchal theology”(Culpepper 51). Thus, there was this very strong feminist idea of women being the prime in the early
Though Witchcraft can be traced back several centuries for the purpose of this report, Wicca began in England with Gerald Gardener, a civil servant who had become fascinated by magical and polytheist practices and traditions as a young man in southeast Asia. Upon his return to England, he joined the Folklore Society, a Rosicrucian order, and was initiated into the New Forest Coven. He joined an order of druids and the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O) where he met Aleister Crowley. Gerald Gardner published
Wicca is a nature worshipping religion based upon beliefs and rites that are believed to rooted in ancient practices. Wicca, like most Neo-Pagan spiritualities worships the sacred as immanent in nature, and draws much of it's inspiration from both pre-Christian and non-Christian religions of Euroupe. It is not an ancient religion, but in fact Wicca was invented by Gerald Gardener in the 1950's and was based on older religions. It is a gentle nature based religion and Wiccans worship the Goddess,
Wicca—one of the most recognizable pagan religions today in the USA and Great Britain—is also unfortunately, like many pagan religions, still greatly misunderstood by the general population: mainly due to the media’s often inaccurate or highly skewed presentation of Wicca and Wiccan practitioners. This inaccurate depiction of Wicca and Wiccans often leads to people lumping Wiccans together with occultists and Satanists and all the negative connotations that surround those words. Luckily, Wiccans
grandmother, a few cousins, and an aunt practice Wicca, and when I was nine I took immediate interest. I quickly felt like I belonged somewhere and had a purpose. My nana took me under her wing and I studied and practiced under her supervision. My nana is a High Priestess, an equivalent to a Pastor or Priest, and was therefore qualified to instruct me in Wicca. Over the course of my adolescence I have learned a great deal about Wicca, and I devoutly practice Wicca each and every day. There are multitudes
cauldron, green warty skin, and Halloween. Usually the image that comes to mind is something scary and evil. Real witches do exist. Most modern witches go by the label Wiccan now. Wiccans practice Wicca, which is a nature-based religion with many different branches or denominations. The basic tenant of all Wicca is called the Three Fold Law. The Three Fold Law states that whatever you do will come back to you times three, good or bad, so do not cause harm or, in other words, “harm none”. It is kind
the seventh century much of these traditions have been lost to obscurity. For the sake of thoroughness however, the ‘wyrd’ of the Anglo-Saxon culture and its tributaries will be discussed as will its surviving qualities in Roman Britain. The modern Wicca religion in all its forms shows the current stage of magic in its continuing development. With this area of the study it is possible to look at the effect magic has had on the public after being thrust into the media in the 1950’s. Looking at modern
At the edge of a big forest, there lived a witch. She was known as the candy witch. Her house was made out of ginger bread and frosting. The windows were made out of sugar crystals and chocolate ice cream sticks and the roof was made out of chocolate squares. The Candy Witch was feared by all the children! No one dared go near her home, or set foot in her front yard. They stayed away from her because there was talk that she turned any child that crossed her yard, or entered her home into candy statues
The people in the Jacobean era believed in the strong presence of evil that plagued their world and specifically accused witches to be responsible for such evil. These influential beliefs can be seen as a common motif in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where the witches have shaped Macbeth’s fate. Moreover the influence and fear of witches and witchcraft in Jacobean society has led to chaotic persecution of those associated with the practice and in Macbeth, the influence of witchcraft incited terror on one
The Besoms general definition is a broom made of twigs tied around a stick. However in the world of Wiccan and Witchcraft the meaning of the Besom is much more than that, Magically speaking the Besom is a symbol of fertility and sexuality. The Besom represents both Feminine and Masculine aspects coming together many sources record the traditional construction of Besoms as a handle made of ash, a head made of birch twigs, with a binding made of willow. The Ash is said to represent Masculinity, protection
Wiccan; a practitioner of the religion known as Wicca, Witchcraft, or simply The Craft; resembles these "Witches" as much as a straw broom resembles the Dirt Devil Upright. The Craft is a religion based on the worship of a supreme divine creator, the practice of magic, and a reverence for the earth and all her inhabitants. Deity Concepts and Worship Practices "All religions are structures built on reverence of Deity. Wicca is no exception. The Wicca acknowledge a supreme divine power, unknowable
Modern Witchcraft Magical Manipulation Many witches do not believe in spirits, and most if not all reject belief in a literal Devil or demons. Naturally, therefore, they reject the idea that sorcery and divination are accomplished by the agency of evil spirits. Many offer naturalistic explanations for the working of magic and divination and other "psychic technologies." On the whole, the occult community today has expanded its definition of "the natural" to incorporate elements that were
Thomas sat at the kitchen table eating a bowl of beefy vegetable soup, while his mother was busy pulling the guts out of a pumpkin with her bare hands. Frankie, who was slurping his soup, looked up at Thomas and grinned. “I know a secret,” sang Frankie. “Frankie, eat your soup!” said his mother. Thomas creased his brows together. “What secret?” His mother continued to pull the orange sloppy mess from out of the pumpkin. “Your father and I were chosen today to be judges at the pumpkin contest. It
The term ‘athame’ is used by Pagans to refer to a traditionally black-handled knife. This knife is used in ritual and practice dealing directly with energy. This knife is not used for cutting material items. According to Gerald Gardner, the athame is one of the most important tools that a witch uses. The term, athame, is a corruption derivation of the Latin word artavus, which means ‘quill knife.’ One interesting etymology is told by John de Garlande, which he describes the word artavus as being
Paganism is an ancient type of religion which has quite an inauspicious reputation today. There are many types of paganism, most date back thousands of years, which include Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, and a few other lesser known and practiced variations. Yet all of these religions are similar and share common beliefs. Wicca is the most common of these, as it also demonstrates the shared belief of doing good that is common to most forms of paganism. Another common belief, is to gather in small groups
Modern Paganism Now defined as :The worship of a god or goddess whose roots are in pre-Christian Western Europe. Modern paganism is alive and well today. It consists of many sub-divisions .These include ~Wicca ,druidism Santeria and many others. Wicca focuses on the worship of a god and goddess .In Wicca ,there is a plethora of pantheon of deities that one can choose from including: Greek, Norse ,roman etc...... Focusing on a Greek Wiccan tradition ,this will be describing the pagan festival of Hectare
Witchcraft Witches are always told to be satanic worshippers, but that’s not always true. My question is why does the word “witch” bring up such a bad thought. Images witches use; such as the pentagram aren't as satanic as you might think. The thought of witchcraft had began in 560 B.C., through the bible. The bible had said in “Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” and “ Leviticus 20:27 A man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put
So Mote It Be is a phrase commonly used to end prayers or rituals meaning ‘so it must be’, ‘so may it be’, or ‘so it is required’. Mote is a word of Saxon origin meaning ‘must’. Mote is in untranslated versions of Chauncer’s The Canterbury Tales throughout, the prologue being the first; “The wordes mote be cousin to the deed”. Saying So Mote It Be at the end of a working is similar to saying amen at the end of a prayer. So Mote It Be appears in the Halliwell or Regius Manuscript from the first half
The word pentacle appears to have been formed by combining the Greek word pente “five” with the Latin suffix –culum to form the hybrid word pentaculum or “pentagram”. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, the word is very similar to the Italian pentacolo meaning “anything with five points” and the French pentacol or “an amulet worn around the neck”, from pend- “to hang”, a “to”, and col “neck”. The word pentacle first emerges in 1561. According to an article in Wikipedia, originally the pentacle
Pentacle The base of the word pentacle is the same as the base of pentagram, which could be why so many people confuse the two terms and use them interchangeably. Penta means five, simple as that, and cle is a reference to the circle, literally defined it means a small space. The pentacle is another five-pointed star drawn with a continuous line. It doesn’t necessarily mean the lines are the exact same length though most do still draw them that way by force of habit. Five is a sacred number that