Joshua Robertson

Religious Diversity in the U.S.

Wicca

While modern day Wicca may share roots with more ancient practices, it is clear that
most of modern day Wicca combines more recent practices with ancient rites and ideas. Wicca
itself can be traced back to an Englishman named Gerald Gardner, also a member of the Ancient
Druid Order. (Carr-Gomm, 2002) Gardner was fascinated with the relationship between magick,
the powers of nature, and religion. One of his early encounters was with Rosicrucianism, a secret
society with some involvement with Freemasonry. Rosicrucianism used alchemy and science to
publish their beliefs, which is likely part of what attracted Gardner to involve himself in it.
Although he did not get along with many of the members, there was a particularly isolated group
within that religion which did get along with Gardner, and he ultimately was invited to join their
group. He was initiated into the New Forest Coven, which he claimed had been around since preChristian times.
It was during this initiation ceremony (which was done skyclad) that he first heard the
word Wica used by the group, and he recognized it as the old English word for witch. After
spending some time practicing with this coven, Gardner published his first book, entitled A
Goddess Arrives. (Heselton, 2012) Later he would also publish a book called Witchcraft Today,
a book explaining a religious belief system driven into hiding by intense persecution from
Christianity. Many credit the presence and strength of modern Wicca largely to these book
publications by Gardner.

Because there is no central authority determining what Wiccan beliefs are, many slightly
different belief systems have developed within Wicca. Many believe in a supreme God and
Goddess, essentially adopting a monotheistic approach. Another known monotheistic approach
believes only in the Goddess, which they choose to call Gaia, or the earth mother. Some of
Wicca are polytheistic, and believe in a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses or believe that all
things are ruled over by a particular power. Some even adopt some Christian beliefs and combine
them with the rituals involved in Wicca. One unifying belief that you could say that pretty much
all Wiccans hold is that all things have a spirit within them, and that a balance should be
maintained between the spiritual energies of all things. I think that this is what I admire the most
about Wicca, is that rather than laying out a strict set of rules to follow it encourages people to
live by whatever standards they feel keeps them in balance with the world around them. It trusts
in the inherent goodness of people and in their ability to put things to right on their own.
Wiccan ceremonies frequently involve the invocation of the four elements, also linked to
the four cardinal directions: East (Air), South (Fire), West (Water), North (Earth). Invocation
always begins with East. It also always ends (after North) with an all-encompassing invocation
of Spirit, which exists within all the other four elements. Honor or respect is then shown to the
particular deity or force that you are attempting to make contact with. Usually you will have a
particular intent when you begin a ceremony, although this intent can be as simple as wanting to
give thanks to a force that has recently helped you or to celebrate a particular season or event.
After paying your respects, you then focus your efforts on the thing that you are there to achieve.
This is often the longest portion of the ceremony, as you attempt to plead or bargain with the
chosen deity or spirit to achieve the desired concession or aid. After this portion you thank the
God or Goddess, thank the elements and spirits in reverse order, and release them.

Energy tends to build up during a ceremony, and usually a practitioner will do some
things to help ground out or dissipate those energies. Food and drink (often wine) are used after a
ceremony to help ground out energies. In situations where a group or coven have participated
they may embrace one another to achieve the same thing. Willing energy or visualizing it leaving
into the ground or even brushing yourself off can be done as well. Ceremonies can be enhanced
with candles, symbols, or circles which maintain and control the presence and flow of energies
during a ceremony. Circles are the most common, and are formed in the beginning of a ceremony
and then broken at the end. This has a lot of symbolism in modern Wicca, though it may be a
more modern addition to the ancient rituals.
Some Wiccan sects believe in the Rule of Three, which states that anything you do will
be returned on you threefold, for good or for ill. Most also believe in reincarnation, which
potentially reinforces the Rule of Three. Your return on your actions could affect you in your
next life as well. Whether or not a particular Wiccan believes in the Rule of Three, most of them
strive for balance with nature, with their neighbors and family, and in their work environments.
They try to avoid conflict and achieve harmony with the world around them by sowing positive
attitudes and actions. Though many Wiccans still fear public disapproval or persecution, many
are more openly practicing now than they have ever been, thanks in part to laws expanding to
protect their right to practice and movements like the feminist movement which have elevated
certain minority or less powerful groups into more powerful and independent roles.
One of the biggest strengths that Wicca has in todays society is its ability to accept
without prejudice any member of any race or gender or sexual orientation. None of its writings
or teachings as far as I know oppose a person based on those characteristics, which is something
that many of the major established religions cannot claim. While Christianity can try to modify

its stance on issues like gay marriage or certain minorities being barred from the hierarchy, their
writings or doctrines continue to cause conflict even with new policies. Another strength of
Wicca is its allowance for a person to determine how to practice and what moral laws work for
them. In America particularly, where people tend to value their rights to choose for themselves
who to be and how to live, this religion has a lot of potential to draw in new practitioners.
Wiccan holidays are usually oriented on times where nature or the seasons are at the peak
of most change or right on the verge of tipping favor from one environment or energy to another.
This includes both the seasons and the solar and lunar changes. The Wiccan New Year is on
October 31, which is the holiday of Samhain. It is worth noting that Wiccans in the southern
hemisphere sometime celebrate Beltane instead on this day, as the seasons are opposite. Yule, or
Winter Solstice, is on December 22. Imbolc is on February 2. This is when the seeds are
beginning to stir, and is seen as a time of fertility. Next is Ostara, or the Spring Equinox, on
March 20. Beltane comes on May 1, and it is where May Pole Dancing comes from. Litha is on
June 21, and it is the Summer Solstice. Lammas is August 1, and it is celebrated as the first
harvest. Finally, Mabon is on September 23, and it is the Fall Equinox.
The ways Wiccans celebrate these holidays varies, again due in part to not having a
central religious hierarchy, but in general the mood of a festival or celebration has a lot to do
with the mood of nature at the time. In times of renewal or spring, new plants are planted and
new life begins. In the fall, harvests are gathered and feasts are had. Many Christian religions
have borrowed Pagan holidays and celebrate them in very similar ways, though for somewhat
different reasons.
Wicca is a religion that I believe will likely flourish in the United States. Its acceptance
of others and freedom of belief from within match the spirit of freedom in this country quite

well. I truly appreciate the opportunity that I have had to dispel many of the misconceptions that
I personally have had about this practice, and I hope I have been able to help others overcome
their prejudices as well.