FYI - A Basic History of Wicca
Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the world today! Comprising over half of it’s newest followers are young adults and teens! That is a pretty staggering thought,
Hence the need for proper education.
So let’s start at the beginning, as it being the best place to start..
So let’s assume you have gone through the exploratory stage or the interest phase of this topic. Perhaps you have even asked questions here and there and read a book or two. The questions you have may be “What should I believe?” or “Is this stuff real?” The first question-only you can answer but the second one….. “YES” it is very real. Let’s start shall we?
Paganism has been discovered as far back as 800 B.C. This is what has been documented but I’ll just bet it goes even further! The ancient people were dependant on the Earth and Nature for their very existence. They were very reverent to the season changes, the world around them, and the cycle of life. The Sun, the Moon, and Food were primary considerations! Not necessarily in that order! The Sun provided warmth and light and awe inspiring it certainly is to this day still! The Moon that lit the night with an air of mystery became a cycle of time. Since the beginning of time, man became more sophisticated and evolved and soon recognized a Divine Power. Man studied this power and sought ways to use it. By learning these cycles prediction of when to plant, when to harvest, when the weather would be bad, when to hunt and all sorts of information that was essential to survival. Being in tune with Nature was a must!
The early peoples had no realization of the connection of sex and reproduction and the early Creator Goddesses were shown as being voluptuously enhanced with full round bellies and large breasts that spoke of the fertility. This Goddess also represented the women as they were the workers of the tribes. They were the food gatherer’s, the cooks, and the babysitters. This left the men free to hunt and protect the group from other invading tribes or animals.
Elk, deer, cattle, goats, and even sheep all were a main source of food! They all had horns too! You bet that these people worshipped these food sources and even attributed them to God like entities. All the early Deities were symbolic of an important part of life. In some tribes-women hunted so there was a Huntress, and in the Farming communities arose the Green Man. All of these Gods and Goddesses interacted with humans and were nature orientated.
Then Christianity developed! The Roman Empire helped this along and so Christianity basically centered around the civilizations that were controlled by the Romans. As Christianity spread it met with down right resistance among the Pagans or Heathens. Oh and yeah-about that-Pagan meaning a person who worked the Earth and Heathen meaning a person who lives on the heath. These words were given a negative connotation. Then to add insult to injury the Christians tried to incorporate our deities as “Saints” . This didn’t work-Hello!!!
When no amount of persuading or re-writing of history worked to convert those Pagans and Heathens Pope Gregory The Great ordered all places of Pagan Worship be destroyed. To further this campaign, the Gods of the Pagans were demonized. Remember all those food sources that had horns that were made into God like entities! Yup you guessed where this is going! The Pagan Gods became the Christian Devil used to scare people and naughty children into submission!
The fifteenth century rolled around and guess what? Those Pagans were still around and in 1484 the Roman Catholic church began “The Inquisition” to hunt down and destroy pagans and traditions. A book called The Malleus Maleficarum, (The Witches Hammer) written by Dominicans Kramer and Sprenger in 1486 as the guide to identify and prosecute any one suspected of being a Witch. This was a license for the Church to persecute anyone who did not follow their path and there were many incidents of Non-Witches hung, tortured and property seized. The followers of the Old Religion had much to fear and it soon became a secret religion. Sadly enough anyone who was considered a healer, mid-wife or herbalist were soon punished. Having a mole or other prominent birthmark could sentence you to Death!
The Pagan Religion went underground. Ceremonies were no longer conducted out doors in commune with nature. Writings were destroyed so as not to be incriminating evidence. Traditions were passed down through families by word of mouth for centuries.
Some traditions were to strong to be broken and were forced to be adopted by the Church. Decorating of the tree at Yul and burning of Yul logs: Mayday and the Dance of the Maypole(Beltane) and the use of decorated eggs as a symbol of fertility at Easter-Ostara. These are just a few!
In the middle of the 1900’s the Pagan Religion came out of the broom closet. All over the UK and Great Britain the Old Religion started to flourish again and soon would spread across the ocean to America.
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Witch School Syllabus
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Witch School Syllabus
Sept 2nd The Quija Board! What it is, what it does, and Why you shouldn’t use it!
Sept 9th-Séance Circle w/Tim Brainard $5PP
Sept 16th RUNES Part 1 Learn the runes
Sept 23rd RUNES Part II Make the runes!
Sept 30th Candle Magic, Colors and Days
Oct 7 Alien Encounters!
Oct 21st Guest Speaker-Debbie
Michaels"Angelic Ritual"
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