“Beloved of Gods and men…”

This is the next in a series of blogs I am have decided to do, providing textual analysis for the ritual prose known as The Charge of the Goddess.  Each quotes a section of material which I presented, with my co-author David Rankine, in the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings.  For your convenience, all posts on this subject has been tagged with “charge analysis” here on my blog, and I ask that comments and other remarks be posted directly onto the original blog http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=998 — keep comments to the lines discussed in this blog only please (there are separate blog entries for the rest!)

The following two lines firstly describes the Goddess of Wicca as being “The Beloved of Gods and men” which as you will see are titles associated with the Goddess Aphrodite, but also with Baldur, the son of the God Odin in the Norse mythologies.  And then seems to hint at what happens to those who find themselves before this Goddess.  Though absolutely evocative and beautiful, we again see the influence of Aleister Crowley’s Law of Liberty in this text.

“and before my face, Beloved of the Gods and men,”

This is again probably original material.  Although almost certainly just coincidental, we thought it amusing to mention that this line is also found in a novel published in 1908 which has a character called Doreen in![1]

In Norse myths, Baldur, the son of Odin is often referred to as “beloved of Gods and men” which might have provided some inspiration for the use of the term; however this seems strange and unlikely considering he is male.  With these being words of the goddess this would be an inappropriate usage.  However, the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, was also sometimes referred to by the same title, and it is hopefully more likely that the author(s) of the Charge, may have taken their inspiration from this goddess rather than using the title of a male god.

“let thine inmost divine self shall be enfolded in the raptures of the infinite.”

Again this seems to be derived from two more quotes merged from the Law of Liberty: “He is then your inmost divine self” and “in the constant rapture of the embraces of Infinite Beauty”.  These quotes are in reference to words spoken by Hadit, the masculine divine in the cosmology of Thelema.  Thus it is being used completely inappropriately as words spoken by the Goddess, as in fact it originates in relation to the God.  This may indicate that the person compiling this version of the Charge was not familiar with Crowley’s work or philosophy, but thought of the words themselves as mere poetry to be used, as it would seem from this that the material used to compile the Charge was used regardless of its original context and symbolism, instead being purely utilised for its poetic and emotive effects.  This recalls Valiente’s remark in An ABC of Witchcraft that Gardner told her he “had supplied words which seemed to him to convey the right atmosphere, to strike the right chords in one’s mind.” If this is the case, then it could also support the idea that Gardner was the author, or one of the authors, of the original, as it seems to have been rewritten from the Lift Up the Veil charge.

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[1] Mary Ware: The Little Colonel’s Chum, Johnston, 1908

(c) 2010 Sorita d’Este.  This blog was written by Sorita d’Este for www.sorita.co.uk, all rights reserved.

Comments welcomed at http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=998

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“Wica” or “Wicca” or … whatever!

Following my blog on ritual nudity there have been a lot of emails arriving in my inbox from people who have questions about the practices of Wicca ~ in particularly those found in the esoteric / initiatory traditions which in turn influenced so many other traditions of post 1950′s ceremonial, neo-Pagan, witchcraft and Goddess traditions.   There has also been a surge in interest in the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings which I co-authored with my partner David Rankine and which examines the origins of the practices in a great deal of detail, showing clearly how much was ‘borrowed’ (of course really the term is plagariased!) from the work of Aleister Crowley (but never mind, Crowley also ‘borrowed’ without attributing his sources more often than not!).   The research we present in the book also shows how many of the practices were indeed well established by the time Gerald Gardner came along and it supports the idea that instead of “making it all up” Gardner was most probably telling the truth about how it all started, although he in his inexperience and through lack of understanding and access to materials, misunderstood a great deal of it.  His misunderstandings were then passed on and became “tradition” along with the bits which were correct.

One of the questions which are raised quite often in recent years is that of Gardner’s use of the term ‘Wica’ (with one ‘c’) rather than the conventional spelling with two, ie. Wicca.  Furthermore, there is a tendency amongst many Pagans and even Wiccans, to attribute the invention of the use of the term ‘Wicca’ as a term to describe the practices used in the tradition to Gerald Gardner.  This assumption is made based on the misunderstanding that the term had in fact fallen out of use centuries before, something which is simply not the case.  What follows is a generous extract from the chapter “Baptism” in our book Wicca Magickal Beginnings, which I hope will help open up the debate on the use of the term and give a bit more support to the idea that a) Gerald Gardner simply misspelled the word and there is nothing more “special” about spelling it ‘Wica’ than ‘Wicca’ other than copying an error; and b) that the term was not invented, or reintroduced into the English language by Gardner and his colleagues, but was in use and would have been known to most people with more than a passing interest in folklore or the English language.

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Our exploration begins with Gardner himself who used the term ‘Wica’ to refer to the tradition, as can be seen in the example below, found in his book The Meaning of Witchcraft:

“I realised that I had stumbled upon something interesting; but I was half-initiated before the word, ‘Wica’ which they used hit me like a thunderbolt, and I knew where I was, and that the Old Religion still existed.”

Much has been made by some modern practitioners of the difference in spelling between ‘Wica’ and ‘Wicca’, with some adopting ‘Wica’ to distinguish themselves from the masses using the term ‘Wicca’ for practices which often seem to have little in common with the initiatory traditions.  However, this spelling of the word does not seem to have any historical significance, beyond having been used by Gardner and it is very likely that it was a deliberate variation of the spelling.  Unless of course Gardner meant ‘wiça’ which is the word used by the Dakota people of North America for ‘man’ or in some instances ‘raccoon’ – though that is probably a little bit farfetched!  However, we thought this little quirky coincidence was an interesting aside nonetheless and worth including.

Looking at Gardner’s writings, we see he consistently used the spelling ‘Wica’ in his books, and also in his dealings with the media.  The term ‘Wicca’ only occurs in his last book The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1959, and then only in a discussion of the etymology of the word from Anglo-Saxon times.  Even in the biography Gerald Gardner: Witch, the term used is ‘Wica’.  From this it is clear that Gardner did not invent the use of the term ‘Wicca’, as we will now further demonstrate.

We will start with a use contemporary to Gardner’s and which is unlikely to have influenced him, where the term was found in an early draft of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Two Towers.^[1] Christopher Tolkien, the son of J.R.R. Tolkien, recorded the way in which his father worked in a twelve volume set. In volume seven The Treason of Isengard, he mentions that J.R.R. used the term Wicca in reference to the characters of Gandalf and Saruman.  These two characters would both be referred to as wizards and as part of the Wise throughout the rest of the trilogy.  In addition to being one of the best known and loved fantasy fiction writers of the twentieth century, having penned works such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; J.R.R. Tolkien was of course also a scholar of Old English and his (unpublished) application of this term took place in 1942, only a few years before it was used by Gerald Gardner.  This clearly shows a use of the term contemporary with, yet completely unrelated to its usage by Gardner, illustrating that the word was not forgotten as some would have us believe.

More than twenty years prior to Tolkien, Lewis Spence made a few passing references to the term ‘Wicca’ in his book An Encyclopædia of Occultism published in 1920, saying (amongst other things):

“The Anglo-Saxon system of magic was of course Teutonic.  Their pretenders to witchcraft were called wicca…”

In the book Gypsy Sorcery, published in 1889 by Leland, author of Aradia, we find a yet earlier reference to the term ‘Wicca’ where he used it in a footnote as part of a definition for the word Witch:

“Witch.  Medieval English wicche, both masculine and feminine, a wizard, a witch.  Anglo-Saxon wicca, masculine, wicce, feminine.  Wicca is a corruption of witga, commonly used as a short form of witega, a prophet, seer, magician, or sorcerer.”

Again this shows a use of the term, this time by an author, whose work, as we will see later in this volume, had and continues to have, a huge impact on the Wiccan tradition.  Also we must comment that Gardner himself referred to the book Gypsy Sorcery in his work The Meaning of Witchcraft.  This illustrates that even more than fifty years before Gardner would use the term, it had not fallen into complete disuse, and that Gardner was probably aware of earlier uses.  In fact, Leland seemed to think that it was “commonly used”, and indeed he seems to have been right.  We have found dozens of references spanning the entire nineteenth century which refer to the term, too many to list here and besides, many are repetitive and quite basic.  We will however include a couple just for those readers who are curious to see examples of its usage.

In 1856 we find the term mentioned in The History of the Anglo-Saxons by Thomas Miller:

“Scarcely an obscure English province is without its wise-man, or cunning fortune-teller, those lingering remains of the Wicca of the Saxons…”

In 1854 the term moreover appeared in Hereward of Brunne, a short story, published in Ainsworth’s Magazine, as a term used for a wise-woman healer who is considered to be witch:

“At the sound of his voice the creature slowly rose, and the young man drew back aghast, while the word ‘Wicca’ escaped from his lips. ‘Wicca! – ay, Wicca!’ sneered the hag. ‘Start ye wat my winsome face?  Is your purpose less ugly than I am?  Come ye for a witch’s med’cine – ratsbane is the best! Come ye for her blessing – better have another’s curse.”

Some have suggested that the term ‘Wicca’ might be a corruption of the Saxon witega, which in turn means ‘prophet’ or ‘seer’.  This is now widely disputed and some scholars are suggesting that it might come from the Indo-European root-word ’wek’ which means ‘voice’.  This idea would then define a witch as someone who invokes or summons supernatural power through the use of their voice.

J.A. Picton in his work Hall, Wych, and Salt Works in Notes and Queries, 1874, suggested a different meaning for the word ‘wicca’ based on the Low German rather than the Anglo-Saxon.

“He derives the term wich from Low German wijck or wicca, sacred, devoted, alleging that the Northern nations attached great sanctity to salt springs from their healing qualities.”

There are many examples of the term Wiccan being used throughout Old English Christian texts, usually to describe practitioners of witchcraft, in most instances specifically female and in a non-complimentary manner.  In other words the Wiccan was usually viewed as someone who was involved in diabolic and necromantic magick.  One such example can be found in the tenth century writings of Ælfric of Eynsham (955-1010CE):

“Gyt farað wiccan to wega gelæton and to hæþenum byrgelsum mid heora gedwimore and clipiað to ðam deofle, and he cymð hym to on þas mannes gelicnysse þe þæ lið bebyrged swylce he of deaðe arise, ac heo ne mæg pæt don pæt se deada arise hire drycræft.”

“Witches still travel to where roads meet and to heathen graves with their illusory skill and call out to the devil and he comes to them in the guise of the person who lies buried there, as if he would arise from the dead – but she cannot really make it happen, that the dead man should arise through her wizardry.”^[2]

Here we need to take note that the wiccans are working their necromancy at the crossroads, a place where the bodies of those who committed suicide or who, in some other manner were considered to be unclean were buried.  Ælfric evidently did not believe in their ability to raise the dead either, instead he believed it to be some form of illusion or that the wiccan herself was being tricked by the devil into believing that she was raising a dead man.  It is worth noting that although necromancy does not form a part of the Wiccan Tradition today, a variation of its practices are as popular as ever in the form of modern spiritualism, though graveyards play a far lesser role.

The term wiccan also makes an appearance in texts such as The Sermon of the Wolf to the English which was composed by Wulfstan II, the Archbishop of York and Bishop of Worcester around 1014 CE.  He wrote it under the penname Lupus, meaning ‘wolf’.  In it he named wiccans alongside other unpleasant characters such as plunderers, thieves, pledge-breakers, perjurers and murderers, to name but a few.  Once again this indicates the use of the term to describe people who are not considered to be of an agreeable character.

Thus it is clear that the term ‘Wiccan’ has historical precedence, and is not a modern invention, even though it would seem that it was not in use by practitioners in the 1950’s.  However, in 1958 the term ‘Wiccen’ was introduced into the modern public arena, through an article entitled The Craft of the Wiccens, by Charles Cardell, published in Light magazine.  Cardell was initially friendly with Gardner, but the two men fell out in 1958.  Cardell subsequently published much of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows as an exposé in his book Witch in 1964, and also republished Leland’s Aradia in the early 1960s.  Beyond a derogatory use by Robert Cochrane in an article in Pentagram magazine no.2 in 1964 when he referred to “the illusionary world of Ye Olde English Wiccen”, this term was never widely used.

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[1] Volume 2 of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954

[2] Leechcraft, Stephen Pollington, 2000

If you want to read more, see the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings (ISBN  978-1-905297-15-3)  by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine.  See   http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/titles/wicca_mb.htm for more information.

If you would like to add your comments, opinions or additional ideas to this article please do so on my website, where it will be available for others to read in future:  http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=895

(c) 2010 Sorita d’Este.  This blog was written by Sorita d’Este for www.sorita.co.uk, allrights reserved.

Order a signed copy of Wicca Magickal Beginnings for £14.99 (with free P&P worldwide)

Nudity, Magic and Wicca

In a conversation with a dear friend this week the subject of “nudity” and magic raised its head.   I have noticed over the years that opinions on the subject seems to be rather divided, there are those who do – and those who don’t.  Those who don’t often have strong views about their reasons – just like those who do often cite reasons of tradition and the “flow of power” as the reason for being naked in their rites.

I have my own fixed ideas on the matter too.  I love the human body, the way it functions and the way it moves, and I also believe that being naked allows you to feel closer to the elements and that it also help foster a greater appreciation and awareness of our own bodies.  However, I also believe that there is something sacred and private about our bodies, which holds a power of its own.  A mystery perhaps, which should only be shared in circumstances which are appropriate to the act.  I don’t think of nudity and sexuality as being linked in an absolute way, and I believe that both sexuality and nakedness have the ability to awaken strong and powerful magical and spiritual energies – but only when it is applied in an intentionally sacred manner.

Mircea Eliade’s views, in some ways, reflect my own: - “The importance of ceremonial nudity and ritual intercourse must not be interpreted as merely lustful inclinations.  The recent sexual revolution has made obsolete such types of pretence and masquerade.  Rather, the purpose of ritual nudity and orgiastic practices is to recapture the sacramental value of sexuality.”[1]

If you want to read more, see the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings (ISBN  978-1-905297-15-3)  by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine.  See   http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/titles/wicca_mb.htm for more information.

If you would like to add your comments, opinions or additional ideas to this article please do so on my website, where it will be available for others to read in future:  http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=895

(c) 2010 Sorita d’Este.  This blog was written by Sorita d’Este for www.sorita.co.uk, allrights reserved.

Order a signed copy of Wicca Magickal Beginnings for £14.99 (with free P&P worldwide)

Gardner, Athames, Key of Solomon & AZOTH

My post on the origins of the word Athame, with an extract from Wicca Magickal Beginnings,  has proven to be very popular.  Quite a few people have commented here, on facebook and by email that they didn’t realise that it had such a magickl origin – which is rather pleasing as it is the reason that David and I wrote the book – there is a lot of real magic and history in the Wiccan tradition when we start looking beyond the personalities and their own personal interpretations of things (often based on heresay, and then responsible for more heresay in turn, perpetuating the same old, same old!).  It is clear from some examples, the Gerald Gardner probably got some inspiration for elaborating on the rituals he was introduced to from published books on magic and witchcraft (its a myth that his was the first book on Witchcraft to be published!) and that the Key of Solomon compilation published by Macgregor Mathers would have been one of the sources used.

The passage that follow is from “Wicca Magickal Beginnings” and is  concerned not only with the first use of the word by Gardner for the ritual dagger, but also with the inscription of the term “Azoth”.  This is one of numerous examples of the Key of Solomon playing an important role in Wicca, and I would suggest that those of you reading this who are unfamiliar with the Key of Solomon and the Grimoire Tradition and who would like to find out more go and read some of the articles at GUIDE TO THE GRIMOIRES.

“The first source for the athame in Gardner’s writings is his novel High Magic’s Aid.  An examination of the symbols shown on the illustration of the athame in High Magic’s Aid clearly indicates Mathers’ Key of Solomon as his primary source.  We know that Gardner reproduced his illustrations from Mathers published Key of Solomon because they include a change made by Mathers and not found in any of the source manuscripts Mathers drew upon.  In the preface of his Key of Solomon, Mathers wrote:

“In some places I have substituted the word AZOTH for ‘Alpha and Omega,’ e.g., on the blade of the Knife with the Black Hilt.”

Gardner’s illustration of the athame blade contains the word Azoth, as substituted by Mathers, and the Hebrew divine names Yah (IH) and Elohim (ALHIM).  These three words comprise the shorter top line of the two lines of names found on the blade of the black-handled knife in Mathers’ Key of Solomon.  Although subsequent images of the athame markings do not include any lettering on the blade, it is nonetheless relevant to look at these divine names and explore their significance.

Azoth is a composite word used in medieval alchemy and subsequently in the magickal traditions of the Western Mystery Tradition.  Its symbolism lies in its use of letters, representing the beginning and end.  It is usually written with a Hebrew Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet corresponding to the English letter ‘A’ and the Greek letter Alpha.  The letter Z is next, followed by the Greek Omega (?) and the Hebrew Tav.  All of these letters are the last in their respective alphabets.  Azoth thus symbolises the beginning and end, and as a result all that lies within.  It represents perfection and for this reason it is easy to see why Mathers should have substituted it for the divine name of ‘Alpha and Omega’, which also represents beginning and end (as the letters of the Greek alphabet).  In alchemy this term also represented the Mercurial essence, part of the process of creating the Philosopher’s Stone.

(Extract from “The Real Witches Weapon” in Wicca Magickal Beginnings, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine, Second Edition Avalonia 2008)

The Origins of the Wiccan Tradition

As a Priestess who have facilitated training for many people who wanted to learn more about the Wiccan Tradition, I have often been asked what I felt the true origins of the tradition was.  This is a very difficult question to answer in a few words, and as my interest in the Wiccan Tradition is primarily rooted in the practices, I have spent a great deal of time researching the rituals, ceremonies and beliefs over the years.  It is a subject I will be speaking on at the Ludlow Esoteric Conference later this month (see www.esotericconference.wordpress.com for details). 

It is impossible to provide a straightforward and “no reasonable doubt” answer in regards to the origins of this tradition which has in recent years been adapted and adopted by a huge range of modern pagans, seeking to creating their own magical spiritual tradition using the practices set out in the initiatory traditions of Wicca, which was taught by Gerald Gardner and other individuals such as Alex and Maxine Sanders. 

For the last couple of decades it has become fashionable to attribute the “creation” of the tradition to Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente, who was his High Priestess for a brief period of time during the 1950′s.   Unfortunately, a close examination of the rituals provided in the Book of Shadows by Gerald Gardner to his initiates, and subsequently published in numerous sources, show that in the majority of instances this could not be the case – or at least, in the instances that it is likely, the material was plagariased from earlier sources.  What is clear though is that Gerald Gardner and his colleagues did provide a springboard for the tradition to develop from, they were the avatars of a new magical tradition during the 1950′s and 1960′s, just like Alex and Maxine Sanders were during the years which followed.   As we wrote in Wicca Magickal Beginnings (Avalonia, 2008) :-

“Wicca has had a huge impact on the modern revival of interest in esoteric spirituality in the Western world.  It first emerged to public attention in the 1950′s, primarily through the work of Gerald Brosseau Gardner and a subsequent succession of people associated with him.  During the transitional period of the 1950s, between the austerity of post-war Britain and the swinging sixties, Wicca quickly gained media attention as something mysterious and beyond the norm.

It would be very naive to believe that all the practices and beliefs of the tradition sprang fully formed into being from nowhere and that it was completely unknown or thought of prior to Gerald Gardner.  Undoubtedly the publication of his factional novel High Magic’s Aid in 1949, and subsequent writings, teachings and media exposure inspired and fuelled the interest of many people to explore what Gardner referred to as ‘the witch cult’.  It would however probably be more accurate to view Gardner’s work as being the product of, or the continuation of, a growing spiritual and magickal current fuelled by a wealth of material published in numerous sources by a range of authors in the previous years, as well as the practices of a wide spectrum of esoteric groups and orders which flourished at the time and in the preceding decades.”

[From Wicca Magickal Beginnings, Sorita d'Este & David Rankine, Avalonia 2008 - Available from Amazon.com at a special discounted price of US$16.99 for May 2009, instead of the usual $24.99]
 

Wiccan History – Ludlow Esoteric Conference

I am starting my preparation for a lecture I am giving at the Ludlow Esoteric Conference in late May.  My lecture is entitled “Gerald Gardner’s Book of Shadows” and will be based on the research David and I did for our book “Wicca Magickal Beginnings” as well as our research into the origins of the grimoire tradition, The Key of Solomon, Goetia and other such texts – which as we show in Wicca Magickal Beginnings is clearly the origins for some of the practices found in modern Wicca.  This controversially proves that the Wiccan tradition in fact does have its roots in an unbroken line of practice and knowledge going back to at least Ancient Egypt, maybe much earlier than that – not in the same way as it is today of course, and certainly not with any of the many later religious additions.

Our view does not sit comfortably with those who like to promote the idea that Gerald Gardner “invented” Wicca in the 1950′s – but our research approach was different as we focussed purely on the practices, rather than on the interperson relationships, clearly shows that all the key practices have older precedents – some just a few decades, others many thousands of years.   Our views on this is not fashionable, but they are exciting for people who are genuinely interested in the practices of the tradition – whether approached in its esoteric or exoteric form.

Its a difficult subject for me to speak about – especially given that I will have less than an hour!

Well if you are interested in finding out  more about the Ludlow Esoteric Conference go to http://esotericconference.wordpress.com/ -