Wicca/ Geschichte

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History of Wicca


The history of Wicca is much debated. Gardner claimed that the religion was a survival of matriarchal Pagan religions of pre-historic Europe, taught to him by a woman known either as "Dafo" or "Old Dorothy". Doreen Valiente identified these as a single person, Dorothy Clutterbuck,[15] however modern researchers such as Philip Heselton have theorised that Dafo and Clutterbuck were two separate individuals.[16] It has been posited by authors such as Aidan Kelly and Francis X. King that Gardner himself invented it, following the thesis of Dr. Margaret Murray and sources such as Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches by Charles Godfrey Leland,[17] and incorporating practices of ceremonial magic. While Clutterbuck certainly existed, Ronald Hutton concluded that there was no evidence for her involvement in Gardner's Craft activities.[18] Since then, however, new evidence presented by Philip Heselton makes her involvement seem more likely, and suggests that while Gardner may have been mistaken about the ancient origins of the religion, his statements about it were largely made in good faith. A widespread theory [citation needed] is that after Gardner retired from adventuring around the globe, he encountered Clutterbuck and her New Forest coven in the region. He was supposedly initiated into the New Forest coven in 1939, where he stayed for years until England's ban on witchcraft-related books was repealed. At this point, and later claiming to fear that the Craft would die out,[19] he worked on his book Witchcraft Today, releasing it in 1954. He followed it with The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1960. It is from these books that much of modern Wicca is derived.

While the ritual format of Wicca is undeniably styled after late Victorian era occultism (even co-founder Doreen Valiente admits seeing influence from Crowley), the spiritual content is inspired by older Pagan faiths, with Buddhist and Hindu influences. Whether any historical connection to Pagan religion exists, the aspiration to emulate Pagan religion as it was understood at the time certainly does.

Due to historical suspicions, it is seems very likely that Gardner's rites and precepts were taken from other occultists, particularly Aleister Crowley, and was not in fact anything new to the world. There is very little in the Wiccan rites that cannot be shown to have come from earlier extant sources. The original material is not cohesive and mostly takes the form of substitutions or expansions within unoriginal material. Roger Dearnaley, in An Annotated Chronology and Bibliography of the Early Gardnerian Craft,[20] describes it as a patchwork.




The idea of a supreme Mother Goddess was common in Victorian and Edwardian literature: the concept of a Horned God — especially related to the gods Pan or Faunus — was less common, but still significant.[21] Both of these ideas were widely accepted in academic literature and the popular press at the time.[22] Gardner used these concepts as his central theological doctrine and constructed Wicca around this core. [edit]

Later developments






The first Wiccan Wedding to be legally recognised in the U.K (by the Registrars of Scotland) was performed in 2004.[23] [edit]



Wicca was previously an Old English word (pronounced 'witcha'), meaning a male witch or wizard; wicce was a female witch (see also Völva), and wiccecræft was witchcraft. Its earliest known use is in the circa 890 Laws of Ælfred.[24][25] Earlier origins of the word are uncertain, however, and are much disputed.[26]

The most likely derivation is through the Old English word wigle (sorcery, divination) from the Indo-European root *weg (liveliness, wakefulness).[27][28] Gardner and other writers on Wicca have proposed a relationship with the Old English words wita 'wise man' and witan 'to know', asserting that witches had once been regarded as the "wise" people;[29][30] Wicca is often called the "Craft of the Wise" in allusion to this derivation. Still others claim a derivation from the Indo-European root *wei which connotes bending or pliance (from which we get the words 'wicker' 'willow' and 'witch-elm'), suggesting the concept of magic as a "bending" of forces of nature.



Discrimination and persecution of Wiccans Religious persecution By persecuting group:

   * Christians
   * Muslims
   * Soviet Union

By victimized group:

   * Ancient Greek religion
   * Atheists
   * Bahá'ís
   * Christians
   * Heathens
   * Hindus
   * Jews
   * Mormons
   * Muslims
   * Pagans
   * Roman religion
   * Wiccans

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In modern times, Wiccans have been incorrectly associated with black magic and Satanism, especially in connection with Satanic Ritual Abuse hysteria.[citation needed] The Bible (Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them[33] and Exodus 22:17 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live[34]) may incite Christians to be less than sympathetic toward neo-Pagans in general. Wiccans also experience difficulties in administering and receiving prison ministry, although not in the UK of recent times.[citation needed]

Because of the popular negative connotations associated with witchcraft, many Wiccans continue the traditional practice of secrecy, concealing their faith for fear of persecution. Revealing oneself as Wiccan to family, friends or colleagues is often termed "coming out of the broom-closet". FreddyE 05:51, 8. Aug 2006 (UTC)


Die Geschichte des Wicca ist ein viel diskutiertes Thema. Gardner behauptete die Religion sei ein Überbleibsel der matriarchalischen Panganreligionen des prähistorischen Europas, die ihm von einer Frau namens "Dafo" oder "Old Dorothy" beigebracht wurde. Doreen Valiente hat dies als eine einzelne Person identifiziert: Dorothy Clutterbuck [15], doch heutige Forscher, wie zum Beispiel Philip Heselton, haben Dafo und Clutterbuck als zwei verschiedene Personen theorisiert.[16] Andere Autoren (zb. Aidan Kelly und Francis X. King) nehmen an Gardner habe die Religion selbst erfunden in dem er die Thesen des Dr. Margaret Murray, Quellen wie beispielsweise Aradia oder "Gospel of the Wichtes" von Charles Godfrey Leland [17] und Praktiken Zeremonieller Magie kombinierte. Obwohl Clutterbuck sicherlich existierte gibt es laut Ronald Hutton keine Hinweise für ihre Beteiligung bei Gardeners Aktivitäten.[18] Seitdem wurden jedoch von Philip Heselton neue Hinweise präsentiert die ihre Beteiligung warscheinlicher erscheinen lassen. Er nimmt an das Gardner sich zwar in Bezug auf die antiken Ursprünge der Religion irrte, doch seine Äußerungen zum Großteil in gutem Glauben machte. Laut einer weit verbreiteten Theorie begegnete Gardnerer, nach seinen weltweiten Reisen, Clutterbuch und ihrem "New Forest Coven".

Angeblich wurde er 1939 in den Coven initiert wo er viele Jahre blieb bis Englands Verbot von Büchern über Hexerei aufgehoben wurde. Zu dieser Zeit arbeitete er an seinem Buch "Witchcraft Today", das er 1954 veröffentlichte. 1960 folgte das Buch "The Meaning of Witchcraft".Das moderne Wicca ist von diesen beiden Büchern abgeleitet.

Zwar ist das rituelle Format des Wicca unbestreitbar dem späten viktorianischen Okkultismus (sogar Co-Gründer Doreen Valiente bestätigt Einflüsse von Crowley) nachempfunden, doch die spirituelle Komponente ist von älteren panganistischen Religionen, Buddhismus und Hinduismus beeinflusst. In wie fern auch immer die historische Verbindung zum Panganismus existiert, das Bestreben die Religion nach dem damaligen Verständnis nachzubilden ist sicherlich vorhanden.

Es scheint sehr warscheinlich das Gradners Riten und Ansichten von anderen Occultisten, vorallem von Aleister Crowley, stammen und damit nichts neues darstellten. Sehr wenig in den Wicca Riten stammt nachweislich nicht aus früheren Quellen. Die neuen Inhalte sind nicht kohäsiv und es handelt sich dabei vorallem um Ergänzungen und Ersetzungen innerhalb des Orginalmaterials. Roger Dearnaly beschreibt es in "An Annotated Chronology and Bibliography of the Early Gardnerian Craft" als Flickwerk.

Philip Heselton behauptet in seinen Büchern "Wiccan Roots" und "Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration" das Gardner nicht der Autor der Wicca Rituale ist, sonder sie in gutem Glauben von einer unbekannten Quelle erhalten hat. (Auch Doreen Valiente behauptet dies in Bezug auf "das Basisskelett der Rituale", wie in Margort Adlers "Drawing Down the Moon" zu lesenen ist.) Laut ihm kann das gesamte Material das von Crowley stammt in einem einzigen Buch gefunden werden: "The Equinox vol 3 no. 1 or Blue Equinox". Es ist nicht bekannt dass Gardner dieses Buch besaß oder Zugriff darauf hatte.