Lesson Two - Politics of Modern Wicca

Monday, December 1, 2003

Reading Materials:

Lesson Overview: This Lesson is about the politics of Modern Wicca, the things that make Wicca "Tick." It is utterly likely that People will disagree about issues here. Good. We are here to cement our individual beliefs, to grow, not to agree. Jayne Tomas, one of the founders of Universal Eclectic Wicca, probably THE most important person to MY life other than my own child and mother, used to say "I didn't come here so that you could agree with me, I came here to TEACH. Teaching is selfish, because you come to me to learn, and all I am required to do is tell you what I know. In exchange, you tell me what you THINK. Who is getting the most knowledge outta this trade? That's right, ME."  

~Kat MacMorgan

Part One:

Gimme that Olde Time Religion!

  I never would have thought to find myself staring back at the fluff crap on the web again.  Yet, here I am looking for websites that support the myth of Wicca being an ancient religion practiced by our ancestors.  You know the one… the 20,000 + year old religion that centered on the Great Earth Mother Goddess and her Consort.   And here I found them… gyah!

People who’ve read The Witch-cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray; and then take that as the gospel truth spread many of these myths.  While the book is a nice idea, it has since been proven to be mostly false.  Ms. Murray did in fact use facts in her book, but unfortunately, she ignored the great number of facts contradicting her beliefs.   Other people who spread the myth are teens who haven’t read any of the better works out there, some don’t want Wicca to be a modern invention, and some just don’t care.

The myth is being undone!!

  I have to admit… when I first came to Wicca, I too bought into the “Wicca is an ancient religion” crap.  But then I learned more, and my list of authors and books grew.  I began to read more than Silver RavenWolf  and Scott Cunningham.  I noticed something strange… Wicca was only invented about 60 years ago!  But what about the Burning Times?

Well, what about it?  Sure, it was a real period in history, and yes, a lot of people died.  But they were mostly killed for heresy (of which you have to be a member of the Church to be a heretic), and other things.  In fact, the Burning Times was more of a political take over than anything.  People with lands, money or something nice were accused (jealous neighbors), old women and widows were accused (because they were ugly and lived alone) and many others who were mostly good Christian people.  Why did they die then?  Because by this time, the Church gained a new power – control of the masses through fear. 

“Fear is the mind killer” ~ Frank Herbert’s Dune

Either way, Wicca as it is currently, didn’t exist prior to Gerald Gardner, and though there are some aspects and pieces of Wicca that are very old and do predate Gerald Gardner (Goddess worship), the simple fact is, that in it’s current incarnation, it is a new religion.

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Part Two:

This part is easier. Find an event that has touched the Wiccan community SPECIFICALLY in the past 6 months. Describe it, and explain how it affects the community and what we should learn from it. 

The Rights of Gay Couples in America

Ooh, this is a big one. For months now we've heard about the ongoing battle between the Christian Fundamentalists and the more Open-Minded folk of America. It actually made me curious to see what the people around me thought of the situation.

So, I started asking around. I asked everybody - my mom, my grandmother, my boyfriend and his family, everyone. I just had to know what people thought about homosexuals and marriage. A lot of answers really surprised me, too.

My mom was particularly passionate about it, saying that it wouldn't be fair for gay couples to have the same rights as heterosexual married couples. I asked her why she thought this way and she said it was because then she and her long time boyfriend would still be pooh out of luck in the equal rights game. Hrm. It didn't make sense to me, because my thought is "Just get married, mom." But then again, I love weddings.

Now, the big thing is Massachusetts Supreme Court's ruling that a ban on Gay Marriage is Unconstitutional. Ooh, yet another big battle is a-coming from that one. And the whole time this is going on, President Bush and his lackeys are beating the drums of war, screaming "No, No! Our way is right! Gays are bad! Only a man and a woman can get married!"

In fact, President Bush's biggest argument against Gay Marriage is that it threatens heterosexual couples and in fact human existence at large. Um, since when did this become an issue? Apparently, marriage is only for procreation of children. Well, people are having babies and not getting married. I am a single mom of a 2 year old, and his father and I, though still together, have no future plans of marriage.

Some people have kids and give them up for adoption, or the kids are left in foster care. There are lots of homosexual couples out there that are fantastic parents and want to adopt children. They should be able to get married and have families together if they so choose.

So, how does this affect the Wiccan community? Well, it is a known fact that many, many gay couples are followers of the Wiccan faith. Granted not all Wiccans are homosexual, but there are a lot of them in the community.

Are they bad people because they are different? Are they people whose moral value should be judged on what gender of person they take to bed? Is it any of my business? Nope. Frankly, I don't give a rat's hiney who you take to bed. It isn't my business. Love is love, is love, is love.

But if gay marriage is banned then, what about all the couples that want to share their lives together? Are they to be denied the right to stand before their God(s) and Country and say "I love this person, I want to spend my life with this person." Are they to be denied the right to a Civil Service? Are they to be denied the benefits that come with marriage, such as tax breaks (and taxes on them for being married), insurance coverage, children, and other such things?

Granted, our community in Wicca is pretty darn open minded and accepting of people from all walks of life, but I have heard some strange things over the last year. WitchVox is a great resource - you get to read the news and read what other people think about it, too. And I saw some pretty foul comments directed at homosexuals coming from people who claim to be Wiccan.    

The community is in an uproar. No one knows what to think anymore, and our society is changing fast. We claim to be good, loving and tolerant people, but at the same time, many people are just two-faced. So what should we learn from all this?

We, as a part of the Wiccan community - and the greater community at large, have to learn that there are a lot of people out there. A lot of people don't think that homosexuals deserve the same rights as heterosexuals. That somehow, homosexual people are less than human, or are somehow damaged and diseased. We need to teach that love is love is love is love, by example. Teach your children, and they in turn will teach others.

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