Pagan writer A.C. Fisher Aldag is doing an admirable job of presenting a clear and thoughtful overview on the history and origins of Wicca in a series of articles at Witches' Voice. Another Pagan History separates fact from fiction and offers a good argument for why a little of both is actually a good thing. She has sifted through countless resources ranging from the authors of modern Wicca to ancient texts and archeological records. Applying some solid intellectual analysis and basic common sense, she distills a vast amount of material into a very informative history lesson, addressing many of the informational controversies that seem to continually plague Pagan scholarship. Much of the content may be familiar, but to have it presented in such a clear and comprehensive form is most useful both for those who do not know much about the history of Wicca as a religion and for advanced practitioners who will be interested in the review of a large list of original texts.

In Part 1 A.C. discusses "Differing Viewpoints" and explores the question, "Wicca is not Ancient – or is it?"

During my own research, I learned that many common neo-Pagan practices really do date back to ancient times – sort of. Much of our modern earth-based religions are derived from the folk traditions of Celtic Britain, but they were affected by historic events, such as the Roman occupation, the Anglo-Saxon invasions, the Norman Conquest and the rise of Christianity. Many customs died out, others were incorporated into new ceremonies, and some rites continued without change. During the Renaissance, people were fascinated by all things mystical, just as they are today, and so Pagan practice enjoyed a revival. The Protestant Reformation forced many of the ceremonies underground, or ended their observation all together. The Victorian era saw an interest in “secret” societies, the Druids, spiritualism, and Egyptian and Persian magic. Gerald Gardner brought witchcraft to the attention of the masses with his books in the 1950s. During the 1960s many folk customs were preserved or renewed as a matter of cultural identity. And finally, the eco-feminist movement of the 1980s had a positive influence on Paganism. But what is genuinely historic and what is an invention? What is ancient and what is modern? We can’t always tell.

Part 2 takes a beginning look at "Gardner's Sources - and Inventions" and concludes in Part 3.

No matter his sources, Gardner brought witchcraft and Paganism into the consciousness of the general public. Whether he revived or created these practices, he can be thanked for several philosophies unique to modern day earth religions: Gardner united the material and spiritual worlds, combining natural and ceremonial magic systems. He also instituted the concepts of ethics and law into magical practice.

She takes up "The Pagan Holidays or the Wiccan Sabbats" in Part 4 and promises to continue the subject in future installments.

While some of the celebrations we enjoy today were recently invented, others were genuinely old, practiced for centuries in the British Islands. Other holiday traditions were brought to England, and thus to Wicca, from other civilizations. Some died out and were revived. Others survived into the present day, with little or no change. Gardner and others brought many of these customs into the modern practice of Wicca.

I am thoroughly enjoying the series and look forward to Parts 5 and 6.

From the series' footnotes:

If I wrote a bibliography for this essay series, it would probably be fifty pages long, so please go explore for yourself. All of the information contained in the text was either found online, in books attributed to the authors mentioned, in artwork or artifacts found in museums. Some of the information even came from news articles found in “The Wren’s Nest” here on “The Witches’ Voice”.

If you wish to explore a topic for yourself, I suggest using Google.com and typing in each subject, for instance, Gardner + “Book of Shadows”, “Gwen Thompson” + Rede, England + “harvest rituals”, pentagram + “witches foot”. Try using different wording, such as England + folklore, or Britain + folklore.

You’ll find some sources that insist that a custom is really old, especially on local history sites, in museums, and tourist excursion brochures. Others will be just as adamant that a custom is newer and without Pagan roots, such as the folkplay study. Many of the sites that I used to learn about the holidays / sabbats are from British and Irish tourist websites, which have really cool pictures of the customs.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 7:11 PM