Posted by:
esias
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Date: March 11, 2018 03:23AM
How many religions, asks Professor Ronald Hutton in his television documentary, are truly English? One. Wicca. Hutton is a pagan specialist: but this version of pagan witchcraft dates back than no further than the 1940s, developed by a middle-aged nudist from the New Forest, Gerald Gardner. While Crowley was drawn to the dark side of the occult, Gardner was drawn rather to the positive side, and dedicated his time on British' current affairs programmes to bringing Wicca to the masses.
Theists and atheists and agnostics all welcome. Wicca has no central authority, belief in the afterlife is optional, and for your pagan buck you get to worship a moon goddess and a horned god. You'll be worshiping the cycles of the moon and sun, which surely sounds more appealing than a Mormon ward party. Fancy chanting spells in the forest with your chums? -- this is the party for you. Farrer and Farrer 1987 outline the essential party themes as:
Purification of the sacred space and the participants
Casting the circle
Calling of the elemental quarters
Cone of power
Drawing down the Gods
Spellcasting
Great Rite
Wine, cakes, chanting, dancing, games
Farewell to the quarters and participants
Wicca, claims Professor Hutton, is one of the fastest growing religions in the world, especially popular in the United States. Scholar Ethan Doyle White observed in 2016:
"Wicca originated in the early decades of the twentieth century among those esoterically inclined Britons who wanted to resurrect the faith of their ancient forebears, and arose to public attention in the 1950s and 1960s, largely due to a small band of dedicated followers who were insistent on presenting their faith to what at times was a very hostile world. From these humble beginnings, this radical religion spread to the United States, where it found a comfortable bedfellow in the form of the 1960s counter-culture and came to be championed by those sectors of the women's and gay liberation movements which were seeking a spiritual escape from Christian hegemony."
Sounds too trippy and far out for you? Mind you, not so long ago we thought such concepts as Baptisms for the Dead and Holy Oil normal.
The British 2011 Census identified 56,620 people as broadly Pagan, 11,766 as Wiccans, and a hardcore minority of 1,276 describing their religion as Witchcraft.
Groovy, baby. If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise. Magic hazelnut, anyone?