He was one of the first Witches in the twentieth century to talk publicly about his beliefs and to share them with others. Most photographs show him in later life, with a white goatee beard looking for all the world like an elderly Pan. Gerald Gardner spent most of his adult working life away from Europe in far-flung outposts of the British Empire. He was able to study and get to know the indigenous peoples and further his interest in folklore, naturism, Pagan religions and Witchcraft. When Gerald Gardner retired to England in the 1930s, he made contact with a coven of English Witches. These Witches met in the New Forest, an ancient royal hunting ground of the Norman kings in southern England. The coven had a system of initiation not dissimilar to the three degrees of Freemasonry. The group practised spell-making, ritual and worship. Their rituals celebrated a seasonal myth cycle. Just how ancient the tradition was is a subject of much debate. Nevertheless, Gerald Gardner’s two most well-known books, Witchcraft Today (1954) and The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959), produced a huge surge of interest, inspiring a movement that has spread around the world.
ASPECTS OF WICCA
Wicca has many aspects. To help us understand these we can divide them into five branches. These relate to what are known as the ‘Elements of the Wise’. In magical philosophy, these make up the whole of creation – Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether or Spirit. Ether or Spirit, the fifth non-material element, is that which binds the other four together, but which is greater than the sum of their parts.
The pentagram is a symbol strongly associated with Witches; sometimes with sinister connotations. However, there is nothing sinister about it. The pentagram is the five-pointed star that represents the five elements. It is also a symbol of the perfected human being. The four elements of material creation are surmounted by the fifth element of Spirit – the element that links us to the Divine.
In the Western magical tradition, each point of the pentagram relates to a particular element. The symbols beside each point of the pentagram are the alchemical symbols for the element.
This book is about these five aspects of Wicca. It does not tell you how to run a coven, but it talks about the basis of Wicca – how to begin to create a magical and spiritual life. Wicca is about many things but in particular it is about love and respect – love and respect for the Earth, its people, our environment, those near and dear to us and for ourselves. It is also about empowerment – about learning to use our energies and powers wisely and well. It is about growth and change – a spiritual growth and change that take us nearer the source of our being, the Gods. It is about harmony and rhythms: attuning to the cycle of seasons and change within our own lives and outside in the universe, and finding a sense of inner peace and harmony by becoming aware that we are part of a greater whole.
These ideas are not peculiar to Wicca. They are within all spiritual and magical traditions. Each tradition, however, speaks in its own language and symbols and has its own emphases. The Wiccan tradition speaks in the language of the Western mystery and magical tradition, some of which will be familiar to people from astrology. It also speaks in the language of Paganism – its deities are Pagan Goddesses and Gods. Wicca speaks therefore to those who recognize that the Divine does not choose to manifest itself in only one form and through a single revelation. It is constantly showing itself to us through different images until at last we understand the whole. Wicca also speaks to those for whom the energy of the Goddess is as important as that of a male God. It speaks, in short, to modern men and women who love the Earth, for whom women and men are equal, and who can respect the traditions of others while valuing and revering their own. In other words, Wicca speaks to the Wise.
All this can sound very serious but it is important to remember that while Wicca has much in common with other religions, there are important differences. To many people the word religion implies impractical ideas about sex and contraception, boring church services, a ridiculous set of beliefs, being a killjoy and going around telling other people what not to do. Wicca is a religion that celebrates the joy of being alive, the beauty of nature, the miracle of existence and consciousness, the gifts that Nature gives us. It involves solemnity but also mirth – drumming, chanting, dancing, feasting and above all fun. People are Wiccan because they enjoy it. In Wicca we follow the way of the Bodhisattva and not the way of the Buddha. We are interested in the world and seek to change it and not to flee it or retreat from it.
Let us look therefore at the Wiccan universe. But before cluttering up the brain with more words, you might like to try a simple exercise.
SIMPLE EXERCISES TO BEGIN
At the end of each chapter there will be an exercise to help you appreciate an aspect of Wicca. The first exercise is the Meadow Exercise. This is an exercise which can prepare us for magical or ritual work, or it can be a meditative exercise in itself. It is energizing as well as relaxing. You can try it when you come home to help switch off from the work tensions and to focus on your private life. Alternatively, you can do it just before you go to bed to clear your mind for sleep. If you feel depressed or anxious, you can use the exercise to help you get your problems into perspective. Against the backcloth of the timeless world of Nature, our individual concerns assume their true perspective – important, yes, but not so important in the greater scheme of things. Keep a notebook recording your experiences with these exercises. This will help you monitor your progress.
Once you are familiar with the exercise, you will find that you can do it whenever you have a quiet moment – sitting at your desk at work, sitting at the kitchen table while waiting for a pan to boil, in the college library, in the odd gap between patients.
CONTACTING THE ELEMENTS IN NATURE: THE MEADOW VISUALIZATION
1 Begin by sitting quietly in your room. Let all the tensions and the stresses of the day flow away from you and fade away.
2 Still yourself and let your breathing become deeper and more relaxed. As your breathing deepens, focus on it. Let your mind become calmer and let it dwell in the internal peace of your own rhythmic breath. Remain like this until you feel calm and receptive.
3 Now imagine that the walls of your room are slowly dissolving away. You find yourself sitting in a sunny meadow. The grass is thick, green and lush around you. The earth feels warm and comforting beneath.
4 The sun shines down above you. Its rays warm you. A light wind blows against you and caresses your face. Close by you hear the sound of running water as it flows along in a stream.
5 You become aware that you are surrounded by the four elements – Wind (Air), Sun (Fire), Water, Earth; each one supporting, comforting or energizing you in a different way.
6 Now you become aware that these elements are but different forms of energy; the energy that is the life force.
7 Focus on your breath again and imagine it is also the life force. Each breath is an intake of life force energy.
8 Feel your breath, not only as air rushing into your lungs but also as the life force itself. Feel it flowing through your body.
9 Sense yourself becoming a being of energy. Sense the energy of the world ebbing and flowing and pulsating all around you; running through you and around you. You are it and it is you.
10 Hold this image for a little while – perhaps for a couple of minutes – and then let the energy that has been building up within you slowly subside.
11 Return to everyday