Amber Hansen

Religion Diversity 2400

Class 5:30-7:00

Wicca Religion

America now has the idea that the development of this country was based on religious
freedom but, there is still little acceptance for religions that are fairly new and especially those
who do not necessarily believe in God. Since the Puritans first arrival the United States, those
who had a different belief than the majority were considered outcasts and banished into the
wilderness. Today the Neo-Pagans, as most Wiccans categorize themselves, were only recently
able to express their religiosity without the threat of being hurt or fired in the work place. Now
this minority are not so much feared as misjudged by the public and misrepresented by
Hollywood. For example, the Deseret News reported, in June 2007, that an anonymous woman
lost her job as a teacher when it was found out that she was part of the Wiccan faith. This is
because of over 1000 years of negative propaganda, says Gretchen Faulk, founder of the Order
of Our Lady of Salt Lake City (Felix). Even though the members are mostly very accepting of
other faiths and respect each individuals beliefs, there is not reciprocity among the predominant
amount of people that believe in a God or are a Christian based church.
Wiccans have such a vast number of beliefs because it is more about the individual than
believing all in the same principal structure of beliefs. Some of these differences include how
many gods or goddesses you believe in or if you believe in a god at all. Wiccans more
commonly are dualistic but may be monotheistic, polytheistic, or atheist. There are many
different rituals and each individual will compile their own Book of Shadows, which includes the
witchs set of spells. There are a vast number of covens that beginners may be accepted into.
After each person becomes a high priestess or priest, over a period of a few years, they may
leave the coven and start their own. It more common for women than men to lead these but, there

Amber Hansen
Religion Diversity 2400
Class 5:30-7:00

is no gender requirement like in other religions. The size of each coven generally does not
exceed twelve or thirteen people and each member must be accepted by the others.
Even with the numerous amount of philosophies and views there is still commonalities
between all of the different branches of Wicca. There is a mutual acceptance in using the
pentacle symbol and less commonly, the triple moon or the Wiccan Goddess symbol. The
pentacle always has the value of spirit at the top of the star and then the other four primal
elements (fire, wind, water, earth) at each point This minority also generally has a respect of
nature and its powers. Most of their main celebrations evolve around the moon and select nature
cycles. A list of all of their main celebrations include all of natures solstice cycles and other
holidays that are celebrated nationwide. They are referred to as Sabbats and Esabats by the neopagan religion. Their calendar starts on October 31st for the new year, this is called Samhain or
All Hallows Eve. Then comes the Winter Solstice on December 21st, also known as Yule to
celebrate the birth of the Sun God. Imbolic is on February 2nd to celebrate the goddess of
fertility. Ostara is on March 21st for the spring equinox and the holiday Beltane was moved to
May 1st to recognize May Day. The Summer Solstice or Litha, on June 21st celebrates the Sun
Gods highest point. Lammas celebrates the first harvest on July 31st. Finally, Mabon is the feast
on August 21st for the Autumn Solstice (Wiccan)
Another commonality is that Wiccans do not believe in the devil. It is a Christian belief
and there is no such thing as a figure that encourages bad behavior or evi,l there are only
intentions an individual has. The lack of this belief evokes another question. If they do not
believe in an eternal damnation what sort of ethics do they follow and why? This question is
answered by what Wiccans refer to it as the Law of Return or Thee Fold Law and the Wicca
Rede. The Wiccan Rede states that, If it Harms none, Do what Thou Will, (Wren) and the Law

Amber Hansen
Religion Diversity 2400
Class 5:30-7:00

of Return is a religious statement of any type of energy that is put out by an person will be
returned to them at three times the strength. Most Wiccans live by these basic principles. Most
also practice what is called the craft, which is the practice of magic with certain tools and ritual
objects. Most may include a chalice and an athame. The athame is a knife, generally with a black
handle, pointed towards the east. This direction represents mind, thought, and choice. It is used
to cast circles and cut energetic ties. The chalice is commonly a goblet but anything that holds
water can be used. It is placed on the west side and is commonly used for ceremonial drink,
offering libations to the Divine, or holding the salt-water solution Like the rest of this religion,
there are many varieties of ways that the craft may be performed but, it is common to practice
skyclad, which is to practice without clothing.
Wiccans proper term is to be called a witch and with this comes negative connotation to
an outsider. Since the beginning of Pagan history many people, including the Pope, thought that
you were against God if you were not a Christian. This led to the prosecutions in 1550-1650 of
anyone that seemed witchlike, most of which were women. The Salem witch trials are a prime
example the types of mistreatments that a witch would go through. People would hang or more
commonly burn any person who was accused of witchcraft. Ever since then, many people hear
the term witch and they still mistreat those individuals. When most people hear magic they also
get skeptical because they think of the type of magic you would find in a fictional movie. Even
though the term magic does not have the same meaning. Wiccans think of magic as sort of
redirecting natural energy that is given off by every person and different elements.
Wiccans have become more public of their beliefs ever since Gerald Gardner. He is
thought to be the founder of this branch of neo-paganism. Gerald was born in 1884 and lived
until he was 70 years old. He and his wife became part of a nudist colony in 1936. When the

Amber Hansen
Religion Diversity 2400
Class 5:30-7:00

threats of the war became more imminent, they moved out of the country and into the United
States with the help of their friends. Soon after he joined coven of the old Religion. They met
in the New Forest of New Hampshire and there he was initiated. He also came up with the word
Wicca but spelled Wica. The original meaning was derived from the term wig, which meant idol,
and lager, which meant learning, which was later shortened to Wicca (Philips). From there
Garner became a professor and taught people about this old religion. Later, compiled stories
were edited into a book called Out of the Broom Closet edited by Arin-Murphy Hiscock in
1954 which increased peoples willingness to announce their religiosity. The books Spiral
Dance by Starhawk and Drawing the Moon Down by Margot Alder in 1979 also increased
popularity of Wiccan faith. The ideas have spread around the United Stated and even the in
different parts of the world. The practices of this religion were not established in Utah until about
the 1980s and even more recently were kept secret in fear of persecution. Even though many
Wiccans have started to express their faith without fear, they have had to fight common culture
to win these freedoms that other faiths are given.
There are Wiccans everywhere. There are many who take part in movements, especially
those that involve nature. Wiccans are part of most environmental movements that you see,
states Renae Hellon. She is one of the shopkeepers at Crones Hollow in Salt Lake City that sell
materials for the craft and educate those on which materials are for certain things. She would not
disclose whether or not she was part of this religion but did state that that she questioned most
Abrahamic religions and most Wiccans were part of another faith but were tired of being dictated
on what to believe. Since most people of this faith want to remain anonymous there are only an
estimate of 200,000 recorded people that participate in all the different branches of Wicca.

Amber Hansen
Religion Diversity 2400
Class 5:30-7:00

Even though Wiccans have won some freedoms and some equalities, there is still slander
and harassment toward this group of people. There has been good in bringing religious tolerance
by taking the mysteries out of this religion but there has also been discriminations from those
who believe that there is a God. They do charity work and stand up for the environment. They
accept those looking for information about this religion but want to be left to practice their rituals
in solitude and want their practices kept sacred. In this perspective they sound like any other
religion. Their religion is not so different in most ways and they are respectful of those not part
of their faith but are not received the same way
Wiccans are part of the minority and like many minorities are misunderstood. They
consider themselves religious but do not believe in one way of thinking like organized religions
do or even a specific God. The neo-pagan religion adds diversity to Americas God base country
and is still looked down upon by many people from those faiths. Due to being misinterpreted by
the majority of people, they continue to struggle to become accepted by the mainstream but have
made a continued increase of progress in recent years. People in the Wiccan religion have
practiced their key beliefs and have been ostracized through their history in America. Ever since
Gerald Gardner brought the religion to North America from Great Britain, they have struggled to
have equal tolerance as most Abrahamic religions do for each other. This religion will continue
to gain more rights to be equal in this diverse society.

Amber Hansen
Religion Diversity 2400
Class 5:30-7:00

References

Caroll, Beverlee J., Dr. "Wiccan Beliefs." Wiccan Beliefs. World-religion-professors, 2009. Web.
16 Oct. 2014. <http://www.world-religions-professor.com/wiccanbeliefs.html>.
Felix, David. "Paganism in Utah." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News, 30 June 2007. Web. 16 Oct.
2014. <http://www.deseretnews.com/article/680195147/Paganism-in-Utah.html>.
Hellon, Renae. Crones Hollow Amber Hansen. 15 10 2014.
Philips, Julia. "Gerald Gardner Articles." 1991. Gerald Gardner. pdf. 16 10 2014.
"Wiccan Annual Holidays : Annual Witches Calendar." Wiccan Annual Holidays : Annual
Witches Calendar. Premier Star Co, July 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.holidayinsights.com/halloween/witchcal.htm>.
Wren. "Witchvox Article." Witchvox Article. The Witches Voice, 16 July 2000. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=basics&id=2876>.