Hardly Bewitched or Bedeviled

It's easy to think of Wiccans as wannabe Samanthas concoting love spells or rebellious teens out to upset their parents. However, the religion's followers are out to prove such pop-culture mirages are pure fantasy.

By Kevin Clarkston


Say the word witch and lots of images come to mind. Black magic, broomsticks and black cats are usually common thoughts. However, Dr. Holly Stave, dressed in a white blouse and floral print pants and sitting calmly at her desk, is miles away from those pop-culture stereotypes.

“People want to believe that we’re like Samantha from Bewitched,” she said.

Stave first became interested in Wicca while attending graduate school. “It made a lot of sense to me,” Stave said, who at the time found the Lutheranism of her childhood leaving her spiritually lacking. “I felt that Christianity didn’t respect women [and] treated them like second class citizens,” she said.

What most appealed to Stave about Wicca was the belief in both a God and Goddess. Although treated as metaphors for nature, the thought of a female deity especially excited her. “[The idea of] a female God was very empowering and comforting for me, especially when I was in my twenties.”

Origins and Traditions

A nature based religion, contemporary Wicca is a modern recreation of pre-Christian traditions, primarily those of Northern Europe. However, these can also include Greek, Roman and Egyptian traditions as well.

In 1954 Gerald Gardner, one of the religion’s major figures, wrote the book Witchcraft Today, and followed it with The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1959. While there is some dispute over Gardner’s claims in how he found the religion, his books provided the foundation for present day Wicca.

Wicca’s followers believe that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and that everything and everyone that exists in nature is holy. Wiccans hold eight seasonal festivals called Sabbaths throughout the year, including the summer and winter solstices.

Other ceremonies include Beltaine, also known as May Day, and Lughnasadh, a festival celebrating the first fruits of a harvest. Samhain, more commonly known as Halloween, is the Feast of the Ancestors and the Witches’ New Year.

Festivals usually involve food, music and dancing, but can vary from coven to coven. Wiccans also celebrate each full moon, or esbat.

A belief central to Wicca is the Law of Three, a form of karma that says whatever one gives out to others, whether positive or negative, will come back to them threefold. Wiccans do not believe in sin, but feel people make good or bad choices.

Stave often applies this when dealing with students and commenting on assignments, taking care to give them constructive criticism. “Being Wiccan makes me choose my words very carefully."

A female history major, who asked to remain anonymous, maintains that true Wiccans only focus on projecting positive energy. “If you’re practicing quote unquote “black magic” then you’re not a Wiccan. If you are doing a spell to hurt somebody then you’re not a Wiccan. Wiccans only practice good magic. They only practice good thoughts,” she said.

A New Orleans native, she feels her Catholic upbringing and deep appreciation of nature prepared her for conversion to Wicca. “Catholics pay just as much attention to the Virgin Mary as they do to Jesus and God. So it was very easy for me to think in a dualistic way. I’m an avid backpacker [and] I love the woods,” she said.

One Religion, Many Options

Because Wicca is an intensely personal and idiosyncratic religion, opinions about topics such as death and reincarnation vary among Wiccans. For her part Stave said she is not afraid of death or what may come after. “I won’t know until I experience the death,” she said, slightly chuckling. “And then who knows, maybe I won’t know then either.”

Wiccans also use different terms to describe conscious direction of the will, or magic. While some may refer to this process as magic or spell casting, Stave prefers the term energy working because of its less stereotypical connotations. She likens the focusing of energy to accomplish a goal or desire to Christianity’s belief in the power of prayer.

The types of Wicca practiced can also vary. There is Dianic Wicca, a very female-centered tradition based partly in feminist values and practiced in groups made up only of women. Dianic Wiccans typically only worship the Goddess, or recognize the God as a companion of the Goddess.

Another tradition, Faery Wicca, focuses on the spiritual role gays and lesbians have in the religion. “I’m a solo practitioner so I don’t adhere strictly to one form,” said senior language and communications major Tim Gattie. “I practice a little Faery Wicca, which is the gay Wicca basically,” he said.

For Gattie, Wicca was the end point of a search for a spiritual home. “I was raised New Apostolic, which is a German Christian sect …which was my mother’s church, and I converted to Catholicism with I moved in with my father when I was 14,” he said. “I converted to Catholicism for a little while and, then I became Wiccan and left the Christian faith,” he said.

Gattie disagrees with other Wiccans over rules like the Law of Three. “I adjust that law. I don’t think that makes sense, so mine’s the Law of Natural Return, which is anything you put out there will return to you,” he said. “I don’t believe it carries over after the soul transcends, but other Wiccans do.”

Stereotypes and Family Reactions

While they may disagree on some topics, all are keenly aware of the stigma that surrounds Wicca, and are quick to clear up misconceptions.

“It’s not Charmed,” said Gattie. “We’re not going to be throwing fireballs, or shooting things across the room. It’s not satanic. We don’t all dress in black and Goth colors [and] wear huge pentagrams around our necks."

Stave is perplexed at the connection people often make between Wicca with Satanism, and the willful ignorance some have toward the religion. “I think some of it is just mean-spirited,” she said.

Such ignorance can quickly manifest into discrimination. Stave said she has known people who have lost jobs or custody of their children because of their beliefs, and has had students whose parents reacted badly after finding out their child was Wiccan.

While Gattie’s father is in denial about his beliefs, his mother has tried to be more understanding. “She doesn’t like it but she accepts it, and she’s actually taken a proactive approach to learn about it,” he said.

For the most part, he’s open about being Wiccan. “My friends know. I’m out of the broom closet as they call it. My radio show listeners know, I don’t hide it,” he said.

While Stave never told her father, she said her mother was indifferent and her sister accepts it, and cousins are very interested in it as well. The female student feels her family has been accepting.

“The ones that know are okay with it,” she said. “They’re like ‘Well that makes sense and it’s her life. She’s old enough to make her own choices."

Casting Out Posers, Finding What's Real

Gattie and Stave are critical of those who declare themselves Wiccans in order to be trendy or upset their parents. “I think sometimes young people do it because they’re going through a gothic or rebellious phase,” she said. Gattie also feels some in popular culture exploit Wicca.

“There’s a problem with Wicca because it got a lot of notoriety, and it became kind of popular with the rebellion sect. So authors like Silver RavenWolf make their living off of writing books catered to teenage boys and girls who want to cast love spells,” he said. “People like Silver RavenWolf … I feel extort Wicca.”

For those interested in learning more about Wicca, all think the Internet is a good tool, but that one must read the information critically. “There’s a lot of goofy crap out there,” Stave said. She also recommends the book The Spiral Dance by Starhawk, while Gattie recommends that those just starting out read Drawing down the Moon by Margot Adler, or books by Scott Cunningham.

Like any other religion one must find their one way to see if it makes sense to them.

“I don’t think going to mass every Sunday or going to church every Wednesday night makes you a good Christian … I think living what your particular religion teaches is more important than making sure you go to full moon every month and only being Wiccan at that point,” said the student.

Gattie feels the wealth of information and discussion about Wicca is what makes it so seductive. “One of the things that draw me to Wicca is the idea that nobody’s really sure what we are yet … as a group we don’t have a single book. We don’t have a Bible. We don’t have something that everybody can go back to and say this is definitively Wicca,” he said.

"It doesn’t exist, and so it’s a lot of people standing around going ‘I think this is what it should be,’ and that discussion I think is probably the best part of Wicca, these conflicting views and saying ‘What is it do I believe?’”




(Original Article)
Kevin Clarkston
Wicca Article

Say the word witch and lots of images come to mind. Black magic, broomsticks and black cats are usually common thoughts. However, Dr. Holly Stave, dressed in a white blouse and floral print pants and sitting calmly at her desk, is miles away from those pop-culture stereotypes. “People want to believe that we’re like Samantha from Bewitched,” she said.
Stave first became interested in Wicca while attending graduate school. “It made a lot of sense to me,” Stave said, who at the time found the Lutheranism of her childhood leaving her spiritually lacking. “I felt that Christianity didn’t respect women [and] treated them like second class citizens,” she said. What most appealed to Stave about Wicca was the belief in both a God and Goddess. Although treated as metaphors for nature, the thought of a female deity especially excited her. “[The idea of] a female God was very empowering and comforting for me, especially when I was in my twenties,” she said.
A nature based religion, contemporary Wicca is a modern recreation of pre-Christian traditions, primarily those of Northern Europe. However, these can also include Greek, Roman and Egyptian traditions as well. In 1954 Gerald Gardner, one of the religion’s major figures, wrote the book Witchcraft Today, and followed it with The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1959. While there is some dispute over Gardner’s claims in how he found the religion, his books provided the foundation for present day Wicca. Wicca’s followers believe that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and that everything and everyone that exists in nature is holy. Wiccans hold eight seasonal festivals called Sabbaths throughout the year, including the summer and winter solstices. Other ceremonies include Beltaine, also known as May Day, a fertility festival recognizing the first day of summer, and Lughnasadh, a festival celebrating the first fruits of a harvest. Samhain, more commonly known as Halloween, is the Feast of the Ancestors and the Witches’ New Year. Festivals usually involve food, music and dancing, but can vary from coven to coven. Wiccans also celebrate each full moon, or esbat.
A belief central to Wicca is the Law of Three, a form of karma that says whatever one gives out to others, whether positive or negative, will come back to them threefold. Wiccans do not believe in sin, but feel people make good or bad choices. Most live by the rule “If it harm none, do what you will.” Stave often applies this when dealing with students and commenting on assignments, taking care to give them constructive criticism. “Being Wiccan makes me choose my words very carefully,” she said
A female history major, who asked to remain anonymous, maintains that true Wiccans only focus on projecting positive energy. “If you’re practicing quote unquote “black magic” then you’re not a Wiccan. If you are doing a spell to hurt somebody then you’re not a Wiccan. Wiccans only practice good magic. They only practice good thoughts,” she said. A New Orleans native, she feels her Catholic upbringing and deep appreciation of nature prepared her for conversion to Wicca. “Catholics pay just as much attention to the Virgin Mary as they do to Jesus and God. So it was very easy for me to think in a dualistic way. I’m an avid backpacker [and] I love the woods,” she said.
Because Wicca is an intensely personal and idiosyncratic religion, opinions about topics such as death and reincarnation vary among Wiccans. While some believe that their soul is reborn into another person after they die, others feel that their bodies simply become a part of nature and go back into the Earth. For her part Stave said she is not afraid of death or what may come after. “I won’t know until I experience the death,” she said, slightly chuckling. “And then who knows, maybe I won’t know then either,” she said. Wiccans also use different terms to describe conscious direction of the will, or magic. While some may refer to this process as magic or spell casting, Stave prefers the term energy working because of its less stereotypical connotations. She likens the focusing of energy to accomplish a goal or desire to Christianity’s belief in the power of prayer.
The types of Wicca practiced can also vary. Stave is involved Dianic Wicca, a very female-centered tradition based partly in feminist values and practiced in groups made up only of women. Dianic Wiccans typically only worship the Goddess, or recognize the God as a companion of the Goddess. Another tradition, Faery Wicca, focuses on the spiritual role gays and lesbians have in the religion. “I’m a solo practitioner so I don’t adhere strictly to one form,” said senior language and communications major Tim Gattie. “I practice a little Faery Wicca, which is the gay Wicca basically,” he said. For Gattie, Wicca was the end point of a search for a spiritual home. “I was raised New Apostolic, which is a German Christian sect …which was my mother’s church, and I converted to Catholicism with I moved in with my father when I was 14,” he said. “I converted to Catholicism for a little while and, then I became Wiccan and left the Christian faith,” he said. Gattie disagrees with other Wiccans over rules like the Law of Three. “I adjust that law. I don’t think that makes sense, so mine’s the Law of Natural Return, which is anything you put out there will return to you,” he said. “Any spell that you cast, any action that you take is karmatic in the sense that it comes back during your lifetime,” he said. “I don’t believe it carries over after the soul transcends, but other Wiccans do.”
While they may disagree on many things, all are keenly aware of the stigma that surrounds Wicca, and are quick to clear up misconceptions. “It’s not Charmed,” said Gattie. “We’re not going to be throwing fireballs, or shooting things across the room. It’s not satanic. We don’t all dress in black and Goth colors [and] wear huge pentagrams around our necks,” he said. Stave is perplexed at the connection people often make between Wicca with Satanism, and the willful ignorance some have toward the religion. “I think some of it is just mean-spirited,” she said. Such ignorance can quickly manifest into discrimination. Stave said she has known people who have lost jobs or custody of their children because of their beliefs, and has had students whose parents reacted badly after finding out their child was Wiccan.
Family reactions can run the gamut from acceptance to indifference. While Gattie’s father is in denial about his beliefs, his mother has tried to be more understanding. “She doesn’t like it but she accepts it, and she’s actually taken a proactive approach to learn about it,” he said. For most part, he’s open about being Wiccan. “My friends know. I’m out of the broom closet as they call it. My radio show listeners know, I don’t hide it,” he said. While Stave never told her father, she said her mother was indifferent and her sister accepts it, and cousins are very interested in it as well. The female student feels her family has been accepting. “The ones that know are okay with it,” she said. “They’re like ‘Well that makes sense and it’s her life. She’s old enough to make her own choices. As long as she’s responsible and doesn’t do anything illegal or bad’,” she said.
Both Gattie and Stave are critical of those who declare themselves Wiccans in order to be trendy or upset their parents. “I think sometimes young people do it because they’re going through a gothic or rebellious phase,” she said. Gattie also feels some in popular culture exploit Wicca. “There’s a problem with Wicca because it got a lot of notoriety, and it became kind of popular with the rebellion sect. So authors like Silver RavenWolf make their living off of writing books catered to teenage boys and girls who want to cast love spells,” he said. “People like Silver RavenWolf … I feel extort Wicca,” he said.
For those interested in learning more about Wicca, all think the Internet is a good tool, but that one must read the information critically. “There’s a lot of goofy crap out there,” Stave said. She also recommends the book The Spiral Dance by Starhawk, while Gattie recommends that those just starting out read Drawing down the Moon by Margot Adler, or books by Scott Cunningham. “I think that he’s good as an introduction to Wicca and that he takes a somewhat balanced approach to the ideas,” he said. Like any other religion one must find their one way to see if it makes sense to them. “I don’t think going to mass every Sunday or going to church every Wednesday night makes you a good Christian … I think living what your particular religion teaches is more important than making sure you go to full moon every month and only being Wiccan at that point,” said the student.
Gattie feels the wealth of information and discussion about Wicca is what makes it so seductive. “One of the things that draw me to Wicca is the idea that nobody’s really sure what we are yet … as a group we don’t have a single book. We don’t have a Bible. We don’t have something that everybody can go back to and say this is definitively Wicca,” he said. “It doesn’t exist, and so it’s a lot of people standing around going ‘I think this is what it should be,’ and that discussion I think is probably the best part of Wicca, these conflicting views and saying ‘What is it do I believe?’”