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We have occasional guest speakers on topics ranging from wicca to asatru and neopaganism in general. We are always looking for people to give talks on interesting pagan topics.

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As our channel is primarily wiccan here is a brief history of wicca Ask five wiccans the history of wicca and you may get ten different answers. Here is mine.

In the middle forties an english traditionally initiated witch, Gerald Gardner, fearing that witchcraft was in danger of dying out, sought permission of his coven to open up the craft to the public. It is thought that he did this because he was a firm believer in reincarnation and wished to ensure that he had a craft to be reincarnated in. Permission apparently was given to him to write a fictional account of the craft which he did and published in 1949.

With the repeal of the anti witchcraft laws in 1951 Gardner then wrote a more explicit book "witchcraft today" followed by "The meaning of witchcraft" which outlined his own interpretation of the craft, which he named Wicca.

However like all traditional witches he was bound by the oaths of his coven to secrecy, so he cobbled together a tradition that incorporated Celtic beliefs, Stregheria (italian witchcraft) the western mystery tradition, and drew on the work of the Golden Dawn and also Aleister Crowley Some elements of eastern mystery tradition were also present, reflecting his long service in Asia for the British Civil Service..

So although the rituals were drawn from a wide source, the deep structure was one of witchcraft (Doreen Valiente, the rebirth of witchcraft 1989).

Gardnerian Wicca proliferated throughout England in the fifties, and in the sixties, a Gardnerian initiated witch, Alex Sanders created his own tradition. Sanders was perhaps Wicca's best PR man. He grabbed every opportunity to speak out about wicca, and alexandrian covens quickly spread. Alexandrians were not as strictly bound by secrecy as Gardnerians, and as a result we have much information about Alexandrian Wicca in the public domain.

Wicca exploded exponentially when a gardnerian initiate, Raymond Buckland, migrated to America. So prolific is wicca in the states that Time Magazine in 1995 rated it the fastest growing religion in America

The major strands of wicca are:
* Gardnerian who hold to a strong lineage tracing back to Gardner and are generally regarded as the most secretive tradition.

* Alexandrian possibly the most numerous tracing back to Alex Sanders. The Farrars belong to this tradition and have extensively documented its rituals. (Witches Bible etc).

* Georgian An American tradition founded by George Patterson, using Alexandrian material but advocating the principle "whatever works, use it

* Dianic ah feminism rears its head. Two strands, one that is exclusively female, and the other slightly less so.

* There are increasingly a large number of solitary wiccans, who work alone and initiate before the Goddess and God.

So what exactly is wicca??

Wicca is a witchcraft tradition and is many things to many people. Basically its a nature religion/life style that has reverence for the earth.

Wiccans believe in the duality of divinity, ie a Goddess and a God, and worship both in ritual. There is little dogma in Wicca, the central core being worship of the Goddess and God, adherence to the Rede (an it harm none do what ye will) and belief in the law of Three, ie what you send out you get back times three.

Wiccans hold to the Celtic Wheel of the year and have eight festivals a year called sabbats and thirteen full moon rituals called esbats.

Wiccans believe that there is an inner energy force that we can all access if we only learn how to. That energy force is what is called magick.

Perhaps the best definition of magick is "The science and art of effecting change in conformity with Will"

Most Wiccans practice magick as an integral part of their religion.

Anyone wishing elaboration on any of the above brief synopsis is welcome to ask on channel or email me Enjoy our page

Blessed Be