A Smattering of History
Those of you who have worked through the completion of this book are the new generation of Witches. Some of you will go on to join small covens, others will join one of the Wiccan churches that are springing up across the nation. There are those who will continue to practice the Craft alone; and, of course, there will be a few individuals who will migrate to other magickal religions.
For the new generation of Witches, a foundation has been laid by those who have dedicated their lives to the Craft and the people it serves. Who are these movers and shakers of the New Age of the Craft?
The list that follows encompasses many of the individuals who have given more than 100 percent of themselves to the betterment of their religion. They may not agree with each other on every issue, but each has made a definite contribution. If you hear these names, prick up your ears and listen. If you get a chance to meet any of these people, remember that they have worked long and hard for some of the freedoms you are enjoying today.
Margot Adler
Raymond Buckland
Z. Budapest
Laurie Cabot
Deidre and Andrus Corbin
Scott Cunningham
Janet and Stewart Farrar
The Frosts
Selena Fox
Donald Michael Kraig
Dr. Leo Martello
Rosegate Coven
Pete Pathfinder
Lord Serphant of Serphant Stone
Starhawk
Diane Stein
Doreen Valiente
Marion Weinstein
Otter and Morning Glory Zell
On May 22, 1988, the Church of All Worlds sponsored a Resolution at the Ancient Ways gathering in Northern California. Although this document caused much political upheaval among the Pagan community, its final, much rewritten version was accepted by most of the larger organizations and covens in the Craft environment. The Earth Religion Anti-Abuse Resolution 1 reads as follows:
We, the undersigned, as adherents of Pagan and Neo-Pagan Earth Religions, including Wicca, or Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, practice a variety of positive, life-affirming faiths that are dedicated to healing, both of ourselves and of the Earth. As such, we do not advocate or condone any acts that victimize others, including those proscribed by law. As one of our most widely accepted precepts is the Wiccan Rede’s injunction to “harm none,” we absolutely condemn the practices of child abuse, sexual abuse, and any other form of abuse that does harm to the bodies, minds or spirits of individuals. We offer prayers, therapy and support for the healing of the victims of such abuses. We recognize and revere the divinity of Nature in our Mother the Earth, and we conduct our rites of worship in a manner that is ethical, compassionate and constitutionally protected. We neither acknowledge nor worship the Christian devil, “satan,” who is not in our Pagan pantheons. We will not tolerate slander or libel against our churches, clergy or congregations, and we are prepared to defend our civil rights with such legal action as we deem necessary and appropriate.
What is important here is not who signed and who didn’t. This statement went far beyond human egoism by showing the entire Pagan community that there are enough active Witches and Pagans who are willing to work together to assist their community—and that we are our own worst enemies.
Why should such a negative statement be a benefit? Because to conquer your enemy, you have to know that it exists. For many years we have concentrated on defending our religion against the opinions of outsiders. It is high time we understand that strife among our own causes the most difficulties in our religion. Persecution by others now falls neatly into the number two slot of our political worries, only occasionally sliding up to number one.
Why am I telling you there is strife in our community in a text such as this? To keep you from falling into the same rose-colored trap that I did. I was running a bi-annual newsletter when the Resolution was proposed. I thought it was great; all these people getting together to further a positive impression of the Craft by written documentation. Not that it hadn’t been done before, but the public does not swallow the truth as easily as it lives for lies. Therefore, any type of proclamation was better than none.
To my absolute amazement (and many others, as well) I discovered that everyone did not feel the same way I did (pretty egotistical on my part, wasn’t it?). Strife was afoot in the Pagan community; could you beat that?
I realized that our religious community is like any other—we are made up of human beings, and we carry different opinions. But what about all that stuff we are supposed to live by? You know, perfect love and perfect trust . . . we tell everybody we are the ‘wise bunch.” What gives?
Every person’s truth is different. I have watched prominent Craft members being trashed by not so prominent ones, which in turn makes everybody prominent. Ahem.
I have seen covens and newsletters deteriorate beyond repair due to jealousy, selfishness, and greed. There are Witch Wars of power. Who gets to be top gun or kiss-my-feet priestess? Maybe one group is getting too big, they make too much money, or they are liked by too many people. If they can’t be squashed in the conventional way, subversive moves are often used.
I have even witnessed mail-writing campaigns in which the initiators hoped they could completely destroy a particular individual or group—and more than once, in which the attackers didn’t have the guts to sign their names, Craft or otherwise.
If you think this is all tripe, you are correct. But it happens.
A Witch War usually begins without wisdom and with lack of forethought. Like most conflicts, they are senseless, bloody in the aesthetic sense, and the antagonists leave the rest of the community to pick up the pieces. Wars often take place in more densely populated areas of our community, where three or more groups are practicing the Craft; however, if pure power is the object, it could span the entire country if the participants put their minds to it. Such a waste of time and energy!
This is what the movers and shakers of your community are spending their time on right now. Yes, they still work to protect the religion from the rampages of the general public, but many of them are concerned with the unity of our religion without stepping on everyone’s truth. Not an easy task, is it?
On the heels of the Resolution, the Church of All Worlds published Witchcraft, Satanism and Ritual Crime: Who’s Who and What’s What. Released around the Summer Solstice in 1989, this one booklet has been instrumental in the positive positioning of many Witches and Pagans across the United States and overseas. The text had been prepared to combat negative propaganda against our community. The first printing was around one thousand copies. Demand was so high that in November 1989, two thousand more copies went to press.
This publication has been placed in police stations, libraries, newspaper offices, schools, social service agencies, and churches. It has been favorably reviewed and recommended by leading police journals and orders have come from as far away as the former Yugoslavia and New Guinea. Funds generated by this project have gone, for example, to help pay for therapy for victims of ritual abuse. At the writing of this book, CAW plans to print two thousand additional copies, due to recent Hollywood pictures that have been perceived to trash the Craft.
Pete Pathfinder of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church should also be included in this short history lesson. With much hard work and perseverance, he gained three seats for Wiccans in 1990 on the Oregon InterFaith Council, where many of the major religions have had seats for quite some time.
The Rosegate Coven out of Rhode Island made a giant leap for Witches when they gained the first nonprofit status for a Wiccan organization. Now such nonprofits are springing up all over the country.
Several Wiccan organizations, including Church of All Worlds and Circle Sanctuary, were instrumental in running a huge Pagan politicking campaign against ABC Television. We fought as a single community, and now they at least know we are here, and that we are not about to let the world roll right over us anymore.
Laurie Cabot began the Witches League of Public Awareness, an instrumental organization in our community designed to protect all Witches from discrimination. Dr. Leo Martello formed the Witches’ Anti-Discrimination Lobby for much the same purpose. Both organizations have been highly successful.
Z. Budapest, Starhawk, Doreen Valiente, the Farrars, and Marion Weinstein have written bestselling books and have travelled all over the country dispelling the myths that surround Witches and Witchcraft. They have helped thousands of people with their positive thoughts, words, and deeds.
Not to mention Margot Adler, who cracked the frozen lock on our history and shared it with great care and expertise, or Raymond Buckland and Scott Cunningham, who stepped forward and showed the magickal community that one does not have to follow a rigid set of rules in order to delight in the practice of the Craft.
When Witches were being disparaged in Florida, Donald Michael Kraig, author and former editor of Fate magazine, wrote an excellent piece in his editorial that reached the huge readership of Fate magazine.
If you plan to be a leader in our community, then you had better be prepared for the bad as well as the good. You must be calm, not jump to conclusions, not listen to gossip, and above all, learn to be fair! There are lots of kids and grown-ups in the sand box, and I assure you there are enough pails for everybody! We are responsible for our own actions.
Each day our history is written. Not every Witch assists in a big way to write it, but each one of us should remember to keep our heads when reading it. Since we all see things differently, we must be sure to weigh both sides of any given argument before adding our own truth to the bubbling cauldron.