So it's time that I expand a little on some of those points I mentioned that came up in a discussion with friends during the Equinox. This post is about monotheism in Wicca and how Wicca can be regarded as monotheistic. I touch equally (or possibly more) on some other theological frameworks and see whether these can be applied to Wicca.
Wicca is monotheistic?
"In the name of Dryghtyn, the Ancient Providence,
Who was from the beginning and is for eternity,
Male and Female, the Original Source of all things;
all-knowing, all-pervading, all-powerful;
changeless, eternal.
"In the name of the Lady of the Moon,
and the Lord of Death and Resurrection.
"In the name of the Mighty Ones of the Four Quarters,
the Kings of the Elements.
"Blessed be this place, and this time,
and they who are now with us."
It is clear from a quick read through of this blessing prayer from the Gardnerian tradition (Original Wicca) that a monotheistic theology of oneness is being expressed. I first read this prayer a few years back in Patricia Crowther's autobiography (she is a famous Gardnerian High Priestess for those that aren't familiar) This prayer has been with Wicca since the beginning. Incidentally, the term "Dryghten" is an Anglo Saxon Christian term. I have been told that it means "Risen Christ". Whether Gardner was aware of this or not, he obviously liked the word and chose to include it in the liturgy of the rituals of the Craft.
In my tradition the Goddess and the God, Herself and Himself, are but two sides of the same coin, two halves of the whole. The whole is that ultimate source, it is the limitless.
I have heard and read definitions that Wicca is duotheistic, and even some that Wicca is polytheistic. I can see that the Craft is duotheistic (to a point!) in that it's theology is expressed in the reverence and recognition of two divine beings(I won't use the word "worship" even though I am personally comfortable with it, as this opens up a whole new argument that I am not going to go into here) These two divine beings are, as mentioned above, two halves of a whole.
So the next question is, where do some people get this idea from that Wicca is polytheistic? I am pretty sure that this term is used by some people as a result of what they think Wicca is, based on the popular mainstream image that Wicca has for so many people today. Fluffy/Mainstream or "Pop" Wicca to use a term common in my circles to refer to the phenomenon, is what happened when people started getting the idea that Wicca could still be Wicca without training and covens and initiations, without any real structure, continuity or tradition. Mountains of books have been written on "Wicca" by Pagans who have never been in a traditional Wiccan coven. Sometimes the authors themeselves have never even spoken to someone from a traditional Wiccan background. The result is a horrible mess. We have now reached a point where we have books on what the author thinks is Wicca, written by someone with no knowledge or training, based entirely on what the author has read in other books on Wicca, which themselves were also written by authors who haven't received any training or spoken to anyone from a traditional Wiccan background.
To sum up (before I turn this discussion into a rant) popular books on Wicca often give the idea that Wicca is a DIY religion. People can believe in what they want to believe and do whatever they want, as long as it is inside a circle into which the elements have been called then it is Wicca! It should by now be pretty clear what my opinion on this matter is, so i'm not going to go there! What a lot of "Pop Wiccans" may be surprised to know (well to be honest, they would be pretty much surprised by most of the facts of traditional Wicca) is that the idea of calling upon random deities from different cultures has never really been a part of the tradition in any major sense.
Most traditional covens will regard themselves as calling the same two deities in their ceremonies everytime. Whilst the opinion is that different deities from different cultures are but different aspects of the Goddess and God (this is expressed in the Charge of the Goddess, "Listen to the words of the Great Mother, she who of old was also called....") this practice of invoking Greek, Egyptian, Norse or whatever specific deities into the circle, was not originally a part of traditional Wicca. Whilst there are traditional Wiccan covens now that practise this, the view is usually expressed that the deities are but aspects of the Goddess and God. When a traditional Wiccan mentions "The Gods" in the context of their tradition, they are referring to these two divine beings.
Some particularly traditional Gardnerian (Hard Gards) and Alexandrian covens never invoke Gods of other pantheons, focusing purely on the Wiccan Gods, The Goddess and God, The Lord and Lady, if they use these terms. Their names are secret. If my coven ever invoked a specific deity from a pantheon, it would be strongly emphasised that this deity was a particular mask. To make things trickier, some of us traditionalists may work with other deities outside of Wicca, but usually this is regarded as something separate from The Craft. I feel the need to have a clear boundary between my Wiccan work and my Isian devotional work. My Wiccan theological framework still informs my work with other deities in that I still regard Isis or whomever I am working with, as being an aspect of The Goddess (or The God, if I am working with a God) who is one side of the ultimate source.
To return to the point about polytheism (finally!) I feel that the reason so many people think of Wicca as polytheistic comes from the popular books which give the impression that Wiccans are invoking deities from random pantheons all the time.
However, i'm not going to completely do away with this term! If one insists on the word "polytheism", Wicca could, I believe, get by with being classified as "soft polytheism" (as long as it's expressed in a duotheistic way, mind you!) Soft polytheism, as I understand the term, indicates a recognition of mutiple Gods as different manifestations of one source. Hard polytheism, is the belief that all the Gods really are totally separate entities with no underlying connection between them. They are not different masks or manifestations, they are individual beings. To make things more complicated (it ALWAYS get's more complicated) I think a soft polytheist still needs to wear a Hard polytheistic helmet when communing with the Gods! Having a conversation with a Godform can be tricky at the best of times without having that theologian in the back of your head saying "It's a mask! It's a mask!"
Phew! So as you can see, if you are still with me, we are all bonkers and you should just go home and have a nice cup of tea!
The truth is (big fat cliche alert) These are all just labels. I can understand Wicca being classed as monotheistic, duotheistic and, to an extent, polytheistic. Are you confused? I know I am. I suppose this is why we are a mystery tradition.
No comments:
Post a Comment