Dianic Wicca In The United States

Sierra Saylor

Dianic Wicca in the United States

Origins and Early History The term Wicca (the original Saxon word for male witch) was not used to describe those who practiced Witchcraft until the publication in 1954 of Gerald Gardner’s book, Witchcraft Today, in the United Kingdom. In 1951, the 1736 Witchcraft Act, an act that made it illegal in Britain to practice witchcraft or publish any material on the subject, was repealed and replaced with the Fraudulent Mediums Act. This new act gave people the freedom in Britain “to practice witchcraft as long as no harm was done to people or property.” In his book, Gardner argued that witchcraft had survived the witch-hunts of the past centuries and was still being continually practiced. Despite

Wicca is becoming more and more accepted in America and across the world but there are many people who still misunderstand what the religion is and this often leads to a great deal of controversy. When covens first began meeting in England in the 1950s, many did so in private. The covens said that this was intended to produce an air of mystery but it is most likely that they wanted to protect themselves from public ridicule as many believed they were worshippers of Satan. These misconceptions surrounding Wicca still exist today, likely because Wiccans refer to themselves as witches. To many people the term witch still brings an idea of evil and spell casting but Wicca is a religion of white magic, or good magic. However, many people, including the United States government are beginning to accept Wicca. In 1975, Wicca was officially recognized in the United States as a non-profit religious sect and today is officially recognized as a church and able to receive tax money as well. In 2007, the Bush Administration allowed for the Arlington National Cemetery to begin allowing the Pentacle (a Wiccan symbol represented by a star within a circle) to be carved into the tombstones of late American soldiers who identified themselves as Wiccan. As of 2007 there were only two headstones engraved with the symbol but the number is expected to

I think it is impressive how quickly Wicca has caught on despite it not even being 100 years old yet. I wonder if Wicca will continue to be on the rise as it has been in the past 50 years or whether the number of those who identify themselves as Wiccan will start to decrease. Judging by the trends though it would appear it is here to stay and will only become more prominent, especially as the government begins to recognize it as a religion that is to be treated as other religions in the United States are. If Wicca continues to grow at the rate it has and if it continues to branch off into even more denominations, each with their own ideas and rules, it seems likely that eventually a new religion entirely would be developed, just as how the Dianic relgion has split of into another denomination. Because of its women empowering, feminist ideas, it seems plausible that women will still continue to be the main people who join the Wiccan faith. Over the next few decades I believe the Wiccan religion as a whole, including the Dianic branch, will lose the taboo essence that still surrounds it and will become more widely acceptable in American society. Whether it be removing all of the men from the religion or branching off into subdivisions of a denomination to fit one’s own ideas, all forms of Wicca, particularly the Dianic, will likely become more prominent in