So while history is full of witches, none of them were Wiccan—not officially, at least. Wicca, in the grand scheme of history, is still shiny and new. It has its roots at the turn of the twentieth century, when it first began as a spiritual practice, and it only began to gain noticeable traction in the 1950s. There are books and websites galore that chronicle who said what and when first, but the simple truth of the matter is that while some of its practices, rites, and traditions are centuries old, Wicca itself is rather new—and definitely growing. The City University of New York’s 2001 American Religious Identification Survey found that Wicca was the country’s fastest-growing religion, with 134,000 adherents, compared with 8,000 in 1990. Later, in an updated survey by two of the same researchers in 2008, those numbers had more than doubled from 134,000 to 342,000. Religioustolerance.org estimated the number had increased to 2 million adult Wiccans by the end of 2015. Each year it grows even more.
In fact, Wicca as it exists specifically in North America isn’t much older than I am. It was only in 1973, one year before I was born, that seventy-plus practitioners gathered to form the Council of American Witches. Together, they created a document to define exactly what Wicca encompassed. The document was meant to serve a few purposes: it was meant to clarify and define the many different beliefs being practiced under the term “Wicca”; counter the growing amount of misinformation regarding the practice; and officially legitimize the religion, helping it gain governmental recognition. (In 2007, the Wiccan pentacle was recognized as an approved emblem for gravestones by the Veterans Association, allowing deceased Wiccan veterans to rest in peace beneath a symbol of their faith.)
I can’t imagine how difficult that task must have been, and yet the council came up with thirteen (of course) pillars, the “Principles of Belief,” that are at once inclusive and guiding without being directorial or prescriptive, defining points that remain purposefully vague. They did not define a single practice but rather made an effort to encompass the many belief systems found under the heading of Wicca. The council was so sensitive to the need for the Principles of Belief to be inclusive and leave adherents with free rein that after accomplishing its purpose, it disbanded in 1974, so as to leave no official hierarchy intact.
Here is what they left behind:
1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.
2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance, offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called “supernatural,” but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity—as masculine and feminine—and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.
5. We recognize both outer and inner, or psychological, worlds—sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc.—and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
7. We see religion, magick, and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it—a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft, the Wiccan Way.
8. Calling oneself “Witch” does not make one a Witch—but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.
9. We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness that gives meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.
10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be “the only way” and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.
11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, or the origins of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.
12. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as “Satan” or “the Devil,” as defined by Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
13. We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.
As you can see, the guidelines themselves are nothing new: honor the earth and your place in it, recognize the divine in every living thing, do no harm. They nod to the acceptance that there is a greater power in the world than most people recognize, but add the potential for us all to harness that power in ourselves for good. They do not acknowledge the existence of Satan or of demons; Wiccans do not worship or believe in the devil. They declare that there is a balance to everything, and what contains darkness also contains light. Neither is good or evil; there is a place for both. Wiccans celebrate that balance; we recognize the need for it. For those who practice Wicca, true wisdom is living in harmony with the universe. That is where our magic lies.
Being a witch is a truly personal choice. It’s no more or less than deciding to hold certain beliefs and live them as best you can—in that way, it’s like any other religion. What is different about Wicca is the personal part of the choice. There are no strict rules or clear definitions. Each practitioner decides whether to be part of a group (join a coven) or practice alone (become a solitary practitioner, like me). The details of how to practice, what that means and entails, are entirely up to the individual witch.
In fact, I think that independence was possibly the hardest thing for me when I first started practicing. I had grown up under a religious system that had an answer for everything: Where do we go when we die? Why? What should I do if I do something wrong? How do I get something I want? Where did I come from? What specific rules should I live by? What is right? What is wrong? The Catholic Church had answers to all of these questions. There was very little personal choice involved, aside from whether or not to follow the rules. So I followed them, as best I could. And when I put those rules away, I admittedly felt a little lost. Yet, through some honest soul searching, by moving forward one step, one situation at a time, I have slowly discovered I don’t need rules. If I know what I believe and what’s true to my heart, I already know how to live my life.
When I first read through the guidelines the Council of American Witches put down, they spoke to me because they intuitively made sense. They connected with me in a way no other such document, or book, ever had. They still do. These were rules I could