10 Misconceptions about Traditional Wicca(ns)

10. Traditional Wicca and eclectic Wicca are basically the same because all the rites have been published and/or Traditional Wiccan authors published a book about Wicca that has rituals!

“Did you see Beltheseda? She walked into the Sabbat like she was the Pope. Hashtag-awkward.”

It’s certainly true that many a number of Traditional Wiccans have published volumes on Witchcraft and Wicca and I certainly would never suggest that these Elders of our Craft are not experts or pioneers deserving of the name. However, there are at least two problems with this argument.

In the first, one must remember that Traditional Wicca is a living tradition and an experiential praxis. It cannot be replicated with rubrics and texts. It would be not unlike suggesting that one could know what it is like to experience one’s first orgasm simply by reading about others’ experiences, impressions, and analyses of the experience. It simply cannot do it any sort of justice, let alone approach any meaningful understanding. What’s more, the experience of the cult can vary greatly from coven to coven in many regards and any attempt to reduce and replicate those varied experiences into a book would be doomed to failure.

Secondly, Traditional Wicca has neither a centralized authority nor a single spokesperson who can encapsulate all that Traditional Wicca is and package it for the masses. There is not nor has there ever been a Wiccan Pope who could “authorize” a version of Wicca fit for public consumption.

9. Traditional Wiccans think everyone should do what they do!

Absolutely not! There’s a common belief amongst Traditional Wiccans that those who are meant to be among us will find their way and those who were not meant to be will either never find the path or will not last very long. Many Traditional Wiccans recognize and appreciate that this particular path is not for everyone and, conversely, not everyone is a fit for this particular path! Traditional Wicca is not messianic; there is no desire amongst Traditional Wiccans to convert the unsaved masses to our cult.

8. Traditional Wiccans want to stop non-traditional/self-taught/bootstrap Wiccans from using the word Wicca!

Granted, in recent years, there has been a lot of discussion and debate about the use of the term “Wicca”. There are certainly people, initiated Traditional Wiccans and not, who believe that the term Wicca only applies to Traditional Wiccans. But likewise, there are Traditional Wiccans who believe that the term can apply to any number of related Witchcraft traditions. But the idea that those in the former group want to actively prevent people who are not Traditional Wiccans from using the term is hyperbolic. Discussions and debates on the matter tend to incite passions and spirited arguments but I have yet to witness any concerted effort or campaigns to stop others from using the term.

7. Traditional Wiccans don’t recognize the validity of other traditions or persons calling themselves Wiccan.

You will find that many of the aforementioned discussions and debates on the proper use and matter of who is entitled to use the term Wicca is based on semantics. It is a matter of terminology, not validity. No one can determine the validity of another’s spiritual practice and Traditional Wiccans are not in the business of arbitrating on the matter any more than Druids or Unitarian Universalists. Questioning the authenticity of someone’s choice in label is not the same as questioning the validity of someone’s spiritual path; the label is not the thing.

6. You can be a Traditional Wiccan and not a Witch.

Quite frankly, no. While great pains are made in modern Pagan circles and communities to make it clear that not all Witches are Wiccan, the inverse is not true. Traditional Wicca was the first Witch cult of the modern era and before Traditional Wiccans no one identified as a Witch. To practice the rites of the Wicca is to practice Witchcraft; a Traditional Wiccan who is not a Witch is an oxymoron. But, a more detailed and far more humorous analysis of this can be found at our favorite Gardnerians blog. 

5. Being a part of Traditional Wicca means that every ritual is exactly the same; there’s no room for innovation, experimentation, or novelty.

Nonsense. While you may have seen it said many times by Traditional Wiccans of all stripes that we share a common praxis as an orthopraxy, that does not mean that every ritual is exactly the same in every respect nor does it mean that Traditional Wiccans do not innovate, experiment, or try new things. In fact, the coven setting is the perfect place to do all of those wonderfully enriching things!

4. You can’t be LGBT+ and a Traditional Wiccan.

Again, more nonsense. In all fairness, many of our early leaders did make statements to such effect and claimed that the “Curse of the Goddess” would be laid upon them. But as clearly stated above, there ain’t no Pope in Wicca and what any Elder, even the Father of the Movement, said in the past is neither binding nor a timeless truth. In reality, I have yet to meet a living Traditional Wiccan who shares this sentiment and find myself in a community not only accepting and welcoming of LGBT+ persons but one populated by many, many proud LGBT+ persons! And for that, I am thankful.

3. Traditional Wicca forbids harm to anyone or anything.

This has been addressed many times in various different outlets but I repeat it here because it is one of the biggest and most common misconceptions. Traditional Wicca is largely regarded as an orthopraxy that offers little in the way of hard rules and proscriptions. Perhaps my favorite piece to address this misconception is by Deborah Lipp here. 

2. There are no more secrets.

Untrue, though there is no good way to write exposition for why this is untrue, so I must—if you’ll forgive me—rely on anecdote. Prior to initiation, I was very well read on all things Wicca, both eclectic and Traditional and I steeled myself against the possibility that I would be very disappointed with what I would learn upon and after initiation. Suffice it to say that despite how voraciously I read (and I’ve read just about all of it), I was amazed at how much I did not know and well-kept the Mysteries are!

1. Traditional Wicca requires sexual initiation.

Traditional Wicca requires a lot of things of its adherents. It challenges us, it makes us uncomfortable at times, especially at first, it forces us to deal with things we would rather ignore, and it makes demands on us. But you should never be asked to have sex with someone as a requirement to join a coven or for initiation. If someone tells you that you must have sex with them, run away–run far away–and alert as many friends and Elders as possible.

Equality and Privilege

I have been reading a few posts (e.g., Wildhunt, The Lefthander’s Path, The Pagan Grove, among others) around the blogosphere about a discussion that happened at Pantheacon about what’s been (painfully) called “Wiccanate privilege.”*

The discussion centers on the idea that Wiccans and those neo-pagans who practice traditions that have been influenced by or are superficially similar to Wicca (“Neo-Wicca”) have privileges that the rest of the neo-pagan community doesn’t experience. What’s more, the discussion at Pantheacon touched upon a suggestion that this privilege is a symptom of an oppressive power structure within broader Paganism.

Let me first say that yes, there is a “slant” or bias in neo-paganism that does favor Wiccan or neo-Wiccan groups and it is an issue worth discussing, addressing, and redressing. As someone who practiced Kemetic Reconstruction, tradition that wasn’t influenced in the slightest way by Wicca, for more than a decade, I am very much aware of this slant. I know, firsthand, how frustrating it is that the overwhelming majority of publications, websites, and events are intended for Wiccan and neo-Wiccan audiences and participants. I, personally, know how irritating it is when someone assumes: your theology is a polar duotheism (e.g, “What God and Goddess do you work with?”), sacred space is defined as a circle, sexuality is a part of one’s religious ritual experience, or you follow the Rede and Threefold Law. I understand intimately from personal experience how this is inconvenient, unfair, and alienating. But let’s be honest: quite frankly, the assertion that this is privilege is ridiculous.

Yes, as I outlined above, there is a bias in the broader Pagan community towards Wiccan and neo-Wiccan groups but this does not equate to privilege, a very real issue faced by many, Pagan and otherwise. In fact, to discuss the issue of Wiccan/neo-Wiccan bias in modern Paganism with the very same language used to describe the social and political inequities and struggles faced by, for example, minorities of race and sexual orientation creates (intentionally or not) an inadequate comparison. And, what’s more, as both a sexual and racial minority–a person for whom issues of oppression and privilege are a daily reality that impacts my life, I think it borders on offensive.

Privilege is a part of a system of oppression in which the minorities are forced to participate to their own disadvantage. There can be no privilege without a system of oppression and there is no evidence that a system exists where Wiccan and neo-Wiccan groups are oppressing non-Wiccan groups. (Yes, indeed, there are a number of anecdotal examples many of us can recount where Wiccan or neo-Wiccan persons or groups have perpetrated discriminatory behavior but privilege necessitates a systemic problem.) For example, “white privilege” necessitates the system of racial oppression that has marred our history and continues to do so today just as “heteronormative privilege” requires a system of oppression based on sexual orientation. If Wiccans and neo-Wiccans are not oppressing non-Wiccan individuals and groups, then “privilege” is not the appropriate word to use. Instead, a more appropriate word might be “bias”.

The fact that there are more Wiccan or neo-Wiccan events (or publications, websites, groups, etc.) is not an example of Wiccan privilege anymore than the fact that there are more fraternities serving African-Americans than any other minority in the US is an example of African-American privilege. The fact that Pagans of any stripe need to organize their own events in order to be among like-minded peers is an example of (Christian) privilege, though. Likewise, the fact that the a ritual put on by Wiccans or neo-Wiccans is focused on their theology or praxis is not an example of privilege–it’s their event; you aren’t suffering their privilege if you are a willful and voluntary attendee of a ritual they chose to put on.

Appropriating the same language used to describe the hardships and injustices of minorities in larger American society not only fails to accurately describe the issue and adds complex baggage but also detracts from and hurts the already complicated issues of privilege and oppression they face.

And that helps no one.

* As an aside, I also think it’s pretty ironic that a movement that purports to want to spread awareness about marginalization can’t be bothered to use the word the other group uses as a self-identification but instead uses a word so insipid it reads as pejorative.