For wiccans only please?

Question

I have heard few debates and i would like to hear a few opinions from fellow witches. For one, i believe that Wicca dates back to stone age whereas others believe it was in the 1900's, also i believe that there was no wiccan rede , that every one was just morally fixated to follow the goddesses rules without written word, whereas others believe the wiccan rede is a most essential tool . Opinions and answers much appreciated asap.

Answer 1

There is absolutely no evidence whatsover that anything looking like Wicca was practiced before the 20th century, much less back in the stone age. In fact, we don't know what people believed in the stone age, because they didn't leave writing.

This claim was based on the work of a woman named Margaret Murray. She's been completely discredited. She made a lot of assumptions, she ignored evidence that didn't fit her case, she made some very basic errors in evidence analysis because she was writing on a topic which she knew little about, and in some cases she just invented evidence.

People continue to cling to this because they think that having the oldest religion somehow validates their beliefs. It does not. There's no evidence. In fact, Frederic Lamond, who was a member of Gerald Gardner's coven, relates the fact that everyone in the coven knew their religion was modern, with it's immediate roots not being older than perhaps the late 19th century.

Answer 2

I am not Wiccan but have studied Wicca many years ago under a High Priestess in Colorado while I was looking for my final path of Hellenic Reconstructionism. Most Wiccans accept that Gerald Gardner popularized Wicca although there is some debate as to the actual age of the practices he wrote about.

Some of them were likely folk practices dating back to pre-Christian times, but others are likely to not be. The Rede in one form or another is generally accepted, but the exact wording is debated by some. Even if you hold that Divine rules are engraved within us, the Rede IS a tool for remembering them.

Remember that not all witches will believe in exactly the same way.

Answer 3

Wicca, as we know it today, came about in the 1950's (give or take). There are parts that come from the old pre-Christian beliefs, but most of the rutuals and the like are more modern than most of us realize.

As for the Rede.... It is true that a written form of the Rede didn't come about untill the current age of magick. But, respectively, most of the old traditions were oral. This is because of the fact that the written word hasn't been around for all that long, on the grand scale of things. Even ehrn writting came about, only the upper class knew anything about how to read. Most witches, back then, were of the lower class (pesants) and they were mostly herbalists and healers. They learned their craft from their mothers and fathers, as had been done for generations. These people lived away from the cities, in the country. The word to describe them and their lifestyle was "Pagan", meaning country dweller. It wasn't untill the crusades that the word "pagan" was diretly associated with withcraft and anything negative, at to the church.

Answer 4

Oh good goddess

Wicca is only about 60 years old. Period. It is BASED on religions from the stone age. But Wicca itself isn't that old. It's heavily inflenced by the Celts and the Druids but don't qoute me on that. I'm Heathen, not Wiccan.

I haven't even had enough coffee to get into the moral debate. I'll simply say this.
Wicca is not Christianity. It doesn't need the "ten commandments". The rede is also VERY recent. It simply states the obvious. Morals are not "automatic" either. It's not that simple. The most essential tool in any pagan trad that I have seen in you and your relationship with your gods. Don't focus on words. Focus on the divine's.

Answer 5

Pieces of Wicca have been around since the beginning of man and other pieces are relatively new or have been reinvented in the last 100 years or so. Reasons for this vary but the main one is the amount of information that was destroyed by Christianity over the last 1,000 years or so. "Wicca" or the use of that name that is recognized as a way to identify our beliefs to others isn't very old. As for our reverence for nature and the belief in magic, that is very old. So our our Gods and Goddess. As for the Rede I am on the fence on that one as I haven't decided for myself what I think of that debate. I am sure that WIccans who aren't witches will have something to say about this too. I hope that my views contribute to your thoughts.....Blessed Be.. crone

Answer 6

The Wiccan Rede defines Wiccan practice, in my opinion -- it is part of what differentiates it from other forms of Paganism and other religions which practice witchcraft. It is THE central moral "commandment" of the faith.

As for Wicca being older than the 20th century, I highly recommend that you check out "The Triumph of the Moon" by non-Wiccan historian Ronald Hutton. He presents some very convincing arguments.

Answer 7

Wicca is only about 60 years old. But its roots date back to much older religions such as Druidism, which would make it even older than Christianity.

If you are Wiccan, then the Rede is an essential because its part of the beliefs of Wicca. To not believe in the Rede is to basically say you are not Wiccan.

Its like saying you are Muslim but you don't believe in anything in the Quran, saying you are Christian but you don't believe in the bible or the teachings of jesus.

Thus, you are wrong.

Answer 8

Wicca originally was "wise one". The person who was curious enough to experiment and find some answers in potions, lotions, chants, etc. The wise one was the person you went to in the dark ages because there was no answers.yahoo :)

Back then the was no organized researchable religion that anyone can trace. Generally they all kept their secrets and mysteries to themselves. Only when other religions gained lots of ground and started persecuting the wise ones was there any effort to group for protection (which rarely worked out well).

So only in the last 100 years or so has it been possible to try and create commonality. That doesnt mean that its all been "made up since then". Just that its almost impossible to trace anything back further than that to find out.

Answer 9

Wow! So many answers.....I don't care what the age of modern witchcraft is, it works for me and like all living traditions it's growing and changing. The Wiccan Rede may be modern but its roots are in the past. I find great comfort in the writings of Starhawk, Margot Adler and Suzanna Budapest...all are modern.
And that's my opinion. Thanks for asking and Blessed Be!

Answer 10

I hate to tell you, but Wicca in its current form is less than 100 years old. It is historical fact. It's not a belief, it's what is. Many of the beliefs and traditions that make up Wicca, however, go back thousands of years. I think you've mixed up a few things.