Tradition History and Grove Structure

Wicca’s roots (not Wicca itself) go back to the beginning of human history, back to the first recorded signs of human spirituality 30,000 years ago- there were cave paintings, burial sites with personal affects, and things of that nature. Spirituality has always been a reflection of the culture that bore it.  In the distant past, religious artifacts reflected basic survival needs.  Symbolism included that which was seen in Nature- the Sun, Moon, hunting (The Sorcerer, below), fertility (Venus of Willendorf- left) and was further characterized by local climes- warmer, more forgiving weather gave us gods of fertility, generation, bounty, and God as the mother/father; harsher climes favored hunting, courage, and God as the hero-heroine.

As agriculture lead to ‘civilization’ and city-states, law and order became more important. In many cultures there was a tradition of embodying the connection to the Divine with the ruler of the land in a marriage that or other joining between the ruler and a member of the priesthood, ensuring the well-being of the nation.  Also in other countries God became embodied in the king or pharaoh, and the people worshipped him as their connection to the Divine.  In areas of conflict we see God as warrior; the protector of the city/tribe became the Ruler god, or in the case of the farmers and slaves, the sacrificed god, who died to ensure well-being and freedom. This is why war-torn Middle-Eastern areas grew Christianity.  It combined elements of the sacrificed king and the Mithras Sun-god cults- and it lent itself well to development of a power structure.  God became ‘above nature’, as the ruling class was above the ruled- at that point, separation  between man, Nature, and Deity became more prominent.  The monotheistic religions stated at this point that their god was the One God, and the others were false and to be fought (previously in many polytheistic societies, monotheistic cults saw ‘the one god’ as including all the other gods as aspects). This aggressive nature of Christianity as it came to be practiced forced the pagans to either accept, adapt their beliefs to a Christian framework, or go underground (if not disappear entirely).  Often there was a combination of these things. 

Many pagan traditions were kept despite the spread of Christianity, and of course many symbols associated with Christianity have pagan roots. Bringing an evergreen inside and placing candles on it to evoke a remembrance of the Sun and life during the darkest time of the year, for instance, became a Christmas tree. The triple-Goddess Brighid of Ireland became Saint Brigit. And good Christians would still dance the Maypole dance for fertility, or tie a bundle of flowers to the well post to keep the water sprites happy and the water running pure. Depending on the amount of political unrest at the time this sort of thing was met with varying degrees of acceptance, anywhere from mild amusement (‘pagan’ and ‘heathen’ meant ‘country-dweller’, and was similar in use to the term ‘red-neck’ today) to violent rejection.  The so-called Burning Times, from about the mid-1400s to the late 1700s, were during the time of the Inquisition.  Many ‘witches’ were tortured, hanged, or burned at the stake.  Of course, none of them were Wiccans (Wicca did not exist yet), and figures claiming 9 million killed for their beliefs are certainly exaggerated; figures are thought to have been closer to 40-100 thousand.  While the majority of these were basically victims of political instability, we can probably all agree that it was not a good time to be known as anything but the most humble of Christians.  Eventually the so-called Age of Reason dawned, and while most Europeans were becoming fascinated with science there was still an interest in matters relating to the occult and the afterlife.  

Here is where we can trace an unbroken lineage of Wicca. This was amid the popular paths of spiritualism (where seances and such came from) and theosophy (Occult transcendence). Several people experimented with witchcraft as a disgruntled attempt to reject Christianity, or tried to revive imagined ancient cults of Isis or various Greek and Roman gods in a romantic striving for the supposedly simpler days of the pagan savages. George Pickingill had claimed to have hereditary connection to other old witchcraft traditions and started several covens. His focus was specifically anti-Christian, and he taught both Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner. Crowley formed the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a combination of a German occult order and Tantric sex magic which still exists today.   Gardner was born in 1884 and traveled the world extensively all his life. When he grew up he lived in New Forest with several occultist neighbors, and had always been fascinated with the occult- he belonged to many lodges and societies. Like Crowley, he blamed Christianity for his repressive upbringing, and set out to right the balance from sex being evil to sex being sacred. Gerald Gardner claims that he was initiated into a hereditary coven in 1939; there is conflicting evidence about this and it’s possible that in reality he probably created the first coven in 1939 in reaction to Britain’s perilous state at war with Germany. His version of witchcraft, which later came to be called ‘Wicca’ by others, included a lot of Freemasonry features- scourgings, hierarchy, degree systems, and so on as well as Western takes on karma and reincarnation as brought to us by the most famous ‘gypsy medium’ Madame Helen Blavatski. He was influenced by Crowley and got help fleshing out his rituals and lore from Doreen Valiente who was one of his earliest initiates. In 1949 Gardner wrote a fictional account of witches called High Magic’s Aid under the pen-name ‘Scire’. The laws against witchcraft were repealed in England in 1951, so in 1954 he wrote the non-fictional Witchcraft Today. Raymond and Rosemary Buckland were students of one of his Initiates and brought Gardner’s Wicca to America.  (See Crafting the Art of Magic, Aidan Kelley; also one of the best books outlining the history of Wicca- The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton)

So, where did our particular tradition come from? We are of the Unicorn Tradition, the beginnings of which are said to date back many, many years with roots in the Old World. It was not known as ‘Wicca’ then but was a collection of orally-transmitted beliefs and folk magic.  One branch of this lore came to America and was associated with and translated into terms of modern Wicca in the 1960’s by Lady Rhea. She taught Galadriel and Athanor, who established the Grove of the Unicorn in 1980. This became the ‘mother group’ of the Unicorn Tradition, which eventually gave birth to the Phoenix Moon Grove and Coven on September 5, 1998. Here we are!

So how are we different from other Wiccan groups?

First, the Sabbats are calculated astrologically, rather than by using fixed calendar dates. This ensures that the festival is celebrated at the time based on the Sun’s progression through the zodiac. This information can be found in any ephemeris and most astrological calendars. Thus, for instance, we recognize Samhain as occurring when the Sun is in 15 degrees of the sign of Scorpio, which in 2010 happens on November 8th.

Second, in order for our sacred space to accurately reflect the Wheel of the Year and to make it more balanced, we have a system of elemental correspondences where the direction of East is ruled by the element of Earth, while North is ruled by Air. A detailed explanation of why this makes sense can be found here.

Third, we believe that a tool cannot represent an element if it can be destroyed by that element. Therefore, the four main elemental tools are as such: Earth- pentacle, Fire- sword/athame, Water- chalice, and Air- wand. Ellen Cannon Reed’s Witches Tarot explores this in depth.

Phoenix Moon has 2 levels: the Coven, our Initiates-only group, and the Grove, consisting of Initiates plus Dedicants and students. Hearth-kin are counted as Pagan-friendly friends, spouses, and children of the members and are seen as extended members of the Grove.

Sabbats are open to all members of the Grove.

New Moon Esbats, when observed as either classes or rituals, are restricted to Initiates and Dedicants only. If the New Moon is observed as a social get-together, all are welcome.

Full Moon Esbats are open to Initiates only. Phoenix Moon bases our Moon celebrations on the goings-on of central Texas nature, rather than northern European, in an attempt to feel more close to our own cycle. This is described in more detail in the ‘What is Wicca’ section.

The degree system is as follows:

* Student- has not yet taken Pagan Dedication but is studying with the group.
* Dedicant- has taken Pagan Dedication.
* 1st Degree Initiate- after a year and a day (at minimum) from when the member enters the group as a student and shows knowledge of a certain level, the student who requests it may be granted Initiation. At this point they are a member of the coven and may call themselves a Witch in the Unicorn Tradition.
* 2nd Degree Initiate- after at least a year and a day from 1st Degree Initiation, with more study.
* 3rd Degree Initiate- after at least a year and a day from 2nd Degree Initiation and more study. They may use the title of Priest/ess and can perform all the functions of clergy (such as officiating at a marriage).
* Elder- after serving as a Priest/ess for at least 5 years and training a student up to 3rd Degree plus even more study the member may be granted the title of Elder.