User:Kim Dent-Brown/Later history of Wicca

Later developments
In 1948-9 Gardner and Dafo were running a coven separate from the original New Forest coven at a naturist club near Bricket Wood to the north of London. By 1952 however Dafo's health had begun to decline, and she was increasingly wary of Gardner's publicity-seeking. In 1953 Gardner met Doreen Valiente who was to become his High Priestess in succession to Dafo. The question of publicity led to Doreen and others formulating thirteen proposed 'Rules for the Craft', including items such as a restriction on contact with the press. Gardner responded with the sudden production of the Wiccan Laws which led to Doreen and others leaving the coven. At about this time (1956-58) the standard method of raising energy in the circle was said to be by binding and scourging, but following Gardner spending time in the Isle of Man the coven began to experiment with circle dancing as an alternative. It was also about this time that the lesser Sabbats were given greater prominence. When Brickett Wood coven members decided that since they like the Sabbats celebrations so much, there was no reason to keep the cross quarters celebration to the closest full moon meeting, instead they became festivities in their own right. As Gardner had no objection to this change suggested by the Brickett Wood coven, this collective decision resulted in what is now the standard eight festivities in the wheel of the year.

The split with Valiente led to the Brickett Wood coven being led by Jack Bracelin and a new High Priestess, Dayonis. This was the first of a number of disputes between individuals and groups, but the increased publicity only seems to have allowed Gardnerian Wicca to grow much more rapidly. Doreen Valiente meanwhile continued to write and organise (although rarely, if ever, to initiate.) After the split with Gardner she wrote many books in which she referred to Witchcraft but not to Wicca. Nevertheless the break with Wicca was not complete, and she attempted, with some success, to provide evidence for Gardner's claims concerning his initiation. Notably she identified Dorothy Clutterbuck in 1980, the woman who was supposed to have performed Gardner's initiation.

Following Valiente's departure, Gardner worked with a succession of High Priestesses, notably Patricia Crowther, Monique Wilson and Eleanor 'Ray' Bone. Crowther (in the north of England) and Bone (in the south) were prolific teachers and initiators, and much of modern Gardneran Wicca in the UK derives ultimately from these two women (a notable exception being the North London coven, successor to the original Brickett Wood group, which still continues.) It was an initiate of Crowther's who first initiated Alex Sanders - although he subsequently claimed a hereditary initiation. By the mid 1960s Sanders was claiming to have over 1500 initiates in 100 covens, and claimed the title King of the Witches. This flamboyant style led to

Certain intiates such as Alex Sanders and Raymond Buckland started off their own major traditions allowing further expansion.

A partial summary of publicly known Wiccans 'downline' from Gardner is available here.

Gardnerian Wicca was an initiatory mystery religion, admission to which was limited to those who were initiated into a pre-existing coven. The Book of Shadows, a workbook that contained the Gardnerian rituals, was kept secret and was only obtainable from a coven of proper lineage. Despite the fact that several versions of the Book of Shadows have now been publicly published, many traditions of Wicca still maintain strict secrecy regarding the book and certain other aspects of the religion.

Raymond Buckland introduced Wicca to America after moving to Long Island. Although Buckland always scrupulously followed the Book of Shadows as he received it from Gardner, when the coven was eventually turned-over to Theos and Phoenix they enlarged the Book of Shadows, adding further degrees of initiation which were required before members could found their own covens. Interest outstripped the ability of the mostly British-based covens to train and propagate members; the beliefs of the religion spread faster by the printed word or word of mouth than the initiatory system was prepared to handle.

Other non-Wiccan witchcraft traditions appeared that gradually brought more attention and adherents to the extant Neopaganism movement. Some claimed roots as ancient as Gardner's version, and were organised along similar lines. Others were syncretic, incorporating aspects of Kabbalah, romanticised polytheistic Celtic pre-Christian concepts, and ceremonial magic. In 1970 Paul Huson published Mastering Witchcraft a book purportedly based upon non-Wiccan traditional British witchcraft and indeed the first do-it-yourself manual for the would-be witch, which became one of the basic instruction books for a large number of covens. In 1971 "Lady Sheba" (self-styled "Queen of the American Witches") published what she claimed was a version of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, although the authenticity of this book has never been validated. Increasing awareness of Gardner's literary sources and the actual early history of the movement made creativity seem as valuable as Gardnerian tradition.

Another significant development was the creation by feminists of Dianic Wicca, or feminist Dianic Witchcraft. This is a specifically feminist, Goddess-oriented faith that had no interest in the Horned God, and discarded Gardnerian-style hierarchy as irrelevant. Many Dianic Wiccans felt that witchcraft was every woman's right and heritage to claim. This heritage might be best characterised by Monique Wittig's words on the subject: "But remember. Make an effort to remember. Or, failing that, invent." This tradition was comparatively (and unusually for that time) open to solitary witches. Rituals were created for self-initiation to allow people to identify with and join the religion without first contacting an existing coven. This contrasts with the Gardnerian belief that only a witch of opposite gender could initiate another witch.

The publications of Raymond Buckland illustrate these changes. During the early 1970s, in books such as Witchcraft - Ancient and Modern and Witchcraft From the Inside, Buckland maintained the Gardnerian position that only initiates into a Gardnerian or other traditional coven were truly Wiccans. However, in 1974, Buckland broke with the Gardnerians and founded Seax-Wica, revealing its teachings and rituals in the book The Tree: The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft. This tradition made no claims to direct descent from ancient Saxons; all of its then-extant rituals were contained in that book, which allowed for self-initiation. In 1986 Buckland published Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (colloquially known as "Uncle Bucky's Big Blue Book" or simply "The Big Blue Book"), a workbook that sought to train readers in magical and ritual techniques as well as instructing them in Wiccan teachings and rituals. Unfortunately, even after Buckland wrote his revised edition of this book there were still points from his original work that were in contention with some.

The first Wiccan Wedding to be legally recognised in the UK (by the Registrars of Scotland) was performed in 2004.