[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.is a pantheistic affirmation of the unity and divine nature of allLife, in its material and spiritual, physical and metaphysical, mortal and eternal aspects. As above, so below. From the neutrons revolving around the core of the atoms in thecells of our bodies, to the planets revolving around the stars in the Universe, Life is aharmonious circular dance of wheels within wheels, symbolised by the Magic Circle inwhich witches perform the rites (Quest no.38, June 1979).According to witchcraft lore, the seasonal rituals draw a close parallel with thecycle of birth, death and rebirth.Robert writes that in pre-Christian pagan timesthe aim of rituals was to ensure fertility of the crops and herds; but today theirobject is to restore empathy with nature among city dwellers alienated from it bythe industrial civilisation in which they live (ibid.).More recently, Robert using his real name of Fred Lamond noted that Paganshad failed to inculcate a reverence for nature, even among our members.Heclaimed that an ecological consciousness had grown in the wider population, butit was not from any Pagan influence, and was due to organizations such as Friendsof the Earth.Lamond asked why wiccan rituals did not make wiccans more nature-conscious, and he concluded that Golden Dawn elements were used unthinkinglyin a concern to look to the book rather than relating to nature.He suggestedtaking ritual cues from the land: for example, on the south coast the water (thesea) is in the south, and so the ritual element of water should be in the south andnot in the west, as in a conventional wiccan circle.Lamond concluded, If youwant to understand nature look at nature. find a tree and meditate by it for ayear.9There is no doubt that some Pagans do combine their magical practice withboth conservation work and ecological action.There is a Pagan organization theDragon Environmental group that aims to combine Paganism with ecologicalissues by working with the natural powers and tides of the earth; but the magicalgroups that I was involved with during my fieldwork were much more concernedwith their inner spiritual transformation, and did not seem particularly interested 112 Witchcraft and Natural Magicin either environmental action or in nature in general; the emphasis was on invoca-tion and emotional states.Two of the witchcraft groups of which I was a memberdid not show any interest towards nature other than as a backdrop for their ritualsand imagery for their sense of connectedness.Greta s feminist group was the mostactive in environmental issues and political demonstration; but this was largelydue to the efforts of Greta and one other member.The group eventually folded asa result of differing interests, the two most environmentally aware going on tojoin more overt environmental protection movements.It appears to me that often witches, like high magicians, have a deep attachmentto the ceremony and intricacies of ritual procedure.Nature, despite the ideologyof connection and involvement on a practical level, is seen as a beautiful backdropagainst which to practise an intense, intimate and highly emotional spiritual religion.I have witnessed little active interest in the environment.One feminist witch toldme that one of her fellow coven members, who was heavily involved with television soaps , had told her that nature documentaries on the television were boring.One wiccan, when invited to go for a walk, cried off because it was raining and hemight get his feet wet: Can t we just visualize it? , he said.These witches had adifferent attitude to those involved in Pagan environmental protest.I spoke to onePagan road protester who was part of the Teddy Bear Woods Road Protest Campin Weymouth, Dorset, and she told me that she thought Pagan activism was verydifferent from ritual witchcraft.This view is backed up by Nick Fiddes s research10on the practical Paganism of the road protesters, who, he argues, have littleconcern with formal ritual (see Greenwood, forthcoming).High Magic and Wicca: Similarities and DifferencesIn this chapter, and in the previous chapter on high magic, I have concentrated ontwo distinct yet at the same time amalgamated blends of magical practice, both ofwhich stem from the Hermetic tradition (for the purposes of this discussion wiccaand feminist witchcraft may both be classified as witchcraft).They have manysimilarities, but also have a number of differences that are worth outlining here.Firstly, as I have shown, both high magic and witchcraft involve both mind andbody contrary to popular stereotypes within the subculture that high magicconcerns solely the mind, while witchcraft is focused on the body: this is demon-strated by the use of sexuality as an important magical practice.A second majorsimilarity is that both high magic and witchcraft are essentially polytheistic theyrecognize a plurality of divine beings even though in the case of high magicthese are sometimes subsumed to the greater divinity represented as Light.A thirdsimilarity is that both are directly shaped by Christianity: either as an esotericvariant, as with some forms of high magic, or as a rebellion against it, as in thepractice of witchcraft itself. 113 Magic, Witchcraft and the OtherworldThe differences between the two broad strands of magical practice are basedon opposing cosmologies.High magic is conceptually framed around a notion ofevolution based on a gnostic Fall from divinity.It is therefore cosmologicallydualistic seeking to regain oneness with divinity.By contrast, witchcraft ismonistic: humans are inherently good and are a part of the cosmos, which, inturn, is divine in short, there is no conception of The Fall or sin.A major differencebetween the two practices concerns attitudes to women.While much high magicemphasizes the feminine as well as the masculine , and gender polarity is seento be the basis of much magical working, witchcraft differs to the extent that itvalues and expressly exalts the feminine : women are seen to embody what areseen as the virtues of intuition, feeling and emotion.Moreover, they are held to besuperior to men at practising magic, and are often viewed as gateways for men(this notion will be examined in Chapter 6).The two practices also reflect differ-ences in attitudes to the practicalities of working magic: witchcraft is largelypractised communally, while high magic has a tradition of solitary working (althoughhigh magicians do perform many communal rituals).In relation to the otherworld,high magic places great emphasis on meditation and internalizing the Tree of Lifeglyph, while witchcraft is ideologically based in nature.This reflects the degreeof formality inherent within the two practices: high magic, through the use of theKabbalistic glyph and structured pathworkings, is more disciplined in its methodof working its negotiation with the otherworld is more controlled and, I wouldsuggest, less open to individual interpretation.Wiccan ritual is often enacted as aform of sacred drama, with lines to be learnt and costumes to be made, but it isalso flexible within its structure there is room for inspiration and creativity, andfor the gods to speak through the participants.In the next chapter I show how magicians notions of self-identity are constructedthrough an engagement with the otherworld.Notes1.I discussed my involvement with the group and the issue of commitment withSarah on a number of occasions.They knew about my research and I said thatwitchcraft was not a practice I felt drawn to on a personal level.Sarah said thatwhen the group wanted more commitment from me they would let me know.2
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]