W hen Gerald Gardner's writings first came to pu b lic attention in 1954, he called Wicca The Old Rdi gion The Old Religion evolved out of primitive Neolithic beliefs and concepts , eventually evolving into a European Mystery Tradition containing the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of many generations. The ancient pre-Christian European Mysteries ar e the very roots of mod ern Wicca. These Mysteries fo rm the fo undation of modern Wiccan ritual and magickal practices, and it is from these ancient roots that we draw the nourishment that allows for new growth.
Magick and religion aro s e out of humankind's attempts to understand the wor l d in which they existed. To our ancestors , the ever-retur n ing cycles of Nature and the unnamed laws of cause and effect all seemed to suggest an established order to the Universe.
A structured belief syst e m incorporating various gods and spirits evolved from primitive beliefs in unseen fo rces. Natural objects became associated with desired ef f ects , and over the course of time a list of magickal char ms re sulted. With these items , specifically fav ored by a certain deity or spirit , a hunter brought down his prey or a healer drove away the negative forces causing illness. Just as the presence of an animal's fo ot prints could lead a hunter to the presence of the animal , so too aro se the belief that a symbol could bring about the man if e station of the very thing it symbolized. This principle was one of the earliest fo rms of magickal thinking.
In early tribal lif r ; certain individuals were known fo r their ability to unde r s t a n d and use these methods of magickal thought. Whether we call them Shamans , Medicine Men or Medicine Women, or village Witches , theirs was an ancient craft.
Wicca, as the Old Craft, is a religion that teaches connec tions to Nature and more importantly to the forces behind Nature. Its purpose is , in part, to align an individual with the flow of energy on this plane and to teach rapport with deity . Participating in the seasonal rites attunes a person to Nature's vibration
By seeking an understanding of divinity within the ways of Nature we establish an unspoken communication with the Creators
The Craft is a system of spiritual development as well It teaches us to walk in balance. We learn that everything con nects and shares a relati onship with everything else. What we do to the Earth, and to each othet; we do to ourselves. The Old Ways teac h rev e r e n ce fo r life and the indwelling spirit , helping prep a r e us to someday dwell within the spiritual realms that await us, once we are free from the Cyc l e of Rebirth here in the physical dimension.
The Old Ways teach alignment and this extends to how we function as both physical and spiritual Beings within the world of Nature. Alignment also means becoming of the same vibration or frequency.
In this sense we are then of the same spir ituality as a soaring hawk, or a beautiful bounding stag. In effect, we shar e the same religion or spirituality through this connection.
W e see in Nature that deity is the one creator and main tainer of all that is. In an attempt to perceive it and commu nicate with it, we personify it as a goddess and a go d. The God and Goddess of Wiccan theology are essentially oppo s it e aspects or polarities of the Divine-Source-of-All-Things. In other words, they are those aspects of divinity which we can isolate as active and re ceptive ; electrical and magnetic ; mascu line and fe minine ; etc.
In ancient times deities were personal gods and goddesses , pe r c e i v e d as beings who were conscious of us , caring and providing for our needs.
In the study of divinity as expressed within phy s ical Nature ; the ancients ch o s e animals ref lecting corr e sponding aspects of divine expression.
Within the ancient Mystery Traditions , priests and priest esses dressed themselves in animal disguises , wearing masks and the fur or fe a t h e r coverings of various animals in order to symbolize divine principles and natures.
The Greeks and Romans also pos sessed very advance d Mystery Cults such as the Beusin ian Tradition and the Cult of Dionysu s .
