Behind the Screams!

Chapter 1: The History

The History

Paganism, wicca, and witchcraft are often mistaken and associated with evil, satanism, and sacrifice however I'd like you all to understand, this could not be further from the truth.

The word 'pagan' was used to "...derogatorily describe all non-monotheistic pre-Christian religions that indulged in nature and idol worship" (Devdutt Pattanaik 2019)

Paganism is a collection of religions that follow a polytheistic (the belief of multiple god(s)/deities) or pantheistic view (the belief that god(s)/deities have many forms & can be all around) and some of which tend to worship nature. 

Pagans would typically worship or believe in a multitude of gods in various ways as different types of pagan practices differently. For instance, Hindus may worship by repeating/chanting different mantras for different gods- repetition of specific sounds or words used to produce a positive wish or outcome.

Another example of pagan religion is Druidry, in which there is the belief of harmonising oneself with the environment and nature of the world as well as longing to reaching the highest state of wisdom mean whilst fulfilling the 3 goals of Druidry: wisdom, creativity, and love.

Whereas some other religions such as Wicca may follow religious principles that are influenced by natural occurrences e.g. seasonal changes and lunar cycles- which, most interestingly impacts pagan calendars.

Their practices usually are nature-centred, which means they focus their prayers, rituals, and applications around the environment. For example, using the elements of earth, air, fire, water within ceremonies and festivals, praying and meditating to the scenic setting of a forest or coast, aiming to integrate any forms of flora and fauna within their day-to-day life as often as possible.

In addition to this, deities can also be worshipped within Wicca too e.g. the horned god and triple moon goddess- this particular belief was mainly brought forward by the creator of Wicca, Gerald Gardner.

In elaboration, Wicca is a modern practice derived from old traditions that were brought forward, modernised and aimed to be legitimised by Gerald B Gardner in the 1930s.

When growing up, Gardner had troubles with breathing as a child thus, at the age of 6, was sent away to countries with warmer climates until eventually, he decided to settle in Malaysia with an additional 3 years in Borneo for work. During said travels, as he had never made it into school, Gerald quickly seemed to become educated and familiarized himself in any surroundings he found himself in (Britain's Wicca Man). The "...magical beliefs and practices of the indigenous people of Borneo and Malaysia" (Modern Wicca: A History From Gerald Gardner to the Present 2010) appeared to have immensely interest Gardener as they'd contribute to what could be described by Professor Ronald Hutton of University of Bristol as perhaps the only religion that England had produced (Modern Wicca: A History From Gerald Gardner to the Present 2010).

In 1936, Gerald and his wife- Donna moved back permanently to England, London near New Forest in which they both became acquainted with naturism, this ultimately led to his initiation within an alleged coven of witches. In which, he was supposedly given secrets and information that he could never go on to repeat however with some persuasion, Gerald managed to gain the permission to reveal very little about their practices; prompting him to find his own coven (Modern Wicca: A History From Gerald Gardner to the Present). Despite feeling the New Forest Coven's practices and beliefs were "fragmentary" (Modern Wicca: A History from Gerald Gardner to the Present) he utilised their ways to combine with his own personal beliefs which in turn, laid down the foundation of what Wicca is today. Hence it is known as the new old religion, older beliefs were taken as inspiration, adapted and modernised to better fit the society. During his time, Gardener initiated many High Priestesses into his coven with aims to spread the word of Wicca- most significantly Doreen Valiente. Who is most recognized for her key influence in the sharing Wiccan ways via writing an extremely important and sacred guide to Wicca, its beliefs and rituals- known as the Book of Shadows. Every initiated High Priestess and coven member went on to practice further along with informing people and teaching others Wiccan ways and thus creating Wicca what it is today.