Below is an article that appeared in the Life section of the Rock Island Argus/Moline Dispatch on Monday, September 19, 1994. The author, Lisa Mohr, spent some time with our coven in interviews. A photographer also came and did a short photo session, and the picture he took appeared with the article. The picture was almost as wide as the newspaper page. Considering the bad press Wicca and other non-traditional religions have had in the past, we were all very pleased with this article.
Tonight's full moon and Friday's fall equinox signify more than a time of season to worshipers of an ancient nature religion known as Wicca.
"Wicca is a modern 19th and 19th century religion that has it's spiritual roots in ancient worship," said Worldwalker, Wiccan high priest of Our Lady of the Prairie coven in the Quad-Cities.
"Worldwalker" is the man's Wiccan name. Coven members asked not to be identified in this story.
"Wicca predates Christianity by some 5,000 years and was a system of worship for many early caucasian peoples of Europe," Worldwalker said. "It isn't necessary for Caucasians to turn to Native American or African traditions to steep themselves in a nature religion. Wicca is a nature religion in the Celtic tradition."
The Old Religion, as it is referred to in literature and scholastic works, is not based on dogma or a set of beliefs, nor on scriptures or a sacred book revealed by a prophet. Wicca has always been a religion of poetry, not of theology. It takes it's teachings from nature and reads inspiration in the movements of the sun, moon and stars; flight of birds; the growth of trees; and the cycles of the seasons.
A growth of interest in Wicca has occurred in recent years - many colleges and universities feature courses in the Craft (as Wiccans refer to their religion) - perhaps because of a growing concern for the environment. "It is pretty basic - if we don't pay attention and begin to honor our Mother Earth, we are going to die," said Coyote Bridge, High Priestess of the Quad-Cities coven.
Wiccans refer to themselves as witches and organize themselves into small groups known as covens. Various reports state there are thousands of covens throughout the United States. Classically, a coven numbers 13 members, but many covens are much smaller. "A coven is a close-knit group of individuals that can be as close as an extended family or as relaxed as a regular congregation that meets and goes their seperate ways," Coyote Bridge explained. Small groups allow for both communal sharing and individual independance.
There is no central authority or organization for Wiccans - covens are autonomous, free to use whatever rituals, chants, and invocations they prefer. There is no set prayer book or liturgy.
"People think spellcrafting, or casting spells, is the only thing we do in witchcraft," Coyote Bridge said. "It is not the major focus. We are not allowed to interfere with the free will of anyone without there express permission or request." Wiccans only cast spells designed for good intentions and to benefit those involved, she added.
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A History of witchcraft Since prehistoric time, people have respected forces of nature and celebrated cycles of the seasons and moon. But by the 1300s, persecution of witches had begun. The 1484 Papal Bull of Innocent VIII unleashed the power of the Inquisition against the Old Religion. With the publication of the Malleus Malleficarum, written by two Dominican priests in 1490, groundwork was laid for a reign of terror. Of an estimated 9 million witches executed, 80 percent were women, including children and young girls who were believed to have inherited the 'evil' from their mothers. "All witchcraft stems from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable," stated the Malleus Maleficarum. It wasn't until the mid-1950s in England, when the witchcraft laws were removed from law books, that practitioners of Wicca were able to become public. In the United States, it wasn't until the 1970s that the last of the witchcraft laws, on the books in Hawaii, were revoked. |
During ceremonies, members of the Our Lady of the Prairie coven focus on the Wiccan Goddess in the guise of the triple aspect - Maiden, Mother and Crone. The wiccan God also is honored, but unlike many other systems of belief in which the male deity is a warrior, Wicca paints God as a gentle, loving brother and father to all living things.
"We've had a rule for several thousands of years of male deities, and we haven't gotten real far as a civilization." Coyote Bridge said. "Many people feel more comfortable coming to the Mother, but I want to stress we are not antimale. Some covens only focus on the Goddess to balance out centuries of male domination, and that is fine, but we honor both, with the greater emphasis on the Goddess."
Elements may change from coven to coven, but rituals inevitable follow the same underlying patterns. Our Lady of the Prairie coven meets twice a month, on the full and new moon; holds rituals at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and winter and summer soltices; and also honors the traditional four greater sabbaths; Brigid, Beltane, Lughnassad, and Samhain. Classes for dedicants, people who are the newest members of the coven, also meet once a month.
"There has been so much misunderstood information about Wicca and witchcraft," Coyote Bridge said. "For years, anthropologists referred to groups who honor a female deity as a fertility 'cult', whereas groups who honor a male deity were called a 'religion'. Since the Inquisition of the late 1400s, when millions of women and young girls in Europe were burned as witches, people who practice the Craft have had to go underground to escape persecution. Prior to that time, the wise woman/herbal healer was a respected and integral part of the community."
Entrance into a coven is achieved through an initiation, a ritual in which teachings are transmitted and personal growth takes place. "But before the ritualistic initiation, a person must have a personal epiphany," Coyote Bridge said. "This is what truly makes them a witch, and it must precede the ritual initiation. And there are a number of witches who self-initiate - they are called Solitaries - and who practie alone and do not belong to a coven."
Entrance to a coven is a slow and delicate process. "There is no repudiation of family, friends or traditional religions. We don't use drugs or alcohol, and there are no sexual acts involved," Coyote Bridge said. "This is a serious religion; people's sexual activity is private."
Coyote Bridge's own initiation was a process that began at an early age. She was raised in a deeply religious Roman Catholic family, a religion that honors the Virgin Mother as a focal figure. "I realized my parents' religion was not meeting my needs by a fairly young age," she said. "In Catholic schools, I told the nuns I would someday grow up to be a priest. 'Oh honey, you can't be a priest; you can be a nun.' they told me. But I knew, I always knew, I would someday be a priest."
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Read about it More information about Wicca can be found in the following books:
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Coyote Bridge said her family was extremely psychically active along with being deeply religious. "Both my grandmothers were Christian mystics," she said. "Even though they respected Catholicism very strongly, they acknowledged their psychic gifts and utilized them within our family structure. At a young age they taught me to read tea leaves, interpret dreams and dream omens."
She was encouraged to recognize her own psychic gifts as gifts from God when they became apparent at a young age. "I could talk to my mom and to my grandmothers about the things I experienced," she said. "During Mass, for instance, I could see energy patterns around the priest during the blessing of the Host. I could see which priests were having a true heart experience with God and which ones were merely going through the motions."
Still, she felt it wasn't enough. "I had a calling to the priesthood and for me, that meant more than being a nun. I needed to explore what other religions had to offer," she said.
Coyote Bridge attended a synagogue and many Protestant churches before exploring yoga and Eastern philosophy for a number of years. "I could see the same sort of energies in many of these religious ceremonies and the same sort of psychic heart connection that is present in all religions. That is what made religions live, not the dogma," she said.
She still felt a calling to go beyond that. "I was still very strongly drawn to goddesses and was eploring what that meant when the Davenport Unitarian Church brought in an out-of-state coven who gave a program on Wicca. I was ecstatic. There were other people in the world following my same particular path and I was not alone. It was a homecoming."
However, she added, "I don't believe that Wicca is for every person. Each of us must find our own personal path with whatever religion speaks to us."
For those interested in Wicca, Our Lady of the Prairie coven offers Wicca 101, a basic six-week informational course on the Goddess. For more information, write to the coven at P.O. Box 4931, Rock Island, ILL 61201.
Beltane
Litha
Lughnassad
Samhain
Yule
Imbolc
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Last modified March 16, 2002