An Introduction to Dianic Wicca
Because Wicca is a relatively new religion that draws on ancient pagan traditions, it is constantly changing and adjusting to the new modern age that we live in. The term “Wicca” was coined during the middle of the nineteen-hundreds in England and so it to is relatively new.
Dianic Wicca is something that has sprung form the broader community of Wiccans and it can be most aptly described as a “womans only” form of Wicca. If you were to walk into a Dianic coven, you would see only women who were entirely reliant on the goddess and female deities during their ritual.
It really makes such perfect sense, because up until the birth of modern day Wicca, women were expected to take a back seat in convectional religious practice if they were given a seat at all. Many women who practice Dianic Wicca feel that their feminine energy manifests itself in its most powerful form when the ritual is devoid of male energy.
The Beginnings of Dianic Wicca
Also, many women tend to feel more comfortable and relaxed and thus can meditate more deeply when they are in the presence of their sister Wiccans exclusively. Dianic Wiccans trace their beginning back to the Roman Empire when a female prestress conducted rituals that called on the goddess Diana during their rituals and this further evolved to include other female deities.
Dianic Wiccans also rely on ancient Greek and Egyptian female deities during their rituals and worship. The Dianic Wiccan community is growing and is expected to continue to grow on into the future as women everywhere are finding Dianic covens a safe place for refuge in what many conceive as a male dominated society.
Given that Dianic pagan practices predate all contemporary modern religions it seems only natural that things should come full circle and Dianic covens might take their rightful place in the broader Wiccan Community.
5 responses so far ↓
Noinden // Jan 8, 2008 at 10:53 am
I have to disagree with a lot of the assertions made here. While it is true many Dianic covens are woman only, a number actually are inclusive. Similarly while one might try to date back to pre-Christian times this is a nice deception, up there with Gerald Gardner and the New Forrest Coven (it did not exist), Druids using Stone Henge, and Christ dying on the cross. Similarly there is no absolute proof of a Matriarchal prehistory, I would point to Cynthia Ellers “Myth of the Matriarchal Prehistory” for further research (and it’s a woman saying this!!)
I respect Dianic’s, so don’t take this as an attack on them, rather a wake up call to do what you do and not try to justify it as “it’s older than anything else”. Paganism has crown beyond that!
roberto quintas // Jul 26, 2008 at 6:10 am
sorry, but the Roman Empire has many religions, but none exclusively conducted by women. I would like to see were or how you find this claim.
Ahmeenah // Jun 22, 2009 at 9:44 am
Greetings!
Do you really know anything at all about Dianic Witchcraft? Feminist Witchcraft? It’s not something that “just sprung” about, Z Budapest is the founding mother of “Dianic Wicca” and other traditions of Dianic Wicca have formed from her. However, Her lineage IS all female but its purpose is not to ‘alienate’ a male energy at all, but rather it is work with, embrace completely the female principle so that we as women can become ‘whole’ before we work with the male energies again in our spirituality. If you have a terrible break up with someone, before you date again, you must heal. You aren’t writing men off, you just need to heal your own soul ..same thing in regards to our spirituality and so we do it with the female principle. Feminine energy for so long was not reflected in culture or religion therefore making women appear to be less then human; we didn’t matter. So many crimes and abuses towards women was acceptable because up until only maybe 100 years ago, women were believed to “have no soul”. ~ Dianic Wicca is an advocacy for women, women’s rights and their issues. It’s a social movement as well as a spirituality. It is incorporating what Gardner has discovered and created with Wicca into a living, breathing, social movement, awareness and spirituality for a woman’s soul. We claim no ‘antiquity’ to the Greeks and Romans, however, we do relate to their stories, their myths and ideas of women as priestesses. We honor women, their bodies and that natural processes that happen with women as HOLY and we see this reflection in the Goddess. So before you decide to try to “educate” anyone about Dianic Witchcraft, perhaps you should do some more investigating and actually learning about it before hand.
Blessings,
Ahmeenah
)O(
Libertarian // Jul 13, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Seems that lately any female-centered website gets negative remarks from some men. There is no “absolute proof” of matriarchy–well, there is no absolute proof for many things we think happened in the past. So whot? Women are Gods and Dianic Wicca is the path to a better world, in which men like myself are happy to serve them.
MONALISA // Sep 13, 2009 at 1:55 pm
boa tarde, gostaria de saber quem fez esse desenho desta arvore…pois isto é uma manifestação artistica de uma imagem que tebho em minha mente.
obrigada
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