Celtic Wicca
Template:Short description Template:Infobox religion Celtic Wicca is a modern form of Wicca that incorporates some elements of Celtic mythology.<ref name=McColman /><ref name=Raeburn /><ref name=Hutton /> It employs the same basic theology, rituals and beliefs as most other forms of Wicca.<ref name=McColman /><ref name=Raeburn /> Celtic Wiccans use the names of Celtic deities, mythological figures, and seasonal festivals within a Wiccan ritual structure and belief system,<ref name=McColman /><ref name=Grimassi /> rather than a traditional or historically Celtic one.<ref name=Hutton /><ref name=Greer />
Origins
Wicca, as established by Englishman Gerald Gardner in the 1950s,<ref name=Hutton /><ref name=Greer /><ref name=Kelly /> was not Celtic in nature but contained some influences and borrowings from Celtic sources.<ref name=McColman /> "Celtic" Wicca can be seen as emphasizing and elaborating on the facets of Gardnerian Wicca that practitioners believe to be Celtic, while de-emphasizing some of the more obviously non-Celtic facets (such as the worship of deities from other cultures).<ref name=McColman /><ref name=Raeburn /> Author Jane Raeburn believes that while there is "a firm distinction between historical Celtic inspiration and modern Wiccan practice", that the two can be blended to form "a living path of ethical and spiritual growth".<ref name=Raeburn /> As Carl McColman has observed, many people find beauty and meaning in this spirituality that blends "religious witchcraft with Celtic wisdom".<ref name=McColman />
Several different variations of the tradition have existed. For instance, Lady Sheba (Jessie Bell) called her tradition "American Celtic Wicca".<ref name=Arnold /><ref name=Sheba1 /><ref name=Sheba2 /> Gavin Frost and Yvonne Frost of the Church and School of Wicca called their tradition "Celtic Wicca" and followers of this tradition identify as Celtic Wiccans.<ref name=pagans.org /><ref name=Frost /> Additionally, numerous Eclectic Wiccan groups and individuals incorporate what they believe to be Celtic features and self-identify as Celtic Wiccans or Celtic neopagans.<ref name=Raeburn /><ref name=Conway />
Comparisons to other traditions
Celtic Wicca can be seen as both a form of Wicca and a branch of Celtic neopaganism.<ref name=McColman /> On the neopagan continuum from eclectic to reconstructionist, Celtic Wicca is at the eclectic end: as non-historical as most forms of Neo-druidism,<ref name=Hutton2 /> and contrasting firmly with Celtic reconstructionism, which emphasizes cultural focus and historical accuracy.<ref name=Gallagher />
Criticisms
Celtic Wicca is criticized for a number of reasons. Critics point to the very recent development of the "tradition", its modernly syncretic nature, its misappropriation or misrepresentation of authentic Celtic traditions and history, and its difference from all historically attested Celtic beliefs and practices.<ref name=Hutton /><ref name=Greer /><ref name=Hutton2 /><ref name=Hautin-Mayer>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Authors including Ronald Hutton, Aidan Kelly, John Michael Greer and Gordon Cooper have noted that Celtic Wicca draws on mythology by way of the Romanticist Celtic Revival rather than historical fact.<ref name=Hutton /><ref name=Greer /><ref name=Kelly /><ref name=Hutton2 /> Further, these authors have documented that Gardnerian Wicca was synthesized from elements of many cultures and traditions including Hinduism, English folklore, romanticized misinterpretations of what Gardner believed to be Native American beliefs and ceremonies,<ref name=Greer /> and the ritual structures and terminology used by the Freemasons.<ref name=Hutton /><ref name=Greer /><ref name=Kelly /> Greer and Cooper specifically point to Gardner's involvement in the English Woodcraft and Kibbo Kift groups as a strong influence.<ref name=Greer />
See also
References
External links
- The Wicca That Never Was: The real story of the world's newest "ancient" religion (part 1), by Andy Steiner, Utne Reader
- When is a Celt Not a Celt? by Joanna Hautin-Mayer