Dianic Wicca
Encyclopedia
Dianic Witchcraft and Dianic Feminist Witchcraft, is a tradition, or denomination
, of the Neopagan religion of Wicca
. It was founded by Zsuzsanna Budapest
in the United States
in the 1970s, and is notable for its focus on the worship of the Goddess, and on feminism
. It combines elements of British Traditional Wicca
, Italian folk-magic recorded in Charles Leland's Aradia
, feminist values, and ritual, folk magic, and healing practices Budapest learned from her mother.
It is most often practiced in female-only coven
s.
Dianics worship in female-only circles and or covens. Originally lesbians formed the majority of the movement, however modern Dianic groups may be all-lesbian, all-heterosexual or mixed.
Dianic Wiccans as "positive path" practitioners do neither manipulative spellwork nor hexing
because it goes against the Wiccan Rede
; other Dianic witches (notably Zsuzsanna Budapest) do not consider hexing or binding of those who attack women to be wrong.
, Beltane
, Imbolc
(or Imbolg), Lammas
, the solstice
s and equinox
es (see Wheel of the Year
) and the Esbat
s, which are rituals usually held at the full moon
or dark moon. They use many of the same altar tools, rituals and vocabulary as other Wiccans. Dianics may also gather in more informal Circles.
The most noticeable difference between the two are that Dianic covens of Z Budapest lineage are composed of female born women. Some other Wiccan covens are composed of women and men, and worship the God and Goddess, while Dianics generally worship the Goddess as Whole Unto Herself.
"It’s the natural law, as women fare so fares the world, their children, and that’s everybody. If you
lift up the women you have lifted up humanity. Men have to learn to develop their own mysteries.
Where is the order of Attis? Pan? Zagreus? Not only research it, but then popularize it as well as I
have done. Where are the Dionysian rites? I think men are lazy in this aspect by not working this
up for themselves. It’s their own task, not ours. "
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
, of the Neopagan religion of Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. It was founded by Zsuzsanna Budapest
Zsuzsanna Budapest
Zsuzsanna Emese Mokcsay is an American author of Hungarian origin who writes on feminist spirituality and Dianic Wicca under the pen name and religious name Zsuzsanna Budapest or Z. Budapest. She is the High Priestess and the founding mother of the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1, the first feminist,...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1970s, and is notable for its focus on the worship of the Goddess, and on feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
. It combines elements of British Traditional Wicca
British Traditional Wicca
British Traditional Wicca is a term used to describe some Wiccan traditions which have their origins in the New Forest region of England...
, Italian folk-magic recorded in Charles Leland's Aradia
Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches is a book composed by the American folklorist Charles Leland that was published in 1899. It contains what he believed was the religious text of a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, Italy that documented their beliefs and rituals, although various historians and...
, feminist values, and ritual, folk magic, and healing practices Budapest learned from her mother.
It is most often practiced in female-only coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
s.
Beliefs and practices
Dianic Wiccans of the Z Budapest lineage worship the Goddess. The Goddess is the source of all living things and contains all within Her. The Goddess is complete unto herself and through her all is birthed.Dianics worship in female-only circles and or covens. Originally lesbians formed the majority of the movement, however modern Dianic groups may be all-lesbian, all-heterosexual or mixed.
Dianic Wiccans as "positive path" practitioners do neither manipulative spellwork nor hexing
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
because it goes against the Wiccan Rede
Wiccan Rede
The Wiccan Rede is a statement that provides the key moral system in the Neopagan religion of Wicca and other related Witchcraft-based faiths. A common form of the Rede is An it harm none, do what ye will....
; other Dianic witches (notably Zsuzsanna Budapest) do not consider hexing or binding of those who attack women to be wrong.
Differences between Dianic and mainstream Wicca
Like other Wiccans, Dianics may form covens, attend festivals, celebrate the eight major Wiccan holidays, SamhainSamhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
, Beltane
Beltane
Beltane or Beltaine is the anglicised spelling of Old Irish Beltaine or Beltine , the Gaelic name for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.Bealtaine was historically a Gaelic festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.Bealtaine...
, Imbolc
Imbolc
Imbolc , or St Brigid’s Day , is an Irish festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is celebrated on 1 or 2 February in the northern hemisphere and 1 August in the southern hemisphere...
(or Imbolg), Lammas
Lammas
In some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, August 1 is Lammas Day , the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop...
, the solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
s and equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
es (see Wheel of the Year
Wheel of the Year
The Wheel of the Year is a Neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth's seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are referred to as Sabbats...
) and the Esbat
Esbat
An esbat is a coven meeting other than one of the Sabbats within Wicca and other Wiccan-influenced forms of Neopaganism. Janet and Stewart Farrar describe esbats as an opportunity for a "love feast, healing work, psychic training and all."...
s, which are rituals usually held at the full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...
or dark moon. They use many of the same altar tools, rituals and vocabulary as other Wiccans. Dianics may also gather in more informal Circles.
The most noticeable difference between the two are that Dianic covens of Z Budapest lineage are composed of female born women. Some other Wiccan covens are composed of women and men, and worship the God and Goddess, while Dianics generally worship the Goddess as Whole Unto Herself.
History of Dianic Wicca
The revival of Dianic Wicca was practiced on Winter Solstice 1971, in which Zsuzsanna Budapest lead a ceremony in Hollywood, California. A hereditary witch, Budapest is frequently considered the mother of modern the Dianic Wiccan tradition. Dianic Wicca itself is named after the Roman goddess of the same name. Much of the history of Dianic Wicca is closely intertwined with "traditional" Wicca, though Dianic Wicca's feminist views stem largely from second wave feminism. Dianic Wicca is a female born religion based upon Womens' shared Blood Mysteries. When asked why men are excluded from the goddess rituals, Budapest has stated in a 2007 interview:"It’s the natural law, as women fare so fares the world, their children, and that’s everybody. If you
lift up the women you have lifted up humanity. Men have to learn to develop their own mysteries.
Where is the order of Attis? Pan? Zagreus? Not only research it, but then popularize it as well as I
have done. Where are the Dionysian rites? I think men are lazy in this aspect by not working this
up for themselves. It’s their own task, not ours. "
See also
- Goddess movementGoddess movementThe Goddess movement is an overall trend in religious or spiritual beliefs or practices which emerged out of second-wave feminism, predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s...
- Feminist theologyFeminist theologyFeminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective...
- Zsuzsanna BudapestZsuzsanna BudapestZsuzsanna Emese Mokcsay is an American author of Hungarian origin who writes on feminist spirituality and Dianic Wicca under the pen name and religious name Zsuzsanna Budapest or Z. Budapest. She is the High Priestess and the founding mother of the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1, the first feminist,...
- Sacred feminine
- ThealogyThealogyThealogy, a neologism coined by Isaac Bonewits in 1974, is a discourse that reflects upon the meaning of Goddess and Her relationship to life forms. It is a discourse that critically engages the beliefs, wisdom, practices, questions, and values of the Goddess community, both past and present...
- McFarland DianicMcFarland DianicThe McFarland Dianic tradition was founded by Morgan McFarland and Mark Roberts in the early 1970s. It is distinguished from the feminist traditions of Dianic Wicca begun by Zsuzsanna Budapest, Starhawk, and others....
Further reading
- Interview with Starhawk in Modern Pagans: An Investigation of Contemporary Pagan Practices, ed. V. Vale and John Sulak, Re/Search, San Francisco, 2001, ISBN 1-889307-10-6.
- Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston: Beacon press, 1979; 1986. ISBN 0-8070-3237-9. Especially "Ch 8: Women, Feminism , and the Craft".
- Budapest, Zsuzsanna. Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, The. 1980 (2003 electronic). ISBN 0-914728-67-9.
- Dianic Tradition, Dianic Wicca, MacFarland Dianic Tradition.
- On Starhawk, the Reclaiming Tradition and feminism, M. Macha NightMare.
- Ochshorn, Judith and Cole, Ellen. Women's Spirituality, Women's Lives. Haworth Press 1995. ISBN 1-56024-722-3. pp 122 & 133 referring to Z Budapest, Diane Stein, and Shekinah Mountainwater among others in a discussion of Dianic Witchcraft.
- Barrett, Ruth. Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creation. Llewellyn Publications; 2007, ISBN 0738709247. Earlier publishing: Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Creating Ritual in the Dianic Wiccan Tradition. Authorhouse; 2004, ISBN 1418482951.