Wiccan Laws
Encyclopedia
The Wiccan Laws, also called the Craft Laws, the Old Laws, the Ardanes (or Ordains) or simply The Laws are the traditional laws of Wicca
from the Book of Shadows
. The text of the Book of Shadows was theoretically passed down from generation to generation within the New Forest Coven
, which was the coven that introduced Gerald Gardner
to Wicca
. It is not known whether the New Forest Coven actually existed, as most covens are reclusive by nature. Many Wiccans treat these laws as guidelines instead of governing rules.
It is believed that Gardner could have written these laws himself, or at least expanded them. The laws were first revealed by Gardner to other members of the Craft in 1957, after a disagreement arose over Gardner's continued interviews with the media despite his own rules of secrecy. The laws were originally unnumbered, and used the spelling wica, rather than Wicca or Wiccan.
The Laws contain correctly used archaic language, however they mix modern and archaic phrases, suggesting a possible assembly from older fragments. The Laws do not appear in earlier known Wiccan documents, including Gardner's Ye bok of Ye Art Magical, Text A or B, or in any of Doreen Valiente
’s notebooks including one commonly referred to as Text C.
Several of the provisions in these laws seem rather disagreeable to many Wiccans of today. For example, its sexist language ("as a man loveth a woman by mastering her"), and cursing people and condemning them to an eternity in the Christian hell
("And if any break these Laws, even under torture, THE CURSE OF THE GODDESS SHALL BE UPON THEM, so they may never be reborn on earth and may remain where they belong, in the hell of the Christians.") Another controversial law which irked Valiente was that: "And the greatest virtue of a High Priestess be that she recognize that youth is necessary to the representative of the Goddess. So will she gracefully retire in favor of a younger woman, should the coven so decide in council." Noticeably the Laws have several anachronisms and refer to the threat of being burnt for witchcraft even though this did not happen in England or Wales, where witches were hanged during the witch hunts.
Valiente, who was High Priestess at the time, as well as others in the coven, were highly suspicious of the Laws and their patriarchal language, and wondered why Gardner had not produced them before. Parts also seemed suspiciously similar to extracts from Gardner's books. Their refusal to accept the Laws eventually led to Doreen Valiente
and others leaving Gardner’s coven later that year. If Gardner did forge the Laws, this would have implications for earlier aspects of Wiccan history. The Laws nevertheless became a standard part of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows.
To Gardner's original 30 Laws Alexandrian Wicca
added another 130. This much larger set of Laws was first published in King of the Witches by June Johns in 1969, and later, in slightly altered form, in both The Book of Shadows (1971) and The Grimoire of Lady Sheba (1972) by Jessie Wicker Bell (aka Lady Sheba). In these two books, Bell also published the bulk of the Wiccan Book of Shadows, introducing to the general public for the first time the possibility of practicing Wiccan-style ritual. Accordingly the Laws are known by some non-initiatory Wiccans as Lady Sheba's Laws or 161 Rules of the Witch (her title for them).
Lady Sheba, self-styled "Queen of the Witches" of America, originally claimed she had received the material from her grandmother, however the text has been identified as being plagiarised (with errors) from an Alexandrian
Book of Shadows no earlier than the mid-1960s.
In 1979 a Council of Elders at a festival in America produced a set of heavily revised Laws which made them more acceptable to modern Wiccans.
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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."...
from the Book of Shadows
Book of Shadows
A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious texts and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Originating within the Gardnerian tradition of the Craft, the first Book of Shadows was created by the pioneering Wiccan Gerald Gardner sometime in the late 1940s...
. The text of the Book of Shadows was theoretically passed down from generation to generation within the New Forest Coven
New Forest coven
The New Forest coven were a group of Neopagan witches or Wiccans who allegedly met around the area of the New Forest in southern England during the 1930s and 1940s...
, which was the coven that introduced Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
to 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 is not known whether the New Forest Coven actually existed, as most covens are reclusive by nature. Many Wiccans treat these laws as guidelines instead of governing rules.
It is believed that Gardner could have written these laws himself, or at least expanded them. The laws were first revealed by Gardner to other members of the Craft in 1957, after a disagreement arose over Gardner's continued interviews with the media despite his own rules of secrecy. The laws were originally unnumbered, and used the spelling wica, rather than Wicca or Wiccan.
The Laws contain correctly used archaic language, however they mix modern and archaic phrases, suggesting a possible assembly from older fragments. The Laws do not appear in earlier known Wiccan documents, including Gardner's Ye bok of Ye Art Magical, Text A or B, or in any of Doreen Valiente
Doreen Valiente
Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente , who also went under the craft name Ameth, was an influential English Wiccan who was involved in a number of different early traditions, including Gardnerianism, Cochrane's Craft and the Coven of Atho...
’s notebooks including one commonly referred to as Text C.
Several of the provisions in these laws seem rather disagreeable to many Wiccans of today. For example, its sexist language ("as a man loveth a woman by mastering her"), and cursing people and condemning them to an eternity in the Christian hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
("And if any break these Laws, even under torture, THE CURSE OF THE GODDESS SHALL BE UPON THEM, so they may never be reborn on earth and may remain where they belong, in the hell of the Christians.") Another controversial law which irked Valiente was that: "And the greatest virtue of a High Priestess be that she recognize that youth is necessary to the representative of the Goddess. So will she gracefully retire in favor of a younger woman, should the coven so decide in council." Noticeably the Laws have several anachronisms and refer to the threat of being burnt for witchcraft even though this did not happen in England or Wales, where witches were hanged during the witch hunts.
Valiente, who was High Priestess at the time, as well as others in the coven, were highly suspicious of the Laws and their patriarchal language, and wondered why Gardner had not produced them before. Parts also seemed suspiciously similar to extracts from Gardner's books. Their refusal to accept the Laws eventually led to Doreen Valiente
Doreen Valiente
Doreen Edith Dominy Valiente , who also went under the craft name Ameth, was an influential English Wiccan who was involved in a number of different early traditions, including Gardnerianism, Cochrane's Craft and the Coven of Atho...
and others leaving Gardner’s coven later that year. If Gardner did forge the Laws, this would have implications for earlier aspects of Wiccan history. The Laws nevertheless became a standard part of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows.
To Gardner's original 30 Laws Alexandrian Wicca
Alexandrian Wicca
Alexandrian Wicca is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the United Kingdom in the 1960s...
added another 130. This much larger set of Laws was first published in King of the Witches by June Johns in 1969, and later, in slightly altered form, in both The Book of Shadows (1971) and The Grimoire of Lady Sheba (1972) by Jessie Wicker Bell (aka Lady Sheba). In these two books, Bell also published the bulk of the Wiccan Book of Shadows, introducing to the general public for the first time the possibility of practicing Wiccan-style ritual. Accordingly the Laws are known by some non-initiatory Wiccans as Lady Sheba's Laws or 161 Rules of the Witch (her title for them).
Lady Sheba, self-styled "Queen of the Witches" of America, originally claimed she had received the material from her grandmother, however the text has been identified as being plagiarised (with errors) from an Alexandrian
Alexandrian Wicca
Alexandrian Wicca is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the United Kingdom in the 1960s...
Book of Shadows no earlier than the mid-1960s.
In 1979 a Council of Elders at a festival in America produced a set of heavily revised Laws which made them more acceptable to modern Wiccans.
External references
- The Laws according to the Alexandrian Book of Shadows, beginning on page 3. Page retrieved 2009-12-31.
- Lady Sheba's version of the Laws on sacred-texts.com. Page retrieved 2009-12-31.
- Annotated edition of the Laws at Wicca for the Rest of Us. Page retrieved 2009-12-31.
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