Wicca a religion of clergy? Something I don't get...

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[Sperran]

Under say Judaism, any adult (over age 13 for boys, 12 or 12-1/2 for girls) can lead services. There is no part of the worship service that can't be done by any adult Jew that is done by any rabbi.

Reclaiming follows that part of the tradition, that also comes from early Wicca, that any member of the coven can handle any part of the ritual.  Starhawks use of everybody being clergy is to bridge that conceptal gap.

I'm sure it is no coincidence that Starhawk gravitated towards practices that in some way mirror Judaism since she was raised in a Jewish household.

Sperran

[Darkhawk]

I knew it wasn't BTW, but didn't know it wasn't derived from it either. Besides that doen't Feri and Reclaiming have Wiccan-influences or are they completly different traditions?

It's my understanding that Victor Anderson and Gardner had some correspondence as people who were working with similar material; what level of influence they had on each other, though, I don't know.

Feri derives from American folk magic and practice in much the same way Wicca derives from British folk magic and practice; there will be obvious parallels, just due to the effects of colonisation.  They are effectively different origin points, though.

[Waldfrau]

I'm sure it is no coincidence that Starhawk gravitated towards practices that in some way mirror Judaism since she was raised in a Jewish household.

Sperran

I didn't make that connection! But I think her political views also play a big part there.

btw, in one of the first rituals I read she used the word 'patriarchy'.  (not saying it is wrong, just didn't expect it to turn up in a ritual)

[Waldfrau]

It's my understanding that Victor Anderson and Gardner had some correspondence as people who were working with similar material; what level of influence they had on each other, though, I don't know.

Feri derives from American folk magic and practice in much the same way Wicca derives from British folk magic and practice; there will be obvious parallels, just due to the effects of colonisation.  They are effectively different origin points, though.

Thanks, that's a clear explanation. Wished she'd wrote that in her first chapter instead of all the shamanism and archaic worship of the goddess stuff.

[Sperran]

I didn't make that connection! But I think her political views also play a big part there.

I'm sure that it does; social and political ideas are obviously very important to her faith.  But having read several of her books, I can see the fingerprints of her birth religion also.  Actually, I would argue that the two are intertwined.  The Reform Jewish community in the states is well known for its active role in social justice causes.

Sperran

[SunflowerP]

Thanks, that's a clear explanation. Wished she'd wrote that in her first chapter instead of all the shamanism and archaic worship of the goddess stuff.

Back when it was written, most folks were pretty fixated on the idea of a common origin for all ultimately-Euro-derived religious witchcraft.  That's also part of where the conflation between Wicca and other religious witchcraft comes from - at the time, "witchcraft" was the far more common term in use for any and all of these paths.  (You'll notice that Starhawk's only reference to "Wicca" is in context of the Old English word from which "witch" developed.)

Sunflower

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