Part 6

by A.C. Fisher Aldag

Once upon a time, an author wrote a series of fictional books about a secret society which had existed in Europe for centuries. Its clandestine practice came to America in the late 19^th century, where it took hold immediately. This tradition was passed down from father to son. It required initiation ceremonies, covert rituals, and a vow of silence. Some even believed it required human sacrifice. For years, scholars and authorities debated if this fraternity really existed, or was simply a legend. When the author first published his books, some believed that the society was just a fabrication. Finally, other members of this secret organization came forward to substantiate its actual existence.

Witchcraft? Kabbala? Voudoun? Santaria? Freemasonry? Nope. The author was Mario Puzo. His first book in the series was called The Godfather. The tradition was La Cosa Nostra, commonly known as the Mafia. The Federal Bureau of Investigation speculates that this organized criminal fraternity has existed in America since the 1880s, but survived in its native Sicily for centuries prior. The Mafia may be responsible for 45% of all crime in our nation. Yet when Puzo first published his book, law enforcement officials disbelieved, scholars scoffed, and the general public had their doubts, but made The Godfather a bestseller anyway.

Like the Mafia, I believe that witchcraft, magical traditions and Earth-based religions have flown under the radar for centuries. Think of other societies that are common in America that you might not know much about. Mexican-American migrant workers. The urban hip-hop culture. Ethnic Basques. The Scots-Irish folks who live in Appalachia. People of Romani descent, also called Gypsies. Your local Native American tribes. And how much do you really know about the post-Civil War culture of African Americans? Now, is it so impossible to believe that hereditary Pagans may have lived next to your family for generations, and you didn’t even know about it?

As I’ve already suggested, much of the material contributing to Gardner’s Wicca can be traced back to working-class British folk beliefs. For instance, his writings about healing techniques in the Book of Shadows are accurate renderings of genuine home cures or herbal remedies, taken from folkloric medical practice. One recipe closely resembles a topical sports analgesic which contains menthol. The idea to use the power of suggestion in healing, or to utilize hypnosis to reduce symptoms, wasn’t commonly practiced by the conventional medical establishment until after Gardner had passed away, yet these "magic" techniques are outlined in his work.

In the "Ardanes", or laws, imprisoned witches were reassured that before they are burned, "Dwale will reach you, you will feel naught". Prisoners were told this would bring death, or perhaps that they would be unconscious when they die. Witches were also cautioned not to confess under "the engine" or torture rack, as "Dwale will reach you", and that it will cause "a swoon". This was desirable because Christians feared anyone dying while under torture, thus the inquisitors would stop "questioning" a suspect who’d fallen unconscious. Some scholars have explained the use of the arcane word Dwale by saying that Gardner got it out of the Oxford English Dictionary. However, this definition lists dwale as belladonna, deadly nightshade or "a stupefying or soporific drink". Okay, here are a couple problems with that: 1.) If a prisoner is being led to "the pyre", or being "engined" or tortured on the rack, would they be allowed to stop and enjoy a nice, hot cuppa tea? 2.) "Soporific" means inducing sleep, not necessarily a deadly drug 3.) Herbalists may tell you that English belladonna taken orally in liquid form is poison, and 4.) If it were going to induce "a swoon", nightshade would have to be applied topically in the form of an unguent, such as flying ointment.

I believe that this particular Ardane dates from the Middle Ages, during the era commonly referred to as "the Burning Times". It may have been genuinely intended for folk magic practitioners, so that they would not confess under torture and reveal the identity of other non-Christians. I also think that the "dwale" referred to is the old Brythonic word "dwaile" or "duale", which means any poisonous plant. It makes much more sense for a whole herb to be given to a prisoner facing torture, so that the individual could make an ointment to help induce a trance state before being forced to confess. Or perhaps the herb was slipped to a witch being led to the gallows or pyre, so that she could eat it in its pure form, and die of heart failure before suffering pain. But hey, this is just my theory.

Gardner may have used written literature as well as common legend and lore, although his information may have been based on older European folkways. For instance, Gardner’s image of the Crone may come from the Greek legends of Hecate, the goddess of the witches. He may also have used the symbol of "Besom Betty" or "Molly" found in English folk plays, whose costume often resembled the stereotypical pointy-hat witch. The Betty or Molly character carried a broom, and swept the audience’s feet to clear away the past year or to banish evil spirits. She often helped to resurrect the dying characters of St. George or Robin Hood. Molly may be related to the word Malkin, the Middle English term for an elderly woman or cat. She may have roots in the Mailte y Nos, the old lady of the night from Welsh folklore or the Germanic "hag rider", who rode along with the God of Death to collect souls. Gardner may have borrowed his ceremonial sweeping of the circle, his ritual about the fallen and resurrected god, and his lore of the Crone from these sources.

The "Lord of Misrule", found in some Wiccan ceremonies for Samhain or Yule, is derived from an authentic folk tradition. In the middle ages, the "Feast of Fools" was held around Christmas time, and a Lord of Misrule was crowned to preside over the drunken, rowdy festivities. Comic rites included parodies of Catholic ceremonies and spoofing hierarchal figures. Servants could change position with masters for a short period of time. The custom was banned in Britain in 1431, then outlawed yet again in 1555. During the Renaissance, the popular French "Feast of Fools" was held in the springtime. Festivities included cross-dressing and other role reversals, comic fool figures, pranks, and other silly events which are still practiced today on Mardi Gras or April Fool’s Day. All of these traditions were likely based on a similar festival held in ancient Rome during the Saturnalia holiday. The Roman Lord of Misrule was able to command people to do any action he pleased, or force them to pay a forfeit. By some accounts, he was ritually sacrificed at the end of his reign. This character may be related to the comic Fool figure of the mummer’s play or Morris dance. The Fool card in the tarot deck may represent him. He might have his roots in the Scandinavian, Icelandic and Germanic god Loki, the Greco-Roman forest deity Pan or the troublesome Celtic spirits including fairies, pixies, the boucca, pookahs, or Puck. Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, was a nature spirit dedicated to mischief who appeared in woodcuts, poems and of course Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. One Medieval woodcut print depicts Robin Goodfellow as a "God of the Witches", a horned deity bearing a priappic wand, surrounded by a circle of dancers. All of these sources may have contributed to the folkloric character dedicated to misrule.

Many of the legends, deities and practices of modern Wicca might vary somewhat from the older British folk customs, which in turn are quite different from the "classical" Celtic texts or Saxon sagas. There’s a reason for this variance: The Paganism of the British Isles was never cohesive, like the Greek or Roman pantheons and myths. This means that not everyone in pre-Christian British society worshipped the same deities in the same way. There were many Celtic nations, including the "Insular Brythonic", or Welsh, Cornish and British, and the "Goidelic", or Irish and Scots. Various geographic areas contained dozens of tribes and villages, each with their own unique religious customs. While there are similarities, the traditions, deities, and legends may change significantly from one area to another. For instance, Brighid is a goddess of smithcraft, cattle and poetry in Ireland, while Brigantia is a goddess of war who is probably the namesake of Britain. Some scholars believe that both are representations of the same goddess figure. Since there was no written Celtic history, only an oral tradition, religious practices and beliefs changed and adapted to the location as well as to the times.

The Roman incursions certainly had a profound impact on the Celtic nations, adding Latin words to the Celtic languages, merging holiday customs, and creating a new Romano-British culture. After the subjugation, much of Britain adopted Roman gods and goddesses, or depicted their own indigenous deities as Roman images. These deities appear on coins, in local place names, in artwork and in legend. An example of a Romano-Celtic goddess includes Sulis-Minerva, found in the shrines and Roman bathing facilities of what is now Bath, England. Coventina, a water nymph or goddess found in settlements along Hadrian’s Wall bordering Scotland, is depicted as a triform entity. Neither Sulis nor Coventina appear in any other Roman pantheon. Depictions of these two deities occur only in these areas, and their legends and lore aren’t found in any other Celtic literature, either. With the advent of Christianity, the Romanized Celts often worshiped Jesus Christ right along with their own local gods.

The Germanic and Norse tribes began attacking the British Islands around the year 300 C.E., although they’d been trading with the Britons for decades prior. These "Viking" raiders also came from a wide range of locations, and their languages, traditions and legends within each society were quite different. The commerce and armed incursions brought many northern gods, customs and place-names to the British Islands. Cultural and religious practices of both Romano-Celtic Pagans and Christians were affected, some supplanted, some changed, and still others added. For example, the Germanic custom of the May pole might have been grafted onto the Roman celebration of Floralia with its dances and floral decorations, which was in turn added to the Beltaine bonfires and woodland excursions. However, we can’t always tell what tradition came from where, and when.

Many of the original Celtic religious customs were further divided by social and economic class. The Druidic or bardic class was composed of lawyers, judges, physicians and other educated individuals. The warrior class included lords and soldiers, and the working class was made up of artisans, farmers, craftsmen and other people concerned with material survival. Each class had its own mythology, lore, rites and activities. The Druids’ ceremonies were likely quite different from those of the laboring class. Much of the Druidic knowledge perished when Roman leader Seutonus Paulinus embarked on a campaign to wipe out the priesthood. During the Norman Conquest, when the British nobility were converted to Christianity, it was assumed that their troops would follow suit. Because of these cultural transitions, most of the Celtic or Anglo-Saxon Pagan customs which survive to the present day are those of the working class. Practices were further divided by gender, and many of the women’s mysteries may have been lost over time.

The Norman Conquest established a new form of Christianity along with the feudal system throughout the British Islands. As many of the English and Irish people slowly became Christianized, it’s likely that much of the material of the old religion was incorporated into the new faith. Some customs may have merged, becoming "composite" traditions. For instance, Brighid was a pre-Christian goddess who later became the Catholic saint Bridget. One of her sacred wells at Kildare (Cil Dara) in Ireland became the site of an abbey and church. People continued to leave totemic gifts at this shrine in the reverence of Goddess Brighid or St. Bridget, dropping coins into the holy well and tying rags onto a nearby clootie tree. The two religions seem to have successfully merged, with Christianity viewed as the "official" faith recognized by the authorities. Both traditions have survived to the present day. Several of the sacred Bridget’s Wells across the U.K. have Catholic statuary, rosaries, prayer cards and other Christian imagery placed right alongside Brighid’s crosses, Bridey dolls, raggy bushes and other Pagan symbols.

Another example of a composite tradition is the Carmina Gaedelica, a book of Scots folklore compiled in the early 20^th century by Alexander Carmichael. This book contains both Pagan and Christian rituals, prayers and spells, showing that each religious practice existed simultaneously into modern times. One more example is the celebration of Martinmas in September, when older agricultural traditions are wedded to the veneration of Saint Martin. Folkloric ceremonies including the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance are still held on or near this date. The antlers are blessed by a Christian cleric, and stored inside a church building. This dance still retains overtones of Paganism, including a stylized ritual hunt and a cross-dressing Maid Marian figure. Perhaps the older customs were given a veneer of Christianity as a deliberate effort to preserve them.

In the book Witchcraft, a History, author P.G. Maxwell Stuart writes about the use of Penitential books by parish priests, and how these journals often show the intermingling of Christian and Pagan beliefs. Stuart theorized that the old religion existed in Europe well past the Middle Ages, influencing Christianity in the matters of attitude toward nature and divinity. The common people believed that ritual and magic could affect the weather, fertility and healing, although Christian authorities sometimes blamed "demonic" forces for these abilities. Other sources show that the books also reference belief in fairies, incantations, divination and a reverence for a goddess, long after the population had supposedly converted.

The secular practices of ancient people were also incorporated into the newer societies. Many aspects of the Celtic Brehon law were translated into British common law. Several Saxon property customs were adapted to the new land. Since the general social, legal, and political systems were based on the original religious customs and practices, if a "new order" had been imposed, the society might have collapsed. Hence much of the old tradition was preserved under new auspices. Religious laws became secular ethical systems, gods became local heroes, holy sites became churches or shrines, and Pagan holidays were adopted by the Christian calendar. Folk religions that were ingrained into the culture survived, even through the era of persecution commonly referred to as the "Burning Times".