THE FUTURE OF WICCA

Before we can clearly see some of the possibilities of the future of Wicca, we need to look briefly at its past.

The Craft of Wicca has ancient antecedents that go back thousands upon thousands of years, and yet its history only extends back to the late 30's and early 40's of the twentieth century.

How can this be so? The answer is that for all the time that humanity has existed there have been at least some people who have had 'odd' abilities, a different way of viewing the world, who have sought deeper knowledge, and who have had a worldview much akin to that of modern Witches.

In ancient times this also carried through into the way many if not most people viewed the world- as fully alive with spirit and power, as having more depth in its patterns and manifest forms than is generally perceived.

In all the ages some of these people have fulfilled very necessary roles within their communities as Wise Women, Seers, Healers, Cunning men, Shamans, Sorcerers and makers of potions, lotions and unguents for local people.

In elder times also some of these people gathered together in circles, colleges and other groups to collectively develop their skills and talents, and so as to enable them to support each other and broaden all of their spiritual and personal development.

Some of these in Britain we know of as Priestesses or Druids, and now Wiccans or Witches. So from this we can see that though the spiritual lineages and continuity of these groups may have been disrupted by the destructive activities of Crosstianity, their spiritual heritage has been inherited and is now continued by those of the Craft- Witches, Wiccans, The Wise.

The Witchcraft revival began in the 30's and 40's of the previous century through the efforts of people like Gerald Gardner, Pat and Arnold Crowther, Doreen Valiente, Alex and Maxine  Sanders and other people, and from their efforts the Craft has grown and developed at an incredible rate.

In just 60-70 years the Craft has grown from a small, secretive scattering of individuals and groups into a world wide movement with millions of people actively involved and learning its mysteries and joys and exploring its depths and power. Now in the 21st century Wicca is poised to become a spiritual way that will enrich, inform and empower the lives of more millions. Both those who will walk its pathways, and those who will benefit from the skills and wisdom  of its people.

For the future of the Craft I see a range of possibilities: One is that Wicca will just continue as it is. This is OK, but not the best that Wicca could be. Currently the Craft in Britain suffers from a lack of communication, from a lack of peer support and review, and from being still very secretive in ways that though very understandable, mean that there is not yet a reliable communication network or referral system for new seekers, and here and there exploitive people can hide behind this secrecy.

This situation is different in the US where many people are far more open, where the Craft is more widespread and often better organised, and where there are far better lines of communication. The situation in the US isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than it is in the UK.

In order to bring about the kinds of growth and evolution that Wicca needs we obviously need a strong network of support. Mostly because Wicca is still regarded as being some form of satanism or similar by some foolish people, or that it's regarded as being something strange and unnatural. Many Wiccans are still subject to abuse, discrimination and persecution. For a Wiccan working in a professional position, secrecy is often a necessity to protect them and their position. Recent cases of discrimination and persecution show us how important a strong network of support and protection still is in this country.

If we can bring this into being more Wiccans will be able to be more open and accessible, and from that we will be able to build a strong communication network. Within that also, if we do have such a network of communication and referral, exploitive people will not be able to masquerade as Wiccans, and new seekers will be able to avoid them and be well supported by trustworthy people.

From that also will grow a further network of peer support and peer review. Wiccans are increasingly becoming integrated into our society as helpers, healers, teachers, counsellors and consolers. This brings two factors into play:

One is that those who do fulfill these roles in society need to have the appropriate skills to do so, and the other is that they also need support and encouragement to help them to function well. Every caring profession knows this- Doctors, Nurses, Counsellers and Psychologists can suffer badly from stress, overload and emotional burnout if they don't have someone to share things with, the company of like-minded and informed people to unburden their stresses with, and the feedback, checks and balances to be gained from having their peers advise, guide and review their work.

We need these structures- we need to ensure that our people do have the necessary skills- A High Priestess needs people skills, counselling skills, 'Motherly' skills and teaching skills  as equally as she needs magickal skills, energy sensing and ritual skills. So do High Priests, and all other craft Elders.

If we do have these structures in place we can ensure that our Elders can help all those in need through having the requisite skills, and that our Elders don't struggle on alone without them.

Whether we function just within our own circles and Covens, or whether we do function as well within society as a whole, we need these skills and structures.

An example from my school days is illustrative; Some of my school teachers were extremely knowledgeable about their favoured subjects. Some of them were also extremely poor teachers who lacked the necessary communication and other skills to actually teach their subjects to their pupils. Some of them mumbled, some of them were extremely impatient, some of them had quite flawed personalities.  'Such a shame, all that knowledge and a total incapacity to share it and help those who sought to learn from them. 

I'll take any bet you want to lay that at least some of you reading this material know exactly what I mean from your own life experience.

A brilliant writer may not be even a passably good teacher of English grammar. A mathematical genius may have extreme difficulty sharing their genius, and a powerful Wiccan may have no patience at all with those less knowledgeable and who might appear a little slow on the uptake at times.

Help those people to develop the skills they need to teach effectively, and.........

And also provide those people with a network of support, communication and peer review and the whole matrix of possibilities opens and deepens in front of us.

In direct terms we can address this in these ways:-

• That we need greater levels of communication, friendship and support among groups, circles, Covens and individuals. We quite simply need to know each other, who we are, where we are, and something at least of all our individual ways and traditions. 
  
  
• From this we can refer new seekers to Covens, groups or teachers in their area, when or if we are not able to help them ourselves as individuals/groups  or provide the resources they need.
  
  
• We could then also implement collective strategies to help those who do suffer discrimination, persecution or similar problems.

This needs to function at local, national and international levels.

• That we need to reasonably agree some common standards of training, assessment and support for those who hive off from parent Covens, or who otherwise found new groups or training programs, while continuing to respect the autonomy and independence of every Coven, group or individual.
  
  
• In that we simply need to ensure that those who are regarded as Elders and Teachers of the Craft do truly have the skills and resources to fulfill those roles fully and adequately, so that we do not allow inadequate people to appear to be representative of Wicca, or to set themselves up and act in ways that reflect badly on Wicca as a whole. 
  
  
• Within that we would also need to help existing High Priestesses and High Priests by providing resources to help them develop or enhance their teaching, counselling and other people skills, as well as magickal, psychic and similar skills.
  
  
• A reasonably commonly agreed structure of training and development for all those in training within Covens would also be necessary, in order to ensure that those who do grow through the Coven structure and found new Covens have the necessary skills to function well within their roles.
  
  
• We need to achieve all of this without becoming a 'Church'- a movement that is bound by repressive rules and over-bearing structures which kill the spirit of the Craft, and which would stifle its power and potential.

Two last points:

• That Teachers, Counsellors, Psychologists and other professionals already have these kinds of structures in place, so we don't need to develop them entirely from scratch.
  
  
• That some of what I've outlined here already exists; at least in potential; here and there around the world. 

Here in Britain we have the 'Pagan Federation', and which I would strongly urge all Witches and Pagans of all persuasions in Britain to join. There's a link to the Pagan Federation website in the Links section of this website, and it also has its own section in this site.

The PF isn't perfect. It's largely a volunteer organisation and therefore can suffer quite badly from both  communication and administration  problems at times, but it's the best we have right now, and if Witches and Pagans in the UK support it, it will consistently improve.

Even as it now stands the PF provides excellent support for those suffering discrimination and persecution, and with our support it can expand and provide even more resources.

This potentially then is the future of Wicca: That it matures and continues to evolve along the broad lines that I've outlined here, and so that it can increasingly take back and enrich its roles- both as the Witches Way within its own circles, and as the Craft of the Wise in the world at large.

Blessed Be,

Alan Tickhill

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