conferences in London. Obviously you can’t talk about the details of Wiccan ceremonies, but I am wondering in general how you feel that rituals of that kind affect one’s state of consciousness. It’s a big question I realize but what kind of person did you feel yourself becoming by means of your dedication to that path?
This page top: the moon behind clouds
This page above: a Roman statue of Luna Far left: a modern re-imagining
of a moon goddess by the sea shore
Wicca is a tradition focused on duality in its many manifestations, primarily expressed through the manifestation of the feminine divine as a Lunar Goddess, and the masculine divine as a Horned God of Nature – but certainly not limited to this. It developed out of practices which had gone before, taking inspiration from the work and teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the writings of Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune, folklorists such as Charles G. Leland, and other older traditions, such as the grimoire traditions of Europe including infamous works such as the Key of Solomon the King. Rituals, when correctly performed, can have a profound and lasting effect on the practitioners involved. Experience of the Divine or something ‘Other’ than ourselves, in a state of heightened awareness, allows us to change our perceptions of the world we find ourselves in, and through that we are able to have a deeper understanding of ourselves and of the other living beings – physical and non-physical – we share this space with. Being a practitioner of the Craft has changed me, but trying to define that with just a few words would be impossible – at best any attempt would trivialize it. As with all mystical traditions it is experiential, not intellectual.