199 lines
9.1 KiB
Plaintext
199 lines
9.1 KiB
Plaintext
Gardnerianism
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by Kyril Oakwind & Judy Harrow
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appearing in the spring/summer 1989 issue of FireHeart
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Each year, Garderians come together for the Annual Samhain
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Garderian Gather. In the years since it began, the Gather
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has grown from a small local get-together to a national
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gathering, with participants from both East and West coasts.
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This year, England was represented as well ! Our experience
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in the Gardnerian community has shown that we are not a
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homogeneous group. These family reunions have allowed us to
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maintain a certain amount of continutity while learning
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about of differences. There is a spectrum within Gardnerian
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practice. Kryil represents the more traditional or
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conservative side of the family, while the practices of
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Judy's coven look more eclectic or innovative. We felt that
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by working together, we could describe our tradition more
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clearly than either of us could writing alone.
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Gardnerianism as a distinct Tradition began with the
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writings of Gerald B. Gardner. He was initiated into the
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New Forest coven in England by "old Dorothy" Clutterbuck.
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During World War II, Gardner participated in the efforts of
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British Witches, led by Dorothy Clutterbuck, to turn back
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Germany's invasion troops. Gardner was active in the Craft
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and published a fictional novel about medeival Witchcraft in
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1949. He started a Museum of witchcraft on the Isle of Man
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after the 1951 repeal of the last anti-witchcraft law in
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England. Coming out publicly as a Witch in 1954, he
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published "Witchcraft Today".
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At that time, he believed the Craft was dying out-most of
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the members were older and few young members were being
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initiated. Gardner stronly believed not only in
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reincarnation, but that he would be reborn to the craft. If
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it died out, this could not be, and so he dedicated himself
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to reviving the Craft. Unable to directly reveal much of
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his coven's workings, he developed a system that was a
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systhesis of various elements from Masonic ritual,
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ceremonial magick, French Mediterranean Craft and the
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teachings of his coven. Gardner and later Doreen Valiente,
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rewrote some of the ritual, improving its poetic qualities
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and adding yet another dimension. As generations of
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Witches, they became the basis of Garnderianism, and those
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who practiced these rituals as handed down (not as
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published) became known as Garnderians.
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Gardneriansim was brought to America by the Bucklands in
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1962. Their coven was passed on to Lady Theos and Pheonix
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in 1972 and to Lady Rhiannon in 1985.
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Judy notes that the existence of the earlier New Forest
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coven is unproven, and not particularly important. We may
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not know wether our Craft is old or new. We know for sure
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that it works. What we can prove is that Gerald Gardner,
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Doreen Valiete, and their associates did develop a ritual
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and symbolic system, drawing from many sources including
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their own inspirations. Their single greatest innovation
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was to make the Goddess their main focus. The fruit of that
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generation's research, innovation and creativity was a
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strong and flexible ritual structure that forms a foundation
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for the research, innovation and creativity of later
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generations. In fact, we know that each successive
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generations of Gardnerians did augment the materials they
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received, and develop the Tradition. As we live with this
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material, use it and practice it, while continuing to study
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whatever Pagan sources we can find and, we hope, grow in our
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understanding both experientially and intellectually, we
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must and will make changes. A tradition that does not
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change is dead.
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Gardnerisnism, like mush of the craft, is an initiatory,
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Mystery Tradition. To become a member of the Tradition, an
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individual must be initiated by a Garnderian who was
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initiated by a Gardnerian, on back to Gardner and his High
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Priestesses, and the initiation ritual used must be the
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Gardnerian ritual. Initiation is more than a rite of
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passage that unties the participants. They have not only
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undergone a similar death and rebirth but are reborn into a
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particular world. That world is a microcosm of the universe
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with a unique psychic pattern of the created by the
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particular ritual, energy current, and vibration of the
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Deity names used by the participants. They take on the
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group karma of their new family and clan, and they add to it
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as well. They also take an oath of secrecy.
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From a more eclectic Gardnerian viewpoint, any initiation
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ritual that is based on the Gardnerian structure and
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contains certain elements is a valid Gardnerian initiations.
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Lineage-the sense of family and continuity- is intensely
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important to Garderians. Within Judy's line, any variants
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on initiation or elevation rituals must be checked with the
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Priestess immediately senior to the one making the changes.
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In this way, we make room for growing understanding and
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changing times without sacrificing the continuity that all
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Garderians value equally.
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Kyril points out that Neo-Gardnerian or Gardnerian based
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groups using the published versions of Gardnerian rituals,
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while performing and having perfectly valid initiatory
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experiences, are not being "reborn" into the same psychic
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pattern as that of the Gardnerian Tradition. A real
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difference exists in the energy they draw on and the psychic
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patterning that is being done. Gardnerianism is very much a
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family. We have our different covens and our different
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practices, But the family feeling is very strong. We are
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bound by the magickal ties of the initiation and our oath of
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secrecy. We are bound by the ties of love. No amount of
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book knowledge can ever replace human contact and the
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feeling of belonging to a loving family. This is why Judy
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feels a re-written ritual within the context of lineage,
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makes you a Gardnerian in a way that a word-perfect ritual
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out of a book never could.
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Gardnerianism as a Tradition has a body of rituals passed
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down from Gardner that helps to form the core identity-a
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shared current of energy which is added to and drawn on by
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all the initiates, secret Deity names, and a specific group
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Karma. It also has a hierarchial form of leadership, a
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three degree systems of training, experienced and
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knowledgeable Witch Queens and Maguses (high Priestesses and
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High Priest who have successfully trained a coven to the
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point where another coven has hived off from theirs) from
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which to draw on. And there is an oath of secrecy.
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Judy feels Gardnerianism is not much so the body of
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rituals as the ritual system and the symbolic vocabulary.
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She tells her students that Gerald, Doreen and their
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associates were the architects, but we are the interior
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decorators. The structural pattern can be gotten from books
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almost as easily as a particular script can be. More and
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more, she believes that the personal affiliation, the group
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Karama if you will, and the energy current are as definitive
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as the ritual and symbol system.
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Our respect for lineage, and for the seniors within our
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lineage, is very important. But Judy does not think of it
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as hierarchical. In hierarchy, those "above" us would have
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been assigned by those above them, without our consent. We
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choose to work with our teachers, our Priest/esses, our
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Queens and Maguses out of respect and love and trust. The
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bond is freer and more flexiable- and far more real. Nor
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are they considered to be holier or higher, simply more
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experienced.
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The tree degree system is an uncomfortable but necessary
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form of quality control. An initiation is a statement, not
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only to the Gods, but also to the community, that this
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person is a Priest/ess, qualified to fulfill certain roles.
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If we initiate people, or do degree elevations, before they
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are competent, harm amy result.
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