Post by jadedsage on Mar 15, 2004 23:19:29 GMT -5
by Melissa Molnar, with information taken from writings by Kaatryn MacMorgan
(ladykaat@worldnet.att.net)
Universal Eclectic Wicca is a Tradition of Wicca that embraces a personal exploration into one's own religious paradigm, yet provides structure through the "Five Points of Wiccan Belief." "Eclectic" because we make room for growth, flexibility, and change by allowing members to utilize any source they find useful. Wicca must be eclectic, taking from all of its members, in order to prevent stagnation. We welcome new ideas while maintaining the old ones, because eclecticism and evolution are unavoidable. "Universal" because our beliefs encompass everything, and everything is encompassed by our beliefs. Wicca is universal because it can be used by all, and anything can be used in Wicca. The only limits to our religious universality are the Five Points of Wiccan Belief. All of these things make us Universal Eclectic Wiccans.
History
The Tradition that is now Universal Eclectic Wicca (UEW) came into being in the late 1960's as 'Silver Chalice', the core coven at an intentional community in the Westchester area of Upstate New York. By 1986 the land was sold and all the covens that originated with Silver Chalice were referred to as UEW. It is a broad-based tradition, originally created mainly by Jayne Tomas and expanded by Kaatryn MacMorgan, and its beginning purpose was to bring together the followers of several different groups whose leaders had learned from the same training circle. UEW is the result of these people, from varied covens, coming together to write a Tradition that encompassed all of their beliefs. UEW is based not on one or two sources, but an infinite number of sources.
One of the founding members, Lady Martia, eloquently states why UEW began:
"When this tradition was created, it was created in part out of necessity, we had a group of diverse people practicing similar but not the same beliefs, but it was also created out of a desperate need for reform in Wicca. We felt that too much power was centralized in men in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions we (Jayne, Martia and a few other founding members) came out of and that not enough focus was paid on men in the Dianic traditions the Californians came from.
We've been called Protestant Pagans, and I think that nowadays it is especially relevant because there is a lot of stuff going on that we don't agree with. So we do have some aspects of the reformation in Christianity. We teach that personal relationship with the Gods is more important than titles. We teach that the High Priest and the Witch Queen have no power outside their groups, no power over us. We say that our leaders should be judged on what they do, not titles they get. But most importantly, by being democratic, we've snipped our ties to the Holy Wicca empire in Britain. Many Pagan groups here are at the whim of people in the UK, people with no idea of the American Pagan experience, people of traditions with no ties here. And a lot of groups without those ties claim them these days, so it's the same thing. So, while our founders had ties with those kind of groups, we don't make a big deal out of it because we don't see it as a benefit. That's why we have something in common with the Calvinists—five points of belief that we define our faith by.
And just like the Pope hated Calvin for it, some people in Witchcraft aren't too happy to see us define our faith by those five points, because just like it depowered Rome in the average Christian's life, we've depowered London."
The Church of Universal Eclectic Wicca (CUEW) has existed since 1995 with its current name. Its main teaching outlet, the Coven Of The Far Flung Net (CFFN) is a virtual coven established in January, 1998. CFFN was one of the first virtual covens and is still providing free education in the Wiccan religion into the 21st century through mailing lists and interest based groups.
Core Beliefs and Standards of Conduct
In UEW, a knowledge of the Five Points of Wiccan Belief is required before entry into the First Circle of UEW. This prevents the teachers of UEW from having to return to a discussion of these five basic points every time they teach beginners.
1. The Wiccan Rede
The Central Ethic is the Wiccan Rede, the most common phrasing of which is "An' it harm none, do as you will." In UEW there is an expanded reading of the Rede: "If an action will cause harm, physically, emotionally, or mentally, to another person or one's Self, refrain from doing it. Strive to always be helpful and never willingly cause strife or harm to befall someone. Weigh your actions against each other, would you wish your actions taken against you? Take no action you would not wish to receive."
2. The Law of Return
The Second of the Five Points is the Law of Return, similar to the Karmic law, The Threefold law, or the Rule of Three. Basically it means that any energy you send out will come back to you, and that your actions will affect what happens to you. If you send out good energy and do good things, you will receive lots of good energy in return, and good things will happen to you. If you choose to send out negative energy or do evil things, then you will receive lots of negative energy in return, and bad things will happen to you.
3. The Ethic of Self-Responsibility
The Ethic of Self-Responsibility is quite simple, when you mess up, it's your fault. You are the only one responsible for your actions. If you make a mistake, you must take responsibility for it, not blame it on someone or something else. This relates to the Law of Return, as this third ethic has you accept the karma you give yourself, whether good or bad.
4. The Ethic of Constant Improvement
This Ethic also relates to The Law of Return and the Ethic of Self-Responsibility, together those two ethics expect us to change positively, and make it necessary to have the fourth, The Ethic of Constant Improvement. This means that as a Wiccan, you should always be learning, growing, and changing, making the world a better place. While the Ethic of Self-responsibility tells you to be responsible for yourself, this Ethic tells you to be responsible for the world around you. There are many ways to do this; becoming involved in ecology, conservation and recycling, teaching religious tolerance, and promoting racial harmony are just a few examples.
5. The Ethic of Attunement
The Last of the Five Points of Wiccan belief is the Ethic of Attunement. The purpose of many Wiccan rituals is to attune yourself with the Divine, to work towards being in harmony with the Divine. We believe in three groupings of divinity, as explained in UEW:
"The Divine Self (thou art god) is expressed within The Ethic of Self- Responsibility. No one is in control of the Self except for the creator of the Self, the person that "owns" the body. Our rites of Attunement to the divine self include the practice of Ritual, and occasionally, High Magick, but also includes meditation, dance, drumming and anything else that makes us feel "in touch" with our Selves."
"The Divinity of the Gods, or the "Other Powers" defies immediate explanation as do the gods themselves. In Wicca, our gods are more like parents, the Divine Father and the Great Mother, and less like the jealous God of Christianity. Our rites of Attunement to the Gods are nearly all celebratory in nature, with the more intensive rituals combining the divinity of the gods with the divinity of the Universe in worship of the lunar and harvest cycles."
"The Divinity of the Universe is subdivided into three groups. In Gaeism, the Planet Earth is a creature and each individual being, plant, animal or mineral is a part of that being, which is usually, but not always, named for the Goddess Gaea or Gaia. In Animism, each thing be it a windstorm or a rock, has a spirit of its own. In Cyclic Totality, or Cyclicism, it is the laws of the Universe which are divine, be they the cycles of celestial decay, or the harvests, or the birth-death-rebirth of the nitrogen cycle."
In UEW, we have something called "The Affirmation of Acknowledgment." It affirms our belief that any one member of a Faith cannot be held responsible for the actions of that entire faith. It would be ill-advised, for example, to hold all Christians accountable for the Spanish Inquisition or the Burning times.
The Affirmation of Acknowledgment:
I acknowledge the presence of other faiths* on my planet, indeed, right here in my city/town/village. I acknowledge that the followers of these faiths feel as strongly, maybe more so, than I do about mine.
I forgive the other faiths and wipe clean the slate between us. I cannot hold a person responsible for the acts of their faith, I cannot hold a faith at fault for individual practitioners. It is not my place to convert, or otherwise alter a person's religion. I invite discussion of beliefs without judgment of those holding them.
I acknowledge that I may be wrong, and I have found comfort in the fact that I may be right.
*The word "faith" is used here as opposed to Religion. A Faith is a non-specific religion or religious Philosophy, like Christianity. Religions within the Christian Faith include Catholicism, Fundamentalism, Protestantism, Vineyard Christianity and more.
(ladykaat@worldnet.att.net)
Universal Eclectic Wicca is a Tradition of Wicca that embraces a personal exploration into one's own religious paradigm, yet provides structure through the "Five Points of Wiccan Belief." "Eclectic" because we make room for growth, flexibility, and change by allowing members to utilize any source they find useful. Wicca must be eclectic, taking from all of its members, in order to prevent stagnation. We welcome new ideas while maintaining the old ones, because eclecticism and evolution are unavoidable. "Universal" because our beliefs encompass everything, and everything is encompassed by our beliefs. Wicca is universal because it can be used by all, and anything can be used in Wicca. The only limits to our religious universality are the Five Points of Wiccan Belief. All of these things make us Universal Eclectic Wiccans.
History
The Tradition that is now Universal Eclectic Wicca (UEW) came into being in the late 1960's as 'Silver Chalice', the core coven at an intentional community in the Westchester area of Upstate New York. By 1986 the land was sold and all the covens that originated with Silver Chalice were referred to as UEW. It is a broad-based tradition, originally created mainly by Jayne Tomas and expanded by Kaatryn MacMorgan, and its beginning purpose was to bring together the followers of several different groups whose leaders had learned from the same training circle. UEW is the result of these people, from varied covens, coming together to write a Tradition that encompassed all of their beliefs. UEW is based not on one or two sources, but an infinite number of sources.
One of the founding members, Lady Martia, eloquently states why UEW began:
"When this tradition was created, it was created in part out of necessity, we had a group of diverse people practicing similar but not the same beliefs, but it was also created out of a desperate need for reform in Wicca. We felt that too much power was centralized in men in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions we (Jayne, Martia and a few other founding members) came out of and that not enough focus was paid on men in the Dianic traditions the Californians came from.
We've been called Protestant Pagans, and I think that nowadays it is especially relevant because there is a lot of stuff going on that we don't agree with. So we do have some aspects of the reformation in Christianity. We teach that personal relationship with the Gods is more important than titles. We teach that the High Priest and the Witch Queen have no power outside their groups, no power over us. We say that our leaders should be judged on what they do, not titles they get. But most importantly, by being democratic, we've snipped our ties to the Holy Wicca empire in Britain. Many Pagan groups here are at the whim of people in the UK, people with no idea of the American Pagan experience, people of traditions with no ties here. And a lot of groups without those ties claim them these days, so it's the same thing. So, while our founders had ties with those kind of groups, we don't make a big deal out of it because we don't see it as a benefit. That's why we have something in common with the Calvinists—five points of belief that we define our faith by.
And just like the Pope hated Calvin for it, some people in Witchcraft aren't too happy to see us define our faith by those five points, because just like it depowered Rome in the average Christian's life, we've depowered London."
The Church of Universal Eclectic Wicca (CUEW) has existed since 1995 with its current name. Its main teaching outlet, the Coven Of The Far Flung Net (CFFN) is a virtual coven established in January, 1998. CFFN was one of the first virtual covens and is still providing free education in the Wiccan religion into the 21st century through mailing lists and interest based groups.
Core Beliefs and Standards of Conduct
In UEW, a knowledge of the Five Points of Wiccan Belief is required before entry into the First Circle of UEW. This prevents the teachers of UEW from having to return to a discussion of these five basic points every time they teach beginners.
1. The Wiccan Rede
The Central Ethic is the Wiccan Rede, the most common phrasing of which is "An' it harm none, do as you will." In UEW there is an expanded reading of the Rede: "If an action will cause harm, physically, emotionally, or mentally, to another person or one's Self, refrain from doing it. Strive to always be helpful and never willingly cause strife or harm to befall someone. Weigh your actions against each other, would you wish your actions taken against you? Take no action you would not wish to receive."
2. The Law of Return
The Second of the Five Points is the Law of Return, similar to the Karmic law, The Threefold law, or the Rule of Three. Basically it means that any energy you send out will come back to you, and that your actions will affect what happens to you. If you send out good energy and do good things, you will receive lots of good energy in return, and good things will happen to you. If you choose to send out negative energy or do evil things, then you will receive lots of negative energy in return, and bad things will happen to you.
3. The Ethic of Self-Responsibility
The Ethic of Self-Responsibility is quite simple, when you mess up, it's your fault. You are the only one responsible for your actions. If you make a mistake, you must take responsibility for it, not blame it on someone or something else. This relates to the Law of Return, as this third ethic has you accept the karma you give yourself, whether good or bad.
4. The Ethic of Constant Improvement
This Ethic also relates to The Law of Return and the Ethic of Self-Responsibility, together those two ethics expect us to change positively, and make it necessary to have the fourth, The Ethic of Constant Improvement. This means that as a Wiccan, you should always be learning, growing, and changing, making the world a better place. While the Ethic of Self-responsibility tells you to be responsible for yourself, this Ethic tells you to be responsible for the world around you. There are many ways to do this; becoming involved in ecology, conservation and recycling, teaching religious tolerance, and promoting racial harmony are just a few examples.
5. The Ethic of Attunement
The Last of the Five Points of Wiccan belief is the Ethic of Attunement. The purpose of many Wiccan rituals is to attune yourself with the Divine, to work towards being in harmony with the Divine. We believe in three groupings of divinity, as explained in UEW:
"The Divine Self (thou art god) is expressed within The Ethic of Self- Responsibility. No one is in control of the Self except for the creator of the Self, the person that "owns" the body. Our rites of Attunement to the divine self include the practice of Ritual, and occasionally, High Magick, but also includes meditation, dance, drumming and anything else that makes us feel "in touch" with our Selves."
"The Divinity of the Gods, or the "Other Powers" defies immediate explanation as do the gods themselves. In Wicca, our gods are more like parents, the Divine Father and the Great Mother, and less like the jealous God of Christianity. Our rites of Attunement to the Gods are nearly all celebratory in nature, with the more intensive rituals combining the divinity of the gods with the divinity of the Universe in worship of the lunar and harvest cycles."
"The Divinity of the Universe is subdivided into three groups. In Gaeism, the Planet Earth is a creature and each individual being, plant, animal or mineral is a part of that being, which is usually, but not always, named for the Goddess Gaea or Gaia. In Animism, each thing be it a windstorm or a rock, has a spirit of its own. In Cyclic Totality, or Cyclicism, it is the laws of the Universe which are divine, be they the cycles of celestial decay, or the harvests, or the birth-death-rebirth of the nitrogen cycle."
In UEW, we have something called "The Affirmation of Acknowledgment." It affirms our belief that any one member of a Faith cannot be held responsible for the actions of that entire faith. It would be ill-advised, for example, to hold all Christians accountable for the Spanish Inquisition or the Burning times.
The Affirmation of Acknowledgment:
I acknowledge the presence of other faiths* on my planet, indeed, right here in my city/town/village. I acknowledge that the followers of these faiths feel as strongly, maybe more so, than I do about mine.
I forgive the other faiths and wipe clean the slate between us. I cannot hold a person responsible for the acts of their faith, I cannot hold a faith at fault for individual practitioners. It is not my place to convert, or otherwise alter a person's religion. I invite discussion of beliefs without judgment of those holding them.
I acknowledge that I may be wrong, and I have found comfort in the fact that I may be right.
*The word "faith" is used here as opposed to Religion. A Faith is a non-specific religion or religious Philosophy, like Christianity. Religions within the Christian Faith include Catholicism, Fundamentalism, Protestantism, Vineyard Christianity and more.