Why "Wicca For the Masses" Just Doesn't Work
When I first heard the idea of "Wicca for the masses" I thought, "gee, what a great idea! We can get our religion out to as many people as possible, and maybe they just might understand us, and accept us for who we are and what we teach." I thought that it would be a great thing, teaching everyone about the Rede, and self-responsibility, and how we are all part of a cosmic whole. These are definitely things "the masses" need to know. I had visions of a utopian world full of happy Wiccans, thinking of others, minding their own affairs with due care, and living in a better world. But you know what? That ain't happening. The masses aren't ready.
I've been doing a lot of work with an organization that set up a system of teaching Wicca to all comers. Through this group, I've have the wonderful opportunity of seeing the upside, and the downside of this type of an approach. After a number of years, I had become very disillusioned, and decided that perhaps I should analyze my experiences, and try to figure out what was useful and what was not, in hopes of making things better, as well as for my own personal understanding and growth.
I think that the most telling aspect of why "Wicca for the masses" doesn't work lies within Wicca itself; namely the Ethic of Self Responsibility. "The masses" do not hold with that simple ethic. "The masses" want to blame someone else for most things that go wrong in their lives, rather than look within. I've found that attitude VERY prevalent not only in society, but on many of the Wiccan groups I have seen. They run low on money, they ask for people to "send energy" or to "send prayers." They become ill, and they ask for people to "send energy." They lose a job, they want "energy." Now, while I see nothing wrong with asking for a bit of help now and again, that should NOT be the first place to turn. The person low on money should budget, sell belongings, look for a better job, etc. FIRST. The person who is ill should see a doctor or alternative practitioner FIRST. The one without a job should seek one FIRST. And in each case, they should look within and see what THEY can do to prevent a similar event from happening in future. Until one is ready to embrace their own responsibilities and make their own world better, they are not ready for Wicca.
The Wiccan Rede itself calls for a large amount of responsibility. It calls upon us to determine whether or not an action causes harm to others, and if so, it must be carefully considered before that action is undertaken. What is prohibited is not written in a book. It is not mandated by a priest or a pope, it is a decision that must be made by the individual based upon their internal sense of right and wrong. This balancing act takes intelligence, a sense of responsibility, and an internal ethical system. All of those things must be inherent within the person in order for it to work. Taking all comers into Wicca necessarily means that those without those three necessary attributes to balance harm, will enter your group. It will then be your obligation to police them.
Another reason why "the masses" and "Wicca" have difficulties meshing is that practicing Wicca is complicated. One does not walk into a building at a specified time on a specified day, read a passage from a specified book, give the specified answers, kneel and sit when others do, and become a passive audience. Wicca is far from passive. Most people involved in ritual are required to participate in one way or another. One must prepare for that participation by study and practice. Ritual is a group effort in which all pieces must mesh to be effective.
Frankly, Wicca is not for everyone. When you set up a Tradition for everyone, then "everyone" is who you will attract. You will attract those with intelligence who are thirsty for knowledge, and you will attract those who wish to be spoon fed and accept a passive role. You will get those who desire to learn Wicca because they have done some searching and decided it would be a good fit for them, and you will get those who are using Wicca for the reaction they'll get from others when they dramatically claim to be a Witch.
Bringing in "the masses" also breeds the unhealthy "I want power" dynamic. If you accept everyone, you don't have the opportunity to ask not only "Why Wicca" but "Why THIS Tradition of Wicca?" I find it problematic if someone tells me that they are interested in Wicca because it is NOT something else, or they have chosen this Tradition because it is NOT that "other tradition." Oftentimes, they haven't thought through their choices, and when they do, and decide you're not what they really wanted, oftentimes, there is a misplaced feeling of animosity towards the Trad, and subsequent badmouthing of it in public regardless of what you did right or wrong.
Another pitfall with not being able to ask a person's motivation for joining occurs when the potential recruit is credential collecting. Sometimes, all they want is that "Priest/ess" title to amaze friends and family, to make money as a wedding officiant, or to offend the family. That type of person sometimes manifests as an antagonistic selfish person, complaining about any amount of actual work or study that must be done, bitterly opposing any deadlines that might be placed, and vehemently decrying any increase in standards for granting clergy status.
Of course, this opinion is often criticized by those who say that Wicca should be open to everyone, and that I and those who agree with me are just elitist, but to this I have to ask where we are going to get the resources to teach everyone who might take a passing fancy to learning Wicca? How many teachers will burn out at the "nth" iteration of "why do I have to do THIS exercise?" And how many teachers will then be unavailable to the true seeker? How many of those will be replaced by the $19.95, "I wrote a computer program to teach Wicca" that make us all look like charlatans and ignorant kooks?
Yes, it's elitist to only want those who truly have both the desire and the capacity to learn a complicated subject and take their learning into the world, continuing to learn throughout their lifetime. And yes, it may be selfish of me to not wish to pound my head against the wall with people who want a quick fix, or an "insta witch" title. But it's also necessary. If we want to maintain Wicca as the religion that it is, and not morph it into a watered down mainstream version of Christianity (just replace Jesus and Mary with God and Goddess) it is necessary to do OUR homework as well, and only accept those of whom we would be proud to say "that was MY student."
Comments
Wicca for the masses? What a horrible idea. To me, "mass" always means "adjusted down to the lowest common denominator." Not that "the masses" are necessarily dumb or selfish, but enough of them/us are (it's just human nature) to screw up any good thing. It's the same phenomenon that threw the Four Noble Truths out the window and reduced Buddhism to "chanting for" new cars. Some amount of growth did Wicca a lot of good--it brought the religion to sincere seekers willing to do the work--but we're long past the tipping point IMNSHO. Smallish is just the right size for me in a religion.
Posted by: Laurel | April 29, 2005 10:30 AM