Edward Frederick Brewtnall
I've done quite a bit of research on the subject, and this is what I've come up with. Is it true? That's up to you. But it's what I believe. Wicca/Paganism can be argued to be one of the oldest religions known to man. It is a religion based on ancient European Pagan beliefs, where the people worshipped a horned Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. In fact, some recent archaeological discoveries could trace it back to, at minimum the early phase of the Upper Paleolithic, most likely the Gravettian peoples. Recently discovered engravings in France (in the Cussac Cave) are dated to be at least 30,000 years old. They are believed to predate the world's oldest cave paintings -- the 18,000-year-old paintings in the famed Lascaux caves, also in western France. Here’s an excerpt from the press release of July 4th, 2001:
| An archeologist characterized the engravings as a major discovery. They are believed to predate the world's oldest cave paintings -- the 18,000-year-old paintings in the famed Lascaux caves, also in western France. "It is as important for engraving as Lascaux is for painting," Dany Baraud, chief archeologist at the Regional Direction of Cultural Affairs of Aquitaine, said of the cave discovered in the hamlet Cussac. Officials said hundreds of metres of detailed engravings in the Cussac cave depict animals -- including bison, horses and rhinoceroses -- and human figures. |
I’ve included the two pictures I find most interesting: firstly, the female silhouette, and second the “grand panel” of the caves. It consists of a “concentration of figures associating several animal themes, including horse, bison and mammoth. This ensemble is completed by two female silhouettes and the outline of the head of an animal that is difficult to identify.” To learn more about the Cussac cave, visit the website here.
So that’s the oldest record known to man. Of course, there were many more clues after that. Statues of fertility goddesses (as shown to the right) were scattered all across Europe. In fact, there’s a theory that the “Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures of Europe (25,000 to 2500 BC) were matriarchal and worshipped fertility in the form of a female deity known today as the Goddess.” It’s said that the Paleolithic and Neolithic peoples lived in a time of peace and harmony, until the era ended with invasions by the war-like, patriarchal speakers of Indo-European languages. It is also noted that “the descendants of the Indo-Europeans went on to become the Celts, Germans, Romans, Greeks, Slavs, Hittites, Iranians, and Vedic Indians. The Goddess was incorporated into their mythologies and many claim that her worship survived to modern times in the form of European witchcraft.”
Okay, you get it. Witchcraft is old. Wicca is old, Paganism is old…wait a minute. What’s the difference? In fact, isn’t Paganism just…Celtic? Wrong! In fact, it’s a lot like the Christian way of religion. You have Christian, and then you have the different branches of Christianity (Catholic, Anglo Saxon, etc.). So Paganism is like Christianity in the fact that it’s the head-honcho of the different branches. One of those branches is, you guessed it, Wicca! The thing was, in all this prehistoric time, all this wasn’t called Paganism or Wicca. It simply was. In fact, the word “pagan” came much later from the Latin word “paganus” which meant “country dweller”. Eventually, it spawned religions like the Native American Religions, Shamanism, etc. So, one can be Pagan and not be Wiccan. If you’re Wiccan, it makes you a Pagan. Pagans come as varied, and follow more creeds and worship more deities, than we could imagine. Wicca is an occult (hidden) form of Paganism. Get it? Good! Moving on.
Wicca. What a religion, eh? In fact, the unique thing about Wicca is the power to work with nature in any way you please. Witchcraft, in ancient history, was known as "The Craft of the Wise" because those who followed the path were healers, and Seers. They were in tune with the forces of nature, had knowledge of herbs and medicines, gave council and were valuable parts of the village and community. Today, most choose to work with the elements, of course. Personally, I find astrology, herbs, and colour magick the most interesting. Of course, there’s also stone magick, the tarot, runes, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Now one of my favorite parts of Wicca is the ability to choose your own deities. That’s what makes it such a unique religion. Of course, there’s the God and Goddess, Lord and Lady, Sun and Moon. Those two are constant deities for Wiccans; in fact some choose to only worship them alone. However, any other deities, from any other culture, are also acceptable. Myself, I primarily chose the Greek Goddess Athena (Goddess of Wisdom, among other things) and secondly the Egyptian Goddess Bast (or Bastet). They certainly aren’t the only ones I believe in, in fact I believe in all Greek, Roman and Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, but they were the ones I connected to, particularly Athena. Wicca is a nature based religion, because Paganism is a nature based religion. The golden rule being “An Harm Ye None, Do What Ye Will”.