From: dwbutler@mtu.edu (Daniel W. Butler-Ehle)
Subject: Re: ADF, Witchcraft & Stuff
Date: 5 Jul 1994 03:07:31 -0400

lewis johnson (ljohnso@bgsu.edu) wrote:
> I have been following the discussion in alt.pagan now for a few
> months and reading books I see recommended. I am getting the
> impression that Wicca (at least here in the U.S.) is almost
> exclusively the domain of women (womyn [?]) and gay males. Am I
> mistaken? Is it as much, or more, a political movement as a
> self-exploration movement?

Nota Bene: Take everything I say with a grain of salt.  For every
statement I make about neopaganisn, there are a couple dozen people
itching to flame me into the ground.  Neopagan views enjoy a wonderous
variety.  What follows is merely one person's interpretation.

When we were active, our group seemed to have a dead-even ratio of
male to female, no matter how many times the membership changed (made
choreographing rituals easier, 'cuz of the symmetry).  Far as I know,
they are all heteros, but sexual orientation wasn't really an issue of
much importance.  However we weren't exclusively Wiccan; there was a
sprinkling of Druids, Odinists, and such among our members.

Anyway, let me explain some things about the perceived feminist bent
to neopaganism.  When I first began seriously looking into it, I read
Starhawk and Adler.  It wasn't what I was expecting; suddenly Wicca
seemed to be just some women's movement.  While standing on the front
line of such a movement would be a worth- while endeavour, it just
wasn't what I was looking for.  I wanted spiritual development as a
human, not exercise in helping promote the oppressed half of our
society.  (In 70s English: "I needed time for me.")

So I read other stuff, then went back to Starhawk and Adler.  Believe
me, they're different the second time around.  The strong focus on the
Goddess is not a focus on women.  The Goddess is female, but the
Goddess is not a woman.  The God is male, but the God is not a man.
Wiccans simply divide aspects into male and female.  All men and women
have both male and femal aspects in this sense, and we just use the
concepts of the Goddess and the God to represent those aspects.

Well, that said, you may then wonder "If female and male
characteristics are something the women and men both share in then why
is there so much emphasis on the Goddess?"  Well, it all deals with
balance.  Look at our modern western society.  A couple centuries of
expansion and technological progress and asserting ourselves over the
land.  Now we run into problems.  Expansion and assertion are
considered male aspects.  There is nothing inherently wrong with the
notions, but they must be balanced with the female traits (remember,
"female" here does not mean "coming from woman", and "male" does not
mean "coming from man") of nurture and conservation.  The current
emphasis on the Goddess is to bring the balance.  Maybe in fifty
years, we may have lost direction and need to emphasize the male
aspects again.

Anyway, keep in mind that "Goddess" and "God" and "female" and "male"
in Wicca are just names for particular collections of aspects.  Be
careful not to interpret the relationship as "women are closer to the
Goddess than men".

> I am not saying that there is a problem with women and gay males
> having their own organizations. Rather, I wonder if there are
> a-political covens, or covens where male & female sexuality are
> viewed on par with neither being submersed?

Certain types do seem to feel particularly comfortable with the
Earth-based religions.  And I think that many hetero men are drawn to
it for the same reason: they just can't accept the roles that western
society wants us to take.  Just as western society OPpresses women, it
also REpresses much that is within a man.  When a culture won't let
you be you, you either repress yourself or you find a culture that
allows it.

Dan