How Does Magick Relate to Wicca?
The origins of Magick are unknown as is the origins of religion. There is much speculation about when humankind became aware of “supreme creation forces” and many a lengthy debate – bordering on academic wars – has been waged on this very topic. The same applies to Magick. Did Magick precede “belief” or did “belief” precede Magick. A bit of a chicken and egg question, and one we will not be able to answer unless some life changing discovery is made by archaeologists in the future.
What is notable is that there must have been shamans around some 50,000 years ago. The rock paintings found from that era have a religious overtone and the caves where these were discovered may well have been places of worship. The earliest artifacts around these sites were carbon dated to 27,000 years ago – during the Paleolithic period. Was Magick practiced then? Perhaps it was, but then perhaps not.
What we do know is that later civilizations did. The walls of pyramids and scrolls discovered from several later, ancient civilizations contained spells and rituals. So, we can trace Magick to about 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. At that point, the practice of Magick was intertwined with religion and extensively used to ensure – for example – that the annual floods of the Nile would be great so as to avoid famine and pestilence.
Now you may wonder what this has to do with Wicca as a young, 60 year old religious path. Perhaps a little, but perhaps everything. The Wiccan religion is polytheistic, worshiping multiple male and female deities. This form of worship can in fact be tied back to the Paleolithic period.
Assuming that the polytheistic worship of subsequent cultures like the Sumerians,
Pages: 1 2