My interview with Blackhawk taught me a great deal about Wicca and Wiccans. I interviewed Blackhawk before and after a ceremony I observed known as "The Rite of Wiccaning," a ceremony that welcomes a new born child into the Pagan Community which its parents belong to. I learned some Wiccans claim the origins of Wicca to be thousands of years old but most modern American Wiccan lineages stem from an Englishman who helped promote Wicca in the 1950s, Gerald Gardner. Blackhawk told me that after the Witchcraft Acts were abolished in the early 1950s, Gardner's books on Wicca helped popularize the movement. A woman named Doreen Valiente was initiated by Gardner and her role became the "high priestess" Wicca's most important coven. Blackhawk said that nearly all modern Wiccans in America practice rituals based on the writings and practices to Valiente.
Blackhawk informed me that "Most people think Wiccans are witches or worship Satan." He worked hard to dispel this common notion and informed me Wicca was a valid, spiritual and rewarding religion like any other. Wiccans bel
Related Essays
The New Witchcraft.... For my presentation, I am going to involve the whole class in enacting a Wiccan ritual. .... So, the circle is a fundamental form for Wiccan practice. .... (2105 8 )
Critique of Nation & Its Fragments (Partha Chatterjee).... Someone who is wiccan or some other offbeat religion is unlikely to become an executive in the US, as there are certain religions that are considered better .... (1533 6 )
8 
)
= 749
= 3 (250 words per page)
