inclusive Wicca

Some versions of the Wheel of the Year (the eight festivals of Wicca and Druidry) can feel excluding, particularly those that focus on the God and the Goddess interacting through the cycle of the seasons. This mythological construct excludes both polytheists and LGBTQIA people. Some versions of the story are uncomfortable for feminists, as they don't exactly promote consent culture. For all sorts of reasons, then, I prefer to go back to the original mythology and symbolism associated with the festivals. ☽ ♡ ☾

The best way to keep our community safe from sexual abuse is to make sure all our events and organisations have a code of conduct and a safeguarding policy. We the undersigned pledge: not to attend, or give talks or workshops at, events for adults unless they have a publicly available code of conduct with a means of enforcing it; not to attend or give talks or workshops at events where children may be present unless they have a safeguarding policy and a means of enforcing it; to resign from membership in, or not to join, Pagan organisations that don't have a safeguarding policy or a code of conduct. And we call upon all Pagan organisations, groups, and event organisers: to develop a code of conduct and a safeguarding policy; to publish these on their websites; and to enforce them at all events. Petition / pledge: A code of conduct for all Pagan events and organisations Please sign and share.

It is a useful magical and intellectual exercise to examine each segment of your ritual structure, and ask yourself why you do it in the particular way that you do. Why do we sweep the circle, consecrate it with water, salt, and incense, cast it with a sword, and so on? What is the function and symbolism of each of these actions? Can they be improved - either in the sense of making them more magically effective, more reflective of reality, or more inclusive?

Since I have started a new series of blogposts on inclusive Wicca , I issued a challenge to the inclusive Wicca discussion group on Facebook: Inclusive Wicca blogging challenge!  If you have a blog, how about writing a post on how you make your rituals more inclusive, or why you think being inclusive is important, what being inclusive means to you?  If you don't have a blog, send your post to me and I'll put it on the inclusive Wicca website. So far this has resulted in one excellent blogpost by Khristóphoros Hairetikós , Open your hearts and circles . He writes: A big part of being inclusive is knowing who you are dealing with. We are the officiating priesthood within our circles. Let us adjust them to be accepting of all those that are being welcomed into them. Know your participants, know their needs. Find working alternatives and be ready to adjust. Nobody should ever have to say “I am sorry, I can't do that” in the middle of your rites. And in answer to

Wiccan ritual often uses the concepts of polarity and fertility to make magic and symbolism. These can be viewed in an exclusively heterocentric way, or in a more inclusive and diverse way. The reality of gender, sexuality, and magic suggests that the inclusive way is more reflective of the true complexity of human nature.