Why we don't teach Wicca

Before getting into this, let's clarify a couple of things: The views on this topic are held specifically by the members of Leadership. We do not speak for any Members, Fledglings, or Seekers on this topic and always encourage people to do their own research and soul searching. Secondly, we understand that Wicca is oftentimes the first stepping stone into the world of paganism for a lot of practioners, and that's valid. Even some members of Leadership got their start in Wiccan teachings and circles. If Leadership even got their start in Wicca, why isn't it taught at this temple? The shortest answer is because Wicca is built on a foundation of cultural appropriation, sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia. While not every Wiccan practioner will hold this view, it is essentially "built" into the practice. This is evident coining terms like "black" and "white" magics. Black magic is portrayed as evil and negative and to be avoided at all costs. What Wicca teachings actually mean is practices like voodoo and hoodoo and really any Afro-Caribbean practices. These practices are painted as harmful and baneful workings. But think about the skin tone of those communities that practice these types of magic. See why it's been called "black magic"? Can you start to see the racist undertones? For a religion that spends so much time discussing the importance of duality, it certainly does avoid the duality of beneficial and baneful magics.

Another issue is the sexism, homophobia, and transphobia found in many Wiccan circles. Many Wiccan circles and teachings avidly preach duality, especially when it comes to goddess worship, which is a huge draw to those who have come from Christianity and its male-centric worship. But many circles take this duality a step further and completely erase anything that doesn't fit within a binary system. This includes non-binary and transgender practioners. Many circles also exclude homosexual practioners, as their relationships don't "fulfil" the balance of man and woman. Even Gerald Gardner, one of the leading founders of Wicca, is known for having stated that all witches had to be heterosexual and cisgendered. We as Leadership have stood in circle before, where we were placed male/female/male/female. As the High Priestess stood before us, we were all forced to stand in as female. Needless to say, we didn't participate in those circles shortly after that. The entirety of Wicca is also based on this idea of "love and light". Yet many people don't seem to see how controlling this concept is. It's essentially used to keep practioners from having negative thoughts or doing negative things. While this often paints them as pacifists, this couldn't be further from the truth. One of my favorite outlooks on this is: "You can't truly call yourself peaceful unless you're capable of great violence. If you're not capable of violence, you're not peaceful, you're harmless." This is not to say that we condone violence, quite the opposite. However, it is unrealistic to stand in the face of abuse or having been wronged, and to smile and wave. We teach our students to learn how to stand up for themselves and correct the wrongs that have been done against them. Of course, we do so in a safe and structured way, along with a heavy amount of soul searching.