Dianic Wicca, also known as Dianic Witchcraft, and, to some also as "Dianism," "Dianic Feminist Witchcraft," or simply "Feminist Witchcraft"' is a modern pagan,

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...

tradition, focused on female experience and empowerment. Leadership is by women, who may be ordained as priestesses, or in less formal groups that function as collectives. Adler, Margot. ''Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today''. Boston: Beacon press, 1979; 1986. . Chapter 8: Women, Feminism, and the Craft".Budapest, Zsuzsanna. ''Holy Book of Women's Mysteries'', The. 1980 (2003 electronic). . While some adherents identify as

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

n, it differs from most traditions of Wicca in that only goddesses are honored (whereas most Wiccan traditions honor both female and male deities). While there is more than one tradition known as ''Dianic'', the most widely known is the female-only variety, with the most prominent tradition thereof founded by

Zsuzsanna Budapest Zsuzsanna Emese Mokcsay (born 30 January 1940 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian author, activist, journalist, playwright and songwriter living in America who writes about feminist spirituality and Dianic Wicca under the pen name Zsuzsanna Bud ...

in the United States in the 1970s. It is notable for its worship of a single,

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfor ...

Great Goddess Great Goddess is the concept of an almighty goddess or mother goddess, or a matriarchal religion. Apart from various specific figures called this from various cultures, the Great Goddess hypothesis, is a postulated fertility goddess supposed to hav ...

(with all other goddesses - of all cultures worldwide - seen as "aspects" of this Goddess) and a focus on egalitarian matriarchy. While the tradition is named after the

Roman goddess Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

Diana, Dianics worship goddesses from many cultures, within the Dianic Wiccan ritual framework. Diana, (considered correlate to the Greek

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...

) "is seen as representing a central mythic theme of woman-identified cosmology. She is the protector of women and of the wild, untamed spirit of nature." The Dianic Wiccan belief and ritual structure is an

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

combination of elements from

British Traditional Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

, Italian folk-magic as recorded by

Charles Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensi ...

in ''

Aradia Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, a claim t ...

'',

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

beliefs, and folk magic and healing practices from a variety of different cultures.

Beliefs and practices

Dianic Wiccans of the Budapest lineage worship the

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...

, who they see as containing all goddesses, from all cultures; she is seen as the source of all living things and containing all that is within her. Dianic covens practice magic in the form of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

and visualization in addition to spell work. They focus especially on healing themselves from the wounds of the

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males ...

while affirming their own womanhood. Rituals can include reenacting religious and spiritual lore from a female-centered standpoint, celebrating the female body, and mourning society's abuses of women. The practice of magic is rooted in the belief that energy or 'life force' can be directed to enact change.Smith, Brandy and Sharon Horne. "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) Experiences with Earth-Spirited Faith." The Journal of Homosexuality, 52.3/4 (2007): 235-248. However it is important to note that rituals are often improvised to suit individual or group needs and vary from coven to coven.Warwick, Lynda L. "Feminist Wicca: Paths to Empowerment." Women & Therapy 16.2-3 (1995): 121. Some Dianic Wiccans eschew manipulative spellwork and hexing because it goes against the

Wiccan Rede The Wiccan Rede is a statement that provides the key moral system in the neopagan religion of Wicca and certain other related witchcraft-based faiths. A common form of the Rede is ''An ye harm none, do what ye will'' which was taken from a long ...

. However, many other Dianic witches (notably Budapest) do not consider hexing or binding of those who attack women to be wrong, and actively encourage the binding of

rapists Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

Differences from mainstream Wicca

Like other Wiccans, Dianics may form

coven A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promot ...

s, attend

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

s, celebrate the eight major Wiccan holidays, and gather on

Esbat An esbat is a coven meeting or ritual at a time other than one of the Sabbats within Wicca and other Wiccan-influenced forms of contemporary Paganism. Esbats can span a wide range of purposes from coven business meetings and initiation ceremonies ...

s. They use many of the same altar tools, rituals, and vocabulary as other Wiccans. Dianics may also gather in less formal Circles. The most noticeable difference between the two are that Dianic covens of Budapest lineage are composed entirely of women. Central to feminist Dianic focus and practice are embodied Women's Mysteries - the celebrations and honoring of the female life cycle and its correspondences to the Earth's seasonal cycle, healing from

internalized oppression In social justice theory, internalized oppression is a concept in which an oppressed group accepts the methods and incorporates the oppressive message of the oppressing group against their own best interest. Rosenwasser (2002) defines it as believ ...

, female sovereignty and agency. Another marked difference in cosmology from other Wiccan traditions is rejecting the concept of duality based in gender stereotypes. When asked why "men and gods" are excluded from her rituals, Budapest stated: Sociological studies have shown that there is therapeutic value inherent in Dianic ritual. Healing rituals to overcome personal trauma and raise awareness about

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often c ...

have earned comparisons to the female-centered

consciousness-raising Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause or ...

groups of the 1960s and 70s.Foltz, Tanic G. and Wendy Griffin. "Ethnographic Journeys of Self Discovery", ''Composing Ethnography: Alternative Forms of Qualitative Writing''. (1996): 301–330.Lozano, Wendy G. and Tanic G. Foltz. "An Ethnographic Study of Witchcraft and Death", ''Qualitative Sociology'', Vol. 13, No. 13. (1990): 211–234. Some Dianic groups develop rituals specifically to confront gendered personal trauma, such as battery,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...

, and partner abuse. In one ethnographic study of such a ritual, women shifted their understanding of power from the hands of their abusers to themselves. It was found that this ritual had improved self-perception in participants in the short-term, and that the results could be sustained with ongoing practice.Jacobs, Janet L. "The Effects of Ritual Healing on Female Victims of Abuse: A Study of Empowerment and Transformation". ''Sociological Analysis'', 50.3 (1989): 265–279.Jacobs, Janet L. "Women, Ritual, and Power". ''Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies'', 11.2–3 (1990): 39–44. Dianic Wicca developed from the

Women's Liberation Movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

and some covens traditionally compare themselves with

radical feminism Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...

. Dianics pride themselves on the inclusion of

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

and

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

members in their groups and leadership. It is a goal within many covens to explore female sexuality and sensuality outside of male control, and many rituals function to affirm lesbian sexuality, making it a popular tradition for lesbians and bisexuals. Some covens exclusively consist of same-sex oriented women and advocate lesbian separatism. Ruth Barrett writes,

History

Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches ''Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'' is a book composed by the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland that was published in 1899. It contains what he believed was the religious text of a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, Italy that docu ...

claims that ancient Diana,

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...

, and

Herodias Herodias ( el, Ἡρῳδιάς, ''Hērǭdiás''; ''c.'' 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with John the Baptist's execution. Family rel ...

cults linked to the

Sacred Mysteries Sacred mysteries are the areas of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious belief and praxis. Sacred mysteries may be either: # Religious beliefs, rituals or practices which are kept secret from the uninitiated. # Belief ...

are the origin of the all-female

and many witch myths as we know them. Z Budapest's branch of Dianic Wicca began on the

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...

of 1971, when Budapest led a ceremony in Hollywood, California. Self-identifying as a "hereditary witch," and claiming to have learned folk magic from her mother, Budapest is frequently considered the mother of modern Dianic Wiccan tradition. Dianic Wicca itself is named after the Roman goddess of the same name. Ruth Rhiannon Barrett was ordained by Z Budpest in 1980 and inherited Budapest's Los Angeles ministry. This community continues through Circle of Aradia, a grove of Temple of Diana, Inc.

Denominations and related traditions

* Traditions derived from Zsuzsanna Budapest - Female-only covens run by priestesses trained and initiated by Budapest. * Independent Dianic witches - who may have been inspired by Budapest, her published work (such as ''The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries'') or other woman's spirituality movements, and who emphasize independent study and self-initiation.

McFarland Dianic

McFarland Dianic is a Neopagan tradition of goddess worship founded by Morgan McFarland and Mark Roberts which, despite the shared name, has a different theology and structure than the women-only groups. In most cases, the McFarland Dianics accept male participants. McFarland largely bases their tradition on the work of

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

and his book ''

The White Goddess ''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, the book is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magazi ...

''. While some McFarland covens will initiate men, the leadership is limited to female priestesses. Like the women-only Dianic traditions, "McFarland Dianic covens espouse feminism as an all-important concept." They consider the decision whether to include or exclude males as "solely the choice of member coven'sindividual High Priestess."

References

External links

Dianic Wicca, Official WebsiteDianic Tradition, Official WebsiteDianic Wicca, WebsiteZ. BudapestInternational Goddess ConferenceSusan B. Anthony Coven, Dianic Wicca WebsiteTemple of DianaThe McFarland Dianic Tradition
{{WiccaandWitchcraft Monotheistic religions Feminist spirituality Modern paganism in the United States Wiccan feminism Diana (mythology) 1970s in modern paganism