The Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) is a

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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located in Index, Washington. It is one of the first Wiccan organisations to receive full legal recognition as a church in the United States and Australia. The church has an umbrella 501c(3), there are 29 affiliate churches in North America, with 3 additional affiliates on other continents and 7 countries. (As of January 2015). The ATC founded SpiralScouts International and Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, a degree giving college recognized by the Washington State government that can give degrees from Associates to Doctorates in Wiccan Ministry. Through Woolston-Steen Seminary, the church offers prison chaplaincy programs.

History

The Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) was founded in 1979 by Pete Davis, who died at 6pm on 31 October 2014. The mother church is located in Index, WA. The current Arch Priestess is Rev. Lady Belladonna Laveau.

Purpose

The Aquarian Tabernacle Church is a positive, life-affirming spirituality, a non-dualist, non-racist, non-sexist, non-exclusivist, ecologically oriented faith dedicated to the preservation of Holy Mother Earth, the revival of the worship of The Old Gods in a modern context, the achievement of the fullest of human potentials and the creation of a peaceful world of love, freedom, health and prosperity for all sentient beings.

Festivals

The ATC hosts two festivals every year. Spring Mysteries Festival this festival allegedly celebrates the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...

. This festival provides a ritual experience allowing one to speak to the gods that Wild Hunt columnist Mary Shoup called "a life-changing experience." It occurs on the weekend of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

every year. The first year was 1985. Hecate's Sickle Festival celebrates the traditional Wiccan

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...

theme, and participate in workshops and classes that allow them to explore the grief and death aspects of the Wiccan belief structure, as well as undergo healing experiences that will help them move from the dark half to the light half of our year. It occurs in October every year. The first year was in 1989.

References

Footnotes

Sources

Aquarian Tabernacle Church InternationalAquarian Tabernacle ChurchIn Honor of Our Founder , Aquarian Tabernacle Church

External links

{{Commonscat, Aquarian Tabernacle Church
Aquarian Tabernacle Church
(international)
Aquarian Tabernacle Church of CanadaATC WiccaThe Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism, Edited by: Shelley Rabinovitch, James LewisPanegyriaThe Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca By Rosemary GuileyThe Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism edited by Shelley Rabinovitch, James Lewis
Modern pagan organizations established in 1979 Wicca in Australia Wicca in Canada Wicca in the United States Wiccan organisations Modern pagan organizations based in the United States 1979 establishments in Washington (state)