W I C C A R E V E A L E DLesson One: An Introduction to Wicca

THE DIANIC TRADITIONA RESEARCH PROJECT

A. Ashlea / Mellatrix

December 2011

A Preface

Why I chose to study Dianic Wicca:

When I saw that the first research activity was to find a branch of Wicca and present an essay on it, I

was very excited to begin. Of course, being a complete beginner, I was interested in every branch of

Wicca! I had initially planned to study the Algard tradition, founded by Mary Nesnick as a syncretisation

of the Gardnerian tradition and the Alexandrian tradition. After some time studying this tradition,

however, I came to the conclusion that my research project would tend toward being a project on British

Traditional Wicca, as there is little to no information in public domain on Algard Wicca which isn’t

simply the re-feeding of the same few facts about Nesnick and the technical origins of Algard Wicca.

I decided, eventually, to look for stock photography to include in my research project rather than

striking out and attempting to find the perfect tradition to research right off the bat. Once I found an

appropriate image, I decided that I would try to network back to find a tradition that I could easily

associate with that image. It was when I found the cover image for this assignment that I decided upon

Dianic Wicca. The image of a woman in flowing garb against sea and moody sky, staff in hand and arms

outreached, spoke volumes of power and magic to me. It was then that I recalled the lesson’s mention of

Dianic Wicca, a feminist tradition.

I immediately placed this stock image into my assignment’s cover page and began to research Dianic

Wicca. What I found amazed me enough to cause me to want to write an entire essay on it: the founder

herself has a rich and passionate plethora of information on the internet, and the tradition itself is as

fascinating as it is complex, because I find feminism complex and I find feminism beautiful and I feel that

religion and feminism have the right to beautifully and passionately complement each other.

I don’t agree entirely with the premise of Dianic Wicca. I think that Dianic Wicca is about ninety per cent

aligned with what I feel to be an appropriate message for a feminist religion, but I feel that it pushes

issues to their extremes. This was another strong reason for me to choose to study Dianic Wicca for my

research project: I know that I’m affected greatly by modern culture, by the subtly (and sometimes not-

so-subtly) effective patriarchy which pervades most facets of my life as a young, cis-gender female living

in Australia.

I feel that perhaps there’s a possibility that Dianic Wicca, in and of itself, isn’t so extreme after all - that

it’s simply an extreme (and extremely necessary) response to an extremely patriarchal society. It’s made

me want to research it because it’s made me want to gain a new and beautiful understanding of

feminism. It’s made me want to challenge myself to throw off the shackles of patriarchal raising, of

sexist media, advertising, pay rates and professions, and to learn to understand the principle of a

religion comprised of one hundred per cent binary women.

I don’t know what a society of women would be like. That, ultimately, is my reason for choosing to study

Dianic Wicca. When all is said and done, I am a woman and I want to know what it would be like to be in

a female-dominated environment. Dianic Wicca provides that, and whilst I may feel that they provide it a

little too strongly, I am willing to suppose that it may well be my upbringing causing me to think that, so

I am studying Dianic Wicca to learn of the beautiful religion of powerful goddess-women.

Magicka Schoo l Research Pro jec t

1

What is Dianic Wicca?

The Core of Dianic Wicca

Grandmother Spider is weaving her web to bring together all sisters who hear the calling, within

whose bosom the ancient self beckons a return. Where women can freely celebrate the shining

female aspects of religion and theology, of sisterhood and shared experience, of dance and

ritual. For here there be witches!

- Zsuzsanna Emese Budapest, http://www.zbudapest.com

Dianic Wicca is a mystery tradition, the core of which is goddess worship and women’s mysteries. Dianic

Wicca is a tradition in which women are called to worship the Divine Feminine and view all things as

extending from this Divine Feminine; this is a religion centred around a Divine Feminine being raised

above all else, including the Divine Masculine. The Core of Dianic Wicca is love of the Goddess.

The Goddess

Dianic Wiccans honour the Divine Feminine, but in general they do not have a Patron Goddess. Dianic

Wiccans are asked to avoid pledging their services to one individual Goddess, as they believe that all

Goddesses are one Goddess, the eternal Divinely Feminine force manifesting Herself in one of many

guises to aide. Dianic Wicca proposes that everything, even every woman, is an aspect of the Goddess.

Dianic Wiccans have a beautiful, loving relationship with the Goddess, the official website

(zbudapest.com) stating that “[t]he Goddess is all women - without exception. She is one mighty force,

all-inclusive, all-mother.”

Dianic Wiccans recognise Mother Nature as the Goddess, and understand and expect that people will

break her down or syncretise her in order to understand her, and so Dianic Wiccans tend to break the

Goddess down into the facets which represent their own stages in life: maiden, mother and crone. The

most common Goddesses (or Goddess aspects) which Dianic Wiccans tend to work with are the Maidens

Diana, Artemis, Luna and Athena; the Mothers Hera, Juno, Minerva, Nu Qua and Kwan Yin and the

Crones Hecate, Magera, Kali and Innanna.

The Dianic Membership System

Z Budapest states that a Dianic Wiccan is “a woman who worships the Goddess in her many guises.”

(zbudapest.com) Becoming a Dianic Witch begins with ‘The Journey’, which seems to be a retreat

conducted by Z Budapest herself in which she teaches women about Dianic Wicca, beginning with the

basics and extending from there. Dianic Wicca only accepts women as members, and these women must

be cis-gender, binary women. Women born as men are not permitted to join the Dianic system, nor are

men born as men or men born as women. It is a tradition which appears to require either attendance in

person at a workshop or paid attendance in an online school to become an initiated member, though as

far as this student’s eyes can see, a detailing of the membership levels and requirements is not

Magicka Schoo l Research Pro jec t

2

presented anywhere on Z Budapest’s website; whether this is because this student has bad eyes or

because Dianic Wicca is a mystery tradition, she can’t say.

Dianic Literature

Z Budapest has written much literature about her own tradition, all of which are available on her

website and presented as textbooks in the faith. This student can’t afford to buy any new books right

now because she has a few bills to get through and has missed a lot of work lately (and she may or may

have already splurged on some other Wiccan books!), so she couldn’t get a hold on one of these books to

read through.

The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries by Z Budapest (available through Amazon from USD$0.23)

The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries is essential for pagans, feminists and women seeking to learn more

about the spiritual path as it relates to the feminine and the Goddess aspects of witchcraft and Wicca.

This book is not about reinstating a matriarchy or tearing down patriarchy; it is about women’s

spirituality and its relationship with politics and lifestyle.

- zbudapest.com

The Grandmother of Time by Z Budapest (available through Amazon from USD$3.88)

In The Grandmother of Time, Zsuzsanna Budapest teaches both beginners and experienced practitioners

how to integrate Wiccan spirituality into their everyday lives. Here are new approaches to today’s

rituals, from birthdays and dedications of newborn babies to purifying our homes and protecting us in

travel.

- zbudapest.com

Grandmother Moon by Z Budapest (available through Amazon from USD$0.92)

Grandmother Moon invites us to “look at the moon as the old ally she is.” Renowned feminist witch

Zsuzsanna Budapest shows us how to tap into the moon’s power for peace, health, and energy. With

delightful wit and wisdom, she shares practical and entertaining lunar lore, from ancient moon-based

rituals to lunar cycle diet tips. Budapest reveals how, by acting in harmony with the moon, women can

balance everything from their mood and weight to fertility. Here is a spirited illumination of the natural

moon cycles that influence our lives.

- zbudapest.com

Summoning The Fates by Z Budapest (available through Amazon from USD$4.50)

During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Z Budapest narrowly escaped a massacre. Was it chance that

spared her life, or destiny? In Summoning The Fates, Budapest, a pioneer of the women’s spirituality

movement, introduces us to the three Fates that rule our lives. Not even the gods and goddesses can

escape these raw forces of nature presiding over the past, present, and future. Budapest uses fairy tales,

historical lore, and personal anecdotes to describe the three sacred sisters who are especially active

during out thirty-year life cycles: Urdh (youth), Verdandi (adulthood) and Skuld (the crone years). Want

a taste of the cosmic soup bubbling in Fate’s cauldron? Budapest also offers heartfelt advice, exercises,

and rituals to help you connect with the Fates and embrace your own unique destiny.

- zbudapest.comMagicka Schoo l Research Pro jec t

3

Celestial Wisdom for Every Year of Your Life by Z Budapest (available through Amazon from

USD$6.98)

Lighthearted and playful, yet chock-full of wisdom, Celestial Wisdom for Every Year of Your Life reveals

surprising insights into the possibilities within each year. Here we find the issues, challenges, and joys

specific to each birthday. Learn the dynamics at play to make the best choices and decisions to lead the

fullest life possible at any and every age!

- zbudapest.com

Who is Zsuzsanna Budapest?

Zsuzsanna Budapest (b. Jan 30 1940) was born in Budapest, Hungary to a witch and medium who taught

her the Craft from a young age. Due to poverty and political oppression, Budapest fled the country as a

political refugee in 1956, narrowly avoiding a massacre, and has since been extremely active in politics -

especially feminist politics, which shape many of her driving motives within Dianic Wicca, which she

regards as a political movement as much as a spiritual one.

Budapest emigrated to the United States of America in 1959 in order to pursue study at the University of

Chicago, and interestingly enough went from political oppression in Hungary to spiritual oppression in

America, where she was arrested in 1975 when she gave a Tarot reading to an undercover policewoman.

Budapest lost her appeal, but her trial set a standard and allowed major progress towards American

laws against psychic presentations being abolished, showing that Budapest is a spiritual warrior as well

as a political one.

Today Budapest is married with two sons and lives in San Francisco, where she is as involved in policital

and spiritual feminist activism as much as ever. She runs and stars in her own television show (13th

Heaven) and she is the director of a non-profit organisation known as the Women’s Spirituality Forum.

Professor Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresne, PhD., the organiser of a conference held regularly at the

University of Ottowa which is dedicated to Budapest’s work, says of her:

“Z's influences transcend the communities of feminism, spirituality and gender studies. Her life's

works will be remembered in American History as one of the great foremothers of the second

wave of feminism, the founding mother of the Women's Spirituality Movement and an outspoken

lesbian woman who fought for women's reproductive rights in Los Angeles at one of the first

abortion clinics, who co-founded the Los Angeles Anti-rape Squad (the first rape crisis

intervention), who established the Los Angeles Take Back the Night marches for which she

received the mayor's proclamation of appreciation. And of course, she will be remembered as the

last witch put on trial for her witchcraft and found guilty in the United States; meaning she also

blazed a trail for the popularizing of Paganism.

Magicka Schoo l Research Pro jec t

4

The importance of Z's work on the development of contemporary women's spirituality cannot be

overlooked. At a time when women were finding their voice, when the archaeological findings of

Marija Gimbutas and Merlin Stone had not yet been published, Zsuszanna Budapest had already

drawn the link between feminism and spirituality with her Feminist Book of Light and Shadows,

which later became The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries. The Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1,

which she started with a group of other women in 1971, became the springboard and training

grounds for many well-known leaders, like Starhawk, Ruth Barrett, Carol Christ, Charlene

Spretnak, Barbara Chesser, Susun Weed, Ava Carpenter, Fiona Morgan, Patricia Monaghan,

Anne Carson, Vicki Noble, Lunaea Weatherstone, Riane Eisler, Diane Stein, Jade River, Kathy

Jones, Kriszta Veres and hundreds of other authors, scholars, artists, musicians and spiritual

leaders.”

Though many dislike Budapest and find her activism to be too extreme, and though many feel that Dianic

Wicca is too excessively focused on the Divine Feminine and biased against the Divine Masculine, this

student cannot deny that Budapest is an amazing woman who has been through incredible feats and

created incredible reforms, fighting for human and planet alike.

Magicka Schoo l Research Pro jec t

5