From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wiccan Laws
Wiccan Laws
Laws,
The Wiccan Laws also called the Craft Laws the Old Laws
Laws, Laws, ner had not produced them before. Parts also seemed
the Ardanes (or Ordains or simply The Laws are the tradi-
Ordains) suspiciously similar to extracts from Gardner’s books.
tional laws of Wicca from the Book of Shadows. The text of Their refusal to accept the Laws eventually led to Doreen
the Book of Shadows was theoretically passed down from Valiente and others leaving Gardner’s coven later that
generation to generation within the New Forest Coven, year. If Gardner did forge the Laws, this would have im-
which was the coven that introduced Gerald Gardner to plications for earlier aspects of Wiccan history. The Laws
Wicca. It is not known whether the New Forest Coven nevertheless became a standard part of the Gardnerian
actually existed, as most covens are reclusive by nature. Book of Shadows.
Many Wiccans treat these laws as guidelines instead of To Gardner’s original 30 Laws Alexandrian Wicca
governing rules. added another 130.[1] This much larger set of Laws was
It is believed that Gardner could have written these first published in King of the Witches by June Johns in 1969,
laws himself, or at least expanded them. The laws were and later, in slightly altered form, in both The Book of
first revealed by Gardner to other members of the Craft Shadows (1971) and The Grimoire of Lady Sheba (1972) by
in 1957, after a disagreement arose over Gardner’s con- Jessie Wicker Bell (aka Lady Sheba). In these two books,
tinued interviews with the media despite his own rules of Bell also published the bulk of the Wiccan Book of Shadows,
secrecy. The laws were originally unnumbered, and used introducing to the general public for the first time the
the spelling wica, rather than Wicca or Wiccan. The Laws possibility of practicing Wiccan-style ritual. Accordingly
contain correctly used archaic language, however they the Laws are known by some non-initiatory Wiccans as
mix modern and archaic phrases, suggesting a possible Lady Sheba’s Laws or 161 Rules of the Witch (her title for
assembly from older fragments. The Laws do not appear them).
in earlier known Wiccan documents, including Gardner’s Lady Sheba, self-styled "Queen of the Witches" of
Ye bok of Ye Art Magical, Text A or B, or in any of Doreen America, originally claimed she had received the mate-
Valiente’s notebooks including one commonly referred rial from her grandmother, however the text has been
to as Text C. identified as being plagiarised (with errors) from an
Several of the provisions in these laws seem rather Alexandrian Book of Shadows no earlier than the
disagreeable to many Wiccans of today. For example, its mid-1960s.
sexist language ("as a man loveth a woman by mastering In 1979 a Council of Elders at a festival in America
her"), and cursing people and condemning them to an produced a set of heavily revised Laws which made them
eternity in the Christian hell ("And if any break these more acceptable to modern Wiccans.
Laws, even under torture, THE CURSE OF THE GODDESS
SHALL BE UPON THEM, so they may never be reborn on
earth and may remain where they belong, in the hell of
References
the Christians.") Another controversial law which irked [1] Lamond, Frederic (2004). Fifty Years of Wicca. Sutton
Valiente was that: "And the greatest virtue of a High Pri- Mallet, England: Green Magic. p. 41.
estess be that she recognize that youth is necessary to ISBN 0-9547230-1-5.
the representative of the Goddess. So will she graceful-
ly retire in favor of a younger woman, should the coven
so decide in council." Noticeably the Laws have several
External references
anachronisms and refer to the threat of being burnt for • The Laws according to the Alexandrian Book of
witchcraft even though this did not happen in England Shadows, beginning on page 3. Page retrieved
or Wales, where witches were hanged during the witch 2009-12-31.
hunts. • Lady Sheba’s version of the Laws on sacred-
Valiente, who was High Priestess at the time, as well texts.com. Page retrieved 2009-12-31.
as others in the coven, were highly suspicious of the Laws • Annotated edition of the Laws at Wicca for the Rest
and their patriarchal language, and wondered why Gard- of Us. Page retrieved 2009-12-31.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wiccan_Laws&oldid=430744453"
Categories:
• Texts used in Wicca
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wiccan Laws
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