Witchvox Article

Author: Miles Batty
Posted: September 28th. 2008
Times Viewed: 2,024

A Seder, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, is a Hebrew traditional custom honoring the plight of the Jews under Egyptian oppression. It includes prayer and recitation, and a Seder Plate is displayed with roast lamb shank, bitter herb, charoset, and other items representing the hardships the Jews endured. The word ‘Seder’ means ‘order’, and a traditional Passover Seder follows a specific order of service.*

I recently created a wholly pagan Seder, which was loosely based on the traditional Hebrew service, but I took the basic idea and rebuilt it with a pagan theme. While most Sabbats and Esbats honor the gods, the seasons or lunar cycles, I wanted our Pagan Seder to honor the history and heritage of the pagan peoples. Our Seder was divided into five sections, or Services, each with a recitation and appropriate music. I’d written out the readings beforehand, and selected participants read each of the five recitations. A dish specific to the theme followed each recitation.

The First Service honored the Neolithic age, and we served wild field greens, quail eggs and fire-grilled venison. The recitation covered the ancient history of animistic shamans, the awareness of spirits, and the significance of wearing the skins of animals.

The Second Service covered ancient Pagan empires, and discussed the impact of Greece and Rome on early European civilization and the influence of the ancient Celts and Picts on the spiritual evolution of the British Isles. We served stuffed grape leaves, olives and cous cous.

The Third Service, honoring the victims of the Burning Times, was a Dumb Supper. Following the recitation, which outlined the Inquisition and the persecution of witches, we served only coarse bread, and water. Following the recitation. there was no speaking during the Dumb Supper.

The Fourth Service, the Renaissance of Magick, covered the evolution of the Hermetic Orders, the Golden Dawn, and introduced influential figures like Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner. We served a Victorian-era stew of venison and red potatoes.

The Fifth Service, Out of the Broom Closet, profiled the current interest in Wicca, witchcraft and paganism in general. We served a tropical fruit salad of mangoes, kiwi, grapes, mandarin oranges with a pomegranate glaze.

We opened the Seder with an informal ritual and lit a candle in the center of the table, and blessed the food. We closed it by thanking our ancestors and all those who paved the way for the pagans of today, and prayed for a brighter future for all pagans.

We had twenty people in attendance, and had the benefit of using a local Unity Church meeting house to host the event. Our Seder was very well received. Everyone had a good time, and we look forward to next year’s Pagan Seder.

Here are the texts and details of the five Services. You may of course modify the menu, music and text as you see fit. The musical selections used were simply ones I felt appropriate.

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First Service: The Neolithic Age
Menu: Wild field greens, quail eggs, fire-grilled venison
Music: “Shadows of the Centuries”, by David Arkenstone
Recitation:
The Year is 25, 000 BCE. The last ice age is retreating; man has learned the use of fire, organized hunting, and rudimentary language. Loose tribes of nomads roam the plains that will one day be known as Europe, Africa and Asia. Early man fashioned bone, wood and stone into simple tools; he learned the cycle of the seasons, the ways of animals, and the nature of plants. He developed a belief system of animism, in which natural forces and events were possessed of a divine spirit. He was aware of the balance of nature and the duality of life: male and female, day and night, life and death. From the understanding of this duality grew the belief in male and female aspects of divinity. The earliest known Goddess images, carved around 20, 000 years ago, were used as symbolic deities, to ensure plentiful food and fertility. Cave paintings depicting successful hunts were created, to add power to the hunt. Masks, skulls of powerful beasts, and other animal symbols were worn as images of power and strength. To wear the skin of a bear was to become that bear, to harness his strength and vitality. From these beginnings, the awareness of magick grew.

With the development of agriculture, there was a further awareness of the Goddess. She now watched over the fertility of crops as well as the prosperity of tribes and animals. The year naturally divided into two halves; in the summer, crops were grown and harvested, and the Goddess predominated; and in the winter, tribes resorted to hunting, when the God held sway.

Early Europe, around 15, 000 BCE, saw great developments in spiritual understanding. Mankind learned the paths of the Sun and the Moon, and had learned to distinguish and cultivate different herbs. He knew which animals possessed what characteristics, and how to tap into their `spirit'.

The Goddess and the God, no longer just fertility symbols or hunting charms, had become diverse, prolific figures, an essential part of common life. Different customs and rituals were developed, to mirror and enhance the cycles of the year and the needs of the people. Ritual leaders, or priests and priestesses worked for the common people, midwifing births, mixing curative herbs and remedies, and acting as `messengers' between the people and the spirit world. The earliest roots of what we now know as Witchcraft had been planted.

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Second Service: Ancient Pagan Empires
Menu: Stuffed Grape Leaves, Couscous, and Olives
Music: “Ouverture” by Cirque du Soleil
Recitation:
As civilizations prospered, cultures developed and religious perspectives evolved. No longer limited to shamanic or animistic icons, the gods had developed in complexity and purpose. The Goddess image, once limited to agriculture, had evolved into a diverse pantheon of Goddesses overseeing such aspects as medicine, fertility, love, life and death.

The Grecian civilization began in the fields and hills overlooking the Aegean Sea, and from 3, 000 to 1, 000 BCE they grew and prospered, in a (mostly) peaceful nature. The Greek pantheon, itself evolved from local deities of the region, included Zeus, father of the Gods, Apollo, God of and Aphrodite, Goddess of love. By 500 BCE, Athens was regarded as the center of the civilized world, and the Grecian influence spread from the regions of Spain to India.

Philosophy, reason and revelry were the order of the day, and the Greek pantheon was revered and honored. The Greek system of democratic government became the foundation for most legal systems in the western world.

On seven hills in western Italy, small townships grew and merged into one of the most enduring cities of the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire lasted centuries, spreading its influence across Europe and Asia. The Roman pantheon, including Jupiter, Juno, Venus and Mercury, were adapted from the Greek pantheon, and adapted to the needs and perspectives of the Romans. The Pagan Roman Empire lasted centuries, and the impact of their worship of gods and goddesses can still be felt today.

On the British Isles, the ancient Celts and Picts developed a unique culture and magickal system all their own, honoring both the living and the dead, and they created works of stone and wood that intrigue us to this day. From their humble beginnings grew the Druids and the Wicce, and without the efforts of these ancient peoples we would not know the witches of today.

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Third Service: The Burning Times (Dumb Supper)
Menu: Coarse Bread and Water
Music: none
Recitation:
The rise of monotheism following the collapse of the Roman Empire brought with it a monumental increase in the worship of the Christian pantheon.

By 800 CE, the Christian influence on society was widespread. Charlemagne proclaimed himself Holy Roman Emperor, and the suppression of pagans became even more a political goal. In 1198, Pope Innocent III declared that the Pope is “God in flesh”, and any act against God or the church is therefore an act of treason, and can be addressed accordingly. In 1480, Pope Innocent VIII issued the Papal Bull entitled `Summis Desiderantes Affectibus' (`Wishings of the utmost concern') , which gave full Papal support to the witch hunt, and commanded that an organized Inquisition be established.

Then in 1484, two German scholars, Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger, published a book called the Malleus Maleficarum (`The Hammer Against Evil') . Endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Malleus gave `evidence and testimony' that witches were in league with the devil, and that their mission was to destroy all that is good and holy in the world. It listed detailed instructions for the trial, judgment and punishment of witches, and for almost two centuries, it was used as the `instruction manual' for the Inquisition. Judges, Witch-Finders and Inquisitors used a wide range of torture methods to prove a Witch's allegiance with the devil, or to drive evil spirits out of the accused.

By the year 1600, witches had been hunted, tried and destroyed for almost six centuries, and the Inquisition itself had ravaged Europe for over a hundred years. Whole villages were decimated as the fury raged. People were known to accuse their enemies of witchcraft just to get them out of the way. Old homeless women were often suspect, and any strangers, cripples or unpopular people were marked as witches and killed.

It wasn’t until the 1700’s that a greater understanding prevailed, and the fury of the Inquisition began to wane, but the damage had been done – it had become accepted common knowledge that Witches should be assumed to be ‘satanic’ or ‘evil’.

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Fourth Service: The Renaissance of Magick
Menu: Victorian Beef and Barley Stew
Music: “Mr Crowley” by The Cardigans**
Recitation:
After so many centuries of arrests, trials and executions, people were growing tired of the endless fear and paranoia, and the judges were having a harder time separating the innocent from the guilty. Science was proving that germs and poor health care were killing cows and children. Witches were becoming nothing more than folk-legends or characters in children’s stories.

What of the real Witches, the Goddess-worshipping herbalists, spiritualists and mystics? They had been forced to go into hiding, to avoid persecution. Their hereditary Covens, which held Sabbats and rituals in private through the Middle Ages, were held in deepest trust and secrecy. By keeping a low profile, and blending in with the rest of society, they were able to pass mostly unnoticed throughout the Inquisition. They kept their rituals hidden, and taught only by word of mouth. The real Witches survived this way for centuries, living in fear of discovery, and carrying their secrets and rituals in confidence from generation to generation.

In 1720, Frances Hutchison, the Pastor of St. James's Parish in London, wrote a book entitled "The Historical Essays of Witch-Craft and Demonological Hysteria". In his book, Hutchison said that the Inquisition itself was the work of Satan, who played games with men's minds. His views were eventually discredited, but they did awaken people to the damage the Inquisition had done. Insights such as his heralded the birth of the Age of Enlightenment.

From about 1875 to 1920, another movement was stirring. Men were exploring the myths and mysteries of esoteric Hebrew texts, including the Kabbalah, and were experimenting with other forms of mysticism and magick. People like Aleister Crowley, Eliphas Levi and Frances Barrett spent hours poring over the Kabbalistic texts, and studying astrology, alchemy, hermetic philosophies, Druidism, the Tarot, and many other sources. Together, they formed the `Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn', sort of a melting pot of esoteric philosophies. This was the beginning of what is now known as ceremonial magick.

Around the same time, there was a man named Gerald Gardner. He was introduced to a hereditary Coven of Witches, and was initiated in 1939. In 1951, the witchcraft laws in England were repealed, and it was no longer a crime to practice witchcraft. Gardner had written a book in 1949; `High Magic's Aid' was a novel based on Margaret Murray's theories on witches and the Wicce. Now able to express himself openly, Gardner published two more books, `WitchCraft Today' in 1954 and `The Meaning of WitchCraft' in 1959. Gardner died in 1963, but he is often acknowledged as the man who brought witchcraft out of the shadows and back into the light of day.

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Fifth Service: Out of the Broom Closet
Menu: Tropical Fruit Salad with Pomegranate Glaze
Music: “Burning Times” (Elaine Silver’s version)
Recitation:
Following the reawakewning of the Craft in the 1950’s, the 1960's were an amazing decade for modern Witches. Hippies, the `Age of Aquarius', the feminist movement, all held the message that a new awareness was opening. These changes were embraced by the newly-rediscovered religion of witchcraft. There was still suspicion, resentment and hatred, but many were beginning to see the nature-oriented path as a safe and peaceful alternate choice. In 1964, an author named Raymond Buckland was initiated into the Craft, and he quickly became an outspoken figure in the revival of witchcraft. Others followed suit, including Sybil Leek, Stewart and Janet Farrar, Laurie Cabot, Timothy Zell, and many more. Witchcraft was experiencing unprecedented growth.

In 2000 CE, Pope John Paul II issued a ‘papal apology’ for religious persecution over the centuries. It didn’t address witches specifically, but it did acknowledge that the church recognized its own violent history.

As we enter the 21st century, the world is gradually changing. The 'New Age' fascination of the '70's, '80's and '90's brought people closer to concepts like herbology, reincarnation and crystal magick, astral travel and alternate forms of spirituality. And with more and more television shows and movies featuring witches as regular characters, the outlandish notion that witches are 'ordinary people' seems a little more normal every day.

As we stand together on the brink of tomorrow, we need to re-examine where history has brought us. We should never forget the horrible price our predecessors paid for the desire to simply live. It is becoming obvious that Craft philosophies and perspectives are mirrored in global concerns such as world health, religious tolerance and global warming. More and more people are exploring witchcraft as a viable alternative to organized religion. It is today one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.

Footnotes:
*Author’s Note: This article is not about Claire Schwartz’s Pagan Seder. Unlike Carolina Grove’s Pagan Seder, Ms. Schwartz’s Seder is a direct synthesis of Hebrew and Pagan custom, complete with charoset and mahtzos. You can read about Ms Schwartz’s Seder on her website, www.apaganseder.com)

**The Cardigan’s cover of ‘Mr Crowley’ is a light-hearted, a capella version of the Ozzy Osbourne classic. It always brings a laugh.

Copyright: I wrote this Pagan Seder for Carolina Grove, a Charlotte (North Carolina) based group that hosts open-to-the-public Sabbats, classes and workshops. If you would like to host your own Pagan Seder, you are absolutely welcome to borrow the themes, menu and recitation from ours, or to write your own. I’d be delighted to know how it went! I welcome input and comments regarding the Pagan Seder.

ABOUT...

Miles Batty

Location: Mooresville, North Carolina

Author's Profile: To learn more about Miles Batty - Click HERE

Bio: Miles Batty is the author of “Teaching WitchCraft: A Guide for Teachers and Students of the Old Religion”, a lesson-by-lesson textbook that offers a two-semester syllabus for teaching a “Wicca101” class, and “The Green Prince’s Father”, a children’s book that explains the relevance of the Sabbats and the changing seasons, and significance of the life, death and rebirth of the Horned God.

Other Articles: Miles Batty has posted 4 additional articles- View them?

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