Dianic Wicca | |
---|---|
Type | Wicca |
Orientation | Feminist Wicca |
Theology | Goddess movement |
Governance | Woman-centered; led by priestesses or led by collective |
Region | United States |
Origin | 1970s United States |
Members | Around 1,000–2,000 |
Part of a series on |
Feminism |
---|
Feminism portal |
Dianic Wicca, also known as Dianic Witchcraft,[1] is a modern pagan goddess 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.[2][3] While some adherents identify as Wiccan, it differs from most traditions of Wicca in that only goddesses are honored (whereas most Wiccan traditions honor both female and male deities).[2][3]
While there is more than one tradition known as Dianic,[2] the most widely known is the female-only variety,[1] with the most prominent tradition thereof founded by Zsuzsanna Budapest in the United States in the 1970s.[3][2] It is notable for its worship of a single, monotheistic Great Goddess (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 Diana, Dianics worship goddesses from many cultures, within the Dianic Wiccan ritual framework.[3] Diana, (considered correlate to the Greek Artemis) "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."[4]
The Dianic Wiccan belief and ritual structure is an eclectic combination of elements from British Traditional Wicca, Italian folk-magic as recorded by Charles Leland in Aradia, New Age beliefs, and folk magic and healing practices from a variety of different cultures.[3][2]
Barrett
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).