More Recent Beliefs and Practice
According to the Pagan Federation of Canada: 'Over the last few decades, many people have thought that the emphasis on male/female polarity in Wicca excludes homosexuals'. However, this source goes on to make the case for the validity of LGBT orientations even within traditional Wicca, suggesting that gay men and lesbians are likely to be particularly alive to the interplay of the masculine and feminine principles in the Universe.
Historically, the Christian church and lay-people have believed that more women than men are involved in paganism and witchcraft, which can be seen as far back as 1487 with the printing of the Malleus Maleficarum Several modern authors of Wiccan books state that, in current Wicca, the situation is the same.
An exception is Dianic Wicca (also known as Feminist Witchcraft and/or Feminist Spirituality), a branch of Wicca practiced almost exclusively by women, most of whom are heterosexual, preferring to practice their spirituality with other women in pursuit of Women's Mysteries. Some Dianics, of course, are lesbians, just as there are lesbians in other Wiccan denominations. Dianic Wiccans worship a goddess but not the god, and form female-only covens, for the most part. There are some mixed-gender Dianics, specifically the McFarland Dianics, who practice in either all female or mixed-gender circles, and who may or may not include the god in their workings.
Since the nineteen eighties, a number of all-male or "Mithraic" circles have been formed. These masculist circles worship both the god and the goddess, but tend to emphasise the role of the god in their lives. It is thought that these circles may have been formed In response to Dianic Wicca.
Read more about this topic: LGBT Topics And Wicca
Famous quotes containing the words beliefs and/or practice:
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