Which Witch is which

Which Witch is which, or, Pagan groups who venerate the Ancient sites of Britain.

There are many current cultures often grouped under the ubiquitous title of Pagans by Christians and the followers of the other mainstream Desert Cults. The word pagan originally evolved in the Roman period and was used in reference to rural peoples and issues. At the time of Justinian, an emperor who tried to re-introduce polytheism as the state religion of Rome, the word pagan was for the first time used as a 'catch all' to include all the non-Christian sects. Justinian was unsuccessful in his attempt to save the cultures of groups such as Mithriaism and Sol Invictus and the term pagan took on the meaning of non-christian from that time.

These are some of the main pagan groups who currently worship at stone circles and other meglithic sites in Britain today, they include Druids, Witches and Wiccans, Satanists, Shamans and Magicians. This list is by no means comprehensive:

Druids: Possibly the group most closely associated with worship at ancient sites. Although major rites within the Druidical calendar are conducted at megalithic sites, worship within Druidism is also conducted in wooded glades and at sites associated with springs and pools.

The ancient Druids were not the original builders of the megalithic structures, their culture evolving with the arrival of celtic life in around 500BC (about 1000 years after the last megalith was erected). Their culture did grow for about another 500 years though until the Druids were slaughtered in droves at Anglesey in __AD by the Romans. The consequent suppression of the nationalistic culture by the Romans and latterly by the early Christian church is believed to have broken the link in continuity between the ancient and modern Druids.

Modern Druidism has it's public roots in the Victorian period. It's acceptance by the authorities has led to the internment of some of the Druids ashes at the Stonehenge site as recently as the 1920's. Druidism has maintained it's links to the government of Britain and is currently the only group allowed to witness the midsummer sunrise at Stonehenge.

http://druidry.org/ ---The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Beautiful pictures accompany a guide to joining this society. http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/6208/index.html ---The Druid's Grove. Nice site concerning itself with the issues of Druids, Bards and Ovates. Groovy music accompanies a really quick loading site. http://www.msen.com/~robh/slg/index.html ---A North American perspective on Druidism http://www.adf.org/ ---This seems to be the Headquarters of American Druidry.

Traditional Witches, Wicca and Hedge-witches:

Traditional Witches: learn their craft via a lineage, usually within families. Their groups are often smaller than one would associate with covens. They are often inclined more to herbalism than ceremony, to folk-lore than ritual.

http://www.witchs-brew.com/ ---Though not intrinsically linked to Stone Circles there are so many witches there when I visit, it seems churlish to exclude them. This is one of the most popular witch sites on the web, visit soon and see why. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/3111/ ---The Witches Circle is very readable and has some lush graphics. Not just for the intitiated. http://www.angelfire.com/ms/moira/index.html ---Moira Scott's Witchcraft pages are informative and well laid out. Bells, books and candles abound. http://www.witchesweb.com/ ---The Witches web deals with News, education and the forming of networks within the pagan community. Nice speedy graphics help as you trawl through this large and entertaining site.

Wicca: Started after a series of publications by Gerald Gardener (including, 'Witchcraft Today') in the early 1950's. Prompted in part by the replealing of Britain's Witchcraft Laws. He is often regarded as the 'father' of modern witchcraft.

http://www.spiritonline.com/wicca/index.html ---An on-line Book of Shadows, useful as a resource for learning more about the roots and practice of Wicca. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2938/index.html ---Rydia's wiccan page. An eclectic wiccan view. Well put together, informative guide to modern and more traditional witchcraft. http://www.ghg.net/jwaldie/gardwcca.htm ---An interesting article about the Gardnerian roots of modern Wicca. http://members.aol.com/janus59/alextrad.htm ---A slightly tongue in cheek description of the later Alexandrian tradition of Wicca.

Hedge-witches: Modern solitary witches.

http://members.aol.com/darkcirce/solitary.htm ---What is meant by the phrase 'Hedge Witch' http://members.surfsouth.com/~striix/witch.html ---Scotican Witchcraft. A solitary tradition. http://members.tripod.com/~shadowdrake/HSDwitchFAQ.html ---Everything you ever wanted to know about traditional witchcraft and more. http://www.paganlore.com/hedgefaq.html ---An alternative view of what it means to be a Hedge witch, with a slightly 'medieval grimoire' approach.

Shamans: One of the oldest belief systems which can trace a continuity. Reverence to the natural world, belief in spirit guides and earth magic are common amongst many of the European and North American groups.

http://www.ravenfamily.org/nascakiyetl ---Some shamanic protectors of British sites. http://www.webcom.com/gspirit/Shaman/so.toc.html ---Good page for background knowledge. http://www.shamanism.org/ ---A Shamanic site which runs free workshops. Nice graphics and extensive content. http://www.shamana.co.uk/newartic.htm ---Some shamanic related articles

Magicians: Aleister Crowley's work started an entire belief structure and several magical orders.

http://www.tgd.org/ The Official Golden Dawn site. http://www.golden-dawn.org/tradition.html The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.org/index.shtml The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a non-profit Florida corporation whose goal ... http://www.cog.org/wicca/trads/nroogd.html New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn http://www.crl.com/~thelema/crowley.html Short Crowley biography.

Satanists: Although not strictly associated with worship at ancient sites, some people proporting to be Satanists do preform rituals at these places.

http://www.churchofsatan.com/home.html Anton LaVey's legacy lives on here. The official site no less. http://www.the600club.com/main-page.html A Satanist philosophy. http://www.rickross.com/groups/satanism.html A journalist's page of American legal cases concerning Satanism. Some quite chilling reading, not for the fainthearted. http://people2.clarityconnect.com/webpages5/demon/Satanism/Satanism.htm A more sympathetic view of Satanism.

Some of these groups (and also travellers) have been blamed unfairly for damage and vandalism at certain sacred sites. Though it is true that there has been some damage done in the name of these religions by some of their followers, it is more usually in the form of thoughtlessly discarded tea-lights, than the more significant damage caused at sites such as Men-an-Tol and Trevey Quoit. The fire damage at these two Cornish sites were allegedly conducted in a 'pagan' rite but this seems unlikely considering the outrage from formalised groups and the fact that the perpetrators sent photographic evidence of their vandalism to local papers.

If a religious group has to take responsibility for damaging ancient sites, then Christianity could have many acts of wanton vandalism attributed to it. The Mitchell's Fold circle in Staffordshire still shows the drill holes which were bored by miners, under the supervision of the local clergy, to take powder charges which were used to blast the standing stones to pieces. This practice only stopped when one of the miners was killed in the act and all the others took this as a bad omen and ceased their actions.

Even though there has been damage done in the name of various religions, this by no means compares to the damage done for more secular reasons. In both the past and present, secular damage has by far outweighed religious damage. Firstly the actions of the local communities in the past has had possibly the most detrimental effect on the ancient sites. In the Avebury area there emerged a thriving industry chopping up the megaliths into handy building blocks. This is possibly the most extreme of all the practices which grew up around the ancient sites.

Economically driven commercial enterprises of the present have their share of blame to take for the loss of our heritage sites as well. It would seem that the planning authorities have not learnt from previous mistakes as the Nine Ladies in Derbyshire is currently under threat by a mining company. This is not a case in isolation unfortunately. And before we forget, it was the actions of a few vandals in the hippy community who sprayed 'peace symbols' on the megaliths at Stonehenge which led to the eventual closure of the site to free public access, not the processional Druids and their like.

If you feel I have misrepresented any of the above groups, or would like a link to your group added in a category, please mail me HERE.

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