Reclaiming is a modern witchcraft tradition, aiming to combine the

Goddess movement The Goddess movement includes spiritual beliefs or practices (chiefly Neopagan) which emerged predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in the 1970s. The movement grew as a reaction to perceptions of predominant ...

with feminism and

political activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range ...

(in the

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

s). Reclaiming was founded in 1979, in the context of the ''Reclaiming Collective'' (1978–1997), by two

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

women of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent, Starhawk and Diane Baker, in order to explore and develop feminist Neopagan emancipatory rituals. Today, the organization focuses on progressive social, political, environmental and economic activism. Guided by a shared, "Principles of Unity, a document that lists the core values of the tradition: personal authority, inclusivity, social and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justi ...

and a recognition of intersectionality".

History

Reclaiming originated in 1979 in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

, blending the influences of Victor and Cora Anderson's Feri Tradition of Witchcraft, Dianic Witchcraft as taught by Z. Budapest, and the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, anarchist,

, and

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

movements. Researcher Rachel Morgain writes:

Influences and teachings

Reclaiming's spiritual approach is based in the feminist

and

matriarchal religion A matriarchal religion is a religion that focuses on a goddess or goddesses. The term is most often used to refer to theories of prehistoric matriarchal religions that were proposed by scholars such as Johann Jakob Bachofen, Jane Ellen Harrison, ...

. On some levels Reclaiming has much in common with

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

, and the Wiccan Charge of the Goddess is commonly utilised; part of it is quoted in Reclaiming's core agenda, known as "The Principles of Unity". However, given its focus on dismantling and resisting structures of power and domination, Reclaiming uses consensus process and non-hierarchical structure in its covens – there is no High Priest or High Priestess as there would be in an Alexandrian or Gardnerian witchcraft coven. Reclaiming members are encouraged to take an active part in co-creating group rituals. Theologically, Reclaiming is very diverse and inclusive. The common thread is an active honoring and defending of the Earth, and a support of the Gaia hypothesis. Teaching and rituals, which are often focused on

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...

techniques such as guided meditation,

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

work, shapeshifting and ecstatic dance (as in the Spiral dance, an iconic group dance often performed at rituals and at protest rallies), is empowering the individual and the community to take action. Reclaiming often uses chant as part of its rituals and has released numerous recordings of chants used in the movement. The embodiment of

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

and fairytale in dramatic rituals (often done with spontaneity, a quality highly valued in the movement) which enact the cycle of the Seasons or the lessons of particular gods and goddesses are important in Reclaiming. Reclaiming rituals are designed to encourage a spiritual way of life that blends respect for the earth and other living beings with a fuller sense of personal well-being and alignment with spiritual values. Starhawk and Valentine's handbook ''Twelve Wild Swans'' involves instructions for interpreting the tale of the book's title through both the 'inner' and 'outer' paths of personal and social transformation, the two paths being seen alike as necessary facets of the same overall project. Without a focus on healing the self, Reclaiming members believe people are certain to perpetuate the social ills they have internalised through the damage done by modernity. Their ritual work is thus focused as much on personal healing and transformation as on social justice. Among the tradition's teachers are Starhawk, author of '' The Spiral Dance'' and several other books; T. Thorn Coyle, author of ''Evolutionary Witchcraft''; Diane Baker and Anne Hill, co-authors of ''Circle Round: Raising Children in the Goddess Tradition (1998)'' and M. Macha Nightmare, co-author of ''The Pagan Book of Living and Dying''.

Activities

Today, Reclaiming has several dozen affiliated communities across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. Weeklong intensives called "Witchcamps" bring Reclaiming people together in about a dozen regions. Classes such as "Elements of Magic", "Rites of Passage", and specific meditative and magical techniques such as the "Pearl Pentacle" and the "Iron Pentacle" assist participants to share practical skills in personal empowerment and group process. Reclaiming has also produced several CDs of pagan chants and songs, and publishes the magazine ''Reclaiming Quarterly''.

References

External links

''Reclaiming Quarterly''
a magical activism magazine {{Authority control Modern pagan traditions Feminist spirituality Pacifist feminism Modern pagan organizations based in the United States Wicca in the United States

History

Influences and teachings

Activities

See also

References

Further reading

External links