Friday, November 03, 2006

A Wiccan Creation Myth - Missing?

Creation stories are a part of many religions, ancient and contemporary. Some of them begin with the birth of the Gods; others start with the creation of the world/universe. Some are quite detailed, others are vague, and sometimes there are several creation stories which originate within the same culture. Sometimes it is essential to establish the dominance of a God/Goddess over certain aspects of the world, or to assert claims of "One true religion" (as in, "Our God has created everything so he has the final word...").

I'm not saying that a creation story is needed. There are religions and philosophies in which a creation story is somewhat irrelevant (as in Tibetan Buddhism), other that no creation story is known to survive (such as a Celtic creation story).

I haven't found a Wiccan creation story either. Yes, there is Cunningham's short story of "The One" from Which the Goddess and God were created from (as presented in "Wicca - a guide to the solitary practitioner). Others use Starhawk's creation story as appears in "The Spiral Dance" - Those were published as their personal views on the subject of creation and are not necessarily Wiccan.

Other Wiccans may just remark on the scientific creation story (the "Big Bang" theory being the most accepted). I do not see it as a contradiction. My opinion is that creation stories are allegorical and have other truths (mystical by nature) to confer.

So why doesn't Wicca have one? Some answers I thought of:

1) There is a creation story, yet it is oathbound and therefore isn't shared with non-BTW Wiccans.

2) As Wicca draws bits and pieces from local English beliefs, and Celtic beliefs among them - and there is no Celtic creation story known today (if there ever was one).

3) A creation story is simply insignificant.

4) The lack of a creation story is significant.

Assumptions:

1) It might be so. It also might be that the initiation ordeal, or the myth of the descent of the Goddess, reveals such a creational story.

2) Wicca is not overtly Celtic, and draws from many sources. Gardner could have easliy used another creation story, as do many Wiccans today.

3) This might be the case, and it also connects with 4:

4) Given the cyclic nature of Wiccan belief - as expressed in the observation of the Lunar and Solar cycles, the myth of the descent of the Goddess and the death and rebirth of the God (and within it the Holly King Vs. the Oak King myth) ?I presume that a creation story, which states a certain ?Ultimate Beginning? (which also gives rise to the notion of ?Ultimate Ending? or one and final ?Apocalypse?) is not only unnecessary ? it?s counter productive and stands against the central theme of Death & Rebirth which is a core belief in Wicca and Wiccan practices.

I can not say for sure whether my fourth assumption (the one which I endorse the most) is correct in a way that a lack of a creation story was intentional or not. Maybe it is due to ?neglect? that there is no creation story to Wicca. Even if it is the case, and this lack is not intentional, I myself think it is for the best, for so we can truly adhere to the cyclic principle.

I'd like to read your take on this subject.

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