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My Personal Path to Dianic Witchcraft

One of the most interesting things about meeting other Dianic Witches is learning about the path they've taken to where they are today.

Most of us grew up in Christian homes and, as we hit puberty, we decided that a religion that was built on the idea that men were better and more important than women wasn't one we wanted to be a part of! A period of learning followed, wherein we realized that all of the "mainstream" religions had the same basis - a male god who lorded it over everyone (pun intended).

When I discovered pagan religion, I was first exposed to Wicca. I read everything that Scott Cunningham had written, and supplemented my learning with Diane Stein and Starhawk. I felt an immediate connection to Goddess, but that god aspect kept getting in my way. I think it was in Cunningham's "The Truth About Witchcraft Today" that I read that to be a Wiccan you MUST believe in and worship both Goddess and god (my emphasis) and if you didn't, you weren't Wiccan and should quit pretending (my paraphrasing). I was dismayed to find that this religion didn't want me either. I tried – I really did - but whenever I invoked any god it was just lip service. I didn't feel anything. It was just words to get through until I could invoke Her presence.

Then I read "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This is a retelling of the Arthurian mythos from a feminine/feminist point of view. Morgaine (who in the traditional tale is a wicked sorceress) is a Priestess of the Goddess, and this book tells the story of Christianity taking over from the Old Religion of the Goddess. I was stunned. Finally, confirmation of what I had always felt to be true - that Mother Nature was real, that She was Goddess, and that women's ways were true and holy and special and important!!!

It was at that point that I told myself it was ok to dump that god-stuff, and stand up for what I truly believed in. I didn't care anymore that Scott Cunningham didn't want me in his religion - I knew Her and She was more than enough for me. Funny, at this point I found more Goddess-based material to read and study. Maybe I wasn't ready for it before, or maybe She just wanted my commitment to be given despite what others said so that I wasn't a sheep following the crowd in a trendy religious conversion.