Pulling Fluffy Bunnies From Hats


"Fluffy Bunny!" "Trad!"

     Here be dragons. A lot of fuss has been made over the so-called "Witch Wars," a rather appropriate term for the often vicious inter- and intra-fighting present in Wiccan groups. The Fluffy Bunny dissention, although only one example of this phenomenon, is one of the more idiotic debates present in the greater whole.  
 

     See, once upon a time, metaphysical and psychic secret socities were all the rage among fashionable Englishmen (and women). Wicca as it exists today is an amalgamation of various practices from each of these societies - a loose collection of Golden Dawn ritual, plus hints gleaned from surving folk practice, and outright fabrication. Then a man named Gerald Gardner mixed all these separate elements together and declared it Witchcraft. (After the Craft diversified, the men and women who adhered to his original practices were referred to as "Gardnerian Witches." So when you hear talk of temples, orders, initiations, and the like, it's most likely Gardnerian-influenced witchcraft, if not the genuine article itself.) Now, as can be expected, some people thought that Gardner's methods could be improved upon, and that eventually resulted in the amazing diversification of Pagan thought and practice evident today.  
 

     Then two problems arose: first, that some Gardnerian witches began to vocally announce that only they were true Wiccans, and second, that Wicca became a pop culture phenomenon. Due to the former, every sizable group was soon insisting that only they observed the correct Wiccan practices. Due to the latter, a lot of people began calling themselves Wiccans because the Craft was visible enough to frighten people. America's parents heard about it on Inside Edition, and their rebellious offspring could freak them out by claiming to be Pagan. Once Hollywood took over it was all she wrote.
 

     Soon, conflict erupted when the "Trad" (i.e. Gardenian and more organized groups) Wiccans began shouting that the "Fluffy Bunnies" (i.e. people who became "Wiccan" because it was trendy or outlaw-chic to do so, as well as any Wiccan with a very open concept of what Wicca is) were diluting the concept and purity of "true" Wicca. Caught in the middle were those Pagans who, although they weren't playing at being Wiccans, didn't see any need to go about joining temples or groves before considering themselves true followers of the Craft. It wasn't long before shouting matches were erupting on both sides, something which unfortunately continues to this very day. 
 


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