Reclaiming (Neopaganism)

Part of a series on
Feminism
show History Feminist history History of feminism Women's history American British Canadian German Waves First Second Third Fourth Timelines Women's suffrage Muslim countries US Other women's rights Women's suffrage by country Austria Australia Canada India Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein New Zealand Spain Civil War Francoist Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Cayman Islands Wales United States states
show General variants Analytical Anarchist Anti-abortion Atheist Conservative Cultural Cyber Difference Ecofeminism Vegetarian Embedded Equality Eugenic Fat French French post-structuralist Global Hip-hop/Activism Individualist Labor Lesbian Radical lesbianism Liberal Equity Lipstick Materialist Maternal Multicultural Black Chicana Indigenous Kurdish (Jineology) Native American White Neofeminism Networked New Postcolonial Postfeminism Postmodern Post-structural Radical Separatist Sex-positive Socialist Marxist Social Standpoint State Transfeminism Transnational Victim Womanism Africana
show Religious variants Buddhist Christian Mormon Neopagan Dianic Wicca Reclaiming Hindu Islamic Jewish Orthodox Sikh
show Concepts Literature Children's literature Effects on society Equality Female education Female genital mutilation Femicide Feminism in culture Feminist movement African-American women's suffrage movement Art movement In hip hop Feminist stripper Gender equality Girl power Honor killing International Girl's Day and Women's Day Language reform Matriarchal religion Media Men in feminism Misogyny Oedipus complex Opposition to feminism Political lesbianism Lesbian separatism Pro-feminism Protofeminism Purplewashing Reproductive justice Sex workers' rights Sexual harassment Sexual objectification Toxic masculinity Triple oppression Violence against women War on women Women-only space Women's health Women's rights Women in the workforce
show Outlooks Bicycling and feminism Criticism of marriage Views on BDSM Views on pornography Views on prostitution Views on sexual orientation Views on sexuality Views on transgender topics
show Theory Feminist method Gender studies Gender mainstreaming Gynocentrism Kyriarchy Male gaze Matriarchy Women's studies Men's studies Patriarchy Écriture féminine Areas of study anthropology archaeology architecture art art criticism literary criticism film theory biology composition studies criminology pathways perspective economics fpda geography international relations constructivism legal theory pedagogy philosophy aesthetics empiricism epistemology ethics justice ethics existentialism metaphysics science political ecology political theory pornography psychology revisionist mythology science fiction sex wars sexology sociology technoscience theology womanist theology
show By country Albania Australia Bangladesh Canada China Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Egypt Ethiopia Finland France Germany Ghana Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Republic of Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latin America Argentina Brazil Chile Haiti Honduras Mexico Paraguay Trinidad and Tobago Lebanon Malaysia Mali Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Northern Cyprus Norway Pakistan Philippines Poland Russia Syria Saudi Arabia South Africa South Korea Sweden Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam Ukraine United Kingdom United States History of women
show Lists and categories Lists Articles Feminists by nationality Literature American feminist literature Feminist comic books Conservative feminisms Ecofeminist authors Feminist art critics Feminist economists Feminist philosophers Feminist poets Feminist rhetoricians Jewish feminists Muslim feminists Feminist parties Suffragists and suffragettes Women's rights activists Women's studies journals Women's suffrage organizations Categories Women's rights by country Feminists by nationality
Feminism portal
v t

Reclaiming is a modern witchcraft tradition, aiming to combine the Goddess movement with feminism and political activism (in the peace and anti-nuclear movements). Reclaiming was founded in 1979, in the context of the Reclaiming Collective (1978–1997), by two Neopagan women of Jewish descent, Starhawk and Diane Baker, in order to explore and develop feminist Neopagan emancipatory rituals.^[1]

Today, the organization focuses on progressive social, political, environmental and economic activism.^[2] Guided by a shared, "Principles of Unity, a document that lists the core values of the tradition: personal authority, inclusivity, social and environmental justice and a recognition of intersectionality".^[3]

History[]

Reclaiming originated in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, blending the influences of Victor and Cora Anderson's Feri Tradition of Witchcraft, Dianic Witchcraft as taught by Z. Budapest, and the feminist, anarchist,^[4] peace, and environmental movements.

Researcher Rachel Morgain writes:

Founding members of Reclaiming drew from earth-based pagan and magical traditions and from a growing feminist spirituality literature signalled by the publication of works such as Mary Daly's (1978) Gyn/Ecology and Christ and Plaskow's (1979) Woman-Spirit Rising, melding this with the anarchist politics and methods of participatory democracy of the direct-action movement to form a unique tradition of Paganism bent on radical social transformation, despite a broadening membership base that has diluted some of its more revolutionary foundations. The focus on social change remains central among many core practitioners, while the activism, books and writings of Reclaiming's most famous priestess, Starhawk, continue to draw in layers of new members from earth-activist and other radical political communities. Central to this Reclaiming focus on social transformation is their theology of 'immanence' which teachers see as very different from the emphasis on 'transcendence' in major world religions, particularly the Judaeo-Christian tradition. For reclaiming teachers, immanent theology places sacrality primarily in the material world, particularly in the natural world and in human beings.^[5]

Influences and teachings[]

Reclaiming's spiritual approach is based in the feminist Goddess movement and matriarchal religion. On some levels Reclaiming has much in common with Wicca, 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 techniques such as guided meditation, trance 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 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.^[5]

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.

See also[]

• Feminism
• Modern Paganism and New Age

References[]

Further reading[]

• Rachel Morgain. "Beyond 'Individualism': personhood and transformation in the Reclaiming pagan community of San Francisco". Anthropology thesis, Australian National University. [1]
• Rachel Morgain. (October 2012) "On the Use of the Uncanny in Ritual". Religion, 42:4, 521–548. Examines the uncanny within the context of Reclaiming rituals including 'the Wild Hunt'. [2] [3]
• Jone Salomonsen, Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco (London and New York: Routledge, 2002) ISBN 0-415-22392-X
• T. Thorn Coyle, Evolutionary Witchcraft (Tarcher/Penguin, 2004)
• Starhawk and M. Macha Nightmare, The Pagan Book of Living and Dying (Harper/SF, 1997)
• Starhawk, author of The Spiral Dance and numerous other books – see Starhawk
• Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America (Penguin, 2006)
• V. Vale, "Modern Pagans" (Re/Search, 2001)
• Victor and Cora Anderson, authors of numerous books about the Feri Tradition under the Harpy Books imprint

External links[]

• www.reclaiming.org – regional contacts,classes,rituals, and more
• www.reclaimingquarterly.org – news, photos, music, and more
• www.witchcamp.org – info and dates for Reclaiming intensives
• [4] – Essays on 25 years of involvement in Reclaiming