Dianic Wicca was born of the feminist movement and founded by hereditary witch named Zsuzsanna Budapest in 1971, Venice Beach, California. And on Winter’s Solstice of 1971, she founded the very first Dianic coven called the Susan B. Anthony Coven Number One. And she served as its High Priestess until 1980. The Susan B. Anthony Coven Number One still exists today with the name “Circle of Aradia.” According to Zsuzsanna, the Dianic belief are as follows:  “We always recognize, when we say “Goddess,” that She is the Life-giver, the Life-sustainer. She is Mother Nature.”

 

What Dianic Wicca does is focus and embrace the Goddess aspect of things and spends very little time on the God aspect of things. Not that the founder was against the God or male aspect and wanted separatism, what the Dianic tradition actually does is embrace the differences between the male and the female as given by the Goddess, Mother Nature. The core belief of the Dianic tradition is that it is a holistic religious system based on a Goddess-centered cosmology and the primacy of “She Who is All And Whole Unto Herself.”  To put it simply, this is a  Goddess-based and feminine-focused spiritual path.

To further illustrate the beliefs of those who take the Dianic tradition, according to Zsuzsanna Budapest:

“There are only two kinds of people in the world: mothers and their children. Mothers can give life to each other as well as to men, who are not able to do the same for themselves. This constitutes a dependency upon the Female Life Force for life renewed and was accepted naturally in ancient times by our ancient forebearers as a sacred gift of the Goddess. In patriarchal times, this sacred gift was turned against women, and used to force them to give up roles of independence and power.”

She began having a following of women who were creating Dianic communities. They began following in her example and practicing her teachings. She began ordaining High Priestesses and had them ordain other High Priestesses, and thus, the tradition grew.

Strictly Women

Being a feminist Zsuzsanna Budapest put front and center the importance of women having their own culture, own resourcing, and own traditions. It is due to this strong belief system that she became subject to a controversy last 2011 for not allowing a transgender woman to join in the ritual of a Dianic coven. On her group’s website, it says that membership is only open to women born women.

Many covens who follow the Dianic tradition distanced themselves from the coven of Budapest as a result of this. But Budapest remains strong in her conviction.

Taunt the Witch T-shirt from The Moonlight Shop

Hexes and Curses

While many Wiccan traditions follow a belief system that discourages hexing, cursing or dabbling in black magic, Dianic Wicca does not restrict this in special cases. In fact, there are many Dianic Wiccans make it known that it is ok to place a hex on someone or curse someone who is inflicting harm on a woman or women.  

 

Misconceptions

While most Dianic Wiccan covens are strictly for females-only, with only a very few who welcome men into their group (men are often invited just to provide polarity). People began associating Dianic Wicca with lesbianism. But of course, that’s just ignorance talking. Many covens that follow the Dianic tradition has a plethora of women in them whether they are straight, gay, or transvestites. Remember the 2011 incident? So long as you identify as a woman, you will be welcomed by many with open arms.

 

God and Goddess Pendant from The Moonlight Shop

What do you think of the Dianic tradition? Please let us know in the comments section below. 🙂