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| ====Gardnerian==== | | ====Gardnerian==== |
| Gerald Gardner, the eponymous founder of Gardnerian Wicca, particularly stressed heterosexual approaches to Wicca. As Jan Van Cleve, former practitioner of traditional Wicca, wrote, "Much of Gardnerian magic is based on this notion that physical interaction between male and female is not only desirable, but also necessary."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12197|title=Gender and Paganism|last=Van Cleve|first=Janice|date=27 January 2008|website=WitchVox|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124020359/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12197|archive-date=24 January 2020|access-date=11 September 2019}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020}}</ref> This practice may stem from Gardner's text (ostensibly quoting a witch, but perhaps in his own words):<ref name=":9">[[Gerald Gardner (Wiccan)|Gardner, Gerald]]. ''Witchcraft Today'' (1954) London: Rider. p. 69</ref> | | Gerald Gardner, the founder of Gardnerian Wicca in the 1950s and 60s, emphasized heterosexual approaches to Wicca. As Jan Van Cleve, former practitioner of traditional Wicca, wrote, "Much of Gardnerian magic is based on this notion that physical interaction between male and female is not only desirable, but also necessary."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12197|title=Gender and Paganism|last=Van Cleve|first=Janice|date=27 January 2008|website=WitchVox|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124020359/http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?id=12197|archive-date=24 January 2020|access-date=11 September 2019}}{{Self-published source|date=June 2020}}</ref> Gardner said that a witch could only be initiated by one of the other gender, with exceptions for parents initiating children, and otherwise would be cursed by the Goddess.<ref name=":9">[[Gerald Gardner (Wiccan)|Gardner, Gerald]]. ''Witchcraft Today'' (1954) London: Rider. p. 69</ref> According to Lois Bourne, one of the High Priestesses of the Bricket Wood coven, Gardner said that all witches had to be heterosexual men and women.<ref>Bourne, Lois ''Dancing with Witches''. (2006) London: Robert Hale. {{ISBN|0-7090-8074-3}}. p.38. (Hardback edition first published 1998).</ref> |
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| {{Quote|text="The witches tell me 'The law always has been that power must be passed from man to woman or from woman to man, the only exception being when a mother initiates her daughter or a father his son, because they are part of themselves' (the reason is that great love is apt to occur between people who go through the rites together.) They go on to say: 'The Templars broke this age-old rule and passed the power from man to man: this led to sin and in doing so it brought about their downfall.' ... For this reason, they say, the goddess has strictly forbidden a man to be initiated by or to work with a man, or a woman to be initiated by or to work with a woman, the only exceptions being that a father may initiate his son and a mother her daughter, as said above; and the curse of the goddess may be on any who break this law."|sign=Gerald Gardner|source=''Witchcraft Today'' (1954)}}Gardner was accused of homophobia by Lois Bourne, one of the High Priestesses of the Bricket Wood coven:<blockquote>"Gerald was homophobic. He had a deep hatred and detestation of homosexuality, which he regarded as a disgusting perversion and a flagrant transgression of natural law... 'There are no homosexual witches, and it is not possible to be a homosexual and a witch' Gerald almost shouted. No one argued with him."<ref>Bourne, Lois ''Dancing with Witches''. (2006) London: Robert Hale. {{ISBN|0-7090-8074-3}}. p.38. (Hardback edition first published 1998).</ref></blockquote>
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| However, the legitimacy of Gardner's rumored homophobia is disputable because Gardner showed much more evidence of an open and accepting attitude about practices in his writing which would not be characterized by the hatred or phobia which was common in the 1950s:
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| <blockquote>"Also, though the witch ideal is to form perfect couples of people ideally suited to each other, nowadays this is not always possible; the right couples go together and the rest go singly and do as they can. Witchcraft today is largely a case of 'make do'."<ref>Gardner, Gerald. ''Witchcraft Today'' (1954) London: Rider. p. 125</ref></blockquote>As the titular leader of Gardnerian Wicca, it difficult to determine of the above passages whether they represent a personal view of Gardner, Gardner's religious teaching for the sect of Wicca, both, or neither. It is also unclear whether or not these views/teachings changed over time.
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| =====Alexandrian===== | | =====Alexandrian===== |
