Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone have authored many Wiccan books over the years. We had the extreme honor of having them as our guests at Sacred Cauldron.

As Janet and Gavin ironically shared the same avatar during the interview, they began their discussion of their same but sometimes separate journeys. Gavin began speaking. Gavin started by discuss his coming into the Craft.

Gavin started his experience, strangely enough, as a Sunday School teacher. From there, his interest in non-traditional beliefs started to flourish. Gavin spent much of his time studying Eastern religions. This eventually brought him to Wicca when he read Doreen Valiente’s book, ABC’s of Witchcraft. For the first time, he no longer felt isolated. Several years later, Gavin met Stewart and Janet Farrar.

In the years that followed, they’d belong to many covens of differing but similar tenets, including Seax-Wicca, Gardenerian and Alexandrian Wicca. In those years, Stewart, Gavin and Janet started a coven of their own. Following that, in the 70’s they moved to Ireland, where they incorporated folklore and myth into their practices. It was shortly after that, where they started to life as authors.

Twenty years later, they would find themselves touring the United States and other countries, spreading their belief systems which were uniquely their own. This met with quite a bit of applause to a more than eager crowd of witches, where Gardenerian and Alexandrian were the primary sources one would find. This belief system would come to be known as Progressive Wicca, and it prolific today.

Progressive Wicca is a relatively recent concept where Gavin and Janet took the culmination of Stewart, Janet, and Gavin’s studies, and created basic tenets to define the evolution of what Wiccan Witchcraft has become. At its core, it is designed around the spirit as the center of beliefs. It is not heavily reliant on proper structures of circle preparation, and relies on more of a natural, intuitive approach to magick where the divine, not dogma, is at its central system. While still based on the original tenets of the Wiccan Rede, Progressive Wicca incorporates dualities such as yin and yang, god and goddess, as well as intrinsic human relations with magick. The result is a system unique and of itself, not based on tradition, but rather what simply seems to work.

Their newest endeavor, Lifting the Veil , a book that came out last year, is worthy of a read. In it, they discuss newer concepts such as Elder Support and some assistance with people who run covens. You can find this on Amazon, or in your local bookstore. Rumor has it, for a nominal fee, you can request autographs of said books!

This was one of many of the unique guests that Aquarian Tabernacle Church and the Staff and Students at Wiccan Seminary are privileged to take part in. Yet another reason that if you’ve not looked into it by this point, come down and see what all of the excitement is about.