What Is “Crystal Visions Celtic Wicca”© ?

What Is “Crystal Visions Celtic Wicca”© ?
An Emerging and Evolving Personal “Mystical Tradition”
according to Lady Branwenn WhiteRaven

CVC Wiccans acknowledge that all life is composed of both light and shadow and realize that most of our living falls somewhere in between. No one is perfect, but anyone may aspire to advance to a higher level of being and understanding. You are a beloved child of the Lord, the Lady, and the Universe; you must learn to also truly love and accept yourself completely, both your positive and negative characteristics, before you can overcome difficulty or large obstacles that may seem insurmountable at times.

When I say that I am a Crystal Visions Celtic Witch, I mean that I am a student first and always, a healer, a teacher, and a Priestess who is struggling to follow a path of balance and harmony seeking to evolve to a higher level of being. At the same time, I am able to relax and enjoy the here and now and to be content in what the Universe has brought my way today.

My own cultural heritage is Irish, Scottish, and Welsh (along with some German and Cherokee.) Thus, I am fascinated by the Celts and the recent resurgence of the ideas of Pan Celticism. “Pan Celticism, according to its advocates, is recognition by the Irish, Scots, Manx, Welsh, Bretons, and Cornish of the special relationship they have with one another due to their common Celtic origins.” (Peter Berresford Ellis, Celtic Dawn: Celtic Survival in the Modern World, 1993, page 19.)

My grandmother was the daughter of a first generation Irish immigrant who still spoke his native language and grew up near Galway in County Clare. Legend has it that Grandmother Florence Irene Mullan was born on the way over on the boat from Ireland. Since my Irish grandmother was the single, most influential person in my life, I choose the Celtic legends and pantheons as one of my pathways to self-development. Studying the Celtic myths and legends is just one of the myriad ways that one can acquire self-knowledge. Applying the lessons of these mythic heroes and spiritual leaders to our own lives may help us toward enlightenment, wisdom or, perhaps, (just) another learning experience.

There are many definitions for Witch, Wiccan or Wicca, and much controversy over which definition is correct. There is perhaps even more controversy currently over the idea of “Celtic Wicca,” an idea which is held in great disdain right now by a large part of the Celtic Reconstructionist community. Crystal Visions Celtic Wicca is an eclectic belief system and lifestyle based upon combining the “attempted reconstruction” of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales with the neo-Pagan religious framework created by Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Alex Sanders, Janet and Stewart Farrar, Vivianne and Chris Crowley and others.

The pre-Christian Celts followed a primarily oral tradition, so accurate “reconstruction” is difficult at best. Crystal Visions Celtic Wicca seeks to add the dimension of the mythic experience and the archetypal psychological traditions started by Carl Jung and furthered by Joseph Campbell, and other more recent practitioners of this path, to its two primary characteristics of neo-Pagan traditions and Celticism. These three paths combined together form a strong foundation, I believe, for a healthy quest for positive self-evolution.

CVC Witches see life as a never-ending journey of personal self-development and magick as a side effect of that self development, albeit usually a positive one, but not the entire thrust of the tradition, as in some Wiccan cultures and traditions. CVC Witches do not claim to have the one answer to all of life’s questions, or even the best answer. The best rationale I can find for the gathering together of these elements is that they “work” for me, and have worked effectively for others over the years. This is an evolving tradition. Perhaps you may find the idea of having the words “evolving” and “tradition” side by side to be an oxymoron, but the end of evolution is stasis, stagnation and death. CVC Wicca is a living tradition---ever changing and growing in the search for new truths---either recently discovered by personal experience or from antiquity.

What CVC Wicca strives for:
The idea of balance in each and every aspect of life is central to all the teachings of CVC Wicca. CVC Wicca is a positive, life-affirming, spirituality that encourages its students to think for themselves and find the religious or spiritual path that is “right” for them. We encourage commonsense, learning, scholarship and the development of the ability to learn to listen to your own “inner bell” to determine what is specifically right for you in this world. We stress the divinity of all living things and therefore respect for all life. We strive to live our lives in balance with the four elements, with both the male and female principles inside each of us, and also with both the God and Goddess representations of Spirit which is both immanent (inside us) and eminent (outside us-the Universe) . No blame is given to anyone or anything outside ourselves for the daily happenings in our lives. We assume full responsibility for the course and actions of our lives and for balancing and maintaining a positive equilibrium of healthy growth in our lives.

The phases of the moon, the wheel of the year’s eight seasonal celebrations, and the natural ebb and flow of the cycles of the Earth and our own lives compliment and enhance our spirituality. CVC Wicca emphasizes living in harmony and achieving balance with all things. We do not cast “spells” as much as we do creative visualization exercises which lead us towards healing our inner turmoil both physical and emotional and empowering us with harmony and creativity. CVC Wiccans believe that Spirit, represented by the Goddess and the God, exist in ALL things and make up the ONE, the UNIVERSE, the unknown web of life that surrounds us and connects us in an intricate relationship to ALL things around us. Every action we take has an effect on our entire universe. Snow, animals, plants, both outdoor and houseplants, the oceans, each other and all creatures, even things made by man, are ALL aspects of the divine. This belief creates a reverence and respect for the environment, and for ALL life upon the Earth.

CVC Wiccans see life to be composed of powerful symbols, myths and archetypes which we employ to help us make sense of our Universe. We also work with the symbolic attributes of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water - the classical four elements - which along with Spirit comprise and bring forth all creation. We do not look at our path as the only way, but as one path among many to the same end. We do NOT seek to convert new members to think the same as we do. We are willing to share what we have learned with those who are seeking and questing along this path. We will not LEAD seekers to our own personal truths, but allow them to find truths of their own. We seek balance, the Middle Path, and try not to discriminate against other religions even those who seek to persecute us practicing tolerance, creating harmony and moderation in all things, even moderation itself.