(^250) A Wiccan Bible
could be accomplished without the act of war. Not all of their ideas were the most
humane. In fact, some were degenerative forms of entertainment in which men were
pitted against each other not for their longing of victory, but because spectators wanted
to feel what it was like to be pitted in life versus death combat while remaining in the
relative safety of their Colosseum seats. The ancients were not perfect. But they did
try. In fact, our modern Olympic games testify to the fact that the ancient Pagan Greeks
sought appeasement to this lust for victory in the creation of great sport. Elsewhere we
see limitations placed on war, such that single combatants meet on the field rather than
entire armies.
Anguish, a king of Ireland, sent his brother-in-law Morholt to face single combat
with the Cornish Tristan. In that combat, Tristan fell Morholt so it was not a deathless
battle, but it was a battle that involved only one death. As such competition can be
found in a great deal of Celtic lore, we can safely say that the Celts may have been
dedicated to war when war was necessary, but when it was not they reframe from com-
bat, and when combat was inevitable they did what they could to limit the loss of life.
Additional indications as to how the ancient Pagans felt about war can be found in
the many connections between war and crop fertility, the central message being that
should a nation be prosperous, war is not likely. Should a nation starve, war was inevi-
table. You might recall I mentioned the barbarism of one of Rome’s most notorious
forms of entertainment. History has shown that the Roman people should not be judged
by one event alone and neither should their attitude towards war. Why? Well, there is
very clear evidence that they were not the bloodthirsty monsters that the coliseum
battles between Gladiators portrays. Indeed, one of their holidays even involves pray-
ing that the weapons of war rust. While that principle is represented widely in lore, it is
found no more clearly than in the Robigalia celebrated on Aprilis 25. The Robigalia
honors Robigus and Robigo, god and goddess of rust in one form or another. At their
festival, prayers were conducted asking them to rust the weapons and tools of war
rather than to rust (blight) their crops. Please let our crops do well, so our armies will
not have to make war to feed us.
When to Fight
How do we decide what we should and should not take up arms against? Where is
this great book of wisdom that tells us right from wrong? If it is so clear that the ancient
Pagans were willing to stand against what they saw as wrong, why can we not just have
a book to tell us what those wrong things are? The reason Wicca does not have a list of
things one should or should not do is the creation of such a list would destroy the very
nature of our religion. Doing so is why we see those most annoying sidewalk preachers
who can tell right from wrong simply by reading the pages where those rights and wrongs
were written.
At a march conducted in Columbus, Ohio for the National Organization for Women,
there was one such preacher whose wife had a sign that read “Feminism is Satanism.”
She looked none too thrilled to be standing there with that sign. Normally, I tend to
taunt such protesters, but I couldn’t. The punishment for her ignorance was already
w WB Chap 14.p65 250 7/11/2003, 6:03 PM
barré
(Barré)
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