Congregational Witchcraft Association
(CWA)
The Congregational Witchcraft Association (CWA) is a fellowship
of Wiccans that operates in Canada. It was chartered
in 1992 as a Canadian nonprofit association, but had actually
been founded four years previously as an association of autonomous
self-governing Wiccan covens, the original members residing
in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia. Through
the 1990s, additional covens (the small groups that form the
basic organizational unit in Wicca) were added from other Canadian
provinces.
Member groups of the association adhere to a common
statement of Wiccan belief and ethical standards, but are in
control locally of worship and coven administration. Besides
providing a sense of belonging and identity, the association is
designed to perform those functions that a single coven would
have difficulty accomplishing alone. Most importantly, it represents
the member covens to the government. It also, in a general
fashion works to promote Wicca and to set up larger festivals
and gatherings.
The association believes in a multifaceted immanent divine
reality that manifests as the many gods and goddesses of traditional
polytheism. The divine also manifests on various levels,
and thus it is proper to speak of the greater or higher deities
and the lesser deities, among whom would be guardian spirits.
The immanent divine is also ever present and active in the
world. Humans embody the divine, and every act of love or
pleasure is an expression of the divine in human life. Association
members also condone and celebrate all sexual expression
that is noncoercive.
Association members practice magic. Through ritual and
other magical acts, they believe that the world may be changed
according to their will (destiny). Magic and ritual are not to include
any animal sacrifice or physically coercive aspects. Covens
andor members of the priesthood are not allowed to
charge fees for either the teaching of witchcraft or for initiation
into the craft. Priests and priestesses are seen to operate
as other religious pastoral leaders and are expected to keep the
confidences of those whom they counsel.
The CWA is a democratic organization. Its national council
is elected by vote of the member covens. It has a vision of creating
a non-degree-granting college for the training of people
for the Wiccan priesthood. In the mid-1990s, there were 12 covens
in either full or associate membership. The association
may be reached at P.O. Box 2205, Clearbrook, BC, Canada
V2T 3X8. It publishes a periodical, Duck Tales, and several of
the covens also publish newsletters. Website http
www.cwa.ca.
Sources
Congregational Witchcraft Association. httpwww.cwa.ca.
February 28, 2000.
