Listen to the Words of the Great Mother: a History of the Charge

A circle of people, men and women, stand in a circle facing a woman with an athame held high above her head with the tip facing towards the Full Moon. Behind the woman stands an altar with candles flickering in the breeze. The group is focused on the face of the woman with a hit of eager anticipation in their eyes. This is everyone’s favorite part of ritual, the moment the High Priestess performs the drawing down the moon. The energy is electric as the High Priestess’ voice carries through the quiet of the evening…”Listen to the words of the Great Mother…”

The ritual part we know now as The Charge of the Goddess was written in 1957 by a witch named Doreen Valiente. The inspiration for this poem goes back even further. In the Late 2nd Century CE, a Roman writer named Apuleius wrote a book called The Golden Ass. In this book the Goddess gives her followers a list of rules to follow. This was the first known instance of the Goddess giving her followers a Charge.

Fast forward a little to Aleister Crowley in the Late 19th Century to Early 20thCentury CE. Somewhere in his travels, he acquired a book called Leviter Veslis, which was written during the Medieval Period in Ecclesiastical Medieval Latin. It was believed to be a magical tome and it inspired some of the writings of Gerald Gardner. On a side note: Gardner originally called the Charge of the Goddess by the name Leviter Veslis or The Lifting of the Veil.

Another inspiration for both Gardner and Valiente was Charles Leland’s work Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches. Leland claims that he traveled throughout Italy talking to local practitioners of Italian folk witchcraft and he put all this research into the book. This book was first published in 1899 and would have been known to both Gardner and Valiente. There are whole passages of the Charge that seem to originate from Aradia.

While writing his Book of Shadows in the 1940’s and 1950’s, Gardner wrote the original form of the Charge of the Goddess under the title, Leviter Veslis. He took inspiration from Masonic ritual and wanted the work to be read to an initiate right before they took their First Degree within the Tradition. There is speculation that Gardner may have had the help of Crowley to write much of the original Book of Shadows or, as it was known at the time, Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical. After Crowley’s death in 1947, Gardner decided to focus more of the religion of Wicca and less on the ceremonialism associated with Crowley. In 1952, Gardner met the woman that would change the sound of Wicca forever, Doreen Valiente. In 1953, she was initiated by Gardner into the coven and received a copy of the Book of Shadows. Valiente took the disorderly, confusing book and, with Gardner’s permission, rewrote it to make more sense. Valiente also rewrote much of the writings that were inspired by or heavily influenced by Aleister Crowley. She knew Gardner had been friends with Crowley, but she knew that that influence would be problematic with a lot of people. Crowley was not well liked in the 1950’s and she did her best to remove his influence on Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical.

What Valiente ended up with was the Gardnerian Book of Shadows that is used in one form or another to this day. She also added works to the book, including a prose version of the Charge of the Goddess for those who didn’t like reading poetry. She also changed things around a little and added the Charge to the section of the Esbat ritual where the High Priestess draws down the Goddess’s energy into herself and relays wisdom to the gathered conveners. For High Priestesses who were not adept at the art of channeling the Goddess, reading the Charge became a workable substitute.

It was published in the 1950s and became part of the rituals of Wiccans and Pagans outside of the Gardnerian tradition. The Charge of the Goddess was part of the inspiration behind the Reclaiming Tradition that Starhawk would create in the 1970s. Reclaiming is a pagan movement founded by Starhawk and is focused on feminism, environmental activism, and progressive political action. The Tradition was heavily drawn from the Fari tradition and Dianic Witchcraft. Starhawk has mentioned that reading the Charge of the Goddess was inspirational towards her forming a feminist tradition.

The Charge of the Goddess has also inspired a plethora of other Charges for ritual use. Among them are The Charge of the God, The Charge of the Dark Goddess, and The Charge of the Crone. Valiente has been an inspiration for countless people and her Charge of the Goddess inspires still.

On a personal note: This is my favorite piece of sacred poetry. Reading it for the first time inspired me to further explore paganism and to start writing poetry again. I find the piece very moving either in poetic form or prose form. Certain parts of the Charge are like mantras to me, and I repeat them when I need inspiration.