Odyssean Wicca - Origins and History

Origins and History

The Odyssean Tradition of Wicca was founded by Richard and Tamara James in 1979, along with other members of their coven. The name of the tradition was inspired by Homer's Odyssey, and is meant to emphasize a belief in life as a "spiritual journey".

The tradition grew out of the James' creation of the Wiccan Church of Canada, with which the tradition is still very closely associated. While the James’s and their coven members claimed to have had backgrounds in Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, and Continental Wicca, these claims were never substantiated—the general consensus of the British Traditional Wiccan community in Ontario prior to 1987 was that these claims had no substance whatsoever. Regardless, those traditions were not ideally suited for the goal of creating a place for public Neopagan worship, nor did any of these reflect the ritual style that the coven (and, by extension, the church) were adopting—with the exception of Pagan Way (an Outer Court system created by Gardnerian initiates) that had a direct influence upon Wiccan Church of Canada liturgy. The Odyssean tradition is a British Traditional-like Eclectic tradition of Wicca—with a public Wiccan priesthood providing religious services for a Neopagan laity. In 1987, the James' purchased much of Gerald Gardner's collection back from Ripleys, this included Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical. It is after this purchase that the James' received valid initiations and elevations into the various traditions and lineages British Traditional Wicca .

The Odyssean tradition and the Wiccan Church of Canada reached their apex in 1992—at that time there were four temples (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo) and three proto-temples in Brampton, Oshawa, and Montreal. Currently, the Wiccan Church of Canada has only two temples; the mother temple in Toronto, Ontario and a temple in Hamilton, Ontario . While the influence of the Wiccan Church of Canada has declined over the past decade, the indirect influence of the Odyssean tradition has grown. Because the WCC is a public Modern Pagan church, and because many members of the laity, many neophytes, and many initiates step away from the WCC to follow their path elsewhere. There are more former members of the WCC laity and more retired neophytes and initiates of the Odyssean tradition than there are active initiates. Many of these retired Odysseans have gone on to found their own covens and traditions that are based upon Odyssean practices. Many of the other Wiccan churches that exist in Canada, and to some extent the United States, have drawn upon Odyssean sources and retired Odysseans.

Prior to 1987, an Odyssean initiate who had been elevated into the High Priesthood would be autonomous of both the tradition's founders and of the WCC. That meant that they could initiate and/or elevate their students up to the highest degree (3rd Degree) without requiring approval from the other High Priesthood of the tradition. For those initiated after 1987, these initiates would have to retain active status—they must perform a minimal level of religious services (public rituals and public classes) to one of the temples of the Wiccan Church of Canada—for them to even bring a student before the Odyssean Priesthood Council. The Odyssean Priesthood Council is open to all initiates who currently have active status and it is only after obtaining the approval of the Council that an initiate may initiate or elevate their student. If an initiate fails to perform the minimum amount of religious services to one of the Wiccan Church of Canada temples, their status will be downgraded to inactive. An Odyssean initiate who has been inactive for more than one year and one day can be reclassified by the High Priesthood of the tradition as retired. A retired Odyssean initiate can only return to active status with the permission of the High Priesthood of the tradition. Therefore, while the Odyssean tradition and the WCC were separate during the foundation years of the church, it has been the practice for the past twenty years that the Odyssean tradition and the Wiccan Church of Canada are firmly linked one to the other.