Reclaiming (Neopaganism)

Reclaiming is a tradition in neopagan witchcraft, aiming to combine the Goddess movement with feminism and political activism (in the peace and anti-nuclear movements). Reclaiming was founded in 1979, in the context of the Reclaiming Collective (1978–1997), by two Neopagan women of Jewish descent, Starhawk and Diane Baker, in order to explore and develop feminist Neopagan emancipatory rituals. Today, the organization focuses on progressive social, political, environmental and economic activism. Guided by a shared, "Principles of Unity, a document that lists the core values of the tradition: personal authority, inclusivity, social and environmental justice and a recognition of intersectionality". Reclaiming originated in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, blending the influences of Victor and Cora Anderson's Feri Tradition, Dianic Wicca as taught by Z. Budapest, and the feminist, anarchist, peace, and environmental movements. Researcher Rachel Morgain writes: Founding members of Reclaiming drew from earth-based pagan and magical traditions and from a growing feminist spirituality literature signalled by the publication of works such as Mary Daly's (1978) Gyn/Ecology and Christ and Plaskow's (1979) Woman-Spirit Rising, melding this with the anarchist politics and methods of participatory democracy of the direct-action movement to form a unique tradition of Paganism bent on radical social transformation, despite a broadening membership base that has diluted some of its more revolutionary foundations. The focus on social change remains central among many core practitioners, while the activism, books and writings of Reclaiming's most famous priestess, Starhawk, continue to draw in layers of new members from earth-activist and other radical political communities. Central to this Reclaiming focus on social transformation is their theology of 'immanence' which teachers see as very different from the emphasis on 'transcendence' in major world religions, particularly the Judaeo-Christian tradition.