Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

REGENCY, The

A British witchcraft group founded in the 1960s by friends and associates of Robert Cochrane and Ron 'Chalky' White and which took its inspiration from Cochrane's beliefs in the ancient mystic elements of the Craft (see WICCA) and which proclaimed itself to be a 'religious society with a central belief in a Goddess as mother and creatrix of all things'.

The doctrine supported the view of a stable feminine principle allied to the Gods and that many of the principles of Paganism held a permanent relevance for humanity.

The Regency was a non-hierarchical organization celebrated at the time for its innovation particularly towards outdoor seasonal festivals which were open to anyone whilst still maintaining the more occult rites of the circle.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc