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Traditions Within the Modern Craft
- Alexandrian Wicca:
Originated in England in the 1960's, founded by Alex Sanders. The
rituals are said to be of Gardnerian basis. Alex Sanders referred to
himself as the "King" of his Wiccans. Although similar to
Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca tends to be more eclectic and
liberal. Some of the Gardnerians' strict rules, such as the
requirement of ritual nudity, have been made optional by Alexandrian
Wicca.
- American
Tradition of the Goddess: The
American Tradition of the Goddess is a teaching tradition of earth
magic. Their emphasis is on living our craft in thought, word, and
deed. They honor the Triple Goddess and the Triple God. They see the
Goddess in all Her aspects as the creative force and the God as Her
consort and counselor. They follow the cycles of the sun, moon, and
seasons, and celebrate the eight festivals of the Wheel of the Year.
- Artemisian
Faerie Faith: Artemisians are a Goddess Based Tradition focusing
on both the masculine and the feminine aspects of Goddess.
Their view of Goddess encompasses all gender, all spirit, and
all things. This
tradition is open to both male and female seekers.
There is a heavy emphasis placed on the Celtic Tree Months as
well as belief in the Fey.
- British Traditional: This is a mix
of Celtic and Gardnerian beliefs. These traditionally move mostly within the Farrar studies and are fairly structured by their beliefs.
They train through a degree structured process. The International Red
Garters is the most famous organization at this time. Often includes
druids.
- Celtic: The Celtic tradition is
based on the practices of the pre-Christian Celtic world. This
includes Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Gaul. There is also a
significant amount of Druid practice used in this tradition. It shares
a lot with the Teutonic tradition, including the use of runes. This
tradition is extremely earth based and strong in the religious aspects
of the Craft. Many aspects of Christianity were drawn from the Celtic
pagans, such as Cerridwen's cauldron translating into the Holy Grail,
and the goddess Brigit becoming Saint Bride.
- Ceremonial: Less religion, more
emphasis on the art and science of magick. Rituals are generally
complex and practices lean towards the secret, hidden side of magick.
Not geared towards the solitary practitioner, but can easily be
adapted for those who choose to work alone. Not necessarily a
wiccan-only tradition, though there are many ceremonial witches.
- Dianic: The
term was "coined" by Margaret Murray in reference to all
paths that honour only the Goddess or at the very least give primacy
to her and see the God only as her consort.
Depending on the particular tradition Dianic covens will either
be women only or mixed with both men and women.
- Eclectic: An eclectic Wiccan doesn't
follow any strict traditional guidelines, but instead, practices the
beliefs that suit them best. They mix traditions to find their most
fitting stance on their religion, using the magick that is most
practical for their lifestyle and studying the parts of the religion
they consider to be essential. This is mostly of modern origin,
previously most Wiccan traditions had more restricting boundaries; the
eclectic tradition marks witchcraft's expansion into a patchwork quilt
of various beliefs and theories.
- Faerie: Also referred to as fae,
fey, faery, fairy, fairie... tradition based on faerie lore and
beliefs. Consists of a mixture of "green" Wicca, Celtic and
Druidic practices, and modern witchcraft.
- Feminist
Dianic Witchcraft:
This
tradition
headed
by Z. Budapest focuses exclusively on the Goddess and consists of
women-only covens and groups. These tend to be loosely structured and
non-hierarchical, using consensus- decision- making and simple,
creative, experimental ritual. They are politically feminist groups,
usually very supportive, personal and emotionally intimate. There is a
strong lesbian presence in the movement, though most covens are open
to women of all orientations. The major network is Re-Formed
Congregation of the Goddess, which publishes "Of a Like
Mind" newspaper and sponsors conferences on Dianic Craft.
- Gardnerian
Wicca: Gardnerian is the
tradition founded by Gerald Gardner. He was one of the first to go
public with information about the Craft, modern Wicca has mostly been
derived from his books. Gardner's inspiration was drawn from many
sources, including 'Aradia, Gospel of the Witches', where strands of
the Gardnerian tradition such as required ritual nudity can be found.
This is an extremely traditional path with a hierarchical grade
structure. These individuals are very secretive and take oaths upon
initiation. Although there are a number of Gardnerian Covens active in
the US, they are difficult to locate and once located are not easy to
join. This tradition does not lend itself well to solitary practice,
but some aspects of it do. It therefore deserves study by solitary
practitioners, especially eclectics.
- Georgian
Wicca: If one word
could best describe the Georgian Tradition, it would be eclectic. Even
though the material provided to students was nominally Alexandrian,
there was never any imperative to follow that path blindly. George
Patterson (the tradition's founder) always said 'If it works use it,
if it doesn't, don't'. The newsletter was always full of contributions
from people of many traditions.
- Hereditary: This is a person that
can trace the Craft back on their family tree and was also taught the
craft by a living relative. ("My mother's grandmother's sister's
cousin was a Wiccan" doesn't count.) Because of the youth of
modern Wicca, this really only applies to practitioners of witchcraft
and not necessarily Wicca.
- Kitchen
Witch: This type is one that
practices by home and hearth concentrating on the practical side of
religion, magick and the earth and elements. A more convenient form of
practice for those who have limited space and resource, mainly
suburban and city witches. This focuses on practicality, the use of
magick in the home and in the workplace, and convenient ritual writing
that includes readily available "ingredients" on short time
and a tight budget.
- McFarland
Dianic:
Founded
in Texas by Mark Roberts and Morgan McFarland, this tradition gives
primacy to the Goddess in its theology, but honors the Horned God as
Her Beloved Consort. Covens are mixed, including both women and men.
Note*on February 22, 1999 the Dianics broke from Mark Roberts and
became the "McFarland Dianics".
- Pictish: Pictish is Scottish
witchcraft with a strong connection to nature in all of its forms. The
practice is actually mostly magickal with little emphasis on the
religious aspect. This is practiced as a solitary tradition.
- Pow-wow: This is a system, not a
religion, based on 400 year old German Magick. In this day and time it
has lost much of its concentrations and is basically now into simple
faith healing.
- Seax-Wica: (Or Saxon-Wica) Founded
in 1973, by Raymond Buckland. Raymond Buckland authored this tradition
without breaking his original Gardnerian oath. His contributions to
the Craft is of great significance and many popular books today are of
his authorship.
- Shamanism: Beliefs are connected to
contact with the spirit world. Through communication with the spirits,
the Shaman can work acts of healing, divination and magic - revealing
by way of vision, poetry and myth the deeper reaches of the human
spirit.
- Strega: This tradition began around
1353 in Italy, with a woman called Aradia. Leland's book "Aradia,
Gospel of the Witches" is the most veritable literary remainder
of the original tradition. The teachings are insightful and should not
be missed, for those who practice solitary or in covens, especially if
you are interested in studying all traditions.
- Teutonic/Nordic: This is from
ancient time, the Teutons have been recognized as a group who speak
the Germanic group of languages. The languages include the English,
Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. Norse practitioners
are often Astruar that is, followers of Asatru. Many worship similar
to their Norse predecessors, following Scandinavian and Germanic
deities such as Odin and using divination methods like the runes.
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