Witchcraft Traditions |
There are a few different Traditions that modern Pagans often relate to. Here are a few of the basics: |
Gardnerian: Back in the 50's, a man named Gerald Gardner "invented" Wicca. He was an amature anthropologist who studied pagan worship from many different cultures around the world. He attempted to bring back a form of ancient European Pagan practices and called this "new" way of worship Wicca, meaning "to know." He claimed to have been initiated by a coven of Witches in the New Forest region in England, and when the witchcraft laws were repealed in the 50's, he wrote two books describing how this coven worked and worshiped. There is much controversy surrounding whether Gardner really did learn his craft from a real coven, or if he just took a bunch of different practices from different people, groups and ancient practices. It is known, however, that a lady named Doreen Valiente, who was also a Priestess in one of Gardner's covens, helped Gardner write his Book of Shadows, a book where a covens rituals, spells, recipes and practices are written down. He is also reputed to have borrowed practices from the magician Alister Crowley and groups like the Rosecrutians and Ceremonial Magicians. Today there are far fewer Gardnerian Witches than ever. Since people who wanted to practice needed to find a coven (which is quite hard to do), get initiated, and often work nude, that tradition has fallen out of favor. But, all Wiccans owe a debt of gratitude to Gerald Gardner and the other Gardnerians who helped modern Paganism come out of the shadows and into the hearts of thousands of people worldwide. Alexandrian: Alexandrian Wicca was made popular by a man named Alex Sanders a little after Gardener formed his covens. The popular story for a while was that Sanders was initiated by his gradmother when he was just nine years old. This today is proven to be false, and now it is believed that after he was denied entry into a Gardnerian Coven, he got his hands on a Gardnerian Book of Shadows and adopted those practices to fit his needs. Alexandrian is very much like Gardnerian Wicca, since one came from another, but Alexandrain Wicca is a bit more ceremonial and formal that Gardnerian. He was once claimed to be the King of the Witches - a title given to him either by the leaders of his many covens, or himself! He initiated many people into Wicca and appeared in the media quite often to dispel the myths of witchcraft. Dianic: In Dianic witchcraft, the members are mostly female and they only honor the Goddess. This tradition became popular in the 70's when Feminism was on a rise in the U.S. Many influencial Pagan authors like Starhawk and Z. Budapest gave women a spirituality that reaffirmed their role as women in society and gave them a figure (the Goddess) too look to for inspiration. A lot of the women are feminists, and lesbians are more inclined to look to Dianic Witchcraft. Dianics look to Goddess myths for their rituals and practices, as well as some traditional Wiccan practices. Strega: Strega is an Italian form of Witchcraft. I suppose this form became well known when a man named Charles Leland wrote a book called "Aradia" in which he met an Italian woman who claimed to be a witch. She supposidly taught him the practices and beliefs of Italian witches and ancient folk practices. This is where we see such things as the Drawing Down the Moon, a practice Gardner borrowed. In this tradition, the practitioners use Italian myth and folk magic as the basis of their practice. Green Witchcraft - The Green Witch looks to nature for answers to life. They use herbs and other objects found outside in their practice. Often times they are solitary and a bit ecclectic. The major point is just that they use a lot of natural objects (especially herbs, trees and plants) in their practice and sometime they are healers as well. The Green Witch is like a Hedge Witch, but the Hedge Witch is more shamanic in their practice and they often times work with the public for healings and other religious work. Celtic: Today a lot of people turn to ancient Celtic practices (which include Welsh, and/or Scottish practices) and integrates them into the more traditional practices of Wicca. They use the Celtic pantheon, as well as Celtic and Irish myth and legends. Since some parts of Wicca come from ancient Celtic practices, (the Sabbats), people find it easy to meld these two practices together. Little is known about the ancient Celts because information was handed down by mouth, and hardly anything was written down.There was also no one groups of people known as the Celts, they were a mish mash of many different peoples. A lot of information was also destroyed while other cultures and peoples tried to destroy the Celts. The same goes for the Druids. The information of these magical people has been lost through the centuries, so modern Druids have very little historical information on which to base their practices on. Kitchen Witch: The Kitchen Witch is one who works in the kitchen for the most part. Their magic is more practical and simple than some other traditions. They use herbs and food in their practices and most of the tools they use are found in the kitchen - a kitchen knife for the athame, or a wooden spoon for the wand. Seax-Wica - This form was founded by the author Raymond Buckland in 1973. It draws from the Saxon myths and legends for the basis of their practice. There are also reminents of Gardnerian Wicca in this form, seeing Buckland was a Gardnerian Wiccan before founding Seax-Wica. Ecclectic: The Ecclectic Wiccan is one who takes beliefs and practices from all kinds of traditions, religions, and/or beliefs and melds it into a path that fits them. Solitary: A Solitary witch is one who works alone. The majority of Wiccans today are solitary. A solitary Wiccan can also practice any tradition they want, just like the ecclecltic witch. |