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Wiccan Paths
(Traditions)

 

Gardnerian Wicca

A retired British civil servant named Gerald B. Gardner is the'Grandfather', at the very least, of almost all Neo-Wicca. He wasinitiated into a coven of Witches in the New Forest region of Englandin 1939 by a High Priestess named 'Old Dorothy' Clutterbuck. In 1949 hewrote a novel [*High Magic's Aid*] about medieval Witchcraft in whichquite a bit of the Craft as practiced by that coven was used. In 1951the last of the English laws against Witchcraft were repealed(primarily due to the pressure of Spiritualists) and Gardner published*Witchcraft Today*, which set forth a version of the rituals andtraditions of that coven. There is an enormous amount of disagreementabout virtually every statement I have made in this paragraph.

Gardnerism is both a tradition and a family, and lineage is afamily tree. The High Priestess rules the coven, and the principles oflove and trust preside. We follow our handed down book more carefullythan many others, but we are free to add and improvise, as long as wepreserve the original.

We work skyclad, practice binding and scourging, are hierarchal andsecretive, therefore we are controversial. We're also controversialbecause we were first - the first craft tradition in the U. S. anddescended from the man largely responsible for starting the craftrevival. So, we're called 'the snobs of the craft', but I think we'reas much fun as anyone else; our parties as good, our jokes as bad'

A Gardnerian can trace his/her lineage matrilineally back to a HighPriestess who worked with Gerald. For virtually all AmericanGardnerians, that means his last HPS, Monique Wilson. Monique initiatedthe Bucklands and Rosemary Buckland initiated Theas, so far as anyoneknows, the only one of Rosemary's Thirds who passed the initiation on -which is why she has been called (but doesn't call herself) 'WitchQueen of America. '[the foregoing quotes provided by Deborah LippBonewits, a Gardnerian Third Degree High Priestess as well as an ADFDruidess.]

*Each Gardnerian coven is autonomous and is headed by a HighPriestess who can turn to her queen (the High Priestess who trainedher) for counsel and advice. This maintains the lineage and creates apool of experienced and knowledgeable leaders and teachers.

*Reincarnation and the Wiccan Rede [An it harm none do what youwill] are basic tenants of the tradition. Covens are as much aspossible composed of male/female pairs for balance. Most working isaccomplished with the energy raised by the interaction of the Lord andLady as represented by the couples in the coven by dancing, chanting,etc.

*Like many Wiccan traditions, Gardnerians have three degrees. AnAmerican Gardnerian must be of the 3rd degree before she can become aHPS. The HPS/HP are responsible for conducting services (circles),training their conveners, and preserving and passing on GardnerianCraft. *[This material quoted from Converging Paths Newsletter, Kyril,Brita, & Hugh authors. ]

A lot of the controversy surrounding Gardnerianism questions thesources of the rituals and other materials, particularly thoseappearing in print. It is true that Gardner presented these materialsas if they were directly from his New Forest tradition. It is clear,however, that whatever materials the coven may have had when he wasinitiated, Gerald made a lot of changes and added a great deal.Literary sources of the published Book of Shadows include Blake,Kipling, Yeats and Crowley. Much of the published material was writtenby Doreen Valiente, a member of the coven for a time and later founderof her own groups and author of many excellent books on the Craft.

Gardnerian Witches without doubt do have many materials which havenot appeared in print, however, their emphasis on secrecy has made thema punchline in the Wiccan social world. How many Gardnerians does ittake to change a light bulb? That's a secret! Their High Priestess willusually be called 'Lady' Soandso and High Priest, 'Lord Whatisname'.[This is far more true in the U. S. than it is in England.]

Alexandrian Wicca

 

*As most everyone by now is aware, the Alexandrian Tradition is veryclose to Gardnerian with a few minor changes. (One of the most obviousones being that the Alexandrians use the athame as a symbol for theelement of fire and the wand as a symbol for air. Most of the ritualsare very formal and heavily indebted to ceremonial magick. It is also apolarized tradition and the sexuality of that female/male polarity isemphasized. The ritual cycle deals mostly with the division of the yearbetween the Holly King and the Oak King and several ritual dramas dealwith the dying/resurrected God theme. As with Gardnerians, the HighPriestess is supposedly the highest authority. However, it is odd thatthe primary spokespersons for both traditions have been men. [*Thismaterial provided by Gillan]

Alexandrian Wicca is the creation of Alex Sanders (with his thenwife Maxine) who claimed to have been initiated by his grandmother in1933. It's principal proponents are Janet and Stewart Fararr whosebooks set forth most, if not all, of the Alexandrian tradition.Contrary to popular belief, the name Alexandrian refers not to AlexSanders, but to Ancient Alexandria.

Although similiar to Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca tends to bemore eclectic, and liberal. Some of Gardnerisms strict rules, such asthe requirement of ritual nudity, have been made optional by AlexandrianWicca.

Mary Nesnick, an American initiate in Gardnerian and Alexandriantraditions founded a 'new' tradition called Algard. This traditionbrings together both Gardnerian and Alexandrian teachings under a singlebanner. This was possible due to the great similiarities between the twotraditions.

Dianic Wicca

 

*The Dianic Craft includes two distinct branches:

*1. One branch, founded in Texas by Morgan McFarland and MarkRoberts, gives primacy to the Goddess in its thealogy, but honors theHorned God as Her Beloved Consort. Covens are mixed, including bothwomyn and men. This branch is sometimes called 'Old Dianic', and thereare still covens of this tradition, especially in Texas. Other covens,similar in thealogy but not directly descended from the McFarland/Roberts line, are sprinkled around the country.

*2. The other branch, sometimes called Feminist Dianic Witchcraft,focus exclusively on the Goddess and consists of womyn-only covens andgroups. These tend to be loosely structured and non-hierarchical, usingconsensus- decision- making and simple, creative, experimental ritual.They are politically feminist groups, usually very supportive, personaland emotionally intimate. There is a strong lesbian presence in themovement, though most covens are open to womyn of all orientations. Themajor network is Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess, which publishes"Of a Like Mind" newspaper and sponsors conferences on Dianic Craft. [*Amber K]

Celtic Wicca (Church of Wicca)

 

The Church of Wicca was founded by Gavin and Yvonne Frost. Theyoffer correspondence courses in their brand of Wicca, which is sometimescalled Celtic Wicca. The Church of Wicca has just recently begunincluding a Goddess in their diety structure, and has been verypatrofocal as Wiccan traditions go. The Chuch of Wicca terms itself"Baptist Wicca"

*The Frosts call their tradition of Wicca Celtic. To me it seemsmore of a mixture of high magic and eclectic Wicca, with a smatteringof Celtic thrown in. For instance, they use three circles, one withinthe others, made of salt, sulphur and herbs with runes and symbolsbetween them instead of just one circle. They also insist on a white-handled athame and will not have a black handled one, whereas all theother traditions I have heard or read about use a black handled one. Itseems to me the Wicca they practice and teach should not be calledCeltic at all; but since a lot of it is made up or put together by themfrom other traditions they should also give it a made-up name; sayFrostism. If you DON'T have to pay for the course, and have some extratime, it would probably be worth reading just for comparison. [*FromCirce, who took their correspondence course.]

The Frosts have always been rather more public than most traditions(advertising their course in the Enquirer and similar publications)which has earned them heavy criticism in less public Craft groups.

Georgian Wicca

 

If one word could best describe the Georgean Tradition, it would be'eclectic'. Even though the material provided to students was nominallyAlexandrian, there was never any imperative to follow that path blindly.George Patterson (the tradition's founder) always said 'If it works useit, if it doesn't, don't'. The newsletter was always full ofcontributions from people of many traditions. I've always felt Pat'sintent was to provide jumping off points for students and members. Soeven though I can claim initiation into more than one tradition, I'llalways consider myself 'Georgian' first: George is greatly missed, maythe God-dess watch over him. Bright Blessings, Lord Fafner.

Other Paths

Discordianism (Erisian)

 

*The Discordian or Erisian movement is described as a 'Non- ProphetIrreligious Disorganization' and has claimed 'The Erisian revelation isnot a complicated put-on disguised as a new religion, but a newreligion disguised as a complicated put-on. " It all started with the*'Principia Discordia, or How I Found the Goddess and What I Did to HerWhen I Found Her'*, a collection of articles and ideas compiled by GregHill (Malaclypse the Young-er). The central theme is 'Chaos is everybit as important as Order' as illustrated in the story of The curse ofGreyface:

*Humor is central to Discordianism, but Discordianism should not bedismissed as a joke. Profound experiences frequently accompany thepractice or Erisinaism. It is a perceptual game, one which demonstratesthat the absurd is just as valid as the mundane and chaos is just asvalid as order. It frees the practitioner from the order games (thatmost have forgotten are games) to play games with order or games withchaos, or both. The effects of Discordianism upon an individual can befar- reaching and amazingly liberating. [Although a great many immatureindividuals have played at Discordianism and thereby sidestepped anychance of spiritual growth whatsoever -- Grey Cat *wryly*]

Stregheria

 

Stregheria is the Craft of the Italian Witches. It's an ancient system,steeped with history that dates back to the 14th century. We are thedescendants of an ancient people who used moonlore, nature, symbolisms,andSpirits (Faery) to work their magick. Stregheria resembles Wicca in thatboth systems are Goddess based. Both Stregheria and many Wiccantraditions accept the duality of both a female and male God. InStregheria the Goddess is known as Tana and the God as Tanus. Diane and Dianus represent the Moon goddessand god respectively. Many of the Goddesses and Gods are known bydifferent names in different traditions. Stregheria and Wicca celebratemany of thesame rites or Festivals even though the names are not the same andsometimesthey occur on a slightly diffferent date.

The Tools of the Stregheria are likened to the armor and weapons of aKnight: any true witch must be to some degree a spiritual warrior.TheWatcherscalled Grigori, are called to guard the ritual circle and to witnessthe ritual. Strega also recognizes a third person, Aradia. She came tobe known as the Holy Strega, a spiritual teacher and wise woman. Themessage of Aradia, called the Covenant, offered her followers the path to freedom and personal empowerment. Aradiaalso taught that the traditional powers of a witch would belong to anywho adhered to the way of the Old Religion. Aradia called these Giftsand Beliefs. The Charge of Aradia is the message she left her followers.

The magickal focus is largely upon spells, omens and natural objects.These are used in amulets, talismans and charm bags. Ritual circles areseldom used for spell casting or other works of magick. Nature is viewedas the manifestation of spiritual forces. Magick is the art of understanding the interplay between these forcesand the ways in which they can be influenced.