After the repeal of England’s last antiquated witchcraft laws in 1951, there began a resurgence of interest in the old religion, and witchcraft in particular. Gerald Brosseau Gardner, who later that year became director of the newly opened “Museum of Magic and Witchcraft” in Castletown, Isle of Man, spearheaded this resurgence. From there Gardner started to establish covens, using the basic ideas and rituals he had written about in his fictional book “High Magic’s Aid”, published in 1949.
In 1953 Gardner initiated into his coven Doreen Valiente. It was Doreen who helped Gardner reshape the structure of his covens, by re-writing and embellishing his “Book of Shadows”, thus establishing a new tradition and calling it Gardnerian Wicca. Both Gardner and Doreen were greatly influenced by the teachings of Charles Godfrey Leland, and in time the tradition took on elements of Italian Witchcraft. The famous “Charge of the Goddess” written by Doreen, was clearly inspired by his work.
Other aspects of the tradition influenced by Leland’s view of Italian Witchcraft are, The full moon gatherings, The worship of the goddess and god consort, The cakes and wine rituals and celebrations, and Ritual nudity.
Today the tradition is mainly coven based, and follows an extremely traditional path with a hierarchical grade structure unsuitable for solitary practice. The Gardnerian covens of today still adhere to the old time values of secrecy, and new initiates are pledged to take oaths upon initiation.
Founded by Alex Sanders and his wife Maxine in the 1960's, the Alexandrian Tradition originated in England. Alex Sanders was often referred to as the “King of the Witches”, and with the help of his wife Maxine, they were instrumental in opening up Wicca to the general public. During the 1960’s and early 70’s, they were responsible for initiating many hundreds of newcomers into the craft, amongst whom where Stewart Farrar and Janet Owen.
In the early days the original rituals of the tradition are thought to have been Gardnerian, plagiarized by Alex and embellished with a few of his own amendments. These he then used to found his own coven from which emerged the Alexandrian Tradition. Today although still similar to Gardnerian in terms of its hierarchical structure, the Alexandrian Tradition tends to be more eclectic and liberal, focusing strongly on ceremonial magick.
Druidic Witchcraft is an eclectic tradition, drawing its beliefs and practices from a variety of sources. These include elements of the Druid religion, as well as Irish, Celtic, and Gardnerian beliefs. Their coven training consists of a degree structure similar to that advocated by other traditions. The International Red Garter is perhaps their most popular Order at this time.
Druidic Witchcraft should not be confused with that of the Druid Religion, which is entirely different. Druids are not witches and do not practice magick, though there are many links and similarities between the two. For instance, the traditional cauldron of the witches is in likeness to the Sacred Cauldron of Inspiration, which is presided over by the Goddess Cerridwen, who is revered by the Bards and Druids.
Other similarities include the four great annual festivals celebrated by the Druids, these mark the four changing seasons; Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn, and are identical to the four great Sabbats celebrated by witches. The Druids also celebrate the lesser Sabbats, the solstices and equinoxes, known to them by their Druidic names as the four Albans; Alban Arthan – the winter solstice, Alban Eilir – the spring equinox, Alban Hefin – the summer solstice, and Alban Elfed – the autumn equinox.
The Druids in common with witches hold to a belief in reincarnation. They are taught that the human soul has to pass through a number of existences while in Abred, the Circle of Necessity, before attaining to Gwynvyd, the Circle of Blessedness. Abred was the condition of earthly existence, but once transcended and its lessons learned, the soul would return to it no more. Three things hold back the soul’s progression to achieve Gwynvyd - Pride, Falsehood, and Cruelty.
The Celtic tradition is based on an eclectic blend of materials, beliefs and practices taken from the pre-Christian, Celtic and Gaulish peoples of Northern Europe, including Gaul, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. This tradition has obvious close links with the Druids, who of old were the “wise men” and “priests” of the ancient pagan Celts and Gaul’s. The Celtic tradition is an earth-based tradition, and has a strong focus on its religious belief’s.
Many aspects of Christianity, as adopted by the church, were taken from ancient Celtic beliefs. The “Holy Grail” can be attributed to the pagan’s “Cerridwyn’s Cauldron”, likewise the Celtic pagan goddess “Brigit” became the Christian’s “Saint Bride”.
Dianic Wicca is a relatively new phenomenon in relation to traditional witchcraft, though the goddess Diana has been revered since ancient times. Zsuzsanna Budapest of California founded the tradition in the United States during the 1960’s, and in the early 70’s was arrested and tried for her belief’s.
Dianic Wicca is a feminist religion, for women only. They honour the deities in their feminine aspects only, and never invoke the God or other male aspects into their rituals or sacred spaces. This practice has caused many conflicts and heated discussions amongst its members. Aside from this exclusion of men, they follow the same ritual paths and beliefs as other Wiccan traditions.
Many Dianic members are politically active in the feminist movement, striving to lift the oppression of female rights, and to bring about the equality of the sexes into all walks of life. This is not a requirement of the tradition; its left to the individual to make her own stand and practice her own beliefs.
An eclectic Wiccan as the term implies doesn't follow any strict traditional guidelines, instead they practice the beliefs that suit them best. They often mix traditions to find that which most suits their own stance on religion or belief’s. They practice whatever magick they consider obtains best results, and study those parts of any religion that best suit their lifestyles. 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.
Also referred to as the fae, fey, feri, faerie, fairy, and fairie tradition. Founded by Victor and Cora Anderson in the mid-late 1950’s, when they were inspired to form their own tradition after reading a book by Gerald B. Gardner “Witchcraft Today”. Anderson was responsible for writing most of the tradition’s rituals, which he initially based on fairy folklore and beliefs, he is still universally recognized as the Grand Master of the Faery Tradition. In 1959, Victor initiated the late Gwydion Pendderwen, who then aged 13, would later become a leading voice in the Faery Tradition.
An old African priestess initiated Victor Anderson into Witchcraft in 1926, they practiced a form of Witchcraft with Huna and African influences, and which was primarily Dahomean-Haitian. Anderson is now one of the last genuine Kahuna. Some of these earlier influences he incorporated into the new Faery tradition. Pendderwen after visiting with an Alex Sanders coven in England, incorporated material from the Alexandrian Book of Shadows. Today the tradition has evolved and contains of a mixture of Green Wicca, Celtic and Druidic practices, as well as modern Witchcraft.
The Faery Tradition honors the Goddess and Her son, brother and lover (The Divine Twins) as the primary creative forces in the universe. The Gods are seen as real spirit beings like ourselves, and not merely aspects of our psyche. The tradition is an ecstatic tradition, rather than a fertility tradition with emphasis on polytheism, practical magic, self-development and theurgy. Strong emphasis is also placed on sensual experience and awareness, including sexual mysticism, which is not limited to heterosexual expression.
This is a mystery tradition of power, mystery, danger, ecstasy, and direct communication with divinity. Most initiates are in the arts and incorporate their own poetry, music and invocations into rituals. The Tradition is gender-equal, and all sexual orientations seem able to find a niche. According to Francesca De Grandis, founder of the 3rd Road branch: “Faerie power is not about a liturgy but about one's body: a Fey shaman's blood and bones are made of stars and Faerie dust. A legitimate branch of Faerie is about a personal vision that is the Fey Folks' gift to a shaman”. Initially small and secretive, many of the fundamentals of the tradition have reached a large audience, mainly through the writings of Starhawk, the tradition’s most famous initiate. Some secret branches of the tradition remain but while only a few hundred initiates can trace their lineage directly back to Victor Anderson; many thousands are estimated to practice neo-Faery Traditions.
The traditional British Witch, a Kitchen Witch is a person that practices from home by hearth and concentrates on the practical side of religion, magick, earth mysteries and the elements. Normally he or she is a solitary practitioner and does not belong to a coven or particular tradition, relying instead on self-study, personal discernment, and intuition. In many ways the Kitchen Witch is akin to the old village Witch who lived a solitary life but was called upon for spells and healing potions by the local folk.
The Kitchen Witch commonly works with a familiar spirit, and incorporates the use of herbs, trance, and shamanic techniques such as drumming to induce altered states of consciousness. It’s a more convenient form of practice for those who have limited space and resources like today’s suburban and busy professional city witches. Their focus is on practicality, the use of magick in the home and in the workplace with convenient rituals that include readily available ingredients available at short notice, and on a tight budget.
The Kitchen Witch is usually very involved with working for the ecology of the planet, and tries to use only natural objects and materials for ritual and magick purposes
