Pagan & Wiccan Traditions  

Alexandrian

Founded in England during the 1960's by Alexander Sanders, self-proclaimed "King of the Witches". An offshoot of Gardnerian, Alexandrian covens focus strongly upon training, emphasizing on areas more generally associated with ceremonial magic, such as Qabalah, Angelic Magic and Enochian. The typical Alexandrian coven has a hierarchical structure, and generally meets on weekly, or at least on Full Moons, New Moons and Sabbots Rituals are usually done skyclad.

Most Alexandrian covens will allow non-inititiates to attend circles, usually as a "neophyte," who undergoes basic training in circle craft prior to being accepted for the 1st degree initiation. Alexandrian Wicca uses essentially the same tools and rituals as Gardnerian Wicca, though in some cases, the tools are used differently, and the rituals have been adapted. Another frequent change is to be found in the names of deities and guardians of the Quarters. In some ways these differences are merely cosmetic, but in others, there are fundamental differences in philosophy. Over the last 30 years, the two traditions have moved slowly towards each other, and the differences which marked lines of demarcation are slowly fading away. 

Amythystian

Founded in 1968 by Lady Amethyst. Tradition is rooted in the Order of the Garter, Order of the Royal Oak. Traditional with lots of Hermetic beliefs. Dedicated to preserving old traditions while growing into a new generation of enlightened ones. Teaches by example in daily life, at home and at work, as well as when among our own. Known through work and deeds. Believes in a strict code of ethics exemplified by one's actions and lives by the Wiccan Rede. 

Aquarian Tabernacle Church

An American Tradition of Wicca based on English Traditional Wicca, and focused on service to the larger Wiccan and Pagan community through open worship gatherings. ATC was founded in 1979 by Pierre "Pete Pathfinder" Davis. The Church is based in Index, WA, where it owns a Retreat House and the central Church offices, as well as an outdoor sanctuary with a ring of standing menhirs set in an old growth cedar forest.

The ATC is a fully tax exempt legal Wiccan church in the USA, Canada and Australia, with approximately 30 congregations in these countries as of 1997. ATC provides regular, open worship circles and also sponsors several annual festivals. ATC also functions as an umbrella organization, accepting affiliations by Wiccan groups wishing to become recognized, open and public Wiccan churches. 

Blue Star

Founded in 1976 Norristown, PA by Frank Dufner ("the Wizard") and Tzipora Katz, who later moved to Manhattan, where they trained and initiated a number of people. Early rituals were based on Alexandrian and Greco-Roman Traditions. After Frank and Tzipora's divorce, in the early 1980's, Kenny Klein became high priest, steering the Tradition towards a more traditional British form, discarding Alexandrian and ceremonial rituals and replacing them with British Isles folkloric Craft practices, including the 8 Paths of Power, the 7 Tenets of Faith, and the Drawing Down of the Moon and Sun. Touring the country from 1983-1992 performing music, Kenny and Tzipora taught Blue Star, initiated many people, and founded many covens, recording and distributing lessons on cassette tapes. The rigorous training may take 2-3 years before initiation. 

British Traditional

The term "British Traditional" refers to a variety of traditions which originated in the British Isles and which have certain characteristics in common. There is a mix of Celtic and Gardnerian beliefs, mostly based on the Farrar studies. Worship of the God and Goddess is balanced, covens are coed, and there is a degree system. The New Wiccan Church  is a federation of British Traditions (Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Mohisian, and Central Valley Wicca-Kingstone, majestic Order and Silver Crescent). NWC is dedicated to preserving initiatory Craft. 

Celtic

The Celtic path is really many traditions under the general heading of "Celtic." It encompasses Druidism, Celtic Shamanism, Celtic Wicca or Witta, the Grail Religion, and Celtic Christianity or Culdees. Each path is unique and stand alone meld together with another and still be part of the Celtic tradition. It is primarily derived from the ancient pre-Christian Celtic religion of Gaul and the British Isles.

As it is practiced today, most of the Celtic paths are part of the Neo-Pagan revival, focusing on Nature and healing with group and individual rituals that honor the Ancient Shining Ones and the Earth. Most are very eclectic, and hold to the Celtic myths, divinities, magic and rituals. Celtic paths are some of the more popular traditions. 

Ceremonial

Uses a great deal of Ceremonial Magick in practices. Mostly derived from the works of Aleister Crowley. Detailed rituals with a flavor of Egyptian magick are popular, as are Qabalistic ritual forms. 

Dianic

This is the most feminist Craft Tradition. Most Dianic covens worship the Goddess exclusively (Diana and Artemis are the most common manifestations) and most today are women only. Rituals are eclectic; some are derived from Gardnerian and Faery traditions, while others have been created anew. Emphasis is on rediscovering and reclaiming female power and divinity, consciousnes-raising, and combining politics with spirituality. The Dianic Craft included two distinct branches:

The first Dianic coven in the U.S. was formed in the late '60s by Margan McFarland and Mark Roberts, in Dallas, Texas. This branch gives primacy to the Goddess in its theology, but honors the Horned God as Her beloved Consort. Covens include both women and men. This branch is sometimes called 'Old Dianic,' and there are still covens of this tradition specially in Texas. Other coven, similar in theology but not directly descended from the McFarland/Roberts line are sprinkled around the country.

The other branch, Feminist Dianic Witchcraft, focuses exclusively on the Goddess and consists of women-only covens, often with a strong lesbian presence. These tend to be loosely structured and non-hierarchial, using consensus decision making and simple, creative, experimental ritual. They are politically feminist groups, usually very supportive, personal and emotionally intimate. The major network is Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess. Z Budapest founded the Susan B. Anthony Coven in 1971, declaring Dianic Witchcraft to be "Women's Religion". The Women's Spirituality Forum was Founded by Z Budapest in 1986, and is dedicated to bringing Goddess consciousness  to the mainstream of feminist consciousness through lectures and, retreats, classes, cable TV shows, and rituals in the effort to achieve spiritual and social liberation. 

Eclectic

Refers to groups and individuals not following any one particular Tradition or mythos, but incorporating elements of several, according to the training, preferences and experiences of the practitioners. Deities from several pantheons may be invoked, sometimes even in the same ritual, particularly when a working is being created for a specific cause. In such a case, Eclectics may call upon, for example, an assortment of Love Goddesses, etc. from many different cultures. 

Faery/Faerie/Fairy

The Faerie Faith is both a belief system and a tradition. In its most basic form, it is a belief in, and almost a symbiotic relationship with, the Faerie Folk or Little People. This belief does not conflict with the following of other religions or traditions, any more than a child's belief in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy prevents that child from going to church each week and learning bible stories. Being thus a belief system, the Faerie Faith does not demand or need followers, or leaders, or rituals. It also does not have a pantheon of deities, such as Norse or Egyptian traditions do. The Celtic gods you may be familiar with, including Bridget, the Dagda, and Lugh, are actually Faerie Folk themselves, who have been elevated to the status of gods over the centuries by the Celtic peoples. These gods can be looked on as archetypes more than actual deities, but they are no more and no less real than the other Little People, the spirits of the earth, the nature spirits.

Over time, however, the Faerie Faith evolved from simply a belief system to a pagan tradition, complete with its own rituals, training, and initiatory system. It is still a very simple system, and can be practiced hand-in-hand with other traditions, if one so desires, or can be followed entirely by itself.

Information on the Faery Faith obtained from The Spiral Tree.

Gardnerian

This is a closed initiatory Tradition which was founded in England ca 1953 by Gerald Gardner and further developed by Doreen Valiente and others. Gardner was initiated into a coven of Witches in the New Forest region of England in 1939 by a High Priestess named 'Old Dorothy' Clutterbuck. In 1949 he wrote High Magic's Aid, a novel about medieval Witchcraft in which quite a bit of the Craft as practiced by the coven was used. In 1951 the last of the English laws against Witchcraft were repealed (primarily due to to the pressure of Spiritualists) and Gardner published Witchcraft Today, which set forth a version of rituals and traditions of that coven.
Gardner gave his Tradition a ritual framework strongly influenced by Freemasonry and Crowleyan ceremonial magic, as well as traditional folk magic and Tantric Hinduism. The Tradition was brought to the USA in 1965 by Raymond & Rosemary Buckland, who were initiated in 1964 by the Gardner's High Priestess, Lady Olwen.

Gardnerian covens are always headed by a High Priestess and have three degrees of initiation closely paralleling the Masonic degrees. Worship is centered on the Goddess and the Horned God. The tradition emphasizes polarity in all things, fertility, and the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. Eight seasonal Sabbats are observed, and the Wiccan Rede is the guiding principle. Power is raised through scourging and sex magick ("The Great Rite"), as well as meditation, chanting, astral projection, dancing, wine and cords. Designed for group/coven work, through solitary workings have been created. Covens work skyclad.

Minonian Brotherhood

A Gay Men's tradition of Witchcraft established in New York by the late Lord Gwydion (Eddie Buczynski) in the mid - 1970's, at the same time as the Minoan Sisterhood was being established by Lady Miw, also in New York. The Brotherhood remains exclusively a venue for Gay men to explore a traditional ritual Witchcraft, one which can foster a similar, though Gay, sexual mysticism and sense of personal empowerment as in some British traditions of Wicca. As the founder was a Gardnerian initiate, the rituals are roughly Gardnerian, with changes to accommodate a different core mythology and ritual custom.. Imagery and deities are those of Ancient Crete and Mycenae. Working tools and their uses are virtually identical to those of British traditional Wicca.

Seax-Wicca

Founded by Raymond Buckland in 1973, and based on Saxon traditions and mythology. Covens are led by a Priest and Priestess and may determine for themselves whether to work robed or skyclad. Rituals are open, and decisions are made democratically.

Shamanic Witchcraft

This term refers to practices associated with those of tribal shamans in traditional Pagan cultures throughout the world. A shaman combines the roles of healer, priest (ess), diviner, magician, teacher and spirit guide, utilizing altered states of consciousness to produce and control psychic phenomena and travel to and from the spirit realm. Followers of this path believe that historical Witchcraft was the shamanic practice of European Pagans; and Medieval Witches actually functioned more as village shamans than as priests and priestesses of :the Old Religion." Shamanic Witchcraft emphasizes serving the wider community through rituals, herbalism, spellcraft, healings, counseling, rites of passage, handfastings, Mystery initiations, etc. The distinguishing element of Shamanic Witchcraft is the knowledge and sacramental use of psychotropic plants to effect transitions between worlds. The theory and practice of Shaman Witchcraft has permeated widely though out many other established Traditions. 

Stregheria

Stregheria is the Craft of the Italian Witches. It's an ancient system, steeped with history that dates back to at least the 14th century.. Strega are the descendants of an ancient people who used moonlore, nature, symbolism, and Spirits (Faery) to work their magick. Strega accept the duality of both a female and male God, known by different names in different traditions. Stregheria also recognizes a spiritual teacher and wise woman, Aradia, known as the Holy Strega. The message of Aradia, called the Covenant, offered her followers the path to freedom and personal empowerment. Aradia also taught that the traditional powers of a Witch would belong to any who adhered to the way of the Old Religion. Aradia called these Gifts and Beliefs. The Charge of Aradia is the message she left her followers.
The Tools of the Stregherian are likened to the armor and weapons of a Knight: any true Witch must be to some degree a spiritual warrior. The magickal focus is largely upon spells, omens and natural objects. These are used in amulets, talismans and charm bags. Nature is viewed as the manifestation of spiritual forces. Magick is the art of understanding the interplay between these forces and the ways in which they can be influenced. Ritual circles are seldom used for spell casting or other works of magick. Stregheria and Wicca celebrate many of the same seasonal Festivals even though the names and some of the dates are different.

Wiccan Shamanism

Founded by Selena Fox in the 1980's. Ecumenical and multicultural focus. Combination of Wicca, humanistic psychology and a variety of shamanistic practices from around the world. Emphasis on healing. Uses traditional shamanistic techniques to change consciousness, such as drumming and ecstatic dancing.