Wiccan Traditions
For some of us Wicca is a solitary religion, something that we have taught ourselves through groups, books or even the internet. Whether you grew up in a Wiccan family or were initiated the traditional way through a coven, it is important to understand all of the Wiccan traditions.
Gardenerian Wicca
Gerald Gardener's traditional way honors Cernunnos as the lord and Aradia as the lady. This path of Wicca is formal with skyclad worship and degrees of initiation with the covens having no more than thirteen members in each. The covens are led by a high priestess with a high priest. Gardenerians are not too impressed by self initiation in other forms of Wicca because they believe that it takes a witch to make a witch.
Alexandrian Wicca
Founded in the 1960's by Alex and Maxine Saunders, Alexandrian Wicca is a formal, structured, neo-Gardenerian tradition. Both Gardenerian and Alexandrian Wicca are regarded as Classical Wicca.
British Traditional Wicca
This type of Wicca is similar to Gardenerian Wicca, also formal and structured but mixes Celtic deities and spirituality as well.
Celtic Wicca
Celtic Wicca incorporates Celtic Gods and Goddesses with spirituality, green witchcraft and faery magic.
Dianic Wicca
This tradition is centered around the Goddess Diana that doesn't include gods. Dianic Wicca is often thought of as a feminist, even lesbian path, although there are male Dianic Witches. This path does not require initiations.
Faery Wicca
This Irish tradition is similar to Celtic Wicca focusing on green witchcraft and faery magic.
Teutonic Wicca
Teutonic Wicca incorporates deities, symbolism and practices from the Nordic tradition including Germanic and Norse cultures.
Family Traditions
Generations of witches having their secret practices and traditions.
Oxymorphic Groups
Satanic Wiccans and Christian Wiccans ARE NOT Wiccan whether they mean well or not. It is a contradiction in terms
Although some witches believe that each individual must have been taught the craft by a living relative before being considered as a hereditary witch, however, I believe that being a witch can be inherited from a grandparent who may or not be living. The natural gift to witchcraft appears to skip a generation in many cases. There are countless reports of young witches receiving spirit messages from their ancestors showing guidance on the witches' path or discovering information that points to an ancestor being a witch.
Paganism
Paganism covers many faiths, one being Wicca. Wiccans respect others in their beliefs and value the freedom of worship for everyone. Wiccans are polythesists who incorporate various Gods and Goddesses into their rituals. Most witches believe in reincarnation, hence the representation of the seasons, birth, death and rebirth. Some Wiccans believe we rest in Summerlands before being reincarnated. Summerlands is the place where we are reunited with our families and loved ones.
Wiccans do not believe in hell or the devil. Wiccans choose to refrain from negativity by being positive. We hold an individual responsible for their own evil actions.
Many witches honor the lord Horned God, the Lord of Animals, the sylvan lord of the greenwood. He is otherwise known as Pan, Herne or Cernunnos, a man with horns who is a great god of herds and fertility.
Some witches believe in angels, some faeries and some also believe in dragons. Each to their own.
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