Wicca, Wicca, Who's Got the Wicca?
 
 
 
                                 or
 
 
 
                       My Tradition, or Yours?
 
 
 
 [An article which attempts to make sense of all the various Traditions, 
Brands, Denominations, ect., which may confuse the unwary new-comer to 
Neo-Paganism (Wicca in particular).] 
 
 
 
                            By: Hurn
 
 
 
 
 
   Greetings, and Bright Blessings...
 
 
 
  Welcome to this, the next in a series of introductory pieces on 
Alternate Religions.  Today, we shall take a look at the many varied 
Traditions in the Wicca Family of Faiths.  Whilst there is, indeed, a 
large number of groups who profess one set of
 tenants, or ideas; one soon begins to see why they may all be lumped 
together as one Religion.
 
 
 
  Obviously, to start, one must define Religion as it applies to these 
groups of people.  Next, a listing of some of the more Popular 
Traditions, giving a basic description of each.  Lastly, some comments on 
the "cords which bind these groups togethe
r", ie. a discussion on the Underlying Philosophies of the New Age 
Movement, Neo-Paganisms in particular.
 
 
 
 
 
  I. What is a Religion?
 
 
 
  A dictionary definition of religion looks something like:
 
 
 
    Religion, n.; An organized system of Beliefs and/or Rituals,
 
    centering on a Supernatural Being or Beings.
 
 
 
  Everyone with me so far? Good. I think we can all agree on definitions 
for "Beliefs" and "Supernatural", so the only sub-definition will be
 
 
 
     "Ritual": any ordered sequence of events or actions, including   
 
    directed thoughts, especially one that is repeated in the 'same'  
 
    manner each time, and that is designed to produce a predictable   
 
    altered state of consciousness, within which certain magical or   
 
    religious results may be obtained.
 
 
 
  Now, by using these definitions, the astute reader may realize that one 
need not "believe" in anything in order to belong to a Religion, although 
most 'established' churches Do require that one has conforming beliefs in 
order to become 'accepted in
to' that Religion.   One of the beauties of the Pagan/NeoPagan/Wiccan 
Religion is that the majority of the sects do not require one to have 
'conforming' beliefs.  One need not Believe in the God/dess in order to 
worship them, and this is the key to b
eing a New Age type Religion.
 
  New Age Religions acknowledge that there are many paths to Godhood, and 
that each person should find his/her own way.  Thus,  while there is 
communication and discussion between the diverse ways of Wicca, there is 
generally no cause for religious p
rsecution or Holy Wars.  Also, there are very little 'missionary' type 
efforts, since there is no Prime Directive stating that everyone who does 
not believe a certain piece of Dogma is Wrong, and will burn in Hell 
forever, unless saved, or made to se
e the light.
 
  Contrary to most religions, it is Not the shared set of Beliefs, or 
similar Dogma which holds the Wiccan Religions together.  Rather, it is 
the Attitudes of the people involved, and their common Heritage which 
provide the bonds of cooperation among
 the Pagan Peoples. These points of agreement shall be further addressed 
following a brief list of some of the more popular Traditions, with a 
description of each.
 
 
 
 
 
  II. Traditions/Branches/Gatherings/Sub-Groups/Interpretations/ect.
 
           [nb. This is not, by any means, an all inclusive list]
 
 
 
     A. Gardnerian:
 
  Started by G. Gardner, in England, in the mid 1950's, this Tradition 
claims to have existed, in secret, since the Witch-Burnings began during 
the Middle Ages.  While there is some doubt as to whether or not it is as 
old as it claims, there is no de
nying that the Gardnerian Sect has been one of the most Influential of 
the Traditions.  In fact, many of the groups which follow were started by 
people who had been introduced to Paganism and the Worship of the Lord 
and Lady as members of a  Gardneri
an group.
 
  Characteristics:
 
  A structured religion with definite hierarchy within each group (known, 
as a Coven), but little to no Authority of one coven over another.  
Within the coven, a Matriarchy exists, with the High Priestess generally 
being considered the leader (there 
are, of course, exceptions to this, but these descriptions are, for the 
most part, only generalizations based upon information gathered from many 
sources).
 
  The typical Gardnerian view of the God/dess is that of a Dominant 
Three-Faced Goddess (Maid, Mother, and Crone) with a Male Consort (Who 
has 2 sides.. the Young Summer King, and the Old Winter King).
 
  Ceremonies include a series of initiations into higher levels of the 
Craft, various Holiday Celebrations (based, of course, upon the "Wheel of 
the Year" calendar of Feast days.
 
 
 
     B. Alexandrian:
 
   Started about the same time as Gardner's, this tradition is fairly 
similar, with a little more emphasis upon Ceremonial Magick.  There are 
numerous Covens in both US and Europe.
 
 
 
     C. Dianic:
 
  This is more of a Sub-class, rather than a particular Tradition.  There 
are several Feminist Traditions which are considered Dianic.  This 
sub-class tends to emphasize the Female aspect of the Goddess, sometimes 
to the exclusion of the Male God.  S
ome feel that these groups are rather reactionary and self limiting.  Be 
that as it may, the Dianic Covens tend to be more politically active.  
 
 
 
     D. School of Wicca:
 
  Headed by Gavin and Yvonne Frost, this School is the largest 
correspondence school of Witchcraft in the US.  Numerous Covens have 
resulted from this School, although it is somewhat unconventional (if, 
that is, anything dealing with Wicca could be c
alled conventional).  The Frosts' views on Wicca as a religion do differ 
with the majority.. in that they do not consider Wicca as "Pagan", but 
rather as Monotheistic.
 
 
 
     E. Seax (or Saxon) Wicca:
 
  Started by Raymond Buckland, who was originally a leader in promoting 
the Gardnerian Tradition, as an alternative to the existing Covens.  
Unlike most traditions, which consider the Coven group to be the normal 
unit of division (ie. all ceremonies/
Rituals = Group Rites), the Seax version has provision for lone witches 
(often referred to as Solitares). Another thing which sets this 
particular brand apart is its non-reliance upon being properly initiated 
into the Wiccan community.  Many of the o
her groups require that new members be brought to existing covens to be 
ceremonially initiated into that Tradition, and that only after years of 
study within the group is one ready to start a new coven.  The Seax 
tradition, recognizing that there may
 not be a friendly, neighborhood Coven, allows for self-initiation, and 
Auto setup of a Coven.
 
 
 
    F. Traditionalist (Welsh, Scots, Greek, Irish, ect...)
 
  Like Dianic, this is a sub-class.  Each Traditionalist group is based 
upon the traditions, literature, myth, and folktales of that particular 
geographic/demographic area.  This is evident in the Names of the 
God/dess used by individual groups.
 
 
 
 
 
   III. Common ties/beliefs/Ideals/ect...
 
 
 
 As stated earlier, it's not doctrine/dogma similarities which tend to 
hold these diverse groups together, rather, it is the common Ideals and 
feelings expressed by the Pagan Peoples themselves.  Here are some examples:
 
  The Wiccan Rede:  "An it harms none, do what thou will." is almost 
universally accepted amongst the groups.
 
  Most groups tend to be polytheistic, animists, pantheists, ect.
 
  One is not "converted" to Wicca, rather, the new comer feels a sense of 
"Coming Home", or, more poetically, "The Goddess calls to Her own".
 
  Nature plays a big part in most Traditions, either as direct 
personification of the God/dess, or as aspects of them.
 
  There is no counterpart to the Devil, as such, in the Pagan 
religions... no personification of All Evil, rather, the choice is there 
for all to make. 
 
However, there is the Law of Three Fold Return, which states "That which 
thou dost send out shall return three fold", so good begets good, and 
evil befalls those who are evil (a horrendous understatement / 
simplification, but true).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Author's note:
 
 Whew!  That was a long haul of writing in one sitting... if there are 
any big errors noticeable, mail me, and I'll make a second draft of 
this.. or perhaps even expand it some.. (my time is limited in as far as 
when I have opportunities to just sit 
down and write something like this, but I can usually squeeze in some 
time, here or there.)
 
   I hope that this is somewhat enlightening... there are some other 
files, here, which give more basic explanations of the terms used.. 
(Witch, Coven, Magick, ect..) ... I did assume a small amount of 
familiarity present within the reader... if anyo
ne wishes, I can append a Preface covering that which was presupposed 
knowledge. 
 
 
 
                                         Blessed Be...
 
                                                        Hurn