There are so many terms and distinctions being made around the various practices of witchcraft that are starting to grow now. This is a good thing but it’s happening so fast I am starting to think that some of the verbiage we are coining for ourselves is running away from us before anyone can properly get a handle on this. New Seekers (capital noun) have so many options not just in personal praxis but also when it comes to seeking out initiatory and coven-based work.
British Traditional Wicca (BTW) / Traditional [Initiatory] Wicca (TW/TIW)
This one tends to depend on where one is based.
North America and some in South America tend to refer to those initiates of Wicca who can trace their lineage back to Gerard Gardner and the New Forest Coven. It is largely the result of the migration of Traditional Wicca from the British Isles to the US, Canada and more recently to South America.
For those of us in Britain stating British Traditional Wicca is a bit redundant, and with the migration eastwards to mainland Europe and even here to Ireland the convention to refer to the practices as Traditional Wicca have simply conveyed everything we need to say. This may be explained because there are few to none of the wider BTW lineages such as Algard, Blue Star Wicca, Central Valley Wicca, Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca, and Georgian Wicca, which can still trace their lineages back to Gerard Gardner and the New Forest Coven but whose practices have evolved somewhat differently through the previously mentioned migration.
Largely speaking when initiates are referring to either BTW or Traditional Wicca they are referring to Gardnerian Wicca or Alexandrian Wicca.
One of the common tropes of these forms of initiatory witchcraft is that they adhere to the Western Mystery Tradition. Like many mystery traditions the process of advancement and elevation up the degrees includes a process of revelation guided by initiated members (the High Priesthood in Traditional Wicca). In Traditional Wicca one is initiated as a member of the priesthood and as a witch.
Traditional Witchcraft (TW) / traditional or folkloric witchcraft
As I said confusion often reigns online as many people discussing TW find it tough to recognise if the thread is discussing Traditional Wicca (as per the European model) or Traditional Witchcraft. Traditional Witchcraft can, in and of itself, have different connotations in terms of what the individual is practicing. There has been an attempt to stabilise the meaning of Traditional Witchcraft recently.
First, I should state clearly there are initiatory covens and traditions of Traditional Witchcraft. Traditions such Robert Cochrane’s 1734, Plant Y Bran, Clan of Tubal Cain all hold lineages of their own and would identify as a form of Traditional Witchcraft. In part due to the close proximity between these TW lineages and those of BTW lineages a lot of socialising and mingling has occurred clandestinely, fostering mutual respect and to a degree learning in the U.K.
More recently this form of witchcraft also lends itself to describing solitary or non-initiatory practices based in folkloric-witchcrafts. In this context TW is generally rendered in it’s lower-case form online but this is not a hard rule.
Both forms tend to be rooted in folkloric practices and accounts of Witch Trials or from accounts of rural magical practices remembered in local areas. Discrepancies may well occur between those rooted in the U.S. and Europe due in part to different accounts around the Trials themselves based in different areas. In addition to this reading through the local or folk magic accounts one has to cut one’s cloth to their measure (George Hares discusses the various methods for engaging and developing a praxis of witchcraft HERE).
With traditional witchcraft or folk witchcraft there is less emphasis on initiation because of course from this perspective one is not being initiated into a communitas or magical fraternity. This doesn’t mean that traditional witches are unsociable or won’t work magic with others but that it may not be a core aspect or expression to their practice.
Caveat: Please remember that the distinction between upper- and lower-case Traditional Witchcraft is rather arbitrary and I suspect somewhat academic in origin.
In summary, witches are witches and in general are only limited by their exposure to ideas and influences. While initiation may be expected and indeed required for many specific lineages of witchcraft this is reflective of the specific expectations of those teachers and elders who wish to pass on the training and learning accumulated since the formation of their particular path or tradition.
A Little Extra…
Why All the History Hoopla?
Sometime ago I read an article that was so drenched in misinformation on both the definition of Traditional Wicca (stemming from Gardner & the New Forest Coven) and of the definition of Traditional Witchcraft. The article was fairly damning of Traditional Wicca, dismissing it as autocratic and hierarchical (with no acknowledgement of the benefits of structure in a revelatory setting such as a Mystery Tradition/Religion).
This was problematic not just from a Traditional Wiccan perspective but for those of us close with other non-Wiccan traditions of witchcraft it tends to erase them from the discussion. For instance, I’ve not been able to clearly explore the American practices of initiatory witchcraft such a Anderson Feri Craft or newer, emergent American traditions exploring a religio-magical practice.
The article lead to many eager voices from Traditional Witchcraft circles to decry the Wiccan dominance, even bitterly slighting others along the way. This surprised me because the article was quite dated as well as biased with no clear link to the aforementioned American or European folk magic practices. So what exactly was meant to learned from this article? I’m not sure, I do know that I learned that many of my Traditional Witchcraft friends found the article problematic as well.
Author Kelden Mercury, from By Athame and Stang blog, put forward a really well reasoned response to the article and the need for clarification and to redress the notion of authenticity in recognising Traditional Witchcraft as some homogeneous movement. This is something we’re also endeavouring to do in Traditional Wicca as well. Communication is key.
Abhainn 