Witch or Pagan Movements

Neo-pagan Movements

One of the primary differences between Traditional Witchcraft and neo-pagan movements is that these modern movements are all hegemonic entities of one sort of another, while traditional witches are more solitary in the nature of their practice.

These modern groups will generally refer to themselves in terms of being fraternal or even monastic orders, with Wiccan’s usually referring to their communities as“covens”.

The word “coven derives from the Latin root word “convenire”, meaning to come together or to gather, as in a group of believers who gather together for ceremonies of worship or celebrating the Sabbats.

Traditional witches however, when they do gather together in a group, usually do so as a “family” or “clan”, rather than as part of a structured religious congregation.

Asatru:  Asatru is frequently regarded as one of the neo-pagan  family of religions. That family includes Wicca, Druidism, and re-creations of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and other ancient Pagan religions. However, many Asatruers prefer the term “heathen” or “pagan” rather than “neo-pagan;” they look upon their tradition as “not just a branch on the Neopagan tree” but as a separate tree. Unlike Wicca, which has gradually evolved into many different traditions, the reconstruction of Asatru has been based on the surviving historical record. Its followers have maintained it as closely as possible to the original religion of the Norse people. During the early part of the 20th Century, the National Socialist Party in Germany attempted to pervert Asatru by grafting parts of the religion onto Nazis racist beliefs. Today, some neo-Nazis groups are attempting to continue the practice.

British Traditional Wicca (BTW): A term used to describe the Wiccan Movement, the most prominent  of which are Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca. Not to be confused with those who practice traditional witchcraft in the British traditions of ancient Celtic origins, Wiccans practice a modern pagan religion, more in line with the new age, humanist movement.

Gardnerian Movement: These are followers of a modern religious movement with a structured system of elaborate ceremony and ritual. Wiccans practice what are a fairly fundamentalist set of rituals which are administered by a set lineage of high priests and priestesses. The Gardnerian Movement or ‘Wicca’, came out of a mass media “spiritual revival” campaign, led by founder Gerald Gardner, in Europe in the 1950s. This new religion has lost credibility amongst traditional witches who see it as promoting the idea of “weekend witchcraft” and not an absolute and unmitigated dedication to a life in “The Old Ways”.

Alexandrian Movement: A modified Gardnerian system founded by Alexander Sanders in the 1960’s. Though more eclectic in practice, in most ways, the Alexandrian Movement is very close to Gardnerian with a few minor changes.  As with the Gardnerian, it is not considered to be “Old Religion” by traditional witches.

Feri Movement: A more or less modern form originated in the 1940’s by Victor Anderson and originally called the ‘Vicia’ tradition. It has its own theology with its own Gods, known as the Star Goddess, the Divine Twins and the Blue God. It utilizes ecstatic sexual practices which seek to raise and use “Feri energy” which is seen as a specific power that is passed between members of the movement. This movement is often confused as being Wiccan and while Feri members make no claims to a Wiccan lineage, a case could be made that Wicca is an offshoot of Feri.

Cunning Folk: The term “cunning man” or “cunning woman” was most widely used in southern England, the Midlands and in Wales. Such people were also frequently known as “wizards”, “wise men” or “wise women” or “conjurers”. In Cornwall they were sometimes referred to as “pellars”, which originated from the term “expellers”, referring to the practice of expelling evil spirits. Folklorists often used the term “white witch”, though this was not used amongst the ordinary folk as the term “witch” had an evil connotation. The relationship between cunning-craft and witchcraft is  controversial. The original cunning folk were often times witch hunters; seeking out and condemning an individual as a witch responsible for some evil or affliction and then performing curses against the supposed offender. Today “Cornish Tradition Witches” are often mistakenly referred to as cunning folk.

Druidy: In the Celtic religion, the modern words Druid or Druidry denote the practices of the ancient Druids, the priestly class in ancient Britain and Gaul. The historical knowledge of the Druids is very limited, as no Druidic documents have survived. Julius Caesar’s ‘The Gallic Wars’ gives the fullest account of the ancient Druids and he describes the Druids as the learned priestly class, who were guardians of the unwritten ancient customary law and who had the power of executing judgment. To most people today, the Druids conjure up images of a mysterious, religious sect wearing strange robes and conducting archaic ceremonies out in the open air at Stonehenge. However, archeologists have shown that Stonehenge was built, over a period of centuries, from 2800 BC to 1550 BC, long before the arrival of the ancient Celts and there is no evidence that the ancient Druids ever used Stonehenge. Modern Druidism (Neo-druidism) came out of the Romanticism Movement of the 18th Century and is thought to have some, though not many, connections to the Old Religion, instead being based largely on writings produced during and after the 18th Century from second hand sources and theories.

Theosophy: Theosophy, or divine wisdom, refers either to the mysticism of philosophers who believe that they can understand the nature of some god by direct apprehension, without revelation, or it refers to the esotericism  of mystical and occult philosophies that claim to be handing down the lost secrets of some ancient wisdom to a group of chosen initiates.  The Theosophy Movement began with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, (usually referred to as Madame Blavatsky), one of the co-founders, in 1875 of the Theosophical Society in New York, and who is considered to be either a divinely inspired saint or a shameless imposter depending on who you ask. Certain other mystical occult groups of the period, such as the Rosicrucian Order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and splinter groups coming out of Freemasonry, also became part of this movement, drawing on elements of  the practices of the Egyptian and/or Kabalistic mystical orders and are not related to the Goddess centered practices of  Traditional Witchcraft.