NOTE: THIS PAGE IS ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AS MORE TRADS APPEAR, SO CHECK BACK OFTEN.

Alexandrian Wicca
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 Sabbats. Rituals are usually done skyclad. Though Alex Sanders claimed to have been initiated by his grandmother into the Craft as a toddler, it is said that he in fact began training with a Gardnerian coven and then left, but not before copying as much of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows as possible. This is a common explanation for the many similarities between the two traditions. Janet and Stewart Farrar were originally initiated as Alexandrians but spent a good part of their publishing career trying to recombine the two.

Algard Wicca
Mary Nesnick, an American initiate in Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions, founded this 'new' tradition. It brings together both Gardnerian and Alexandrian teachings under a single banner.

Amaurot Tradition
This small tradition was founded in 1998 in Binghamton, NY. It is eclectic and consists of a five-element based progression system, along with one-on-one sponsorship. Rituals are done on a rotational leadership system, and there are offices as well as a Coven Council (but no HPS or HP). Amaurot is a clan tradition, meaning all hives are part of the family and work together and meet on a yearly basis for a reunion. Sabbats and Dark Moons are regularly celebrated, along with rites of passage and other rituals designed by members. You can visit their website for more information

Amythystian Wicca 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. It is 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 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.

Blue Star Wicca
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.

British Traditional Wicca
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 co-ed, 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 Wicca
This "tradition" really covers a number of individual traditions which follow the Celtic pantheons and holiday system. Each path is unique and stand alone, or could meld with another and still be part of the Celtic tradition. It is primarily derived from the ancient pre-Christian Celtic religions 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 Wicca
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.

Church of Wicca
The Church of Wicca was founded by Gavin and Yvonne Frost. They offer correspondence courses in their brand of Wicca, which is sometimes called Celtic Wicca (not to be confused with the varied groups who practice their own forms of Celtic-flavored Wicca). Until recently, this tradition was notorious for its more monotheistic view of deity and its exclusion of the Goddess. The Church of Wicca has just recently begun including a Goddess in their deity structure, but is very patriarchal as Wiccan traditions go. The Church of Wicca terms itself "Baptist Wicca."

Circle of Ara
The Circle of Ara is primarily based in New York City and was founded by author Phyllis Curott (Book of Shadows; Broadway Books, 1998. Witchcrafting; Broadway Books, 2001) in 1982. This tradition draws on Gardnerian and Minoan traditions but follows its own Book of Shadows. The key word to understanding this group is "deconstruction," an aspect that grows out of the old concept "learn the rules, so that you can break them effectively." You can visit Curott's website for more information. See also TEMPLE OF ARA.

Dianic Wicca
There are two distinct branches of Dianic Wicca: 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 covens that are 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 femisnist groups, usually very supportive, personal and emotionally intimate. For both branches 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.

Eclectic Wicca
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 an assortment of Love Goddesses, etc. from many different cultures. This is the fastest growing branch of Wicca today, due to the large number of books available and the shortage of traditional covens who have room for new students or enough elders willing to hive off.

Faerie Wicca vs. Faerie Witchcraft
A loose association of covens and solitaires who have a respect for the Faerie Folk in common. This type of Wicca works with the fey in a fairly traditional Celtic Wicca frame. Faerie Witchcraft, on the other hand, is also a loose association of people who practice Faerie magick and work with the Faerie realm, but do not use a Wiccan format and are more shamanic/ecstatic in nature. Many Faerie Witches also consider themselves Welsh Witches (see Welsh Witchcraft).

Feri Wicca
Victor and Cora Anderson are the original teachers of the Feri Tradition. Victor is universally recognized as the Grand Master of his order of Feri. He was initiated in 1926 by a priestess from Africa. He is also one of the last genuine Kahuna. His book of poetry, Thorns of the Bloodrose, is considered a contemporary Pagan classic. In 1959, Victor initiated the late Gwydion Pendderwen (age 13 at the time), who later became a leading voice in the Feri Tradition. Gwydion concentrated on the Welsh Celtic aspects; whereas Victor and Cora still practice the tradition as it was originally, with Huna and African diasporic influences, primarily Dahomean-Haitian. Starhawk was also trained in the Feri tradition and draws on it heavily in her Reclaiming system. The Feri Tradition honors the Goddess and Her son, brother and lover (The Divine Twins) as the primary creative forces in the universe. The Gods are seen as real spirit beings like ourselves, not merely aspects of our psyche. It is an ecstatic, rather than fertility tradition, emphasizing on polytheism, practical magic, self-development and theurgy. Strong emphasis is placed on sensual experience and awareness, including sexual mysticism, which is not limited to heterosexual expression.

Gardnerian Wicca
This is a closed initiatory Tradition which was founded in England in 1953 by Gerald Gardner and further developed by Doreen Valiente and others. Gardner was supposedly 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. Since his "outing," it has been argued that whether he was initiated into an ancient coven or not, most of the Gardnerian system is not ancient at all (see Origins of Wicca). Rather, Gardner created his system from his work with ceremonial magick and Aleister Crowley, studies of the OTO and Golden Dawn, and literature by writers such as Charles Leland, Robert Graves, and Margaret Murray. Nevertheless, he is responsible for bringing witchcraft back out of the broom closet and gave birth to the modern form we call "Wicca." 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.

Georgian Wicca
If one word could best describe the Georgean Tradition, it would be 'eclectic. Even though the material provided to students was nominally Alexandrian, there was never any imperative to follow that path blindly. George Patterson (the tradition's founder) always said 'If it works use it, if it doesn't, don't'. The newsletter was always full of contributions from people of many traditions.

Minoan Brotherhood
A Gay Men's tradition of Wicca 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 Wicca, 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. For more information, visit Temenos Knossos

Minoan Sisterhood
The Sisterhood was founded in Manhattan, NY in the mid-1970's. Unlike its counterpart, the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood is not for homosexuals only. Covens are female-only, however. This Tradition claims newly acclaimed author Phyllis Curott as one its initiates, though she has moved on to form her own tradition (see CIRCLE OF ARA above).

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 Shamanic Witchcraft has permeated widely though out many other established Traditions.

Stregheria
Stregheria is the form of witchcraft native to Italy; there are several distinct traditions sharing common roots in various parts of Italy. Also called "La Vecchia Religione," Stregheria is a nature-based religion. It's followers worship the forces of Nature, personified by gods and goddesses. The witches of La Vecchia Religione are called Streghe (plural), with the title Strega (for a female) and Stregone (for a male). Stregheria is rooted in the folk religion of the Latins (the Romans being one Latin people) and the Etruscans. In the Aridian tradition, taught by Raven Grimassi in Ways of the Strega, the pantheon is different from the urban gods of the Romans, though some of those deities were shared with the Latins and the Etruscans. The most notable is Diana, whose worship was focused at a temple at Lake Nemi in the Alban Hills. There are also other traditions of Stregheria in Italy, who may worship the urban gods of the Romans.

Temple of Ara
In progress...

Welsh Witchcraft
Welsh Witchcraft is a broad umbrella term for those who worship the old Welsh deities and practice Faerie magick. The largest association of Welsh traditions in the US (and probably in the world) is the Association of the Cymry. Some of the member covens are Wiccan, some are not. Most notably, the Church of Y Tylwyth Teg (the founding group of Cymry) is a legally incorporated Church based in Georgia which teaches Welsh Witchcraft as an ecstatic, mostly shamanic tradition and works heavily with the Faerie realms.

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.

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