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[from http://www.oakgrove.org/GreenPages/bos/0154.txt ]

Subject: Wicca, Wicca, Who's Got the Wicca?

                                      or

                            My Tradition, or Yours?

      [An article which attempts to make sense of all the various Traditio
ns,
     Brands, Denominations, ect., which may confuse the unwary new-comer t
o Neo-
     Paganism (Wicca in particular).]

                                 By: Hurn

          Greetings,  and Bright  Blessings...  Welcome  to this, the  nex
t 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 F
aiths.
     Whilst there is, indeed, a large number  of groups who  profess one s
et  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  Tradi
tions,
     giving a   basic description of each.   Lastly, some comments on the
"cords
     which  bind  these groups  together", ie.  a  discussion on  the Unde
rlying
     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 defin
itions
     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 th
at one
     need   not "believe" in anything in order to belong to a Religion, al
though
     most  'established' churches Do require that  one has conforming beli
efs in
     order to   become 'accepted into' that Religion.    One of the  beaut
ies 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 th
e
     God/dess in order  to worship them, and this is the  key to being a N
ew Age
     type  Religion.

          New  Age Religions acknowledge that  there are many  paths to Go
dhood,
     and that  each person should find his/her  own way.  Thus,  while the
re  is
     communication  and discussion between the  diverse ways of Wicca, the
re  is
     generally no  cause  for religious  persecution 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  pi
ece of
     Dogma is Wrong, and will  burn  in Hell  forever, unless saved, or ma
de  to
     see the light.
         Contrary to most  religions, it is  Not the shared  set of Belief
s,  or




   154

     similar Dogma which holds the Wiccan Religions together.  Rather, it
is the
     Attitudes of the people  involved, and their common Heritage  which p
rovide
     the bonds of cooperation among the Pagan Peoples. These points of agr
eement
     shall  be further  addressed following  a brief  list of  some of  th
e 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  Tra
dition
     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 denying that the Gardnerian Sect has be
en 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 Pa
ganism
     and the Worship of the  Lord and Lady as members of a  Gardnerian gro
up.
       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  base
d upon
     information gathered  from many sources).
         The typicalGardnerian 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  "Wh
eel 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.   The
re 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, someti
mes to
     the  exclusion of the  Male God.   Some feel  that these groups  are
rather
     reactionary and self limiting.  Be  that as it may, the Dianic  Coven
s tend
     to be more politically active.

          D. School of Wicca:
         Headed   by  Gavin  and  Yvonne  Frost,  this  School  is  the  l
argest
     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 called conventional).  The F
rosts'
     views on Wicca as a religion do differ with  the majority.. in that t
hey do
     not consider Wicca as "Pagan", but rather as Monotheistic.




   155

          E. Seax (or Saxon) Wicca:
         Startedby Raymond Buckland, who wasoriginally a leader in promoti
ng the
     Gardnerian Tradition, as  an alternative  to the existing  Covens.
Unlike
     most traditions,  which consider the Coven  group to be the  normal u
nit of
     division (ie. all ceremonies/Rituals  = Group Rites), the Seax  versi
on has
     provision for lone witches (often referred to as Solitaires). Another
 thing
     which  sets  this particular  brand apart  is  its non-reliance  upon
 being
     properly initiated into  the Wiccan community.   Many of  the other
groups
     require that new members  be brought to existing covens  to be ceremo
nially
     initiated into that  Tradition, and that only  after years of  study
within
     the group  is  one  ready to  start  a  new coven.    The  Seax  trad
ition,
     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, etc...)
         Like  Dianic, this is a sub-class.   Each Traditionalist group is
 based
     upon the traditions, literature, myth, and folktales of that particul
ar
     geographic/demographic area.  This is evident in the  Names of the Go
d/dess
     used by individual groups.


        III. Common ties/beliefs/Ideals/ect...

       Asstated earlier, it's not doctrine/dogma similarities which tend t
o hold
     these diverse groups together, rather, it is the common Ideals and fe
elings
     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 poeti
cally,
     "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 cho
ice is
     there for all  to make.  However,  there is the  Law of Three Fold  R
eturn,
     which states  "That which thou dost  send out shall return  three fol
d", so
     good  begets good,  and  evil  befalls those  who  are evil  (a  horr
endous
     understatement / simplification, but true).

     Author's note:
       Whew!  That was a long haul of writing in one sitting... if there a
re any
     big  errors noticeable, mail me, and I'll  make a second draft of thi
s.. 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 c
an
     usually squeeze in some time, here or there.)
           I hopethat this issomewhat enlightening... there aresome other
files,
     here, which give more basic explanations of the terms used.. (Witch,
Coven,
     Magick,  ect..) ...  I did  assume a  small  amount of  familiarity p
resent
     within the reader... if anyone wishes, I can append a Preface coverin
g that
     which was presupposed knowledge.

                                              Blessed Be...
                                                             Hurn