Basics of Witchcraft

Witchcraft is many things to many people. For some it is a practice, for others a religion, but for almost all practicioners, a way of life. For simplicity's sake, we will consider witchcraft a religio-magickal spiritual practice. Witches can follow any religion they please, albeit the vast majority of self-identified witches are pagan, as the revival of witchcraft in the modern day is inherently pagan, focusing on the veneration of nature and the old gods, and the practice of magick.

The Witchcraft Revival

The Witchcraft Revival can be attributed to various contemporary works throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, witch trial folklore, and a renewed interest the pagan past. The works of Charles Godfrey Leland & Margaret Murray cemented the foundations for what is often seen in traditions stemming from the 20th century's revival of The Craft. Their theories and reports of a Witch Cult throughout Europe served as the foundation for the theology of the Religion of Witchcraft. It should be noted here that the term "Witch Cult" has the word "cult" used in the anthropological sense, referring to the specific worship and practices of a specific group. The traditions of this period have a central theology surrounding a Horned God and Great Goddess figure, who grant wisdom, fertility, etc. These traditions tend to be animistic, pantheistic, polytheistic, etc. The most well known Witchcraft Revival Tradition is Wicca, though there are many others. Not all religions under the witchcraft survival consider themselves to be pagan or neopagan (a good example being Cochrane's Craft), though the vast majority do.

The Difference Between Magic, Magick, and Witchcraft

The terms magic, magick, and witchcraft can mean quite a few things to people. Magic in and of itself means to influence a course of events, the world, nature, people, etc. by mysterious or supernatural means. This can be as simple as burning a candle with a prayer spoken over it, to as complex as a three day ritual to alter one's fate. Magick, spelt with a K, was coined by Ceremonial Magician & Founder of Thelema, Aliester Crowley, to differentiate between stage magic, and real magic per it's definition. Witchcraft is where the definition can get a little all over the place as, like stated above, it's many things to many people. It's important to note that not all who practice magic consider themselves witches. To me, Witchcaft is a Religion, falling under the category of NeoPaganism, as I find it important, as a witch, to see just how the practice came about in the modern day.

Types of Magic

Folk Magic - Folk Magic refers to the practices carried out by the commonfolk within a specific culture, location, etc. Folk Magic is as diverse as the world, and covers a vast array of practices such as Brujeria, Hoodoo, Conjure, Stregoneria, etc. Folk Magic often overlaps with Folk Religion, such as Vodun/Voodoo, Santeria, Candomble, Umabanda, Palo Mayombe, etc. Many Folk Religions and practices in Folk Magic overlap heavily with Christianity and Catholocism, as that is what was needed to avoid persecution. This is seen especially with Voodoo and Santieria, as many of the spirits and gods honored were identified with Saints to be able to continute practicing their ways.

Sympathetic Magic - Sympathetic Magic is the idea that like attracts like. This idea is commonplace in the basis of most, if not all, pre-Abrahamic religion. Neolithic people, for exampe, would practice a mock hunt, lead by a priest ritually dressed as a prey animal, whom the hunters would mimic slaying. This practice was to ensure a successful hunt, and also gave us the basis for the deity we know as The Horned God. Another example of Sympathetic Magic are the fertility rites of the Ancient Mediterranean, including the Levant. In ancient Canaan, the Priests and Priestesses of Ba'al and Astarte would have ritualistic intercourse, representing the God fertilizing the Goddess. with the Goddess in this instance embodying the Earth, as such, these rites would bring fertility to the land.

Ceremonial Magick - sometimes also called high magick, Ceremonial Magick pulls from the traditions of ancient grimoires and paved the way for the western esoteric movement. Ceremonial Magick tends to be very in-depth, and rooted in Jewish and Christian mysticism, as such, Kabalistic concepts are utilized, as are spirits such as Angels and Demons. Ceremonial Magick can be practiced by anyone of any religion, and actually influences many Wiccan rituals and liturgy. You can find ceremonial magick in traditions such as Hermeticism, Thelema, Freemasonry, Wicca, and general western occult movements.

Types & Traditions of Witchcraft

Wicca - Wicca refers to a religious form of witchcraft whose central theology revolves around the wheel of the year and the Horned God and Great Goddess, who is variously the Great Mother Goddess and/or Triple Moon Goddess. Wicca stems from Gerald Gardner, who brought Wicca out of the shadows and into the public. Wicca initially was an oathbound, initiatory, mystery religion, with many various traditions in that vein branching off from Gardner's coven. Over time, other forms of Wicca came into being, forms that were not coven-based, and accepted self initiation. However, with publicity and marketability, as Wicca drew less suspicion than the name "witchcraft", many aspects of Wicca that made Wicca, got cast aside, and things that were not originally considered part of Wicca, got lumped into it. As such, if one follows a solitary/eclectic wiccan path, it is imperative to understand that Wicca is founded on the veneration of the God and Goddess, and their mythos is seen through the wheel of the year. Wicca is, aside from its core aspects, Orthopraxic, not Orthodoxic. As such, many Wiccans have different beliefs in relation to the Wheel of the Year, The Gods, etc. Key figures in Wicca are Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, Doreen Valiente, Patricia Crowther, Raymond Buckland, Scott Cunningham, Starhawk, Janet & Stewart Farrar, and so forth.

British Traditional Wicca - This is the original form of Wicca as brought to the public by British Civil Servant Gearld Brosseau Gardner. BTW Covens and practicioners can actively trace the lineage of initiation back to Gerald Gardner and/or The New Forest coven which initiated him. Much of BTW is oathbound, and as such, not availiable to the public. To practice BTW, one must be initiated into a coven.

NeoWicca - This refers to the forms of Wicca popularized by figures such as Scott Cunningham, Silver Ravenwolf, Raymond Buckland, and other authors who paved the way for Wicca to be practiced without initiation into a coven, or forms of Wicca that are not necessarily based in BTW. NeoWicca often overlaps with Eclectic witchcraft, and due to the lack of access to oathbound information, many practicioners go off of experience, or other pagan paths, to supplement for the missing parts.

Trinitarian Wicca - A syncretic path of Wicca and Christianity. Christian theology is superimposed onto Wiccan practice and mythos.

Stregheria - Stregheria is an Italian-American practice based on the works of Charles Godfrey Leland and Dr. Leo Louis Martello. Primarily spearheaded by Raven Grimassi, Stregeria takes a Wiccanate frame work, and syncretizes that with what is known of the Italian Witch Cult. There are a variety of names for the Goddess and God in this Tradition, though Tana and Tanus, as well as Diana and Dianus, are the most commonly used.

Anderson Feri Tradition - The Anderson Feri Tradition is sometimes also referred to as American Traditional Witchcraft, and was founded by Victor and Cora Anderson. This tradition blends many aspects of American folk magic, such as conjure, with a Goddess-centric theology. The Feri tradition does not shy away from sexuality, including queer sexuality, and fully embraces it. This tradition is quite openly queer, and as such, renewed interest in this tradition is on the rise. The Author Storm Faerywolf writes books for those interested in the tradition.

Minoan Brotherhood & Minoan Sisterhood - These traditions are based in the mythos of Minoan Crete. The Minoan Brotherhood was founded by Edmund M. Buczynski(Gwydion), who also founded the New York WICA tradition. Gwydion founded the Minoan Brotherhood to give a spiritual space for men who love men, as the heteronormative current of Wicca at the time made many LGBTQ+ witches feel excluded at worst, or like outsiders at best, during the time of the tradition's founding. The Mionan Sisterhood is a sister-tradition, founded by Lady Miw-Sekhmet and Lady Rhea, is likewise open to women. These traditions worship in groups known as Groves, and focus on Pre-Doric Agean and Near Eastern mythos for the basis of their work. They honor the Great Mother Goddess and her Divine Son.

Traditional Witchcraft - This refers to the traditions of witchcraft that popped up around the Witchcraft Revival period, but are not BTW (despite Britain being the origin of a good chunk of these revival trads, with the USA being close behind. Naming conventions can be a pain sometimes). Traditional Witchcraft is often rooted in the folklore of Witch Trials, as well as the witch-cult hypothesis, much like Wicca. Traditional Witchcraft, or Tradcraft, is most well known through Robert Cochrane based traditions, which can include Luciferian and Abrahamic concepts. Tradcraft still tends to hold to a Goddess/Horned God dynamic. Aside from Robert Cochrane, other prominent figures in Traditional Witchcraft are Dame Sybil Leek, Ruth Wynn Owen, Charles Cardell, and George Pickingill. With the traditions stemming from Sybil Leek & her compatriots also being considered Wicca or Traditional Wicca (albeit not BTW as they did not stem from the same coven as Gardner)

Folkloric Witchcraft - sometimes also called Traditional Witchcraft, this form of witchcraft is rooted in witchcraft folklore, and the folklore of a specific land or culture. This form of witchcraft at times, but not always, can involve "the devil", who is a folkloric spirit embodying wild, untamed, nature, and spiritual initiation. This should NOT be seen as the same being as the Biblical Satan, as the Witches' Devil is not a personification of evil, rather a personification of nature itself. This Devil is often, but not always, worshipped alongside his Dame, the Faery Queen/Queen of Elphame. Some may identify these being with/as The Horned God and The Goddess.

Dedicatory Religious Witchcraft - Dedicatory Religious Witchcraft, aka DRW, was initially proposed as an alternative term to NeoWicca, but did not initially catch on. As such, I propose the following definition: Any form of Witchcraft that is Religious in Nature and founded in the theology of the Horned God and Great Goddess. DRW focuses on building off of the matierals made public during the Witchcraft Revival. DRW can be rather eclectic, but due to it's core theology and clear foundations in the Witchcraft Revival works and lore, is not necessarily the same as Eclectic Witchcraft

Reclaiming - Founded by Starhawk, the Reclaiming movement of Witchcraft has its roots in the Anderson Feri Tradition, as Starhawk, the founder, was trained in that trad. Reclaiming was founded in the 1980s in the San Fransisco area, and also deals in activist work. A Core work to understand the Reclaiming tradition is Starhawk's book The Spiral Dance, which has cemented itself as a foundational text within the broader Pagan and Witch community.

Folk Witchcraft - Not to be confused with the above. Folk Witchcraft is often another term for Folk Magic, and it may or may not be religious in nature.

Eclectic Witchcraft - Eclectic Witchcraft is very freeform and often influenced by NeoWicca and the New Age Movement. Eclectic Witchcraft is not inherently religious, but can be.

There are MANY more traditions than what's listed here, if you find yourself interested in learning more about specific traditions, please refer to this link: "Witchcraft Traditions" - Yvonne Auburrow This article has a list of links to dig deeper into learning of more specific trads.

The Gods of The Craft

The Goddess - The Goddess of the Craft is the Great Mother of all things, the female principle of all creation and the universe. She is the firstborn of all creation, the starry cosmos, the void of night, and the very earth herself. She embodies the very essence of life and fertility, she is the gentle repose of the peace of the night, the light of the moon and the darkness in it's absence. She is the deep dark soil of the underworld to which our bodies go upon death, to be renewed into the nutrients for the vegetation. It is from her we come, and to her we go. She is love, she is passion, she is battle, she is life, she is death. She is that which is, was, and shall be. She simply is. She is the goddess who from her, all goddesses stem. She can be all goddesses, yet individual. She has worn many names across all cultures. The Charge of the Goddess encapsulates her best, though she is an experiental deity, and as such, to truly know her, is to walk her path and experience her mysteries. Worship of her and her horned consort were often held in Sacred Groves.

The God - The God of the Craft is the perfect other half of the Goddess in every way. He is from her, he is of her, he works her will. He is her lover who mates with her, yet as he is half of her, he is her brother. And when He impregnates the goddess and the sun and vegetation are reborn, he too is her son, for he is of her in every concievable way. He is the sky which fertilizes the land with downpours of rain from mighty clouds, he is the sun and the shadows it casts, he is the master in black at the crossroads, who dances in ecstasy on cloven hoof. Horns of a Goat, Stag, Bull, or Ram adorn his head. He is the guardian of the Goddess, and thus the Guardian of the Earth and Cosmos. He, like the sun and vegetation, waxes and wanes, and much like livestock or a prey animal, meets his death to give us life, to then be reborn again from The Goddess. He is the lusty satyr, the stag in rut, the bull of heaven, the ram that signifies kingship and sovreignty. Like the Goddess, he too is experiential, and has a charge that captures his essence in word. He too has been known by many names in many lands, and is the god from which all gods stem forth, and is the balance between beast and man.

Understanding The Gods in YOUR Craft

The relationship one has with the Lady and Lord will vary based on a vast array of factors, including but not limited to: Tradition, Coven, Pantheon of Interest, Ancestry(if you choose to incorperate that into your path), etc. Someone who considers themself to be a Hellenic Polytheist may devote themself to Hekate or Artemis for the Goddess, and Dionysos or Pan for the God. A Kemeticist likewise may follow Isis and Osiris, or Amunet and Amun, and some polytheist witches may not even adhere to the dual structure of Goddess/God, and follow a path based on the reconstruction of ancient religion, rather than adapting it for the Witch Cult's theological structure. Someone who considers themself a solitary Wiccan or NeoWiccan and delves into the now-public book of Shadows of Gerald Gardner, leaked by both Aiden Kelley and Charles Cardell, may refer to the goddess as Aradia, and the God as Kernunnos/Kernunno. Those who follow Stregheria may call them Diana and Lucifer, or Diana and Dianus. There are many names of the Gods of the Witch-Cult, and ultimately, it is up to you as the praciticioner to find which names resonate with you the most, and speak to your soul. NOTE: Do keep in mind the leaked names given by Kelly and Cardell for the Goddess and God are, according to Garnerian High Priestesses, Alison Harlow and Margot Adler, lesser names similar to the ones used in inner-court workings. If you are initiated into a coven, and the names of the gods are considered oathbound, it is on you to keep that oath. These names are documented here for historical purposes, and are generally considered public names of the witching gods.