CHAPTER 1

Types of Witches

What does a witch believe? What does a witch do? The answers to those questionsare extremely complex. There are many ways to be a witch. Witches ply theircraft in many ways. There are many witchcraft traditions. It is virtuallyimpossible to condense complex belief systems into a few sentences, and so whatfollows is but a brief sampling and should not be considered definitive.Witchcraft is a fluid, vital art. Perhaps you, too, possess a unique perspectiveon how to practice witchcraft and will pioneer new ways and crafts.

Many people are perplexed by the differences between Wicca and witchcraft.Witchcraft is a broad term that encompasses many styles, perspectives, andpractices. Wicca refers to a very specific spiritual tradition. One person maybe both Wiccan and a witch, but not all witches are Wiccans and perhaps viceversa.

Among the crucial differences between Wicca and witchcraft is that most Wiccantraditions require initiation and thus direct transmission from one member toanother. Self-initiation is a controversial topic within the Wiccan community.There is no concept of initiation in many traditional paths. It's not that it'snot required; it doesn't exist. There is no hierarchy. Each witch is anindependent practitioner on his or her own path.

AlexandrianWicca

This tradition's name pays tribute to its founder, Alex Sanders, and also to theancient library of Alexandria, Egypt, once the largest library in the world anda repository of sacred, mystical wisdom. Alexandrian Wicca was established inthe United Kingdom in the 1960s.

Atheist Witches

As atheists, these witches do not acknowledge a Supreme Creator or the Wiccanconception of a Lord and Lady; but work their magic using Earth's natural powersand energies. Some may work with elemental spirits such as land spirits orfairies.

Cabot Tradition

This tradition, based on the teachings of Salem witch Laurie Cabot, emphasizesthat witchcraft is a science, art, and religion. The Cabot Tradition alsoemphasizes psychic development.

Chaos Magic

There is no one specific school of Chaos Magic, also spelled Chaos Magick, nordo its practitioners adhere to one specific philosophy or spiritual tradition.Instead those who define themselves as chaos magicians share a certain attitudetoward magic. Chaos Magic is defined as the primal creative force in theuniverse.

Chaos magicians learn and experiment with various magical techniques in order totap into this underlying, primal, creative force in whatever ways work best andmost effectively for them. Chaos Magic is influenced by the work of visionaryartist and magician Austin Osman Spare, who wrote, "What is there to believe,but in Self?"

The Clan ofTubal Cain

This tradition, founded by English witch Robert Cochrane, is based on practicaltraditional witchcraft, shamanism, Celtic mysticism, and Cochrane'sinterpretation of Druidry. The American branch of the Clan of Tubal Cain isknown as the 1734 Tradition.

Dianic Wicca

Sometimes also called Wimmin's Religion, Dianic Wicca is a feminist spiritualtradition and the only form of witchcraft that is exclusively female. Women'srights and rites are combined in celebration of female divinity. The name of thetradition pays tribute to the Italian goddess, Diana. Among Dianic Wicca'sfounding mothers is author Z. Budapest, who formed the Susan B. Anthony Coven inLos Angeles on the Winter Solstice of 1971.

In 1975, Budapest self-published The Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows, acollection of rituals and spells that became the basic text of Dianic Wicca. Ithas since been republished as The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries: FeministWitchcraft, Goddess Rituals, Spellcasting and Other Womanly Arts.... DianicWicca may be considered similar in essence to the women's mystery traditions ofancient Rome.

Most Dianic covens are exclusively female.

Sybil Leek sometimes called her own tradition Dianic, but what she practiced wasnot the same as Dianic Wicca.

FaerieWitchcraft

This shamanic tradition involves actual interaction with fairies. Faeriewitches, also spelled fairy witches, practice Earth-centered magic with emphasison plant and animal familiars. Historically, many witches have worshipped andcommuned with fairies. In 1662, while being interrogated, Scottish witch IsobelGowdie described her visits to the Fairy Queen. Similar testimony was given inFrench, Italian, and Hungarian witch trials.

Faerie Witchcraft is profoundly influenced by Scottish clergyman Reverend RobertKirk's mysterious account of Fairyland, The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns,and Fairies, written in 1691 but not published until the early 19th century.Influential modern practitioners of Faerie Witchcraft include authors R. J.Stewart and Aline DeWinter. Faerie Witchcraft is not the same as Feri Tradition,nor is it the same as the various Wiccan traditions identified as Fairy Wicca.

Feri Tradition

This shamanic, ecstatic, initiatory, spiritual, and magical system, alsosometimes spelled Fairy, Faery, or Faerie Tradition, began its modernincarnation in the 1940s when author, poet, and witch Victor Anderson (1917–2001)began initiations. Anderson is typically described as Feri's "founder,"but he described himself as a transmitter of ancient information. Another branchof Feri Tradition is known as Vicia. Anderson taught that Feri Tradition derivesoriginally from a primordial people who emerged from Africa thousands of yearsago, the original fairies—although they are known by many other names indifferent cultures. Their teachings were transmitted orally over thegenerations.

Feri is an experiential tradition and various distinct Feri lineages andteachers now exist. Different lineages are influenced to different extents bydifferent spiritual traditions including Celtic, Hawaiian, and Vodou. What mostFeri practitioners share in common is direct personal interaction with spiritsor deities. They do not subscribe to the Wiccan Rede (Do what you will but harmnone); instead, each practitioner must take personal responsibility for her orhis own actions.

GardnerianWicca

Gardnerian Wicca is the oldest, most formal modern Wiccan tradition. Based onthe teachings and practices of Gerald Gardner (1884–1964), it is named"Gardnerian" in order to honor him but also to distinguish this tradition fromolder, less formalized traditions.

The term Gardnerian Wicca may originally have been coined by...