Pagan Denominations

PAGANISM (Latin,  paganus, "a peasant, rustic"): Roman soldiers used the word in the pejorative sense of "hick, yokel, country bumpkin"; and this usage was continued by the early Roman Christians - who were mainly city-dwellers - to refer to everyone who preferred to continue to worship pre-Christian divinities. Hence "Paganism" refers to the worship of Pagan Deities: the Gods and Goddesses of the Old Religions that predate Judaism, Islam, or Christianity.

As such, "Paganism" is actually an umbrella term covering a broad family of religions, which may be divided into three broad sub-categories:

• survivalist - those whose religious practice has continued unbroken from their ancestors;
• revivalist - those whose religious practice attempts to revive that of their ancestors, whether by actual descent or by personal spiritual affinity and inclination;
• reconstructionist - those whose religious practice is an adaptation and reinterpretation of what they regard as the best of pre-Christian Pagan religions, adjusted to modern contemporary religious thought.

(See also: PAGANISM , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

PAGAN, OCCULT, WITCHCRAFT SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP OF MENSA: A special interest group (SIG) of Mensa, the organization for persons scoring in the top two percentile on IQ testing. Only Mensa members can be full members of the SIG but non-Mensans may join as associate members. Their newsletter, Pagana, is considered to be one of the best Pagan journals.

(See also: PAGAN, OCCULT , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

 HIGH MAGICK: Magick that calls upon the aid of beneficent spirits and is akin to religion. It is called theurgy, from theourgia "working things pertaining to the gods".  High Magick is based upon a blend of doctrines of Plato and other Greek philosophers, Oriental mysticism, Judaism and Christianity and currently is divided into three forms: Enochian, Thelemic and Eclectic. Enochian Magick originated with John Dee and Edward Kelly in the 16th century and communication with spirits involved the Nineteen Calls (or Keys): incantations in the Enchonian language, a complex language of unknown origin.

This system of Magick was revived by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and studied at length by Aleister Crowley. In turn, Crowley developed the Thelemic Magick system from his studies and High Magickians have since expanded to develop Eclectic Magick systems based on a variety of different systems, inclusive of Alchemy, Egyptology, Kabbalistic doctrines, Chaos Magick etc..

High Magick requires a rigorous discipline and has an intellectual appeal, the mage derives power from God (the Judeo-Christian God) through the successful control of spirits, usually demons, which are believed easier to control than angels. Demons may be good, evil, or neutral. In its highest sense, High Magick is a transcendental experience that takes the mage into mystical realms and into communication with the Higher Self.  Also known as Ceremonial Magick, Ritual Magick, Theurgic Magick, Theurgy.

(See also:  HIGH MAGICK , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

WICCA

(Old English wicca, "male witch",  wicce,  "female witch", and wiccan,  "witchcraft"):

an Initiatory, Oathbound, Pagan Mystery religion celebrating the Mysteries contained in the Legend of the Descent of the Goddess and in the Charge of the Goddess, in which every Initiate is consecrated as a Priest or Priestess as well as a Witch;there is also a different, although related, religious movement calling itself "Wicca" - one that sprang from, and is loosely based upon the Mystery Religion, but that is more exoteric and oriented toward worship and devotion and public celebration, rather than toward a specific initiatory path, magickal practice, and spiritual discipline; this religious movement has been aptly described as "Wicca-based Paganism".

(See also: WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

ALGARD WICCA: Mary Nesnick, an American who was initiated into both Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions, combined them in 1972 and created a new tradition called Algard.

(See also: ALGARD WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

SHAMANISM: The oldest system of healing and magick in the world, probably as old as mankind itself. Shamanism is the art of functioning comfortably in two realities; the ordinary reality of the everyday, waking world, and the non-ordinary reality of the shamanic state of consciousness attained through an ecstatic trance.

The primary purpose of shamanism is the healing of body and mind, but it is also used for divination and to ensure prosperity for communities. Shamanism is found in some form in every culture in the world.

(See also: SHAMANISM , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

ALEXANDRIAN WICCA: Founded by Alex Sanders in England. Alex claimed to have been initiated as a Hereditary Witch by his grandmother, when he was seven years old in 1933, but critics claim many Alexandrian rituals are almost identical to Gardnerian ones, with a little more emphasis on ceremonial magic.

The tradition's rituals, while basically Gardnerian, are modified with many Judeo-Christian and Ceremonial Magick elements. Covens work skyclad. The eight Sabbats are observed and the Goddess and God are revered.

Alexandrian Wiccans are considered to be Traditional Witches who trace their line of initiatory descent from Alex and Maxine Sanders, through a line of Alexandrian High Priests and High Priestesses, according to the Alexandrian Book of Shadows, and who practice the Alexandrian Tradition of Wicca.

(See also: ALEXANDRIAN WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

AMERICAN TRADITIONAL WICCA: The groups that have no initiatory connection to Gardner or Sanders, but who have based their rituals and practices on what has been published about the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Traditions; they therefore follow a Wiccan practice based upon Gardnerian or Alexandrian without having initiatory lineage.

These groups are also sometimes described as British Traditional Wicca, although this usage is generally found only in the U.S., and that term is rarely used that way by British Traditional Wiccans who regard descent, whether by birth, or by Initiation or Initiatory adoption, as essential to being "of the Blood", and therefore to being "of the Wicca". Again British Traditional Wiccans would not identify this group as Wiccan and would refer to them as American Traditional Witchcraft.

(See also: AMERICAN TRADITIONAL WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

 CHAOS MAGICK: Largely the invention of Austin Osman Spare, and developed by a few others during the 1980's. Chaos mages enter the "abyss", in simplistic terms the "Unknown". Anarchistic, clever, self-referential, and self-annihilistic,

Chaos Magick is an extraordinary deconstruction of magick, semantics, and psychology designed to eradicate consensual belief structures and, using the energy freed by this act, glimpse the fractal contours of reality. It is a synthesis of ceremonial magick, freestyle shamanism and sigilizing, however, its practitioners reject the traditional discrimination of magick into white, grey, and black, and assume a highly individualistic approach to the interplay between ethics and personal will.

(See also:  CHAOS MAGICK , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

DIANIC WICCA: First pinpointed by Margaret Murray in 1921 in "The Witch-Cult in Western Europe," this term appears to include a mixture of various traditions. However, their prime focus in recent years is on the Goddess, and has been pegged as the "feminist" movement of the Craft.

Dianic Feminist Wicce is a tradition started by Ann Forfreedom that is both religious and practices magick. It includes both female and male practitioners ("It is not lesbian oriented and not separatist" states Ann), solo practitioners, mixed covens and all female covens. "Dianic Feminist Wicce encourages female leadership, insists that a Priestess must be present for a Circle ritual to be held and involves its practitioners in feminist and humanist issues." Groups work either skyclad or robed.

(See also: DIANIC WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

AMERICAN ECLECTIC WICCA: A broad range of individuals or groups that have based their philosophy, rituals and practices on the published works of Scott Cunningham and StarHawk.

Critics claim that American Eclectics take the contradictory position that Wicca is a completely modern religion created by Gerald Gardner but that the beliefs and practices of Wicca are completely individualistic, and therefore nobody can define "Wicca" for others.

This form of Wicca emphasizes spontaneity and tends to downplay the importance of such concepts as Oaths, Initiations, Lineage, and Tradition, or even to discard those concepts altogether. Many Wiccans object to these groups using the name Wicca, and believe they should be called American Eclectic Witchcraft.

(See also: AMERICAN ECLECTIC WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

CEREMONIAL WITCHCRAFT: A  tradition of Witchcraft with an emphasis on Egyptian and/or Qabbalistic  Ceremonial Magick.

(See also: CEREMONIAL WITCHCRAFT , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

CEREMONIAL MAGICK:  Magick that calls upon the aid of beneficent spirits and is akin to religion. Ceremonial Magick is based upon a blend of doctrines of Plato and other Greek philosophers, Oriental mysticism, Judaism and Christianity and currently is divided into three forms: Enochian, Thelemic and Eclectic.

Enochian Magick originated with John Dee and Edward Kelly in the 16th century and communication with spirits involved the Nineteen Calls (or Keys): incantations in the Enchonian language, a complex language of unknown origin.

This system of Magick was revived by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and studied at length by Aleister Crowley. In turn, Crowley developed the Thelemic Magick system from his studies and Ceremonial Magickians have since expanded to develop Eclectic Magick systems based on a variety of different systems, inclusive of Alchemy, Egyptology, Kabbalistic doctrines, Chaos Magick etc..

Ceremonial Magick requires a rigorous discipline and has an intellectual appeal, the mage derives power from God (the Judeo-Christian God) through the successful control of spirits, usually demons, which are believed easier to control than angels. Demons may be good, evil, or neutral. In its highest sense, Ceremonial Magick is a transcendental experience that takes the mage into mystical realms and into communication with the Higher Self.  Also known as High Magick, Ritual Magick, Theurgic Magick, Theurgy.

(See also: CEREMONIAL MAGICK , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

CHAOTE:  A Chaos magician.  Chaotes are encouraged to pursue study of other traditions and magickal practices once they have effectively mastered Chaos Magick and the term Chaote is sometimes mistakenly thought to mean a Choas magician not actively in practice.

(See also: CHAOTE , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

MACUMBA: The Brazilian form of Vodoun and Santería. Macumba is not in itself a religion but the umbrella fro the two principal forms of African spirit worship in Brazil: Candomblé and Umbanda. Macumba is sometimes used to refer to harmful magick, but that is more properly called Quimbanda.

(See also: MACUMBA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

WICCAN SHAMANISM: Created by Selena Fox, high priestess of Circle Sanctuary, Wiccan Shamanism is a religion that blends Wiccan practice, humanistic psychology and a variety of shamanistic practices from tribal societies around the world. Healing is the primary focus of a Wiccan Shaman, and he/she observes all the sabbats, traditional activities, and the Wiccan Rede in conjunction with shamanic practices such as vision questing and dreamtime.

(See also: WICCAN SHAMANISM , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

FAERY WICCA: A Wiccan Tradition incorporating the deities of the Welsh or Irish Faery Folk and drawing some theology from the Faery Faith.

(See also: FAERY WICCA , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT:

Hereditary or traditional Witchcraft or Wicca, which includes the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Traditions and their branches and offshoots via Gerald Gardner and/or Alex Sanders;

Sometimes used to distinguish Traditions that claim initiatory descent from hereditary or traditional Witchcraft via persons other than Gerald Gardner or Alex Sanders; distinct from Wiccan practice.

Sometimes used to refer to any Tradition that follows a specific body of rites and practices - including admittedly modern revived or reconstructed Traditions, especially ones that focus on a particular ethnic or cultural background - in order to distinguish between "Traditional" and "Eclectic" Witchcraft.

(See also: TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

TRADITIONAL HEALING: Any practice of holistic medicine in the tradition of a specific culture or tribe.

(See also: TRADITIONAL HEALING , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)

KITCHEN WITCHCRAFT: A tradition of Witchcraft with an emphasis on the practical side of religion, magick, the Earth, and elements.  Much of the tradition is very similar to Stregheria (Strega) and practitioners work out of hearth and home, using only what they would have on hand for daily routines to perform rituals and spells. The home is sacred to a Kitchen Witch and cooking and herb magick play a fundamental part in their practice. Kitchen Witchery is a way of including Witchcraft beliefs into everyday life.

(See also: KITCHEN WITCHCRAFT , Pagan Organisations, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary, Wicca,)