Traditions Dictionary

AMARAPURA: Ceylonese Buddhism.

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ANIMALISM: The doctrine that man is a mere animal with no soul or spiritual quality.

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MEDICINE: Native American term for magick, consciously focusing will (thought), form (physical) and emotion(desire) to effect change. Technically speaking, any conscious act is a magickal act. Magick is neither good nor evil, positive nor negative. The practitioner, not the energy form, determines the path and outcome it will take.

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THEOSOPHY:

 Any philosophy that teaches the achievement of knowledge of God (s) by spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or a special relationship to the deities.

 The modern traditions based on the teachings of the Theosophical Society which combined Western magickal systems and mysticism with Buddhist and Hindu teachings.

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GARDNERIAN WICCA: A Wiccan tradition founded by Gerald Gardner, and the first denomination of Wicca to make itself known publicly. It is disputed to be the original form of Wicca versus Alexandrian Wiccan. Gardner claimed to have been initiated into a surviving Coven of Traditional Witches in the New Forest by "Old Dorothy" Clutterbuck in 1939. Gardner was accused of inventing the whole concept of Wicca and of getting Aleister Crowley to write its rituals although the Gardnerian Book of Shadows is a compilation from various sources, much of it actually contributed by Doreen Valiente.

The Gardnerian tradition places emphasis on the Goddess over the God, has a degree system of advancement and does not allow for self-initiation. Covens work skyclad and aim to equal numbers of male and female, paired. Covens are autonomous and are found in most countries around the world.

Gardnerian Wiccans are considered to be Traditional Witches who trace their line of initiatory descent from Dorothy Clutterbuck through Gerald Gardner and through a line of Gardnerian High Priests and High Priestesses. The adhere to the rituals laid out in the Gardnerian Book of Shadows.

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ANIMISM (Latin, anima: "air, soul"):

 The belief that all life is produced by a spiritual force separate from matter;

 The belief that natural phenomena and objects are alive and have souls;

 The doctrine of the existence of soul as independent of matter;

 The belief in the existence of spirits, demons, etc.

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SUFISM: The Islamic magickal system.

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NEW REFORMED ORTHODOX ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWN (NROOGD): Founded in 1969 by Glenna Turner and Aidan Kelly, this group has no connection with the ceremonial magick oriented Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and it recognizes the triple Goddess. Turner, Kelly and several classmates were assigned the task of creating their own rituals for a Witches Sabbat as part of a course on ritual magic at San Francisco State College. The group continued to meet informally until 1969 when they initiated themselves as witches and formed a coven. Active NROOGD covens exist throughout the United States, and frequently host large public and semipublic outdoor festivals at sabbats.

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BRITISH TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT: Witchcraft Traditions tracing descent from a Hereditary, or Traditional, British source, including the Gardnerian and the Alexandrian Wiccan Traditions and their branches and offshoots and several others derived from British sources such as Sybil Leek's Horsa Coven, Plant Bran, and the Clan of Tubal Cain.

Some British Traditional Witches consider the term Wicca a synonym for British Traditional Witchcraft, while others reserve the term Wicca for the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Traditions and their offshoots and consider Wicca to be a wholly-contained subset within British Traditional Witchcraft.

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BRUJERIA: A Mexican shamanistic magickal system that is an integration of Roman Catholicism and Native American lore. Practitioners are called Bruja (female) and Brujo (male); and Curandera (female) and Cureandero (male). Both Curanderos and Brujos use herbal and folk remedies.

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COVENANT OF THE GODDESS WICCA: A cross-traditional federation of over one hundred covens, solitary elders and associates who organized in 1975 at Coeden Brith. The Covenant works to have Wicca recognized as a legitimate and legally recognized religion. It is incorporated as a non-profit religious organization in California, though it has grown to be a nationwide organization with members throughout the United States, as well as a few in Canada and Overseas.

Decisions are made at an annual Grand Council or in local councils which may cover a city, state or an even larger area. A coven can apply for membership if it a cohesive, self-perpetuating group which has been meeting for six months or more; the group follows the code of ethics defined by COG; the coven has three or more members studying for the priesthood, one of whom is an Elder; and the focus of the group's ritual and theology is the worship of the Goddess and the Old Gods (or the Goddess alone).

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MONOTHEISM: The doctrine or belief that there is only one conscious entity that is God, and that this entity is separate and apart from the World. See Also: Henotheism, Pantheism, and Polytheism.

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ALEXANDRIAN WICCA: A Wiccan tradition founded by Alex Sanders in England and disputed as being the original form of Wicca instead of Gardnerian Wicca. Sanders claimed to have been initiated as a Hereditary Witch by his grandmother but critics claim many Alexandrian rituals are almost identical to Gardnerian ones, with a little ceremonial magick and Judeo-Christian mysteries thrown in.

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, who follow the Alexandrian Book of Shadows, and who practice the Alexandrian Tradition of Wicca.

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SANTERÍA (Spanish, santo: "saint"): A religion centering on the worship of the ancient African Gods who have been assimilated as Catholic saints. Similar in practice to Voudon, all worshippers of Santería could be called Santeros but the term Santeros usually refers to the priests or priestesses. The highest order of priest is a babalawo, who has the power to heal the sick, punish the unjust and to divine the future through the Table of Ifá. Also known as Umbanda.

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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;

 A Witchcraft tradition that claims initiatory or hereditary descent through a familial or other line;

 Any Witchcraft Tradition that follows a specific body of rites and practices collectively as distinguished from solitary eclectic Witchcraft or Wicca practitioners.

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AMERICAN WICCA: An offshoot of Gardnerian Wicca, founded by Ed Fitch and several Southern Californian Gardnerians in the late 1970's. The tradition includes Gardnerian material and additional material supplied by the founders. Also known as Mohsian Wicca.

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QUIMBANDA: Harmful magick in the Macumba Tradition; a Brazilian form of Vodoun and Santería. Macumba is not in itself a religion but the umbrella for 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.

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ATHEISM (Greek, a "without"; theo "god"): The religious doctrine that deities do not exist.

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DIONYSIAN: In religious studies, describes "lunar- or nature-oriented" religions that emphasize the ecstatic and emotional aspects, and the liberating of the psyche from the limitations of mundane consciousness, to enable union with the "group mind", or collective consciousness of the group (named for Dionysus, the Greek God of wine and Ecstasy).

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OLD RELIGION (The): Italian Witchcraft, founded in the mid-14th century with the teachings of Aradia, the Holy Strega, and based upon the pre-Estruscian Italian belief system. The Old Religion is a worship of the "Source of All Things", through the personification of the Goddess and God. Also known as Strega, Stregheria, and La Vecchia Religione.

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CELTIC TRADITIONALIST: A reconstruction of the beliefs and practices of the original Celtic people. Unlike Druidry, this tradition focuses more on the beliefs of the average Celtic man or woman.

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