Type of Wiccan's

Blessed be everyone!
There are multiple types of Wicca. all of them have different foundations as well as some traditions. Here I will list some of the more known types.

Alexandrian Wicca
Was founded in England during the 1960's by Alex Sanders. He referred to himself as the "king" of his witches. The rituals are said to be a modified version of the Gardenarians.

British Wicca
This is a mix of celtic and Gardenarian beliefs. they are fairly structured in their beliefs, and train through a degree process. Their covens are also co-ed.

Celtic Wicca
This displays the use of a Celtic/Druidic pantheon mixed with a little ritual Gardenarian, and heavily stressing the elements, nature, and the ancient ones. They had a vast knowledge of and respect for the healing magickal qualities of plants and stones, flowers, trees, elemental spirits, the little people, gnomes and fairies.

Caledonii
Formally known as the Hecatine tradition, this denomination of the craft is Scottish in origin and still preserves the unique festivals of the Scotts

Ceremonial Witches
Followers of this tradition uses a great deal of ceremonial magick in their practices. Their rituals are detailed with a flavor of Egyptian magick are sometimes a favorite, or they may use the qabbalistic magick

Dianic
Prime focus in recent years is on the Goddess, and has been pegged as the "feminist" movement of the craft

Eclectic Wicca
They do not follow any certain tradition. These individuals learn and study from many magickal systems and apply to themselves what appears to work best.

Gardnerian wicca
Organized by Gerald Gardner in England in the 1950's. Gerald was on of the few people sp determined that the Old Religion should not die that he took the risk of publicizing it through the media. Under all the hype, people believe that he understood that the yound needed the craft just as much as the craft needed a new generation.

Hereditary witch
Is one who can trace the craft through their family tree and who has been taught the Old Religion by a relative who was living at the same time. Channeling doesn't count. How far one has to go back in the family tree to meet the conditions of the first part of this definition is debatable. Family trades (another name for Hereditary witches) occasionally adopt individuals into they dynasty. This decision is never a light one, and usually stems from lack of offspring to carry on the line or the high regard for the person in question. The ceremony is intricate and important. After all, is it not every day you can pick you're relatives! it is much like the marriage of an individual into a family.

Kitchen witch
This type is one who practices by hearth and home, dealing with the practical side of this Religion, magicak, the earth, and the elements. there are some who groan loudly at this type of terminology, viewing it as degrading or simply inappropriate. Just remember that the old religion started somewhere, and most likely the kitchen (or cookfire) was the hub of many charms, spells, healings, and celebrations. After all where does everyone congregate during the holidays?

Pictish WitchcraftScottish witchcraft that attunes itself to all aspects of nature; animal, vegetable,  and mineral. It is a solitary form of the craft and mainly magickal in nature with little religion.


Pow-Wow
Indigenous to south central Pennsylvania, this is system, not a religion, based on 400 year old /elite german magick. Pow- wow has deteriorated to a great degree into a simple faith healing. AlthoughPow-wow finds its roots in German Witchcraft, few practicing Pow- Wows today in Pennsylvania follow the craft or even know the nature of its true birth

Seax-Wicca
Founded by Raymond Buckland in 1973. Although of Saxon basis, it was authored by Raymond himself without breaking his original Gardnerian oath. Raymond Buckland's contribution to the Craft is a significant one. Not only did he develop a Tradition that is more than acceptable to many individuals, he also has written a large volume of textbooks on different magickal aspects and practices of the Craft, thereby enhancing many lives in a positive direction.

Solitary Witch
One who practices alone, regardless of Tradition, demonination, or sect. Solitaries come in various forms. Some were at one time initiated into a coven and eventually chose to extricate themselves from that environment and continue practicing a particular Tradition or sect by themselves. A solitary can also be an individual who has no desire to practice with or learn from a coven structure, but still may adhere to a specific Tradition or sect through the teachings of another. And finally, a solitary Witch can be a person who has decided to tough it out on their own, learning from books, networking, and fellow Witches of different Traditions. These people have the ability to pick themselves up and brush themselves off, and live to try again. More and more individuals are selecting the solitary path rather than that of group interaction.

Strega Witch
Follows a tradition seated in Italy that began around 1353 with a woman called Aradia. Of all the traditional Witches, this group appears to be the smallest in number in the U.S.; however, their teachings are beautiful and should not be missed.

Teutonic Witch
From ancient time the Teutons have been recognized as a group of people who speak the Germanic group of languages. Culturally, this included the English, Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish peoples. This is also known as the Nordic Tradition.

Ostara March 20th, 2014

                                        
Ostara (pronounced Oh-Star-Ah) is considered one of the lesser sabbets for Wiccans. It's celebrated around the spring equinox, this year it is on March 20th; although some people choose to celebrate on it's fixed date (March 25th).  The name Ostara came from Eostre, the Teutonic lunar Goddess. Her symbols are the Bunny (for fertility and because the Ancient ones who worshiped her often saw the image of a rabbit in the full moon) and the egg (representing the cosmic egg of creation). This is where "The Easter bunny" and "Easter eggs" had originated from.

The Role of the rabbit had two possible origins. One tale is that the rabbit so loved his Goddess Eostre that he laid sacred eggs in her honor, then brightly colored them and gave them to her as gifts. Eostre was so delighted, she wanted this joy to be shared by all, so the tradition continued. The second tale tells how Eostre found a wounded bird in the snow. To help the little bird survive the winter, she transformed it into a rabbit, but the transformation was incomplete and the rabbit retained the ability to lays eggs. In thanks for its life being saved, the rabbit took the eggs and decorated them and left them as gifts for Eostre. Again, she was delighted and wanted all to share her joy, so the tradition continued

During Ostara we celebrate the arrival of spring, the renewal of nature, and the coming of the lushness of summer. it's a time when everything is in balance. Now is the time to think about renewing things in our lives as well.

The Wiccan rede; explained

A lot of people only know a simplified version of the Wiccan rede
“Abide the wiccan rede ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust. Eight words the Wiccan rede fulfill; an’ it harm none, do what ye will.”

 In other words it’s karma, but instead of waiting for karma, you are karma. If someone did you wrong you can act as karma and get them back for what they did, as long as it's fair. If you didn't get them back then you'd be breaking the rede.

 Here is the full Wiccan rede (or at least one version of it). Most people only remember the first and last line.

Origins of Wicca

There are quite a few different "origins" of Wicca. No one really knows the true origin; so they come up with theories.

One theory is that Gerald Gardner was the one who "founded" Wicca. In the 1950's he published a book call "Witchcraft Today". In his book he outlined the practice of Wicca. In his book he claimed that all the information that was in his book was from a ancient coven that he had found. Their age-old traditions were passed down through the generations in Britain. He claimed that he was initiated into the new Forest Coven; this claim has yet to be proven. Some believe that Gardner had come up with Wicca himself instead of this secret hidden coven that he mentions in his book. He believed that you could only learn about Wicca in a coven. This had been the idea until Scott Cunningham had published his book "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" in 1988.

In Cunningham's book he explains that shamanism is defined as the first religion where magick is involved. In the past Shamans were known as medicine people and power wielders. It was from this primitive beginning in shamanism that Wicca came from. The rites and traditions have been brought forward and changed to fit into our modern world. Many of the techniques that wiccans use have a shamanic origin.

It's difficult to try and pinpoint the exact time and place that Wicca was founded, everyone has their own ideas as to the origin of Wicca. Why not make yourself comfortable with a nice warm drink (tea is my personal favorite but you can have coffee or hot chocolate) and come up with your own theory as to the origins of Wicca. Feel free to comment you theory :)