Wicca 101 - section 1

First, I guess some credentials are in order. Not to say that we feel these things are that important, nor that we agree with group politics: we are profound believers in "Live and let live". Still, some people do think these things are important, so...

We are 5th generation Alexandrian Witches, tracing an initiatory lineage from Alex Saunders, King of the Witches. Geoff was initiated in the mid-eighties by a coven in the West Country, and has also studied the Qabalah; David joined the Craft in '91, and has also studied Taoism (He also has a degree in Theology, if that interests you!)

Alexandrian Witchcraft is one of the British Traditional Witchcraft Traditions - a group of related religious traditions that share a common initiatory history, often tracing back to Gerald Gardner, one of the first people to start writing about Witchcraft as the Mystery Religion that it is; basing his writings on the teachings he had received as an Initiate of a surviving coven in the New Forest in the 1940's. As a Mystery Religion, Wicca continues the ancient tradition of Initiation and oral teaching, and is believed by it's adherents to trace some of it's roots back to the Mysteries of Elusius and beyond. As such, the British Traditional Witchcraft traditions can be seen as distinct from other forms of what is often called eclectic wicca or the wiccan revival (For those interested, there is more on this in the "Mystery" section of "The Wellhead")

The Elders of the Wellhead fuse this Traditional teaching with more Ceremonial ideas and practices: as witches we use the old teachings and practices to celebrate the God and Goddess as they turn about each other through the eight sabbats; as Occultists we add to those teachings, and practice techniques that manifest that Divine polarity within ourselves. Our rituals reflect this cross-fertilization, and use elements from various traditions including Alexandrian Wicca and the Qabalah. Through discussion with others of our line, we appear not to be alone in this fusion. And of course, Alex himself used "The Key of Solomon", whilst Gardner enriched his own Tradition's teachings with his knowledge of Ceremonial magic - we don't think either of them would disapprove.

There are plenty of good resources on Wicca, including several good books and some great Internet resources. As we have said, most of what is written here, however, is from our own perspective; it can be seen as a "Wicca 101" - a basic introduction to our own view of what Wicca is. Some of this is our own spin - our understanding and interpretation of the teaching passed on to us through our tradition; some is the result of research and discussion with others. Wherever possible we have tried to represent the basic ideas expressed within our Tradition as purely as we can.