Traditional Witchcraft

This is a very brief introduction to Modern Traditional Witchcraft (The Crooked Path), all opinions and definitions are mine and might not be shared with all Trad Crafters, such is our nature.


What is Modern Traditional Witchcraft?

Very simply put, Traditional Witchcraft (TW) is non-Wiccan witchcraft. To elaborate, TW is a reconstruction or continuation of family traditions (depending on your beliefs) of the native folk magic and spiritual beliefs of Northern Europe and in particular the British Isles. Traditional Witchcraft stems from an interest in hereditary wise-folk families (cunning folk, wise men and women), the witchcraft of the 16th and 17th centuries and in Anglo-Saxon religio-magical rites. Some TWs claim to be from families of working witches that date back to the 17th century, although proving this is difficult and it is safe to say that Traditional Witches are reconstructionists rather than from a family line.


Where does Modern Traditional Witchcraft come from?

The term Traditional Witchcraft was coined in the 1960s by Robert Cochrane (real name Ray Bowers), a witch who claimed an older family lineage than Gerald Gardner's recently exposed Wicca (there are serious doubts as to whether he really was from a long line of witches) He also coined the term Gardnerian Witchcraft to distinguish it from his own. Cochrane's form of witchcraft had a different feel to that of Gardner's. It was earthier, darker, relied less on long wordy rituals and his rites were often silent. In a time when Wiccan witchcraft took a lot of its influence from Ceremonial Magic, Cochrane's Craft was trying to connect to the land, the ancestors and to what Cochrane felt was a more traditional way cunning folk (witches) would have worked in the 16th and 17th centuries. He formed the coven 'The Clan of Tubal Cain' and influenced Joseph Wilson who formed the '1734 Tradition', based upon Cochrane's Craft.


What does Traditional Witchcraft look like?

Cynics might say it's rather like muddy Wicca, but that's being ungenerous. TW is foremost an individual path, a tradition of solitaries, though covens of Trad Crafters do exist such as the Briar Rose coven run by Peter Paddon. Emphasis is upon Low Magic (charms, spells, leechcraft, wortcunning) which is linked to the cunning folk tradition rather than the High Magic and ceremonial ritual of the Western Mystery Tradition which arose from mainly Judeo-Christian, Middle-Eastern, Egyptian and Greek sources and has been of greater influence to Wicca.

TW does also have its ritual and spiritual side, though not all Trad Crafters adhere to a spiritual path by any means. Some work with a cycle of seasonal festivals and others don't. Those who do tend to focus upon the four major fire festivals (Imbolc, Hallentow, Lammas and Hallentide) or work with a Heathen cycle of festivals (TW and Northern Tradition Paganism are closely linked). Some Trad Crafters worship and work with deity, others don't, yet all I have encountered are wary of and pay homage to the land spirits/wights/sidhe.


Some differences between Traditional Witchcraft and Wicca

Structure: Wicca has a formal structure with a three degrees model of initiation which is based upon Freemasonry (apprentice, journeyman, master). It is also hierarchical and within British Traditional Wicca (BTW, refers to Wiccan groups who can trace their lineage back to the New Forest covens and usually means Gardnerian and Alexandrian covens) must be worked within a coven context. Titles are used (High Priest, Magus etc) and it tends to be female oriented.

Traditional Witchcraft isn't a closed Mystery Tradition and therefore does not require formal initiation by another witch into its ranks (individual TW covens may require an initiation into their particular group but not into TW in general). Spiritual initiation is another thing however and simply occurs spontaneously, rarely within a ritual environment. The spirits and ancestors may initiate us and if one is working Traditional Witchcraft successfully, then one is a Traditional Witch. Some groups use the title of Magister and Mistress for their coven leaders but most TWs practice alone in keeping with how cunning folk would have worked their magic in bygone days. Traditional Witchcraft is also more gender balanced.


Eastern Philosphies: Gardner travelled through Sri Lanka, Borneo and Malaya in his life and undoubtedly picked up ideas and influences from these cultures which were to affect Wicca. Eastern philosophies such as Karma, the Chakras and Reincarnation were already in western consciousness due to the theosophical society, Crowley and the various magical and spiritual orders of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century's.

Traditional craft does not draw upon Eastern influences for its practice. The point is to continue or reconstruct a magical and spiritual system relevant to Northern Europe, not the Far East. Trad Crafters have their own theories on reincarnation and karma and thimgs like chakras and yogic exercises don't feature at all.


Locality: Wicca draws upon various sources and cultures, Greek from the Romantic Poets, Egypt from Crowley and the Golden Dawn, Judeo-Christianity from Kabalah and Ceremonial Magic(k), and so on. Some Wiccan practices (not all) take this further and will call upon various deities from various pantheons in the same ritual.

TW is concerned with the sacred landscape and works with the local land, its people and its mythic history. Being a Northern European tradition, this is mainly Anglo-Saxon and Celtic.


Further Reading:

The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Tradition by Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane and Michael Howard

The Robert Cochrane Letters: An Insight into Modern Traditional Witchcraft by Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane and Michael Howard

The Call of the Horned Piper by Nigel Aldcroft Jackson

Treading the Mill: Practical Craft Working in Modern Traditional Witchcraft by Nigel G. Pearson

A Grimoire for Modern Cunning Folk by Peter Paddon


Coming next... TW views of deity.

Views of Deity within Traditional Witchcraft

Disclaimer: As I stated in my previous post, Traditional Witches are as varied and independent as any other demographic, and our opinions on deities differ greatly. This post is a personal way of viewing deities within Traditional Witchcraft. Some TWs will agree, others will disagree, and it is their right to do so!


The gods of TW are the gods of locality. This is a path of the land and one should honour the deities that live within it. TW deities aren't distant starry beings, they are found in the earth, in the woods, in streams and rivers, in the sea, in clouds, firelight and smoke. This is not to disconnect them from the mystical, for they are also beings of the Otherworld, shadowy and hidden. This may seem paradoxical, but by their very nature deities cannot be understood. They are the mysteries which we seek in order to further our spiritual existence. If we knew them entirely, we would be as them.

There is no single TW pantheon of gods. Many TWs are Norse or Celtic reconstructionists, others mix traditions as the British Isles are a cultural melting pot, and some are atheists preferring to concentrate on sorcery rather than building relationships with gods. There are however a number of figures which feature in mythology and folklore which may feature in Traditional Witchcraft:

Lord of Light- Then youthful and brilliant nature of the sun, this figure appears in British mythology as The Mabon, Lugh, Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Loucetios (note that the etymology for the last three names all have a root meaning of 'light' or 'lightning'). For TWs who adhere to any kind of solar festivals, The Mabon is the divine son of light, usually birthed at Imbolc (not Yule), and grows in strength and majesty until he is cut down at Lughnasadh (Lugh again).


Jack in the Green- The spirit of summer, a mischievous figure who brings misrule and fertility to the land. He is the Green Man, robed in leaves, and is said to bring 'The Greening' in April and May, when the leaves start appearing on the trees. There is a large Jack in the Green festival held every year at Hastings. The Jack is also linked to The Green Knight, Robin Goodfellow, Puck and is said to influence the Robin Hood mythology.


Auld Hornie- He is the archetypal Horned God and Wildwood Lord. He is called Cernunnos, Herne, The Dark Master and other names by other traditions. He is the primal male force, the dark spirit of nature who stands within the wildwood, naked and horned. He is not the gentle of peaceful hunter portrayed in some paths, he induces fear and shows us that which we do not want to see. He challenges us and forces us to grow when we would otherwise remain stagnant. This is the side of nature that that is raw and unsanitised and is the figure that became demonised as the Devil. Though challenging, he is a great helper if one can overcome their terror.


The Flower Bride- Youth, beauty, love, sex and the burgeoning promise of summer. The Flower Bride encompasses these attributes and is usually partnered with the Lord of Light. Blodeuwedd (pronounced 'blod-eye-with') is the Welsh Flower Bride, created literally from flowers to be the bride of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. She later betrays him and is turned into an owl, a hint at her darker inner nature and transformation into Herodias (see below). She is also called The Bright Queen.


The Queen of Elfhame- Morgan Le Fey, Titania and Nimue are a few of her names. She is also called the White Lady, mistress of the Otherworld and the faerie queen. This figure is an enchantress and has been portrayed in mediaeval Arthurian mythology as the antagonistic half-sister of the King. However in earlier texts, she is seen as the challenging and initiating force behind Arthur's ascent to the throne of Britain. She is also Sovereignty, the White Mare of Britain who grants kingship to rightful rulers.


Frau Holda/Dame Herodias- The Queen of Witches, Frau Holda is the Germanic name for the mediaeval witch goddess also called Diana and Herodias. Frau Holda is a complex goddess with a dual nature. On one side she is a goddess of the home and hearth, spinning, childbirth and domestic chores, on the other, she is the patroness of witches, goddess of winter and mistress of the Wild Hunt. As a witch goddess, she was linked to the Roman Diana and the biblical Herodias who in mediaeval texts was believed to have been the supernatural leader of a cult of witches. As Herodias she is a hag goddess, mistress of the owl (connecting with Blodeuwedd), and night queen who flies through the darkness.


There are many other figures in British and Northern folklore that I haven't mentioned, but I hope this goes some way towards giving readers a feel for the way (some) Traditional Witches view deity. Some TWs will view the above figures as various aspects of a singularly male deity and singularly female deity, like The Goddess and The God in Wiccan theology. Others have hard polytheist views and see them as separate independent beings. I suggest connecting with them and forming your own views.


Coming next... Tools of the Trade

Tools of the Trade

Tools are very personal in TW. Many TWs don't use magical tools at all, rejecting the materialistic current that runs through any magical or spiritual path and the idea that one must have lots of 'stuff' to practice magic. For those who do use tools, there are really no one set collection of must-have objects that make up a witch's tool box. One view about tools that tends to separate TWs from other magical practitioners is the belief that a tool is not simply a conduit for your own energy and simply that. There is a greater belief within TW that tools have their own innate nature and qualities. For example if you cut a branch of ash to make a set of runes because Odin hung upon the World Tree, which is an ash tree, and received wisdom and the runes, why then insist that the runes are nothing more than ovals of wood with markings on them? This denies the indwelling spirit of the ash tree which is contained within the runes.

The more traditional 'witchy' tools such as cauldrons and wands tend to be favoured but a number of other tools are used in TW as well.


The Stang
This is probably the best known of the TW tools. Used by witches of yesteryear and introduced to modern witchcraft by Robert Cochrane, the stang is a forked staff, either a length of branch with a natural fork, or with an iron fork or horned animal skull placed atop it. Ash is a traditional wood used in stangs because it is reflective of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and centre of the universe in the Northern Tradition. The stang symbolises the presence of Auld Hornie and is placed in the north to act as the altar and is used to hallow the compass. It may be decorated according to the season.


The Besom
Certainly iconic in matters of witchcraft, the besom is the classic witches' broom. Traditionally the besom is made from a length of ash (Yggdrasil again) with birch twigs and bound with willow. In the compass it signifies the witch goddess Dame Herodias, as well as the act of hedge riding via riding the besom. It is used for various magical practices and to sweep away the compass at the end of a rite.


Cane, Wand and Rod
A general badge of cunning folk, the cane is carried by those proficient in the craft. It is a phallic projecting tool used to direct numinous Otherworldly forces and also as a blasting rod. Traditional woods are hazel for wisdom and magical energy or ash (Yggdrasil yet again)Welsh witches are said to carry wands of rowan and Devonshire witches carry rods and canes of the feared blackthorn to use as blasting rods.


The Cauldron Cup
Practical in brewing tinctures, simples and potions, the cauldron is another intrinsically 'witchy' tool. It also contains the Balefire used for divination and its womb/tomb-like symbolism equates it with Pair Annwyn, the Cauldron of Cerridwen, in which we are boiled down to be 'reborn'. It is a source of initiation and poetic inspiration.


Stone
Hearthstone, Lodestone, Toadstone, Hagstone, Godstone and Heartstone are all terms that may be found in TW and folk magic. Stones have importance, and flat stones may act as an altar (the heart(h)stone) where offerings are made and the flame is tended. It symbolises the foundation of the craft and the solid base on which we practice our craft.


There are other tools within TW such as the cord, skull and knife, but this is meant to be only an introduction to the tools of TW.