Witches are the kind of more traditional, home and family, craft people,
so they're the ones who are making things; crocheting shawls and things like that.
But then they also have that slightly confident, dangerous, edge. 

 ~Deborah Harkness~ 

Witchcraft Traditions

(n.b.)  Wiccans and other neo-pagan movements movements will refer to their assemblages  as “covens”, though historically the word "coven" did not come into usage until 1921 when Margaret Murray  promoted the idea, now much discredited, that all witches across Europe met in groups of thirteen which they called "covens". By contrast, traditional witches usually refer to their gatherings as "clans", which are recognized anthropologically as being familiy groups that together make up a tribe.

 As nouns, the difference between a coven and a clan is that a coven is a clique that shares common interests or activities, while a clan is an extended family descended from a common tradition of ancestral lineage or native homeland. 

African Traditions: African tribes refer to magickal practitioners by different names. These practitioners "are not witches" in the commonly recognized defintion of the term. Their practice is more akin to necromancy rather than witchcraft. The main difference between African Traditions and witchcraft is the spiritual aspect. Witchcraft is a spiritual practice, but African Traditions are formalistic religions.  

American Tradition(s): As in most areas of the world where the native peoples were colonized by European Christians  the concept of witchcraft, as we think we understand it today, had not existed prior to the arrival of their arrival. Even when the label of “witch” was used; it was more often applied to the European religious dissenters and not the native people themselves. The ancient peoples believed that the Gods they venerated inhabited the land itself. When these early Pagans wished to honor their Gods, they created a connection between their homeland, where their Gods resided, and the land where they stood. In this way, the new land became an extension of the homeland and when a Witch is within the homeland, they evoke or invoke the land itself as the connection to spirit world. It was therefore quite natural for European settlers of traditional pagan beliefs, who immigrated to America, to adopt the local myths and customs into their own beliefs and rituals.  (see also our "American Witchcraft" webpage)

• Appalachian 'Granny' Clans:  The tradition of Appalachain Folk Magick dates back to the first settlers of the Appalachian Mountains who came to the United States from Scotland and Ireland in the 1700's and who brought with them their "Old World" magickal traditions. Those traditions were then blended with the local tradition of the Cherokee Tribes into a combination of local herbal folk remedies and charms, faith healing, storytelling and magick. The 'Granny' Witches will often call themselves 'Doctor Witches' or 'Water Witches' depending upon whether they are more gifted in healing and midwifery, or if they are more in tune with dowsing for water, lay lines and energy vortexes. This tradition is termed 'Granny' from the prominent role played by older women in the mountain communities.
  
• Hoodoo Clans: (regional synonyms for Hoodoo witchcraft include conjuration and/or root-work.)  Hoodoo is an American Witchcraft clan created by African-American slaves in the New World.  A  folk magick tradition of the Gullah People of the South Carolina Lowcountry, Hoodoo's roots are in the spiritual practices that evolved from a number of West African traditions blended with the beliefs and practices of other cultural traditions such as American Indian spirituality and European ceremonial magick. This form of spiritual practice revolves around the natural power of the Earth and, like many American forms of folk magick, it is considered an offshoot of  Appalachian 'Granny' Magick. Following  the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural south in the first half of the 20th century, Hoodoo practice spread throughout the United States. 
• Pow-Wow Clans: (Pennsylvania Dutch Tradition) Taken from the Algonquin word  “pauwau",  which means literally "vision seeker", its principles encompass shamanic like rituals of healing through visions and the application of traditional medicines, which are often accompanied by prayers, incantations, songs, and dances. The word pauwau (pow-wow)  came to be used for American Indian ceremonies and councils because of the important role played by the pauwau in both. The Pow Wow Tradition places great significance on the vision seeker as the nexus of  group (coven) activites and rituals. Though some claim that the Pow-Wow Tradition is German in origin, but seems to be more of an amalgamation of local American Indian traditions with those traditions of the Dutch immigrants of pagan heritage who settled in the Pennsylvania region of the United States.
  

Asian Tradition(s):  Asian witches tend to be similar in magickal beliefs and practices to Western/European witches, though the majority of Oriental magickal practitioners would be more accurately described as shamans rather than witches, the latter moniker being appended by European explorers, academics and government officals who sought to use the term "witch" in order to demonize spiritual beliefs and practices they grossly misunderstood and feared. 

•  In Australia, Aboriginal female elders were labeled by Christian missionaries as "witches" or, if men, as "witchdoctors"and these missionaries saw the traditional female practice of "love magick" (or Yilpinji) as "witchcraft". Yilpinji is achieved through a creative integration of myth, song, gesture and art against a background of country.  invariably based in the empowering link with the homeland shared by everyone in Aboriginal culture. while the practice of what we would now consider to be witchcraft arose only after the arrival of European immigrants. 
•  In China, witches employ books, staffs, and other implements, similar to the western traditions of witchcraft and the witches are often accompanied by familiars in the form of rabbits, which are universally associated with the Moon, with fertility and with the Goddess. The witches of China are notable for their  extensive knowledge of the occult properties of plants and herbs, as well as for clairvoyance and the study of astrology.
• In Japan, the Shinto religion is itself a shamanistic religion and thus the Japanese do not attach negative connotations to witchcraft. The word "witch" is actually used with positive connotation in the Japanese language as a female with high skills or fame. Asian witchcraft generally centers on the relationship between the witch and their animal spirits or familiars. In Japanese witchcraft, witches are commonly seperated into two categories: those who employ snakes  as familiars and those who employ foxes; the Fox Witch being the most commonly seen witch in Japan. 
  
• In the Philippines, as with the African traditions, Filipino witches "are not witches" in the commonly recognized defintion of the term. Filipino witches practice a kind of black magick, specifically the malevolent use of sympathetic magick.  The curses and other magick of Filipino witches are often blocked, countered, cured, or lifted by Filipino shamans (The Babaylan) who are associated with the indigenous Philippine folk religions.

Baltic Tradition: (Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania) Pagan and folk religions are thriving across the Baltic states. The old pagan religions are more or less continued today, but it often has influences from the more shamanistic elements of paganism. For many Baltic people the traditional customs and songs at the seasonal festivals are just part of the fabric of everyday life. In modern Latvia and Lithuania, the word ragana literally means “witch” and( not in the most positive sense of that word!). According to Lithuanian folklore, witches fly off to hilltops to rendezvous with Ragana , (the first witch), on her holy night, the Winter Solstice. Ragana in Lithuanian means the Seeing, (“the one who watches” and “the one who knows). Ragana  can predict the future from the signs and omens that can be observed. Ragana is not a doer, she is "The Watcher".  Baltic Witches are primarily Augury Witches (see: “Types of Traditional Witches”) who are similar to shamans. They are not "fortune tellers", as their gifts are of prophecy and not divination.

British (English) Tradition: (Not to be confused with 'British Traditional Wicca')  The traditional witches of England generally practice a solitary form of witchcraft and each traditional witch draws on an eclectic mix of beliefs and rituals from the myths and religions of the various pre-Roman and pre-Christian clans of the Anglo-British peoples which determined the cultural context of the tradition. Traditional English Witchcraft is drawn from the "energy" of "The Homeland” and the legends of its local people as passed down through the generations in "The Old Tales".  As such, there are often differences between the practices of those witches from the Cornish,  Welsh or Scottish traditions, (see individual  listings), but they also have many similarities such as the common belief in the "magick" of the Britian's forests and woodlands.  Over time though English Witchcraft has begun to evolve into a much more regimented system and some in the Traditional Craft have become less solitary and started coming together in groups (covens) with the Wiccan structured initiation and degree processes. They continue to insist on being called "Traditional" and not "Wiccan". but by adopting its structure they are in realty Wiccan in practice if not in name.

Celtic (Irish) Tradition: The Irish Tradition is really many traditions under the general heading of "Celtic" and Celtic paths are some of the more popular traditional witchcraft traditions. Most are very eclectic and hold to the ancient Celtic myths, divinities, magick and rituals. They are practitioners of the Elements, the Ancient Ones and of Nature. They are usually physical and spiritual healers who work with plants, stones, flowers, trees, the fauns and the faires. In recent years the Celtic Path has been more associated with the Wiccan Movement than Traditional Irish Folk Magick.

Cornish Tradition:  The traditional magick of the witches of Cornwall commonly includes the work of the making and provision of magickal charms, simple rituals and magickal gestures with muttered incantations, the healing of disease and injury and divination. According to ancient tradition, the people from Cornwall make their annual pilgrimage to some Cornish Witch of repute, for the sake of having what they call "their protection renewed." Spring is always chosen for this object, because it is believed that when the Sun is returning the witch has more power to protect them from bad luck than at any other season. (see below: Cunning Folk)

Cunning Folk Tradition:  The term "cunning man" or "cunning woman" was most widely used in southern England, the Midlands and in Wales. Such people were also frequently known as "wizards", "wise men" or "wise women" or "conjurers". In Cornwall they were  they were sometimes referred to as "pellars", which originated from the term "expellers", referring to the practice of expelling evil spirits. The relationship between cunning-craft and witchcraft is controversial. The original cunning folk were often times witch hunters; seeking out and condemning an individual as a witch responsible for some evil or affliction and then performing curses against the supposed offender. Today, Cornish Traditional Witches are often mistakenly referred to as cunning folk. 

Draconic Tradition:  The Draconic Tradition the utilizates of the powers of the dragon.  and Draconian Witchcraft has always been passed down directly from teacher to student. Dragon guides and guardians work alongside the witches and offer their wisdom, protection, and strength during spell work and rituals. While draconic witches highly respect the dragons, they do not worship them. Draconian Witches share little about what they are doing, (Little Seen Gets More Done), and they hold that silence and magick must work together. Draconic Witchcraft is a rather solitary path and while one can work in a clan, dragon magick delves deep into the individual subconscious where one must face fears and memories long buried. As such, dragon magick calls for self-discipline, strength and the courage to seek knowledge alone.

Germanic (Teutonic) Tradition : From ancient times the Teutons have been recognized as a group of people who speak the Germanic group of languages. Culturally, this includes the English, Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish peoples. A Teutonic Witch finds inspiration in the differing traditional myths and legends and in the Gods and Goddesses of  "The Homeland” where each individual dialect originated. A German Teutonic Witch might differ from the Nordic Tradition, for example, in that they may not focus on manifesting prophetic power like the witches of Scandinavia. 

Greek (Hellenistic) Tradition:  A Greek witch is called a pharmakis (herb woman), from which we have the terms pharmacist and pharmacology. Their basic tradition is working with herbs, medicines and poison. In the Homeric tradition of Witchcraft was not an exclusively female thing, so Greek witches are both male and female. Many Greek tradition witches work with Hecate, the ancient Greek goddess of magick, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. (Hecate’s most sacred familiar is the dog.) Many Greek  witches identify with  Medea, who in Greek mythology was an enchantress of divine descent and who had the gift of prophecy. Medea was an outright witch and used ointments and potions to both poison and heal. On the dark side, the modern perception of Greek witchcraft is that witchcraft is malevolent with its practitioners intentionally causing harm to others, with the evil eye. But, it is also quite right to associate modern pharmacology and healing with Hellenistic witchcraft. 

Hereditary (Ancestral) Tradition:  There are people in the pagan community who claim “born witch” status because of some ancestral link to an individual who was accused of witchcraft.  There are certainly hereditary traditions of witchcraft, but by “hereditary” it doesn’t mean that the practices are biologically inherited. These are typically small, familial traditions (Fam Trads), in which beliefs and practices are handed down from one generation to the next, and outsiders are rarely included.

Italian (Stregheria) Tradition: Stregheria (an archaic Italian word for "witchcraft") is sometimes referred to as "La Vecchia Religione" (the old religion).   Stregheria is not a singular tradition, but instead a collection of practices that have descended from the native traditions of the Italian/Sicilian regions. It is said by some to be based on the teachings of a 14th century woman named Aradia, but, this does not mean that witchcraft in Italy began in the 14th century. The tradition taught by Aradia was a revival of the Old Ways of the folk religions of the ancient Etruscans and Romans  during a time of persecution of the peasants of Italy by the Catholic nobility. To many modern Stregherian Witches most Catholic saints are simply ancient pagan gods dressed in Christian garb and the majority of  Stregherians have removed these saints Catholic veneer and restored them to their pagan deity heritage.

Latin American (Brujerian) Tradition -- Known in Spanish as Brujería, various types of witchcraft and occult practices exist in Latin America. The practice of Brujeria, which is a combination of Catholicism, folk magick and necromancy, usually involves charms, love spells, curses, hexes, and divination.  Like many other magickal practices that formed as a result of the mixing of old world immigrants and the indigenous peoples of the Americas, brujería gained a bad reputation. Even today many people across the American Southwest are still afraid of the mere mention of brujería.

Scandinavian (Nordic) Tradition: A type of traditional witchcraft practiced in Norse tribal societies which flourished during the Northern European  Iron Age.  In Norse mythology it is associated with both the god Oðinn and the goddess Freyja.  "Seiður" is the Icelandic word which is used to describe their magick rituals. The female practitioners were called "vísendakona", or woman of science, and the men were called "seið-menn", or the men of magick ritual.  Seiður was a shamanic ceremony, involving altered states of consciousness and cross-dimensional journeys, wherein sorcerers would gain secret knowledge and accumulate great power which was handed to them by the gods themselves. Most of the symbols and spells appear to be for the use of simple problems in life, from catching a thief, to overthrowing an enemy. Others help heal livestock, whilst others look at cursing the animals of another. There are charms to help preserve food and ale, staves to bless the bearer with strength or courage, or symbols to help with fishing or prevent death by drowning. Many of the Nordic female witches are Augury Witches (see above) and are referred to as a Völva ("wand carrier" or "carrier of a magick staff"), who practice meditation or introspection for the purpose of clairvoyance and divination.

• Icelandic Clans -- In Iceland, witchcraft and magick used to be ways to deal with the harsh environment and difficult living conditions. Many magick spells were focused on controlling the weather, to raise fertility of sheep or to get a more prosperous life. In this article, we will talk about some of the magick spells and symbols found in Icelandic manuscripts.

Scottish Tradition(s):  Historically, Witchcraft in Scotland is more known for its persecution than its practice. King James Stuart VI, king of Scotland in 1567, (also known as King James I of England and Ireland from 1603-1625), carried an exceptionally paranoid view of witches and witchcraft which affected his kingship and led to a massive execution crusade on persons accused of witchcraft. In Gaelic, the word most closely associated with the definition of a witch is Cailleach. This word translates to “old woman” or “hag”. Rather than painting a picture of an evil and purely mythical old woman, the witch in the form of the Cailleach was often portrayed as being more connected to pagan traditions associated with seasonal deities in Scotland than a trick or treat icon. Culturally, the Scots have often blended folklore with their contemporary beliefs, which is part of what makes Scotland such a truly magickal place. In recent years, the Wiccan Movement has usurped the name "Calleach" as a Wiccan appellation of the Caledonii Wicca covens and it is rarely used now to denote Traditional Scottish practitioners.

• Hecatine Clans: A lineage of  The Old Ways  that comes from a Scottish origin which preserves the unique rituals of the Scottish/Picts. Drawing on the same cultural influences as the Picts,  the Hecatine Clan differs in that Pictish practitioners are more solitary. As a fairly secretive tradition, not much is known of Hecatine rituals by outsiders.  In Wicca the Caledonii  Movement mirrors much of the same practices and the two are often confused as just being different names for the same movement.
• Pictish Practitioners: Originally an ancient heritage from Scotland, it is a "solitary witch" form of "The Craft".  Since the beginning of tribal life in Scotland, there were women and men who worked with nature, the elements, herbs, and seership. Known as ‘soothsayers’, healers, magickians, witches and wizards, they lived and worked peacefully among all tribes. Pictish magick attunes itself to all aspects of nature; animal, vegetable, and mineral and it is more magickal in nature and practice than it is religious. Pictish practitioners are solitary and rarely do they work in groups.

Slavic (Eastern European) Tradition):  In  Slavic witchcraft, (Rodnovery), the power of magick is considered a realistic part of life without any link to the devil or demonology. It is believed anybody can learn witchcraft with the proper teaching and that teaching often comes in the form of riddles that the initiate must solve. The Slavic witch often possesses the ability to astral travel and can quite easily fall in and out of trance states. Slavic witches observe three canons during their rituals; nudity, silence and not looking back after the working’s conclusion. Russia is considered the birth place of Traditional Shamanism and Slavic Witchcraft draws heavily on this influence.

Welsh Tradition: Welsh Witchcraft is the traditional practice of magick and spiritual beliefs that stem from the Wales region of the United Kingdom. There is a lot of overlap in this area with Celtic or Scottish witchcraft, but there really are a number of unique characteristics to Welsh witchcraft specifically.  Welsh witches believe themselves to be one of the oldest traditions. It is sometimes said to be confined to certain families and members of the family become "awakened" to their calling and pass through 9 levels of attainment. It is theorhetically hereditary, but you can "be adopted" into the tradition.

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