The Religion of Witchcraft - A Guide
Witchcraft in the modern day has its roots in a religious movement, one that is rooted in the spirituality of the living Earth & archetypal gods found as far back as humanity's conception. Of course, not all approaches to magic are religious, but for the sake of this post here, the religion will be referred to as Witchcraft, and other forms of magic will simply be referred to as such. If you call your practice Witchcraft and it's non-religious, that's fine. This post is not about that. This post is about the Witchcraft that paved the way for the Pagan and Witchcraft community we have today.
I will note this post will lean a bit more towards Wicca as that is what makes up the basis for my practice.
Origins of the Witchcraft Religion
The movement of Witchcraft starts with the Witchcraft Revival in the mid 20th century. This movement was spearheaded by figures such as Sybil Leek, Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, Doreen Valiente, Leo Martello, and Robert Cochrane. Though they may have worked in differing traditions of Witchcraft, they had some commonalities within their practices, that commonality being following the cycles of the seasons, and the worship of a Great Goddess and Horned God, which are archetypes that can be found in the Neolithic era.
These various traditions of Witchcraft drew influence from the array of Western Esoteric traditions such as Hermeticism, Thelema, etc. Furthermore, the works of Margaret Murray and Charles Godfrey Leland played a role in the core ideas found within these religions, even if their works, in this day and age, may not be the most historically accurate.
Witchcraft is a revival of the theoretical Witch Cult (cult in this context used in its anthropological sense), an idea popularized by Murray and Leland, but had been around prior. Of course, the chances of a unified Witchcraft Religion in Western Europe are slim to none, however, it is likely that underground pagan cults with similar themes and motifs did exist, albeit whether or not modern Witchcraft can be considered an unbroken line to said cultus is up for debate.
Further Reading on the History of Modern Witchcraft:
Modern Wicca - Michael Howard - covers the history of Wicca specifically, but Wicca and the Witchcraft movement are inherently intertwined.
"A Brief History of Modern Traditional Witchcraft" - Kelden - a good article about the history of the Witchcraft movement with a focus on Cochranian Style Traditional Witchcraft
Think of Witchcraft as a tree with many branches. Each of the big branches is a form of witchcraft, with the smaller branches representing the various traditions within that specific form of Witchcraft. There's not really a single correct way to categorize the many forms of Witchcraft, so just bear with me here.
Old Guard - Old Guard Witchcraft and Paganism refers to any tradition formed prior to the release of the book The Spiral Dance by Starhawk.
Wicca - Wicca is a form of Witchcraft that originated as an initiatory mystery religion with Gerald Gardner's Bricketwood Coven. For further information on Wicca specifically, I have a post here (A Wicca Primer), and can reccomend the blog @essence-of-wicca ran by my friend @sova-witch. Wicca as a name is also used to refer to the traditions stemming from Sybil Leek's Horsa tradition.
Stregheria - Stregheria is a form of Witchcraft rooted in ancient Italian & Sicilian spirituality and folklore. Stregheria was popularized by Raven Grimassi, but can be traced back to Leo Martello
New Guard - I'm not sure if this a term actually used, but I'm using it here to refer to any traditions that formed after the release of The Spiral Dance, and as such has many influences from said book.
Traditional Witchcraft - Traditional Witchcraft is a very broad term, as it can refer to any tradition of non-Wiccan witchcraft, but can also refer to British Traditional Witchcraft - aka Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc. Here though we'll use Traditional Witchcraft to refer to any non-Wiccan Old Guard forms of Witchcraft. This covers traditions like Y Plant Bran, Clan of Tubal Cain, 1734, Anderson Feri Tradition, American Folkloric (might be New Guard technically, but draws heavily from Cochranian style craft so I'm inclined to include it here). Many forms of Traditional Witchcraft incorporate Left Hand Path elements, Luciferian Heresy, and the figure of the Folkloric/Witches' Devil - often identified with The Horned God. Of course, not all TradCraft traditions do this, but many do, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Dedicatory Religious Witchcraft - originally the term was proposed as an alternative to NeoWicca, however it never really caught on. I'm putting it here and proposing it as a general term for any form of the Witchcraft religion that lacks lineage to an initiatory tradition. As such NeoWicca would be a form of DRW, but so would Cochrane-Inspired solitary craft. DRW would hold to the core ideas and themes of religious Witchcraft, ie the veneration of the Great Goddess & Horned God(or WitchMother/Queen of Elphame & WitchFather/The Devil), seasonal celebrations, etc.
Core Aspects of The Craft
The Theology of Witchcraft revolves around two figures: A Lunar Goddess who is often thought of as a Great Mother Figure, and a God of Death and Rebirth, who is often seen also as a Horned God of hunting. Sometimes these spirits are not seen as deities, but rather as powerful spirits or faeryfolk, sometimes they're seen as THE gods. The specific approach to them will vary based on tradition, coven, practitioner, etc.
The core of Witchcraft's religious theology lies in these archetypal divinities. For example, in the path I follow, these archetypal divinities are two halves of the creative force/source of the universe, and their relationship and mysteries are seen through the Earth's changes.
Each tradition, coven, etc. will likely use their own names for the divinities. For example if one tradition calls their Goddess and God Diana and Dianus, and another calls them Astarte and Tammuz, and a third calls them Aradia and Cernnunos, they are all still tapping into those primordial archetypes that lay the foundation for The Craft. Some people may take a more hard polytheist approach and consider each divine pair to be the specific divinities of the tradition/coven, others may take a more soft polytheist approach and consider them all to be various names/faces of the same two divinities. Some may also take the approach that these various names and faces are different from eachother, but still the God and Goddess of the Witches understood differently (kind of a medium polytheism approach).
The cycle of the seasons often serves as the backbone of the theology of Religious Witchcraft. Because of this, many traditions will follow celebrations based on the seasonal changes. In Wicca and other NeoPagan inspired paths this can be seen through the Wheel of the year. Stregheria has the 8 Treguendas, and other traditions will have their own celebrations. Not every tradition will follow an 8 fold wheel, some may follow just the Solstices and Equinoxes, others may only follow the Cross Quarter days.
Ultimately, how you practice Religious Witchcraft is up to you, but be aware that if you are basing your practice off of a specific form of Witchcraft, to hold to what makes that tradition what it is.
For example, if you decide to be a practitioner and follower of Wicca, you must be aware that you cannot practice Traditional Wicca without going through the proper initiations. As such, you would not be able to claim your practice as Traditional Wicca, Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc.
However, this does not mean you cannot be a Wiccan, as Wicca has variations that do not require anything other than a self-initiation. However, even when practicing Solitary Eclectic Wicca, you need to realize that Wicca has core aspects that cannot be removed: The Goddess/Horned God, The Wheel of the Year, etc. How you approach these aspects can vary, but to remove them would be disrespectful towards what you claim to practice.
This applies to any practice you claim to follow. Be aware of the core themes, motifs, and theological foundations within. For example, you wouldn't remove Jesus from Christianity, as that would not be ok. Same logic applies to the vast array of Witchcraft traditions.
Ultimately, the best way to begin your practice is to read about the history of the Witchcraft revival, and to get your information from books rather than social media.
Reading List for Religious Witchcraft
Witchcraft Today - Gerald Gardner
The Meaning of Witchcraft - Gerald Gardner
Modern Wicca - Michael Howard
Witchcraft For Tomorrow - Doreen Valiente
A Witches' Bible - Janet & Stewart Farrar
The Witches' Goddess - Janet & Stewart Farrar
The Witches' God - Janet & Stewart Farrar
What Witches Do - Stewart Farrar
Complete Book Of Witchcraft - Raymond Buckland
Lid Off The Cauldron - Patricia Crowther
Living Wicca - Scott Cunningham
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner - Scott Cunningham
Roebuck In The Thicket - Evan John Jones & Robert Cochrane
Star-Crossed Serpent - Evan John Jones
The Crooked Path - Kelden
The Craft of Tubal Cain - Kenneth Johnson
Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed - Doreen Valiente & Evan John Jones
Mastering Witchcraft - Paul Huson
Betwixt & Between - Storm Faerywolf (Feri Trad)
Forbidden Mysteries of Faery Witchcraft - Storm Faerywolf (Feri Trad)
General Religious Witchcraft & The Witchcraft Revival:
The Spiral Dance - Starhawk
A Grimoire Of Shadows - Ed Fitch
Magical Rites From The Crystal Well - Ed Fitch
The Rebirth Of Witchcraft - Doreen Valiente
