History

I had the great honor to meet Raymond Buckland back in the late 90's. He was one of my favorite teachers of the faith and in just I practiced many ways in that respect though I have mastered my practice and have alternated in varieties of ways to better enhance the outcome of the practice. I recommend all keep to the old ways and practice daily and fraternally in the art. Be exquisit e in all levels of the practice such as only pure herbs, only true handmade insence of powder on charcoal, only true oil made from the purest of cloves, rose, merr, etc, only candles made of beeswax and handformed from Wiccan methods and consecrated under strict practices and etched only in Theban, etc etc. In many instances even the true witches will find the first few if not first 10 spells to sort of backfire as they are new to the art. In some cases I found that I believe it is actually the watchers of the towers or the spirits that guide these spells little way of hazing the newcommers even as for such as doing the opposite one might wish for till they feel they are true and fit mentally. Never attempt major castings when first starting out as they may have the opposite effect at first. Never ever practice under the influence of alcohol or drugs as they can weaken the spirit aura and cause you to be unprotected in your circle. I have practiced under alcohol at times and it often resulted in more of a darker magick. Never scry for future fortunes under alcohol as anything more than 8 min could have devistating effects. Learn and read and read and read and learn and never stop learning and always take bits and pieces of what is best suited for your inner feelings as only the best spells come from within and not from a book in someone elses words.

In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in the ancient religion of Witchcraft (Wicca). Unfortunately, due to the oaths of secrecy that we are required to take, the terms Traditional Witch and Gardnerian have been invested with unfortunate connotations. In this paper I will make an attempt to redefine, in more accurate words, a little bit about our Tradition. Bear in mind that Gardnerians, being Witches, will disagree with almost every sentence in this paper. Thus, this paper is a compilation of a number of papers and letters from Gardnerian Covens around the world. We sent and continue to send it to Gardnerians of various fame and authority in America, Canada, England and the Netherlands and their continuing input influences various editions of this document.


In the late 1800's, one of the Grand Masters of Witchcraft (In those days, Wicca was ruled by the Master, not the Priestess) named George Pickingill saw Witchcraft as dying. The reasons for this were complex so Old George decided to save The Craft by creating a Coven, making a few changes to conform to modern conditions and sit back to see what worked. He then would form another Coven, keep what worked, toss what didn't and make a few more changes until he had created what Gardnerians now call 'The Nine Covens'.

One of these surviving Covens took refuge in the Rosicrucion Theater in England where, if discovered performing a ritual, they could claim that it was only a play. Remember, at this time being a Witch was still a capital offense. In 1939, a retired civil servant named Gerald Gardner joined this theater and met with this Coven and was eventually Initiated as a Witch.

Gardner also saw the Craft as dying partly because of the secrecy imposed by the Burning Times and partly because all of the Witches that he knew were elderly people. Gardner was determined to write the truth about Wicca before it died out altogether but was prevented from doing so by his Priestess who feared for a revival of the Burning Times. Remember, that only a few years earlier in 1925, a Witch was burned to death in New Mexico and another would be burned to death a few years later in Mexico in 1955. Eventually, in 1949, Gardner was permitted to write a fictional work called High Magic's Aid which told a very small part of Wicca. Later when he broke away from his Coven and formed his own, he wrote The Truth About Witchcraft where he stated what Witchcraft really was and admitted that he was a Witch himself.

Far from being almost extinct, Gardner began to receive letters from all over Europe from Witches and Covens who, like Gardner, thought that they were the last of a dying religion. The Craft, once laid out for the general population, touched something deep within humanity and grew at an enormous rate. In fact, it has been said that Witchcraft is the fastest growing religion in America today.

Over the next decade, Gardner added to the fragmentary rituals that he had received from his own Coven and trained a number of Priestesses, each of whom gave their Covens their own distinctive flavor. The most famous of these was Doreen Valiente who saw the value of Wicca but didn't like a lot of the judeo-xian ceremonial magick that Gardner had added. She rewrote the Book of Shadows in the early 1950's and her ability to communicate the poetry of the Goddess encouraged the Wiccan revival. All Witches who are descended from Gardner are now called Gardnerians (just as all xians who followed Martin Luther are called Lutherans), though they may better be called Gardner- Valientians.

In 1963, Raymond and Rosemary Buckland became Initiated by Gardner and his last Priestess, Monique Wilson and brought Gardnerianism to America. Today, almost all Gardnerians in America can be traced back to the Wilson-Gardner partnership by way of the Bucklands. However, in Canada and Europe, most Gardnerians trace their Lineage back to Gardner by way of one of his other Priestesses. These differing Lineages are what give Gardnerianism it's different working methods and rules, some of which appear to be conflicting.