The influence of High Magic is fairly new in the Craft. The Classical Craft has no elaborate initiations, minimum ritual, and is mostly oral.

Neogothic: A reversed version of Roman Catholicism, including pacts with the devil.

Feminist: Dianic and Goddess-centered 10%.

Neopagan: Influenced by Wicca (according to Bonewits, Adler) 15%.

Neoclassical: Uses magic, divination, herbology, and extrasensory perception without much regard for religion.“Today there is no such thing as an unbroken tradition of Witchcraft in Europe.” However, Margot Adler identified these general types of witches: This is the witch who:īut because the inquisition took “confessions” under torture, it’s likely that most stories about witches back then were fabricated. The stereotypical Witch was inspired by very old folk beliefs and exalted during the witch trials in Europe. According to historians, there was never a unified European-wide Old Religion. Some of the main aspects of this religion were the concept of covens, sabbat celebrations, and worshipping a Horned God.Īuthors Robert Graves and Charles Leland contributed to this view, bringing it into Neopaganism. In 1921, Margaret Murray published the book The Witch Cult which described an ancient organized religion of witches. There are many definitions and none is final. Witches are divided over the word “witch”. Neopagans are equally comfortable with the scientific discourse and magic ritual.

Pagans remain antiauthoritarian and Earth-centered (preserving the Earth ).

Polytheism may be a cause of this: “The diversity of the Gods commands a deep commitment to human diversity”. Neopagans tend to be tolerant and open-minded. (…) Deities are seen on a more symbolic and complex level” “A polytheistic worldview makes self-delusion harder. It is hard to define but the one thing that most neopagans have in common is polytheism, the belief in or worship of more than one god.

Drawing down the moon by margot adler