Gardnerian Witchcraft in America
by Brigantia, revised January 1999
Gardnerian Witchcraft is a matriarchal, matrilineal tradition that honours
the Great Mother and Her consort, the Horned God. The Great Mother's
domain consists of life and the present world, and the Horned God's
domain consists of death and the Netherworld. Nevertheless, Gardnerians
may also choose to conduct rites in honour of, or in petition to, additional
Gods as they see fit. At the core of Gardnerian practice is affirmation
of the value of life, the inevitability of death, and the promise of
reincarnation after this life has ended. We see the never-ending cycle
of birth, death and rebirth all around us in nature.
Gardnerian Witchcraft is exclusively coven-based and initiatory. Self-initiation
is not practised, and solitary practice is rare, being confined mainly
to isolated retired Elders. Initiates who have become geographically
isolated remain in formal covenant with their High Priestess until and
unless they either attain Third Degree, or have entered into a working
relationship with a new High Priestess.
Initiations follow forms as set forth in the Book of Shadows ; Gardnerians
work within a three-degree system of cross-gender initiation and degree
elevations. The normal minimum period of formation between initiation
and degree elevations is a year and a day; many covens take longer than
a year and a day to work through the necessary pre-elevation teachings.
In Gardnerian practice, initiation makes an irrevocable change in the
initiate's circumstances; as such, it cannot be revoked or overturned
by human intervention.
Covens are wholly autonomous. Each coven is ruled by its High Priestess
in consultation with her consort (the High Priest) and with the aid
and advice of the coven's Elders. In all matters, the decision of the
High Priestess is final, even when she has chosen to delegate authority
on certain issues to her High Priest or another Elder. In times of need,
a High Priestess can function as a coven leader without a High Priest,
but cross-gender partnership is by far preferred.
Gardnerian covens work unclothed, rather than robed. This gives rise
to some rather interesting jokes along the lines of "Would you
like to come up to my apartment and look at my new robes?" Coven
work is participatory: all participants are initiates in their own right
and there are therefore no spectators, nor 'congregation' vs. 'clergy'
dichotomies. Gardnerian rites are conducted exclusively within a magic
circle, properly and intentionally cast according to traditional usage.
Healing magic is often performed by our covens. Evil spells are never
cast by us, for such actions are an affront to our Gods.
That which takes place within the circle is held in confidence by those
people who were present in the circle. To that end, Gardnerians take
magical names for use solely within the circle, where the use of 'legal
names' from the outside world is strongly discouraged. Outside the magic
circle, the High Priestess of the coven is sometimes addressed by other
initiates as 'My Lady' in conversation, or as 'Lady So-and-So' in third-party
discussion with other initiates. Our Gardnerian cousins in Britain do
not, as a general rule, use such titles.
Effective recording and verification of Gardnerian initiatory lineage
is facilitated by the maintenance of initiatory records by some Elders.
Every Gardnerian initiate can trace her or his lineage back to Gerald
Gardner. In the interest of brevity, lineages are often documented in
terms of the ancestral High Priestesses only; nevertheless, the intervening
High Priests are an integral part of Gardnerian heritage and history.
Lineages are not secret (the sharing -- and verification -- of lineage
information is one common way of 'checking out' someone who professes
to be a Gardnerian initiate; refusal to provide such references is another
warning sign) but they are matters for discreet discussion among people
who are considering working together, rather than for wide publication.
Gardnerians use a semi-standardised Book of Shadows, consisting of rituals
passed down from generation to generation, augmented by additions and
alternative rites which are ordinarily signed and dated by their authors.
Our Tradition is vibrant and alive, and we value the creative work of
our kinfolk while preserving the hard-won knowledge of past generations.
Many initiates hand-copy all or part of their teacher's Book, with the
objective of more closely engaging with the texts. Copying is usually
done at the covenstead, so that the materials being copied can be discussed
by teacher and student. A genuine or authentic Book of Shadows cannot
be purchased; nor can it be obtained in any other way without the seeker's
having first properly undergone the Gardnerian rite of initiation.
Money is never charged for teaching, initiation, or magical work. Some
High Priestesses set dues for the collective handling of coven expenses;
others choose to rely on individual donations of consumables such as
candles, wine and incense as the need arises.
Caveat: Insofar as all Gardnerian covens are
autonomous, none of us may speak for all of us. The foregoing thoughts
are my own opinions concerning the nature of the Gardnerian Tradition,
which I love and cherish. I thank Lady Theos and Phoenix for their insightful
comments on an earlier draft of this article. Nevertheless, I accept
full responsibility for the ideas here presented, and am certainly open
to comments from my kinfolk.
About the author: I am a working High Priestess and coven leader within
the New York line of the Gardnerian Tradition, primary teacher of a
traditionalist study group, and editor of a Gardnerian initiates' magazine,
Six Roads. I care about the work that we are doing within our Tradition,
and I am particularly concerned that we should have the opportunity
to describe ourselves in our own terms. If you wish, you may reach me
via e-mail.
For further information, I recommend the Gardnerian Public Relations
Forum's web-site.
written by Brigantia
updated: June 24, 1998
document GARDTRAD © 1997, 1998 Beaufort House Association
Further reading:
Gardner
the Father of the Neo-Pagan Religion Wicca
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