Traditional British Witchcraft

Information About This Website

My Perspective

The London group I came to know did not have a name. It was made up mostly of older ladies (I was young at the time), "followers of the Old Ways." They disliked the terms "witchcraft," "witch," and "coven" because they viewed these terms as "wholly inaccurate Christian terms meant to frighten people and demean us." They paid little attention to correspondences, ceremonialism, and had no appreciation for "the naked Gardner" (at first I thought they were saying "gardener").

They felt their approach to be "appropriate" and "in harmony with the spirits." They never thought of themselves as being "dark" in any manner. The idea of being called "dark" they found to be insulting. They were urban, well educated, and rather sophisticated people. They presented the Traditional Craft (British Witchcraft) as an uplifting, positive force in life. There was nothing "dark" about it. For it is considered to be quite irresponsible to refrain from using the force of magic against those that wish us harm. Practicality is part and parcel of the Old Craft.

No oath was required and no trust has been broken in providing the information on this site or in my Course material. In fact, they would want people to appreciate their approach as they were especially troubled by what they felt to be "Gardner's Wiccan travesty of wrongful information and blatant lies." They felt Wicca to be "out of harmony with the Cunning Fire," "disrespectful of the spirits" because Gardner was "curiously eager to import strange gods alien to Britain and Old Craft tradition," that he "invent ridiculous rituals" and "took off his cloths while doing them." They disapproved, yet they recognised his right to his own approach and the validity of each person to their own journey.

The true way of becoming a practitioner of the Magical Arts is for each of us to "find our own way." Even with guidance or mentorship, it is always a personal journey. It is up to each of us to decide what is meaningful to us and what is not. Yet we must always make sure our practices reflect the parameters of the Old Ways if we want to be part of the Traditional Craft.

British Witchcraft has always been a very personal religion. Above all it is an expression of the heart, an expression of our love of Nature, and of respect for those that have come before us. It is a path with commonalities of practice that are particular to the Old Craft. I try to make these clear on this website and in the Course material.

Incidentally, I use the terms "witchcraft" and "witch" in my writings 1) because today they are commonly used within the general Pagan community without intend to slander or harm, and 2) to be precisely clear in what I mean to non-Traditionalists.

I hope you enjoy my website and find it helpful.

Pronoun Use

At least half of my readers are women, so I do hope they will forgive me for my use of the male pronoun to stand for both genders. "He or she" and "him or her" quickly becomes overly awkward to say and tedious to read. Therefore, I have reverted to standard English usage.

Why Our Full Course Isn't Free

In ages past, while it is true that some witches would accept one or two seekers for personal training and mentoring without a fee for instruction, it should also be known that these seekers would work around the witch's house and would help with the witch's trade. It was more of an exchange of services between the seeker and the witch. The instruction was never as free as some people today (mostly Wiccans) would have you believe.

The truth is that creating and maintaining a website, writing articles, and providing a free Mini-Course requires my time and costs me money. Teachers have always been paid for their services to the public. We charge a fee for the Course in order to recover expenses and to be able to effectively present what we offer.

Thanks

I welcome comments and questions from the entire Pagan community. You may ask basic questions on one of the Forums on my list. Forum links are also at the bottom of the homepage.

If you wish to ask me to recommend books, I am sorry to say that except for my eBook Course, The Journey To Trad Witchcraft, there are no other books I know of that accurately present the Blue Moon Manor approach to the Old Craft. Trads are almost always unique. Nevertheless, there are books on general witchcraft I find to be interesting. For these, see Recommended Books.

Age Restriction Legal Notice

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