I know that many of you are sick to death of having to
put up with those damn Wiccans.
Don't you hate going to the bookstore, and seeing the
"occult" and "new age" shelves filled up with
those flakey-arsed books on Wicca, published by the enemy of all
serious and mature occultism- Llewellyn Publications?
Don't you hate hearing about people's "karma" and their
"Books of Shadows" and their "Great Mother
Goddess" that Reigned over the peaceful, utopian Matriarchal
Era that existed since 30,000 BC, and which was destroyed by the
"pale patriarchal penis people" who came in with their
War Gods and suppressed Goddesses and Women worldwide?
Don't you grow TIRED of hearing about chakras and healing
crystals? Are you sick of hearing about how
"persecuted" Wiccans are, and how they only practise
"positive magic" in accordance with the "Rule of
Three"?
Is this really all there is to witchcraft?? A lot of new age
drivel mixed with ego-maniacal women and sexually immature men
dancing around maypoles and climbing up a ripped-off Masonic
degree system, and wearing bathrobes in the woods at night?
And who the hell was this Gardner guy? Some old retired British
civil servant who decided to get naked in the woods and have
women scourge his wrinkly ass, so that he could "raise
power"?? You're kidding, right?
Well, this is a disease- but you have a cure!
Welcome to the Traditional Witchcraft Tradition Generator! With a
few simple choices below, you can be ready to take on the forces
of the New Age and Wicca, as a genuine Traditional Witch. And
best of all, when you are done, you will have an authentic
sounding, untraceable Tradition, complete with terminology that
will stand up to the scrutiny of the other Traditional Witches
out there, as well as mysterious sounding terms and code words
that will entice many people into your fold! You are then free to
select a year to date your tradition from (for the sake of
believability, we suggest that you make the date no more than 2
or 300 years go) and you are ready to go!
Your Tradition will essentially be a list of names, selected by
you from our comprehensive banks of "Cool Craft
Terminology", which will then be tied together by the name
you select for your tradition. The various components of any
"Authentic Tradition" are as follows:
1. THE
HOMELAND OF THE TRADITION
2.
A LIBRARY OF BACKGROUND READING
3.
THE TITLES HELD BY THE TRADITION MEMBERS, HIERARCHY, AND FAMILY
4.
THE GODS OR SPIRITS HONORED BY THE TRADITION, as well as THE
"FEEL" of the TRADITION
5.
THE WORKING AREA TERMINOLOGY
6.
THE WORKING TOOL TERMINOLOGY AND KEY RITES
7.
MYSTERIOUS PHRASES AND CODE WORDS
8.
ORIGINAL, CLEVER 'SIGN OFFS' AND GREETINGS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
9.
PRAYER AND INVOCATION FRAGMENTS
10.
THE HOLY YEAR or SACRED DAYS OF THE TRADITION
11.
THE NAME OF THE TRADITION
This generator has a section for each of the above components.
Get a pencil and paper, oh Thou soon to be Magister/Magistra! The
World of Genuine Traditional Witchcraft awaits!
BUT WAIT, AREN'T WE LYING?
No! You aren't! There are four responses that any Genuine Witch
can give to that silly and groundless charge!
1. You belong to a TANGLER TRADITION. You are a TANGLER. You may
do things to mislead people, and yes, on the outside it LOOKS
like you are lying your arse off. But you are misleading people
for their own good, deep down inside, and long down the road.
2. You are just playing the LAPWING. This is another way of
saying that you used some "extra material" to weed out
those who would understand and those who wouldn't. Once again,
this is for people's own good.
3. You are practicing GREY MAGIC. This means that you are using
mixtures of truth and untruth (and being careful to make sure
that no one can tell which is which) to keep people in the dark
about who and what you really are- this makes your power over
them GREAT.
4. You are just being a CUNNING PERSON, whether man or woman- you
are using the mind of the old Trickster, as in the Native
American Coyote or the Old Wodinic All-Father's Trickster shadow
self, Loki. It is a fine ancient tradition of jesting and making
people think, and of making them think that you are a Genuine
Traditional Witch.
But all that aside, what's truth? Didn't someone HAVE to make all
this up long ago anyway, even in the so-called "REAL"
traditions? Give us a break. Your tradition can be generated
right now and be as ancient as ANY tradition, by tomorrow
evening.
1. THE
HOMELAND OF THE TRADITION
Lesson one! Listen up! Unlike Wicca, with it's bullshit
"scattered across the map" mentality, we Traditional
Witches are serious about our ancestry and heritage. All the Gods
AINT one God, and all the Goddesses AINT one Goddess- all of our
deities are DIFFERENT beings, and you must stand by that. Before
you can select a suitable number of spirits and deities, you have
to know WHERE your Tradition originally "rooted" from.
When we say "Rooted", we don't mean "CAME
FROM". 'Rooted' means "sort of from the area"- and
"sort of" means "within a few hundred/thousand
miles", depending on your need. This kind of ambiguity helps
you to cover all possible bases.
No tradition is pure anymore, after all these years of change and
mixing of ideas and cultures- so you have to pick a very general
area in Europe, and then determine if that leaves your tradition
with a CELTIC cultural bias, or a GERMANIC cultural bias. Some
places can be either, as you choose. The point of this list is to
determine WHAT CULTURAL BIAS your tradition will belong to- and
it will help you immensely to study up on the great deeds of the
people of whatever cultural bias you end up with, and become
intensely nationalistic about these people. You might not have a
drop of Irish in you, but if you get a Celtic Cultural Bias for
your Tradition, you need to get REAL about your Irish Roots, and
begin disliking the English, or some other demonstration of your
devotion to Ireland, and your Tradition's Roots.
So, go to the list below, and select a home country for the
long-ago founders of your Tradition to have been rooted in, and
then look to the column on the right to see what Cultural Bias
your tradition will be working under.
HOMELAND......CULTURAL BIAS
IRELAND...... CELTIC
SCOTLAND......CELTIC OR GERMANIC
WALES...... CELTIC
ENGLAND......GERMANIC
CORNWALL….. CELTIC
FRANCE......CELTIC (Brittany only; the rest of
France is off limits)
GERMANY......GERMANIC
NORWAY.......GERMANIC
SWEDEN......GERMANIC
DENMARK......GERMANIC
BELGIUM......GERMANIC
THE NETHERLANDS......GERMANIC
SPAIN...... Do not Use- version 3.7 of this
Tradition Generator will have a supplement for Genuine Basque
Witchcraft - until that version comes out, do not Use Spain.
SPECIFIC REGIONS:
REAL traditions never use the broad regional distinctions listed
above. Once you know what country your Tradition rooted from, get
a detailed map of that place, and select a district, as well as
two or three small towns (NEVER BIG CITIES) to use as your
"home". For instance, don't ever say that you are an
"English Tradition". Your statement of origin should
always go something like " We are from Devonshire, round
about Tilvertown" or some such. Check out Rand McNally's
World Atlases for this task; they are the clearest and easiest to
use.
2.
A LIBRARY OF BACKGROUND READING: YOUR OCCULT KNOWLEDGE BASE!
NOW, you need to hit the library! The best thing you can do for
yourself, and your new ancient Tradition, is to READ good books
about Traditional Witchcraft, and be ready to discuss your
favorite aspects of these books with people who may ask pesky
questions about your Tradition. Why? To begin with, a real book
with lots of information in it gives you a great tool for
misdirecting people's questions and changing the subject. But
more than that, there may be times when you have to seem a touch
knowledgeable- So you should, at LEAST, select three books from
the following list, and REALLY read them!
To be well read is useful for other reasons as well- when all
else fails, it's never so bad (and not even totally untrue) to
claim that the larger portion of your knowledge comes from
"old sources" (and most of these books certainly
qualify as 'older sources'.)
NOTE: DO NOT read anything by the Farrars, by Margaret Murray,
Gerald Gardner or Doreen Valiente, nor should you use ANY term or
idea that they introduced! You will be accused of being Wiccan by
other Genuine Traditional Witches. As you will soon learn, your
greatest enemy in the world of Traditional Witchcraft is NOT
Wiccans, but the other Genuine Traditional Witches out there who
will be out to prove how Fake you are! Don't make it easy on
them! Keep your cards close to your chest, keep the
"Family" or the "Tradition" a bit scattered
around and keep certain key teachers and family members dead,
keep your secret sources firmly protected by unspeakable Oaths,
and you will seem more real than they are!
GENERAL BOOK LIST FOR ALL TRADITIONS, REGARDLESS OF
CULTURAL BIAS:
(Select at least 2)
THE WHITE GODDESS by ROBERT GRAVES
THE GOLDEN BOUGH by FRAZER
THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM by SPREGER AND KRAMER
ANYTHING by ALIESTER CROWLEY (don't worry, you
won't use his works on any obvious level, because you are a witch
after all, not a ceremonial magician- but Crowley's metaphysics
are important- and just think, as much as he confuses you,
imagine how much he will confuse others when you misquote him and
take credit for it!)
A WITCH ALONE by MARIAN GREEN
CULPEPPER'S HERBAL
THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE AND THE PSYCHE by
CARL JUNG
EARTH MYSTERIES by PHILIP HESELTON
THE BIBLE (yes, read the Bible, preferably one
in older English- later you may need a source for authentic
sounding old phrases, and the closer it sounds to some well-worn
verse in the bible, the more authentic it will sound outright to
the ears of most listeners)
ANYTHING by ANDREW CHUMBLEY (you had best know
his writings- they are in vogue for ANY tradition of Traditional
Craft worth the name! Also, they capture the creepy feel (more on
that later) that all Genuine Traditions have to have.)
FOR CELTIC TRADITIONS:
(select at least 3)
ROWAN TREE AND RED THREAD by THOMAS DAVIDSON
THE DICTIONARY OF CELTIC MYTHOLOGY by PETER
BERESFORD ELLIS
THE FAIRY FAITH IN CELTIC COUNTRIES by
EVANS-WENTZ
A GUIDE TO GLASTONBURY'S TEMPLE OF THE STARS by
KE MALTWOOD
MAGIC ARTS IN CELTIC BRITAIN by LEWIS SPENCE
THE BOOK OF THE TAKING OF IRELAND by Various
translators
THE MABINOGION trans. by LADY CHARLOTTE GUEST
THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH by KIRK
CARMINA GADELICA by CARMICHAEL
THE BOOK OF DRUIDRY by ROSS NICHOLS (no, Druidry
is not Witchcraft- but it IS Celtic- and this book is a treasure
trove of cool Druidic terms that you can put through the
Tradition Creator, and come up with a corrupted 'Genuine Witch'
term.)
FOR ENGLISH OR GERMANIC TRADITIONS:
(select at least 3)
THE DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH FOLKLORE by J SIMPSON
THE POETIC EDDA trans. by LEE M HOLLANDER
CALL OF THE HORNED PIPER by NIGEL JACKSON
MASKS OF MISRULE by NIGEL JACKSON
ECSTASIES: DECIPHERING THE WITCHES SABBATH by
CARLO GINSBURG
GERMANIA by TACITUS
THE WORKS OF THE VENERABLE BEDE
WITCHDOM OF THE TRUE by EDRED THORSSON
MYTHS OF THE NORSEMEN by GUERBER
3.
THE TITLES HELD BY THE TRADITION MEMBERS, HIERARCHY, AND FAMILY
Now, let's get this hard part out of the way. At this point, you
have to decide who you are in your Tradition, and what you will
be called, as well as what everyone will be called who will be
running the tradition with you. If you will be in charge of the
Tradition alone, with no vice-councils, cords, elders, or
associates, then this task is fairly simple. The more involved
you allow others to be, the more thought out this will have to
be. Also, by this point, you need to make a VERY important
decision about your Tradition- is it FAMILY BASED or is it simply
an initiatory tradition?
A "Family Based" tradition indicates that long ago,
many members of your family were active members of this
tradition. As time passes, of course, people leave the family-
drop off, die, "get out" of the Authentic Craft for
their own personal reasons (conversion to Christianity,
Banishment by other witches, or True Love for a Non- Witch are
the usual reasons, and you should feel free to use any or all of
them) but no matter what, by the modern day, your
"Family" should not be comprised of any practicing
members aside from yourself, and MAYBE two others. Now, there can
ALWAYS be RUMORS of others, practicing far away, or in distant
families that are related to yours- but under no circumstances
should these people ever be mentioned in anything other than
passing!
The "Family Tradition" is the usual arrangement of most
modern Traditional Witches. With enough skill, and with enough
excuses, you can seem as though you come from quite a long line
of witches! Such a thing is important in the highly competitive
world of Genuine Traditional Witchcraft.As we will cover below,
your decision to have a `Family Tradition" will influence
the titles you will want to use.
NOTE: If you opt to have a "Family Tradition", you
must be CERTAIN that the person who inducted you into the Craft
is DEAD or GONE somehow, in such a way that they can never be
contacted again! The importance of this cannot be underscored
enough! For the sake of believability, NEVER allow your MOTHER,
FATHER, or ANY GRANDPARENT to have inducted you into your Craft!
That is old news, and everyone tries to claim that. If you can,
always have an aunt or uncle do it, or better yet, a "friend
of the family", who was distantly related. If you don't want
to kill them off, that is fine- just say that they converted to
Christianity and TOTALLY refuse to talk about the Craft anymore,
or say that they live far away, and you have lost contact with
them, totally. Death, when used too much, becomes unbelievable,
so don't overuse it.
Another drawback of the Family Tradition is that you cannot just
let anyone into your working groups! If a person isn't family,
and if you wish to seem authentic, you will have to find a reason
to allow people in- and that usually means long rituals of
marriage, of "spiritual adoption" and the like. Family
Traditions don't seem authentic if they just let anyone in.
A more urbane option is to go the NON-FAMILY route. The benefit
of having a NON-FAMILY tradition is FLEXIBILITY. A group of
unrelated people, scattered across the map, and possibly dating
back several hundred years is pretty believable, particularly
when there is a good amount of Cool Craft Terminology behind
them! Also, when your own parents and sisters and brothers claim
to know nothing about your "witchcraft", you can always
say that the Tradition that initiated you swore you to secrecy
never to tell your family, or that you simply opted not to tell
your family, out of respect for their feelings. The Non-Family
tradition also can admit practically anyone with a simple
initiation ritual, and so that is a plus.
If your Tradition will be a FAMILY tradition, you will have a
family- like structure, but, as mentioned above, you will be
alone and in charge of your own business, using the family craft.
You will have to discourage people who come seeking admission
into your mysteries, because as a FAMILY tradition, you cannot
just accept non-blooded members without long years of training,
followed by marriage or adoption rites.
If your Tradition will be a NON-FAMILY tradition, then you can
have a more free structure, as well as easier admission rituals.
A NOTE ABOUT HIERARCHY: Don't kid yourself. You aren't
anything in the world of Genuine Witchcraft if you aren't in
CHARGE. Don't forget it! ALWAYS give yourself the highest title
in your tradition, (or at least in your branch of the Tradition)
and NEVER try to seem "authentic" by being humble! If
you let people, they will snatch your tradition from you! Be the
King or Queen of the Witches, and be proud of it. Just don't
overdo it- wield your magic and mystery with quiet mystery and
firm, dark stares.
A NOTE ABOUT INDUCTING PEOPLE INTO YOUR TRADITION: Don't kid
yourself. If you can help it, always see that it takes years and
years to get people "fully" into the tradition, whether
it be a Family Tradition or a Non-Family tradition. The last
thing you need is too many people being fully "inside"
your tradition, because they will inevitably begin to feel
entitled to see deeper secrets and materials, or to meet higher
ups or other members, which may or may not (usually won't) exist.
This could be the beginning of the end for your Tradition.
NOW: Select your titles. You should NEVER use silly things like
"Lord" or "Lady"- that sounds too Wiccan.
Never use general things like "High Priest" or
"High Priestess"- that is just cheesy. Always go with
strange but magnificent sounding things.
CELTIC FAMILY TRADITIONS:
(Titles for leaders, or any officers, equivalent to
"High Priest or Priestess", with mysterious
pronunciation)
DERWEN (dur win)
OAKCLAS (ohk lus)
SCEITH (skayth)
CRITHACH (cwithak)
GREAT DRIS (grayt drees)
GILCOCH (gilkosh)
CARTHANN (carthan)
BENWYCK (benwick)
TAIBSHEAR (tayshar)
RHI (male) (ree)
GUIDMAN (good man)
RHIA (female) (reeuh)
IUN DIUS (male) (Yoon deeus)
IUN DIA (female) Yoon deeuh)
YRRDIN (ear din)
FILITH (fuh-lee)
NOTE: Now, you CAN use the generic term "ELDER" by
itself, if you like; sometimes, it is surprisingly effective. But
leave it be- don't have a "great elder" or the like.
The Rest of the Family:
For the rest of the family, you have to have an order of command
that comes from the highest ranking members. This is normally
accomplished by the use of CORDS.
CORDS YOU SAY?
Yes, Cords. "Cord" is the term used by practically all
Genuine Witches to refer to teachers or mid-range family members,
as well as to the action of "binding" a lower ranking
family member to them. If you can talk about who you are
"corded" to, you will tend to sound quite authentic.
Also, to BE a Cord means that you are a spokesperson for the one
above you in the Family Tradition- to be Corded to your Benwyck
that lives in British Columbia is a great honor!
For mid-range titles, always try to use simpler sounding things
than the titles suggested above for leaders. Select from the
following list:
CORD
CLAITH
CLED
FECK
KNOT
LIPPEN
SUMMONER
THACK
DRYMEN
COMAN
CLEG
GROG
FITH
These will be the "Teachers" and representatives of the
Family. You can use more than one of these names, and create a
"Grade" system in the family, if you need some red tape
to help cover you. Example: when people try to climb into your
Family Tradition, you, as a Lippen, will have get the Carthann to
approve another opening for a Cled!
Names for People who want to join:
People will want to join the Family! But don't go with
"Seeker" or some other crap like that. That is WAY too
used up. Try some other title. "Probationer" is good,
as is "Postulant" or "Learner".
GERMANIC FAMILY TRADITIONS:
(Titles for leaders, or any officers, equivalent to
"High Priest or Priestess", with mysterious
pronunciation)
DRYTEN (Driten)
ANDVA (ahn wa)
TAUTIS (totis)
GODMAN male (godman)
GODA (female) (gohda)
MAGISTER
MAGISTRA (female)
WROTH (roth)
WROTHEA (female) (roth eh uh)
HEOLH (hyol)
MAGALESIUS (mag uh lay see us)
FIRST FOOT
GOODMAN
IRMIN (ear men)
DRAKEN
CAULD LAD or CAULD LADY
NOTE: Now, you CAN use the generic term "ELDER" by
itself, if you like; sometimes, it is surprisingly effective. But
leave it be- don't have a "great elder" or the like.
The Rest of the Family:
For the rest of the family, you have to have an order of command
that comes from the highest ranking members. As in the Celtic
families, This is normally accomplished by the use of CORDS. See
the discussion on Cords above for more information.
For mid-range titles, as above, you should still always try to
use simpler sounding things than the titles suggested above for
leaders. Select from the following list:
CORD
KNOT
GOWKS
DREST
GROG
KUNNER or CUNNER
KREET
WITHY
SUMMONER
PIN
YEWSTOR
These will be the "Teachers" and representatives of the
Family. You can use more than one of these names, and create a
"Grade" system in the family, if you need some red tape
to help cover you. Example: when people try to climb into your
Family Tradition, you, as a Cord, will have to get the Cauld Lad
to approve another opening for a Grog!
Names for People who want to join:
People will want to join the Family! But don't go with
"Seeker" or some other crap like that. That is WAY too
used up. Try some other title. "Prentice" is good, as
is "Novice" or "Questi".
FOR ALL NON-FAMILY TRADITIONS:
Using the Titles given above, based on your tradition's cultural
bias, construct an "Initiatory Grade System",
comprising not more than 4 grades, with any combination of the
above names, or even your own original names, for each grade- and
have a ritual induction (which you should never REALLY perform)
between each grade. Typically, the fewer grades, the better. Your
Probationers should really WANT to get their 1rd degree
initiation, and become Grogs or Withys, or Cords- but there
should always (within reason) be something else they will need to
do to qualify. If you EVER do allow someone to have title and
power in your Tradition, MAKE THE DECISION CAREFULLY, because you
will NOT be able to talk your way out of it when you have a
falling out with them, and have to "take back" what the
"ancestors" decided or what the "family"
decreed. If you let someone in, then they should be there to
stay. Only Banish them from your Tradition, (which includes
stripping them of their titles, powers, and then publicly denying
that you EVER gave them the "real" Family or Tradition
secrets) if they become a threat to your authority, or if they
come close to discovering the truth about your Genuine
Tradition.You should learn personal, embarrassing things about
each person in your tradition as early as you can, when you still
have their full trust, so that you can belittle them and ridicule
them later in public, thus destroying their credibility, before
they can attempt to denounce you and your Genuine Tradition.
4.
THE GODS OR SPIRITS HONORED BY THE TRADITION, as well as THE
"FEEL" of the TRADITION
Now, select the various spirits or gods and powers that your
Tradition Honors. You can select anywhere from one to four, but
try not to go above that. The more obscure and odd sounding or
looking the name is, the better; never forget that. Do NOT choose
well known gods or goddesses, for any reason. DO NOT use popular
Wiccan God or Goddess names!
GENERAL SPIRITS OR GODS FOR ANY TRADITION
Anyone can use these; the more mysterious and undefined they
are, the better.
The Land Spirits
The Spirits of the Dead
The Spirits of the Three Stones
"The Great One"
"The Unseen One"
The All
The Hand of the Waters
The Sky Spirits
"Him"
"Her"
"Old Lady"
"Old Man"
"Goodman" or the "Guidman"
Feel free to use any of these above as titles for the Gods or
spirits below.
GODS AND SPIRITS- CELTIC CULTURAL BIAS
EOCHAID, a sky god "All Father" type
FINDBAIRE, a love goddess
FANDA, a faery queen
TALWYTHY, a great faery king
SACRA, a great land goddess
MORCA, an ancient male All Father spirit
DANAN, an ancient mother goddess
CWM CALWYD, an ancient forest spirit in the form of an owl
RHITTA, a giant all-father of the mountains
BEIRA, a great mother goddess of winter
CEUGANT, a "beyond" spirit above all gods
BRIAREUS, a guardian spirit
AULD CLOOTIE MOORLAN, horned god of the moors
RHIANN, a great mother goddess
CRUITH, a spirit of the wilderness
LLU, a god of Light.
ANKOU, the god of the dead
BELUTACADROS, a god of vengance
POUCA, a mischief spirit
TARVAS, a sky god of rain and thunder
CALLYEC, a goddess of witches
ANDRASIA a goddess of nature
GODS AND SPIRITS- GERMANIC CULTURAL BIAS
OLD NICK, or NICKAR, an all father
DUMUS, a horned all father
ROBIN, horned all father
HOU, all father god
JANIUS, oak spirit
MAMILON, all father
LUCYFUR, god of light
TERMAGENT, sky father
HORNE, horned god of forests
ANDRAS, forest father
HEROUDIAS, night goddess
HABONDIA, goddess of sexuality
YERDA, earth mother
HEITHA, fire goddess
ROBIN GOODFELLOW, mischief god
WURM, great earth serpent
DEMOZEE, earth mother
THE DEVIL, (old standby name for the TRUE god, which terrifies
Wiccans and Christians alike)
GODA, earth mother
ERTAL, Goddess of children
LULL, goddess of spinning
FRICA, Goddess of fate
The Feel of Your Tradition:
How should we come off?
There is only one "feel" for a Genuine Witch Tradition
- SPOOKY. It's got to be SCARY if it is going to be good! People
tend not to believe the new age "soft pink light" crap-
so stick with a real Tim Burton feel, if you want to gain
attention from like-minded people. We aint Wiccans, so we aint
got no "laws of karma" or "rules of three"
that stop us from doing wicked, harmful magic- so gather the
Cords about you, invoke the name of terrible Belutacadros, or of
Old Nick, and call down the wrath of the Gods onto your enemies!
Do it amidst a fallow field at night, in late autumn, in front of
a crackling fire, and do it with as much dog-Latin as you can
sneak in, because rule one of "Feel" is that LATIN
ALWAYS WORKS in ANY TRADITION. And it just sounds scary, when
chanted, forwards or backwards! Invest in a good Latin
dictionary. If you are going for an even more authentic sound,
try to get a good Gaelic or German dictionary, and remember-
WHISPER or SCREECH your invocations, so that no-one who hears you
will be able to tell that you don't actually speak these
languages. Such a thing may call your credibility into question.
HOWEVER, remember- it is the non-family traditions that tend to
be "scary" in the sense that Masonic-like organizations
tend to be a bit secretive and cool. Family Traditions tend away
from the hard- core gothic thing, and tend to be more on the
"rural" or "rustic" side- so if you are
running a Family Tradition, try to be more on the
"woodsy" side, and try to radiate an aura of peace,
calm, and the eternal wisdom of the Land.
Are we Witches?
That depends on you. Most of the time, just to spite the Wiccans,
yes, you will call yourself, and the members of your tradition,
Witches. But you don't have to be- it can sound more "old
country" or "authentic" to use such titles as
"Cunning Man/Woman, Cunner, Witcher, Pellor, Fleckflyer, Red
Coat, Green Coat, Wisard, `Good People', Fee, or
"Knower." Use your imagination.
Where there ever "Burning Times"? Should we
discuss them?
Not just no but HELL NO! Don't even bother talking about that new
age garbage. Neither you, nor any member of your family close to
you, has ever been burned to death for their beliefs, and don't
try to act all upset about the fact that some people that you
never knew were burned to death back in the middle ages- that
will mark you as a new age fake.
5. THE WORKING
AREA TERMINOLOGY
You will need to decide now what your working areas will be
called. Remember, we NEVER CAST CIRCLES. Avoid the terms
"Cast" and "Circles" in the same sentence!
Your standard working area is called a: (choose one or
two)
HEDGE-GROUND
COMPASS
RING
ENSORCLE
CROSSED PLACE
KORRY
LINN
WITCHROADS
BOUR
ELDSTEAD
BRAE
WHITE FIELD
SPIRIT YARD
WINNOCK
MILL
GIRD
STANG SPATE
HOWEN
6.
THE WORKING TOOL TERMINOLOGY AND KEY RITES
Genuine Traditional Witches NEVER use Pentacles, Athames,
Chalices, or Wands. That is ceremonial magic bunk, that Wicca
ripped off! Choose how many "working tools" your
tradition will use, (never more than 6, or your believability
starts to suffer) and then find a suitable name for each one from
the following lists:
BLADED TOOLS like knives and swords:
ARTHAME
SCUTHERACH
CLAEF
DIRK
GLAIVE or GLAIF
HIE-HERT
DULE
COULTER
ELSHIN
CUPS or CAULDRONS:
CAUDLE
BOOL
HEITH-BOWL
SLOCK
KIRN-CUP
BANE POT
KETTLE
STUNE
CUP
DROOTH
STANGS:
NOTE: DO NOT USE THE TERM "STANG"- as popular and
genuine as it may be, you will seem like something of a copy-cat.
Try any of the variants below- remember, a slight variation of
spelling will help make you seem authentic.
STONG
NIDITH POLE
AWLLON
STAVE
THORNED POLE
CLOOTIE POLE
STIRK
PLATES AND DISHES (like pentacles):
PANTACLE
AIKEN
PATEN
BERE PLATE
GROAT
KIST
LAPSTANE
FARL
LAP
CORDS and STRINGS OR ROPES:
CORD OF NINE KNOTS
LOOPTEN
SHIRL
TACKTIE
MAUKIN SKIN
SAUL STRING
CANNA
SKRYING MIRRORS:
KEEKSTANE
SEEING STONE
AUROR
SCREEBOW
NOCHT-YONT
KEY RITES:
Every tradition worth it's name has a "central rite"
for its canon of rituals. Since most of your meetings (if you
have any) will consist of talking about all sorts of nonsense
with the freaks you attract, and never really get into any deep
operations or workings, all you need is the names of one or two
key rituals that you can always refer to. Chiefly, some form of a
"Cake and Ale" ritual is needed- although it should
NEVER be called that. Along with it, there should be some
"unspeakable" high level ritual that only a
"few" could ever perform, and you can use it as a
perpetual excuse for why you can't be somewhere or do something-
your outstanding preparations for it won't permit.
MINOR RITES, INCLUDING THE SACRED MEAL RITUAL and OTHERS:
(pick one or two)
THE KOUZIE RITE (a sacred meal)
THE FEAST (another meal)
THE GREEN PILLARS (another meal)
THE DUSTING OF THE SALLOW SHOE (minor rite for banishing)
THE THREE WINDS (weather rite)
THE FLATBREAD WINNING (sacred meal)
THE GRIST MEAL (sacred meal)
THE BADGER HYMN (a curse)
THE THREE PINS WORKING (for anything)
WAYLAND'S WATCH (a protection charm)
THE RED FELLIN STONE (a spirit charm)
THE WAYS BETWEEN WINBROOKE (for anything)
THE NETTLE BED (all purpose charm)
THE LOOPED CORD RITE (a curse)
THE THREE KNIVES (a curse)
THE COIN AND THE MIRROR (a divination)
PRESSING THE MILL (all purpose charm)
WASSAIL (a blessing)
POWLER (a minor curse)
THE RIBBLE AND THE TEES (a spirit charm for healing)
THE DEER'S LEAP (a general charm)
MAJOR RITES OF TERRIBLE POWER WHICH MUST NOT BE SPOKEN
OF: (pick only one! You never need to explain what they
do, only leave the idea open that a person achieves great power
from them.)
THE MAN IN THE TREE WORKING
THE WILLOW TINE
THE PARSON'S PISGIE
MALEK TOUS
WHITSUN STONG RITE
PUTTING UP THE WITCH POST
THE WREN'S WORK
SEASON OF THE RUDDOCK
LAMBTON LANG
THE HERON MASS
THE WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN
LONG LANES BELOW THE HILLS
THE FINAL WORK
FINDING THE DAME
THE DEVILS DOOR
THE BRIGHTEST STAR COME TO EARTH
7.
MYSTERIOUS PHRASES AND CODE WORDS
Nothing quite defines a Genuine Tradition of Witchcraft more than
the constant yet controlled use of Mysterious Phrases and Code
Words, which have a suitable "Witchy" feel to them.
Now, to be certain, these phrases don't have any actual standard
meaning, especially not to you- but they sure make you sound like
you have been around the Genuine Traditional Witch block a few
times when you drop them in conversation. The best part about
them is that OTHER Genuine Traditional Witches will hear you use
them, and since they would rather not admit (due to their pride)
that there is some "inside phrase" that they don't
know, they will certainly go along with you, and engage you in a
long, pseudo-intellectual conversation, in which even more of
these phrases and words can be stacked, resulting in a very
synergistic "I play off you, you play of me"
conversation between the two of you. At the end of your talk with
the other Genuine Traditional Witch, the listeners around you
should have been dazzled by the sheer witchy brilliance of your
conversation, and by your great occult knowledge.
So, select as many as the following phrases and code words as you
like, and make sure that you drop them into conversation as often
as possible. These phrases and Codes can apply to practically any
aspect of Genuine Traditional Craft - they can be the code names
of workings, the names of techniques, or just the names used to
refer to even more mysterious subjects. The following Codes and
Witchy Words are collected from many modern Genuine Traditional
Witches who are working today, as well as from other cool
sources.
THE MANNER OF THE ANCESTRAL BROOD
THE MOUND
WORKING THE MOUND NORTHWAYS
THE MILL
THE LAND, TREE AND CROSSROADS
THE SKULL AND THE SWORD
THE WITCHES BROOD
THE WITCH MOTHER
THE WITCH FATHER
THE UNHOLY HOST OF THE DRAGON/SERPENT
THE BLACK SUN
THE DEVIL
THE TOAD BOOK
THE WORK IN THE GRAVEYARD
THE BONE AND THE BLOOD
FAERIE ANCESTORS
THE SLEEPERS
ANCESTRAL SPIRITS WITHIN THE LAND
THE RED THREAD
THE TITAN OLD `UNS
AULD NECROMANCY OF THE SPELLING CROSS
THE COMPASS AND THE MOAT
INGRESS TO THE MOUND
SCULL AND BONE WORK
TREADING THE MILL
THE BONE FLUTE
SABBATIC DREAM WORK
SABBATIC TRANCE
WORTCRAFT
THE BLACK RIDER
CROSSED ROADS
THE BELL TREES
OLD TUBAL CAIN
THE IRON CAULDRON AND THE KEY
FIRE CAULDRON WITHIN A WATER CAULDRON.
THE HEXSTAR OF THE CAULDRON
BLOODY FURROWED LAND OF KAIN
THE BLACK STONE
THE OLD WOMAN FROM THE STARS
THE HEARTHSTONE OF THE BROOD
RED EARTH AND BREAD
CAVE-SIDE TO HEL
THE TREE AND COMPASS
THE GREEN STONE
THE CROMM STONE
THE GOD STONE
THE HEARTHSTONE
THE STAR STONE
THE SERPENT STONE
THE HAG STONE
THE STONE OF LIFE
STIRRING THE STARS
RAISING THE BLACK FIRE
THE CAVE AND BONE
SLIP BETWEEN THE HEAD AND TAIL
WATCH AND WARD
CONQUERING THE DRAGON
BLOOD INCANTATION
8.
ORIGINAL, CLEVER 'SIGN OFFS' AND GREETINGS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Now, here is where you add the real fire! Aside from mysterious
words and phrases that make you look real witchy, few things
announce your status as a Genuine Traditional Witch more than a
Clever `sign off' or greeting for the letters you will write!
You should always strive to be original. Having said that, it is
just as important to get the other Genuine Traditional Witches
out there to recognize you quickly, and open up to you, if they
are so inclined- and nothing does that like using a recognized,
bona fide Traditional Witch "sign off", the most
popular of which I will list for you. But don't stop there!
Evolve a few new ones, so that you can add to your air of
mystery.
COMMON GENUINE WITCH SIGN OFFS:
FFF
The famous Cochranite sign-off, it stands for "Flags, Flax,
and Fodder". Some Genuine Witches in Europe started adding
another "F", making FFFF- that last "F"
standing for Frigg, the Norse Goddess of Marriage. Why did they
do this? Who cares! They have the right spirit- just change
things, add to things, and let others wonder at your mysterious
motivations. You might get famous.
"HEART IN HAND"
The second most recognizable and famous Traditional Witch sign
off- this one is most suitable for you if you are claiming to be
a Celtic- based Family tradition. Sign your letters with it, and
watch how fast they come to you asking "where does your
family come from?"
ANY COMBINATION OF "H" WORDS:
Such as "Hoof and Horn", or "Hare and Hound"
or the "Heart in Hand" given above.
Face it. Any alliterative combination of two words, especially
animals or animal parts, is a good Witchy sign off. Don't hold
back.
You can create your own! And you should, especially if you are to
be running a never-before heard of Tradition. Any mysterious
combination of letters is good, but avoid "F's" for
obvious reasons. It can ALWAYS stand for something that you need
never explain to anyone except the highest initiates of your
group, and even then, if you play your cards right, you never
need worry about allowing anyone to advance that high in your
group. Aside from letters, or even numbers, (although numbers
should be used sparingly, and try to work in colons), try natural
features or landscape features, animals, and weird never-before
heard of words. If all else fails, use Latin phrases.
EXAMPLES:
IN THE RED WIND
BY THE TREE OF THE ROOD
MASTER'S GENIUS : JANOS :3L
HART AND HALLOW
CLEEKIT DRUMLIE:
LLL
PAX PLEROMAE
XVX
TAIL AND TALLEY
HORNS OVER DOVER
COCKEREL AND HEN
WINTER STARS
HORNET AND HEDGEHOG
IN THE DREAM OF THE OAK
BY THE ANCIENT DAFFIN
9. PRAYER
AND INVOCATION FRAGMENTS
One of the most convincing things you can do to prove that your
Genuine Traditional Witch group is the real deal is to produce an
`ancient' (or just `old') fragment of a prayer or invocation.
Now, you don't have to claim (and indeed, you should not claim)
that this fragment goes back to pre-christian times. You should
ALWAYS perpetually remind EVERYONE who will listen how the true
"OLD WAYS" (or use the alternate spelling AULD WAYS if
you wish to seem a touch more Scots) actually survived LONG into
the Christian period. That way, it is far more believable that
you should have come across (or had your family give you) this
piece of Genuine Lore.
In the case of a Family Tradition, the lore most often come from
one of two places, both of which are easy to obfuscate- firstly,
from the long dead or gone Initiator, or from the very protected
and secret Family Tome or Grimoire, which no one, not even you
perhaps, can see, without the permission of the highest levels of
the family.
To make a believable Fragment, go to either Carmina Gadelica or
Rowan Tree and Red Thread (for Celtic Traditions) or to the
Poetic Edda (for Germanic Traditions). Select some old verse, and
"chop it up", adding a few glosses of your own. Leave
whole words or sentences out, but make sure you note that some
"untranslatable" passage was there. The older the
language used in the original, the better.
EXAMPLE:
AN ANCIENT HALLOWMAS INVOCATION FROM MY FAMILY
TRADITION'S TOME
"Kimmer can milk [missing passage] loan of Kye-
Ye sit at the ingle [missing] snug and dry
Kimmer the brown coate o poor bonnie made,
Whan than she posted to the [untranslatable passage]last
Hallowmas Rade…"
10.
THE HOLY YEAR or SACRED DAYS OF THE TRADITION
If you've made it this far, keep your chin up; you are almost
done. This part is not difficult. It's really a matter of common
sense.
The most flagrant and abominable mistake that those cheeseball
Wiccans make is to pack their year full of pagan festivals which
come from all over the continent of Europe. Since Wicca
(originally at least) had a British flavor, they went for every
Germanic and Celtic festival that they could cram into a year-
that ended up being eight festivals- four Celtic, such as
Samhain, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Imbolc, and four
Anglo-Saxon/Germanic- The Summer and Winter Solstices, and the
Equinoxes.
DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE, or you will blow your carefully
crafted Grey Magic cover. You have to use the "pick four,
delete one" tactic.
IF your tradition is Celtic, You follow the Four "High Holy
Days" of Samhain on November 1, Beltane on May 1, Imbolc on
February 1, and Lughnasadh on August 1. BUT- you should NEVER try
to follow ALL of them in one year. You should Always DELETE ONE.
The theory is that your Tradition realistically never could have
"survived" in anything other than a partially
fragmented form- so that one festival has been dropped out only
makes sense. Once you have selected which festival you will axe,
replace it with some never-before heard of "local
festival" from the place that your tradition Roots from- and
NEVER place that new festival on the same day as the missing
festival. Try to place it a few weeks Before or After. If you
want to go for "Ultra Fragmented" traditional feel,
drop out two festivals or holy days.
If your tradition is Germanic in cultural bias- you will follow
the Solstices and the Equinoxes- but as above, axe one, and then
add one or two other minor festivals that will make the wheel of
your year look as "fragmented" and
"non-traditional" as possible, from the new age point
of view- trust me, in this case, "Non Traditional" IS
"Traditional".
11. THE NAME OF
THE TRADITION
And now, for the Grand Finishing Touch: The Name of your
Tradition.
No other quality or attribute of your Tradition is as important
as the Name. Sometimes, it's what you DON'T say about your
tradition's designation that matters. Let's face it: the chances
of a tradition having a "name" passed down from long
ago are not good. In most cases, you will want to call your
"Tradition" one of the following things, whenever
people ask you what you "do" or what "Tradition
you belong to".
"My Family's Ways"
"The Old Rites"
"The Elder Rite"
"The Old Ways"
"Cunning Craft"
"Owld Cunner Road, man…"
"Wise-Craft"
"The Old Persuasion"
"The Old way a' seein it"
"The Crooked Road"
"The Crooked Path"
"The Hooks and Crooks"
Some such name as above should suffice- but for some of you, only
an official NAME will do. And picking this name is the work of
genius, when it is done properly.
To begin with, work some (usually one or two) of the Cool Craft
Terminology words that you chose back during this process of
creating your tradition- and mix them together into a Title.
Sometimes you can add a descriptive color or landscape feature to
it. Here is an example.
In Dave's Tradition, he chose to work with three tools- a sword,
called a COULTER, a Scrying Mirror called an AUROR, and a Stang
called an AWLLON. When he makes a working area, it is called an
ENSORCLE. Using these Cool Terms, Dave creates the name "AUR
AWLONIAN TRADITION". He could just have easily used
"COULTER AMBER AWL TRADITION"or the like.
If you can, work some seasonal reference into the name. The
"AWLLON ROOD" Tradition or just the
"ENSORCLEA" tradition. This gets easier as you go.
Are we a House or a Clan?
You should NEVER be a clan- don't bother with that. Leave that to
Scottish history buffs. Now a "House" has a slightly
baroque feel to it that can work, if you are smooth about it.
Take for instance "CLAN AWLLON ROOD" in the Above
example. That works. But remember- ambiguity and lack of
definition is the real flair of Genuine Traditional Craft. Never
over-do it.
AGE
The Last thing you have to decide is how old your tradition is.
Now, ostensibly, your tradition has no "beginning", as
it came from goodness-knows-when. But you will sacrifice your
credibility if you claim that. Instead, your tradition should be
about 2 or 300 years old- never more than 400, because you are
treading on thin water there. Most good Trads can date safely
back to the 17th century, at most. Don't push it. Don't get
greedy.
And with that, you are done. You have a tradition that will stand
the test of the other Genuine Traditional Witches, and the test
of time. I now part by offering you an example of a Genuine
Traditional Witch Tradition generated in its entirety by this
generator, to show you how it works. May all of the TRUE old Gods
of Genuine Witchery bless you and may you give those NEW AGE
FREAKS a run for their money!
EXAMPLE TRADITION: "THE AIKEN STONES RITE"
Jane's Family Tradition is from Cornwall, from the quaint
countryside between Bodmin and Padstow. She was `brought into the
Ring' by her Aunt, who later re-married and moved away, after a
falling out with her sisters. She's been out of touch these many
years. Jane's family mostly moved to the Americas years ago, and
Jane was born and raised there, in California. As time passed,
the family got away from its traditional ways- and one cousin
even let the move to big American cities get to his head, and
became an Episcopalian priest.
Unfortunately, his father was the keeper of the Family's notes
and ritual book, which was hidden in a Bible from at least 100
years ago- and this cousin refuses to speak of what he did with
the family's book. It's up to Jane to carry on the Tradition- and
the two distant cousins in Maine who still follow the Old Rite.
There are rumors that the last Sceith of the Family Tradition
still lived in Cornwall up until a few years ago- Jane is always
trying to make contact and see. As it is, she is the last bearer
of her family's tradition in California, and acts as the Cord of
her branch of the family. She was Corded to a man named Paul
Ludlow, who was the Cled of his line, under the Sceith, before he
passed away.
Jane doesn't take in new people who wish to learn her Family's
old ways- because they must be of the blood. As a result of this,
the family's ways are in danger of being lost.
Even though Jane's tradition is powerful, it has lost much lore
and become fragmented over the years. It teaches that a great
spirit called "The Old Man" reigns over the elements of
this world, who is aided in this task by a strange group of
beings called "The Spirits of the Three Stones". Beyond
them all is the great name of Sacra, who seems to be something of
a Mother Goddess, from some forgotten source in Cornwall. It is
in the name of Sacra that all things are made holy. When forced
to describe what her family "was", Jane says "we
were Pellors".
Jane was shown by her initiator how to erect the Ring, or the
Eldstead- a place blessed in Sacra's name to be used for the
rites of the Family. She was shown how to consecrate the Stong- a
ritual pole placed at the center of Eldsteads; Aikens, or ritual
plates to hold offerings of special cakes, and Shirls, the holy
cords that are knotted with sacred knots, holy to the Spirits of
the Three Stones and the Old Man.
Jane was shown how to do the sacred meal, called the Rite of the
Green Pillars, a meal shared with the Old Man himself- and for
other workings, the Looped Cord rite was used. Jane uses these
rites less and less as time passes, and memory fades. Only
whispered of was the ultimate rite to be performed amongst the
stones of Cornwall- The Whitsun Stong rite, which Jane was taught
in a hurry, and forced to take an oath never to teach another.
This rite was intended to bring about union with the Old Man, but
Jane knows little else about it.
Jane was also taught about the lost arts of the Scull and the
Sword, as well as the Cave and the Bone working- but without
others to help her, these have been difficult to do.
In the old days, Those who were in the know often greeted each
other "By Stong and Stoat"- or they just used the
letters S : S on their letters to each other.
Since Jane has no word on what has become of the family's
tradition book, she has no access to the old prayers and encoded
lore that was hidden in it. She still tries to reason with her
cousin, but he is too blind in his intolerant Christian faith to
help her or the family.
Jane still holds the two nights that her family once celebrated
as holy- the first night of May, and the first night of February-
old days upon which the powers of the light were celebrated, and
the Old Man grew powerful. There was also a harvest festival
called "Knuckeree's night" by her own parents,
celebrated in the middle of September. Jane still has a quiet
celebration on that day.
Jane's family has only ever referred to themselves as "Wise
Ones", practitioners of "Wise Craft"- but her own
initiator once told her that the old name of their Rite, back in
the last century when there was more of this type of thing
around, was the "Aiken Stones Rite."