Wicca is, in many ways, different from Traditional Witchcraft...

Paganism is a broad term used to describe all of the nature oriented religons that believe in both a Lord and a Lady (or a God and a Goddess) to some degree; In whatever form they may take on.

Wicca and Witchcraft are both forms of Paganism; but Wicca is not a form of Witchcraft.

Many Wiccan's practice magick, and may even go so far as to call themselves a "witch," but a Traditional Witch (who is a believer in Traditonal Witchcraft, not Wicca) will never call themselves a Wiccan.

To see more examples of the Wiccan Rede click here.

A follower of Tradional Witchcraft (not a Wiccan) does not follow any sort of rede. They believe in acting justly of course, and that one must accept the consequences of their actions when acting upon their own conscience. So the extent to their actions is not limited by anyone but themselves; but they must face what comes of those desicions. Therefore each Witch's limits are based within their own mind, judged by what they are willing to live with and accept. There is no good or evil, only the intent within each witch's heart, which of course, no one but them would know. Witchcraft teaches one to follow their heart and soul, to know their own intent, and to take responsibility for their actions.

Within Witchcraft, there is no three-fold law, but rather a concept referred to as "Returning Energy." For every action their is a reaction of some sort; however it may or may not be of the same type as the enery sent out, and it may or may not be equal. Once the energy is sent into motion, many different things may or may not happen to it while it is within its travels, and so the rection by be greater or less than the initial action. During this period of the energy seeking it's course, the energy could possibly be absorbed, deflected, transformed, enhanced, decreased or many other possible occurances. So it is not so much the energy itself that was sent that matters, for energy is not constant. The intent of the action when sent determines the kind of energy which is released when the act was committed, but not nessacarily what kind of energy that will return.

In Witchcraft one does not call upon the Watchtowers, but rather, summons Guardians into the circle. The may be called for each cardinal point as in Wicca, or may be allowed to roam freely within the circle. The Guardians may be only for protection, or they may be part of the ritual, depending upon the circumstances. Guardians are usally a spirit of some type that the Witch has a bond with. Guardians may be ancestors that the Witch has an affinity to, spirit guides, they may be elementals, or another type of spirit altogether. Not all traditions use Guardians, however it is normally a good idea to summon them.

In Wicca however, the book is referred to as a "Book of Shadows." The term is a referance to the burning times, and the need for secrecy of the religion, and thus a metaphor is made to practicing within the shadows. Normally the book is copyed from main Book of Shadows within the coven, or "The Great Book," and various personal spells and rituals as well as affirmations and notes of any sort are added to their own book by the individual. Making each book slightly different, however the main points remain the same within a coven. Sometimes it is used as a journal or diary within Wicca. A solitary prationer normally writes their own book completly,but may draw comman information from various texts.

In Witchcraft one learns about the various traditions of their homeland and/or ancestors, and drawing upon their own beliefs as well as the beliefs shared by their ancestors or peoples, finds those gods which relate to their personal way of thinking. They are worshipping the Lord and Lady that is everywhere in nature, though the persona of the gods they choose. At times the gods are seen as dieties beneath the Lord and Lady. However, when one decides to choose the Old Religon of their heritage and become a Witch, they design a self dedication ritual to dedicate themselves to their Gods. A dedication is when a person decides to worship the Gods, and learn the ways of Witchcraft. It is almost always written by the individual, though another dedication can be found and personalized for use as well. Dedicating one's self to the Gods is vary personal, and thus it us done alone.

Regardless of the tradition, within Witchcraft, there is usually always some form of initiation or rite of passage. It may or may not always be referred to as such. To become part of the tradition or part of the coven, one must undergo this Rite of Passage. For those that are a part of family traditions, these rites normally take place when an individual reaches specific times within their life cycle. For others, the rite of passage may be done after an individual has completed a a time of study along with specified tasks (normally a year and a day). During the Rite of Passage, or initation, the lineage is passed down to the next generation. The lineage is the line of "essence" which has passed from Witch to Witch for all the preceding generations. Also, during this time, certain secrets are revealed to the initiate. And sometimes the Naming seremonies take place, although in some traditions it is a seperate seremony altogether.

In Wicca, one goes through a self-initiation, similar to a dedication. Though at times an intitation is performed by a coven, most Wiccan's have self dedicated themself into Wicca, and undergo another (albeit similar at times) initation when joining a coven. However one need not join a coven to be intiated as a Wiccan. The initiation is not so much a dedication to the gods, but rather a ceremony reflecting what path one wishes to follow, and affirming themselves a a child of the Wicca faith in the Eyes of the Lord and Lady. They are acknowledging that they choose to abide by the Wiccan Rede, and that they are prepared to grow spiritually and learn. This differs from Witchcraft because it can be done alone, without any "secrets" or "linage" that is passed on, because it is being created by one's self.

However, in Witchcraft, many secrets and mysteries are kept very well guarded. The keeping of these secrets and/or mysteries is seen as something that is very important within traditional Witchcraft. There are some things that have not -and never will be- written within any book. Most often these secrets or mysteries are passed to a Witch during their rite of passage or initiation. For a Witch there is a great deal of seriousness that is associated with the oaths that are taken to guard these secrets. If certain things were revealed there would most often be very radical consequences that could affect the wellfare of the person that revealed them.

Within traditional Witchcraft, there is always some type of covering or adornment on the body when taking place in a ritual or attending a festival. Traditional Witches do not worship while skyclad, they consider it rude to go unadorned -or nude- before thier Gods. These coverings may be: ritual garments; normal clothes that have been accented in some way, or set aside, for worship; rituallistic tattoes; or the adding of pigments to one's body. A Witch may particapate in events of some type that require being nude for a duration of time within their lifestyle. However, when worshipping or when they take part in ritual they always cover or decorate their bodies in some type of manner. Certain rites may call for one's body to be marked with certain sigils, or to be covered with pigments in a certain type of prescribed manner; however, even though the body may not be "clothed", it is still adorned in some fashion.

Within Witchcraft, however, there is no concept of "Maiden, Mother, and Crone" as the triple deity. At times, the Gods and Goddesses often have three various functions. In some cases, there are three seperate names which are used to specificy one deity. In other cases three Gods or three Goddesses may grouped into a trinity. In the case of three functions, these three various functions specificy certain paths. A Witch will always only follow one of these paths, that they have choosen. Sometimes, in a time of need, they may decide to call upon their particular God/dess in reference to one of that deities other paths.