Gardnerian

A magical tradition which was created by Gerald Gardner. 

According to the evidence, it is believed that Gerald Garner was the founder of the Gardnerian Wicca. He claimed to have learned the practices and beliefs from the new forest coven and he is believed to be the earliest creator of the Wicca. Wicca refers to a religion where those who practice it interact with the world on various levels which include: emotional, spiritual, and physical. Witchcraft being the craft of magic is different from Wicca; Wicca and witchcraft overlap with all witches not being Wiccans but all Wiccans being witches. The practice of witchcraft is part of the practice of Wicca.

The principal Wiccan fore founder that has created the landscape of magical practices that we know today. The tradition is the standard for Wiccans, although there have been many branches from this tradition since the 1950s. Gerald Gardner set forth his own tradition based on his studies and essentially created Wicca as a neo-pagan religion.

Gardnerian’s are a very secretive bunch and do not share their knowledge or rituals and due to this privacy their rituals and specific stylizations are sometimes a mystery. They organize under traditional rules and generally only have 13 members to their coven.

They have strict practices regarding magic and believe that certain rules and etiquette must be followed during circle and ritual. The Goddess and the Horned God are represented within their rites and magic is kept secret even from initiates, until they have passed to fully be brought into the coven.

While the tradition is private, it is in no way malicious.

The Gardnerian tradition is where the Wiccan Rede comes from and one of the tenants is Harm None.

The Gardnerian is a witchcraft tradition. There is the Gardnerian book of shadows which is popular. This branch of Wicca is from New Forest Coven. this was a coven of witches who were around in 1939. This is considered one of the earliest branches of Wicca. The Gardnerian Wiccans are associated with each other by joining a coven, they perform rituals and practices that are hidden away from other people. They generally like to remain secret and no-one knows they are a member.

The Gardnerian Wicca will not give the name of it’s members. It is considered secret. There are three levels of initiation, much like the freemasons. There are two deities which are the Mother Goddess (female) and the Horned God (male). They use both these in their rituals. Witches are not bad, like we see in films and movies, they generally work with an ethical code “Do what you like but do no harm. 

What Is Wicca All About?

When one talks about Wicca, it refers to a religion which is mysterious with every Wiccan is either a priest or a priestess. The dramas of the psyche are enacted for and by the benefits of the initiates, and that is why Wicca is referred to as a mystery religion. The concepts of the religion are mysteries and normally non-verbal, thus not communicated about. Some of the materials used during the rituals are under oath and they can never be revealed to the public.

During the initiation, the initiates have to pass through three degrees. Immediately they graduate from the first degree, they are independent to start being responsible for their spiritual development. The high priest helps the converts between the first and second degree to learn everything that there is to learn about their spirituality. Once they graduate to the second degree, they are supposed to take responsibility and also assist other new converts in developing; once they graduate from their third degree, they become fully integrated with the Gardnerian Wicca traditions.  

There are many variants in the modern initiatory which include Alexandrian, Gardnerian, and offshoots, but all of them share an adherence where they carry their rituals in a similar structure and practice of initiation.

Deeper into the Gardnerian Tradition

We have already mentioned that Gerald Gardner started this belief many years ago - in the 30’s. The Gardnerian tradition refers to the religion as taught by Gerald Gardner with his initiates which were passed from his original coven. It is a tradition which has been in practice for more than 50 years, making it be one of the oldest traditions of all times. Most practices are based on traditions  due to the fact that, Gardner has written many books on the Craft which are influencing the population. Among the several Wiccan traditions around the world, the Gardnerian are the highest.

Who is a Gardnerian?

It refers to a person who partakes a Gardnerian initiation which is administered by a person who  has the power to do so due to the way they are placed in the hierarchy of the Gardnerian and the elevations and initiations up to the top of the hierarchy while taking into account particular liturgy and specific teachings. Most Gardnerians are very secretive and serious about their Wiccan religion. This is due to the fact that the practice of the Gardnerian religion done by an administration of an oath which binds the initiates not to speak about it.  We hope you like this article, please like us on Facebook. Thank you in advance.