- GARDNERIAN WICA: The oldest of the Modern Witchcraft traditions originating when Gerald B. Gardner drew together elements of old witch lore he had received from the New Forest Coven, combined with Folklore and magical occult teachings and reformatted these within a structured system of ritual and esoteric initiation.
Prior to the publication of Gardner's books it would have simply been referred to as Witchcraft, the Craft of the Wise, or Wica. A number of Gardner's High Priestesses were also initiates of Hereditary or Traditionalist witchcraft (e.g. Eleanor Ray Bone and Cumbrian Witchcraft, Lois Bourne in a Norfolk Hereditary coven etc).
Others such as Doreen Valiente were connected to Magister based witchcraft groups such as Robert Cochranes Royal Windsor Cuveen, and the Coven of Atho. Some of this latter material has been passed on in various initiatory lines as part of the Gardnerian corpus. Overall it has a deeper, more pagan, earthy and folk-witchcraft
feel and pays less attention to Qabalistic, Hermetic, Enochian or Egyptian ceremonial magical systems or influences than Alexandrian Wicca.
- ALEXANDRIAN WICCA: The system of witchcraft developed by the English witch/magician Alex Sanders, with his then wife Maxine from the 1960's onwards. Originally based largely upon Gardnerian rituals and materials, with later additions from various magical and pagan sources and evolutions by Alex, Maxine and other elders, including Temple based rites. Upon their separation in 1973 Maxine continued to run a coven in London and train and initiate many further initiates while Alex moved to Sussex and taught a select number of personal students and undertook magical and trance workings with Derek Taylor. Although similar to Gardnerian Wica, this tradition has a more High Magic feel and a different emphasis and magical current (and inner plane contacts) than Gardnerian Craft.
- ENGLISH TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT: Our traditional witchcraft materials originate from the Covanentus Quercus (Covanent of the Oak), a 'traditional' Magister based English tradition said to have derived from Etchingham, East Sussex. Simon Goodman claims to have received this traditions' training during the 1960s and received the title of Magister after 5 years training. He later returned to England in the 1970's-1980's visiting Alex Sanders and studying the Books of Shadows and esoteric teachings of various Elders (Alexandrian, Gardnerian and Traditionalist). Much to Alex Sanders' disdain Simon referred to his synthesis of Wiccan and Traditional Witchcraft as "Pickingill Craft", in reference to Old George Pickingill, the (in)famous Witch Magister from Canewdon, Essex.
The other main source of traditional witchcraft material used within our Temple is from Robert Cochrane (Roy Bowers) including materials and teachings from his Clan of Tubal Cain (Royal Windsor Cuveen) .
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