Hardly a day goes by that I am not asked about the differences in our tradition and the hundreds of others out there on the web. It is, at once, a very simple and a very complex answer. In reality, it really all depends upon your perspective and the kind of answer you are looking for.
Let me start by stating that, what we refer to as traditional witchcraft, the Old Ways, "The Craft" or Elder Craft, is not Wicca. I find that many are often highly offended when I tell them that we are not Wiccan. Because we have been known for centuries as witches and Wiccans call themselves witches, does not mean that we are the same. When someone tells me they are a witch, the first question that I ask is, "might I know your Mother"? More often than not, the answer is, "what do you mean?"
I have no animosity toward Wiccan's or anybody else for that matter. I have studied a number of different traditions and was very electic for many years. I still believe that all paths to Deity are valid. So in my comments, I mean no disrespect to anyone. Some of my favorite people are Wiccans and I gladly stand in circle with them as my brothers and sisters. They have their beliefs and we have ours. Neither is right or wrong. The Old Faith and Wicca are simply different things.
First of all, ours is an oral tradition that has been handed down over many generations. I believe that the misnomer is that "oral" means that one person sat down and taught a single student everything in a semi-formal lesson plan. This simply isn't how it works.
The term "oral tradition" means that the heart of the belief system is passed from generation to generation through the stories, myths and legends that each family uses to illustrate the lessons of life to its young. To our ancestors there was no separation between the mundane and spiritual life and even more importantly, no separation between this world and what is described as the Otherworld. They recognized that we are all part of a whole. The land was sacred and all life was sacred, as well. With a firm knowledge of life beyond death, there was no fear or superstitions about death. Everything was viewed in cycles and each thing related to another. If you meditate on these principles, you may come to glimpse the mindset that existed and the ways and reasons those things were done the way they were.
The ancient Irish, all the way up to modern times, did not write down instructions, formulas, and other "how to's" for the next generation to follow. These things are preserved in stories and in an oral tradition that likely, from their point of view, could be carried to the next phase of life in their heads, but not if they relied upon books for their resources. Their interaction with the world around them was, from our point of view, highly spiritual in their approach to everything. Because there was no separation, there was no "mundane".
Ritual was a way of life. There was a ritualized way to milk cows and a ritualized way to plant seeds and a ritualized way to build a stone wall and a ritualized way to cook food. These daily rituals kept them constantly in-tuned with their world and connected to the spirit of the land. They recognized the "magic" of the elements and worked with their physical attributes in a way that acknowledged their power and respected their ability to both construct and destroy. They understood that metals, water, rocks and other natural elements of the land all had their own individual energies. They knew where magnetic power centers were and how to access the natural portholes to the otherworld.
This was part of everyday life and the oral traditions we part of the everyday teaching that was done as father taught his son how to care for the cattle and how women taught their daughters about spinning and food storage. There are songs and poetry and stories about each of these activities that carry forward the ancient knowledge from one generation to another. What is now called "magical" was simply life in its triplicity, played out in the natural evolution of existence in a world where intervention by and communication with the Gods was normal and expected.
In our Family, we have coined a term to teach and instruct those who come to us seeking knowledge. We call it L.T.T.L. or "Look To The Language". There is a great deal to be learned from the ancient Irish language. Slight twists of meaning and blatant descriptions within the language point the way to supporting a great deal of our beliefs and practices. One such example is the meaning of the four directions. East means, in front of me. South means, to my right. West means, behind me or furthest from the door. North means, to my left or the wrong way. This describes the way one should go and the way to avoid.
The big differences between us and the neo-pagans are: We do not live by the Wiccan Rede or the Law of Three. We do not appear before our Goddess skyclad. We do not write or copy books of Spells and rituals. We do not sell our wisdom and knowledge in paperback books. We do not make public displays of ourselves or our powers.
What do we do? We bless and we curse. We heal and we kill. We honor and we serve. We are a people unto ourselves for it matters not who it is that does the work; it only matters that the work is done. Spirituality is part of the nature of traditional witches however, religion rarely is a factor. Personal growth, personal responsibility and personal duty are our motive. Honor is our creed and service is our path.
Whether a traditional witch is from a family who can trace their roots back 5 centuries or 5 generations is of little consequence. Some families have broken links because many have left their homeland and transferred to another continent only to pick up the tradition again years later when the call comes, the blood is stirred and the need arises. It is by our deeds that we are known. That you personally know us is totally irrelevant.
Many traditional witches have explored the new age of public identity. We have, in the hopes of enlightening the bright spirits of a new generation, explored the possibility of sharing some of the old knowledge directly. Most retreat right back into their lives of anonymity because of what they see happening in the pagan community. The most basic principles upon which the old ways are founded are exploited by the profiteers, perverted by the ignorant and slandered by the young. Until the next generation learns to respect their teachers, honor their elders and preserve the heritage, there is little that will be revealed except to the few exceptional students who are clever enough to see with more than eyes, hear with more than ears and understand with more than their intellect.
There are vast differences between the witches of the old ways and those who have adopted the identity without even so much as a passing thought to what it means to call yourself a witch. In my own family, the term witch was never used. It however, did not change the simple fact that the one who walks the path is; the one who seeks the path is yet to be.
