Alexandrian Witchcraft
(taken from a list)
Alexandrian Witchcraft
is named after its founder Alexander Sanders.
Sanders was the self proclaimed "King of the Witches". This craft
is
the second largest to come out of England. It has great emphasis on
cord magic and ceremonial magic. The worshipping is done skyclad, and
this path of Witchcraft is said to be strongest in Canada.
The Alexandrian tradition
of Wicca was established in the 1960s by
Alex Sanders, and his wife Maxine. Originally Alex was initiated into
a Gardnerian coven, by one of Patricia and Arnold Crowther's
initiates, a lady by the name of Pat Kopanski.
When Alex began to publicise
Wicca, he encountered strong opposition
from more traditional members of the Craft. Some saw it as nothing
more than a bid by Alex for personal notoriety; others believed that
he was profaning a mystery. Whatever his motivation, the publicity
certainly made people aware of his existence; he and Maxine initiated
a great many people in the 1960s and 1970s, including book writers
Stewart Farrar and Janet Owen.
Janet and Stewart married,
and over the next twenty years published
books about Wicca. It is, of course, hard to quantify just what makes
the essential "Alexandrian Tradition", as covens vary considerably,
even within the same culture. It seems there are not two covens who
work precisely the same way, even from the same line.
Generally though, Alexandrian
covens focus strongly upon training,
which includes areas more generally associated with ceremonial magic,
such as Qabalah, Angelic Magic, and Enochian. The typical Alexandrian
coven has a hierarchical structure, and generally meets weekly, or at
least on Full Moons, New Moons and Festivals.
Most Alexandrian covens
will allow non-initiates to attend circles,
usually as a "neophyte", who undergoes basic training in circle
craft, and completes a number of projects, prior to being accepted by
the coven for initiation to 1st degree. Some, though not all,
Alexandrian covens will also welcome non-initiated "guests" at
certain meetings. Many people's first experience of Wicca is as a
guest of an Alexandrian coven.
Alexandrian Wicca uses
tools and rituals as in Gardnerian Wicca,
though the tools are used differently, and the rituals have been
changed. Another frequent change is to be found in the names of
deities and guardians of the quarters. In some ways there are
fundamental differences in philosophy. Alex and Maxine married and
moved to London in 1967, where they were handfasted in 1965. Alex
died in Sussex on 30 April 1988.
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