
          Gardnerianism

          by Kyril Oakwind & Judy Harrow

          appearing in the spring/summer 1989 issue of FireHeart



          Each year, Garderians come together for the Annual Samhain

          Garderian Gather.  In the years since it began, the Gather

          has grown from a small local get-together to a national

          gathering, with participants from both East and West coasts.

          This year, England was represented as well !  Our experience

          in the Gardnerian community has shown that we are not a

          homogeneous group.  These family reunions have allowed us to

          maintain a certain amount of continutity while learning

          about of differences.  There is a spectrum within Gardnerian

          practice.  Kryil represents the more traditional or

          conservative side of the family, while the practices of

          Judy's coven look more eclectic or innovative.  We felt that

          by working together, we could describe our tradition more

          clearly than either of us could writing alone.

             Gardnerianism as a distinct Tradition began with the

          writings of Gerald B. Gardner.  He was initiated into the

          New Forest coven in England by "old Dorothy" Clutterbuck.

          During World War II, Gardner participated in the efforts of

          British Witches, led by Dorothy Clutterbuck, to turn back

          Germany's invasion troops.  Gardner was active in the Craft

          and published a fictional novel about medeival Witchcraft in

          1949.  He started a Museum of witchcraft on the Isle of Man

          after the 1951 repeal of the last anti-witchcraft law in

          England.  Coming out publicly as a Witch in 1954, he

          published "Witchcraft Today".

             At that time, he believed the Craft was dying out-most of

          the members were older and few young members were being

          initiated.  Gardner stronly believed not only in

          reincarnation, but that he would be reborn to the craft.  If

          it died out, this could not be, and so he dedicated himself

          to reviving the Craft.  Unable to directly reveal much of

          his coven's workings, he developed a system that was a

          systhesis of various elements from Masonic ritual,

          ceremonial magick, French Mediterranean Craft and the

          teachings of his coven.  Gardner and later Doreen Valiente,

          rewrote some of the ritual, improving its poetic qualities

          and adding yet another dimension.  As generations of

          Witches, they became the basis of Garnderianism, and those

          who practiced these rituals as handed down (not as

          published) became known as Garnderians.

             Gardneriansim was brought to America by the Bucklands in

          1962.  Their coven was passed on to Lady Theos and Pheonix

          in 1972 and to Lady Rhiannon in 1985.

             Judy notes that the existence of the earlier New Forest

          coven is unproven, and not particularly important.  We may

          not know wether our Craft is old or new.  We know for sure

          that it works.  What we can prove is that Gerald Gardner,

          Doreen Valiete, and their associates did develop a ritual

          and symbolic system, drawing from many sources including

          their own inspirations.  Their single greatest innovation

          was to make the Goddess their main focus.  The fruit of that

          generation's research, innovation and creativity was a

          strong and flexible ritual structure that forms a foundation

          for the research, innovation and creativity of later

          generations.  In fact, we know that each successive

          generations of Gardnerians did augment the materials they






          received, and develop the Tradition.  As we live with this

          material, use it and practice it, while continuing to study

          whatever Pagan sources we can find and, we hope, grow in our

          understanding both experientially and intellectually, we

          must and will make changes.  A tradition that does not

          change is dead.

             Gardnerisnism, like mush of the craft, is an initiatory,

          Mystery Tradition.  To become a member of the Tradition, an

          individual must be initiated by a Garnderian who was

          initiated by a Gardnerian, on back to Gardner and his High

          Priestesses, and the initiation ritual used must be the

          Gardnerian ritual.  Initiation is more than a rite of

          passage that unties the participants.  They have not only

          undergone a similar death and rebirth but are reborn into a

          particular world.  That world is a microcosm of the universe

          with a unique psychic pattern of the created by the

          particular ritual, energy current, and vibration of the

          Deity names used by the participants.  They take on the

          group karma of their new family and clan, and they add to it

          as well.  They also take an oath of secrecy.

             From a more eclectic Gardnerian viewpoint, any initiation

          ritual that is based on the Gardnerian structure and

          contains certain elements is a valid Gardnerian initiations.

          Lineage-the sense of family and continuity- is intensely

          important to Garderians.  Within Judy's line, any variants

          on initiation or elevation rituals must be checked with the

          Priestess immediately senior to the one making the changes.

          In this way, we make room for growing understanding and

          changing times without sacrificing the continuity that all

          Garderians value equally.

             Kyril points out that Neo-Gardnerian or Gardnerian based

          groups using the published versions of Gardnerian rituals,

          while performing and having perfectly valid initiatory

          experiences, are not being "reborn" into the same psychic

          pattern as that of the Gardnerian Tradition.  A real

          difference exists in the energy they draw on and the psychic

          patterning that is being done.  Gardnerianism is very much a

          family.  We have our different covens and our different

          practices, But the family feeling is very strong.  We are

          bound by the magickal ties of the initiation and our oath of

          secrecy.  We are bound by the ties of love.  No amount of

          book knowledge can ever replace human contact and the

          feeling of belonging to a loving family.  This is why Judy

          feels a re-written ritual within the context of lineage,

          makes you a Gardnerian in a way that a word-perfect ritual

          out of a book never could.

             Gardnerianism as a Tradition has a body of rituals passed

          down from Gardner that helps to form the core identity-a

          shared current of energy which is added to and drawn on by

          all the initiates, secret Deity names, and a specific group

          Karma.  It also has a hierarchial form of leadership, a

          three degree systems of training, experienced and

          knowledgeable Witch Queens and Maguses (high Priestesses and

          High Priest who have successfully trained a coven to the

          point where another coven has hived off from theirs) from

          which to draw on.  And there is an oath of secrecy.

            Judy feels Gardnerianism is not much so the body of

          rituals as the ritual system and the symbolic vocabulary.

          She tells her students that Gerald, Doreen and their

          associates were the architects, but we are the interior

          decorators.  The structural pattern can be gotten from books






          almost as easily as a particular script can be.  More and

          more, she believes that the personal affiliation, the group

          Karama if you will, and the energy current are as definitive

          as the ritual and symbol system.

             Our respect for lineage, and for the seniors within our

          lineage, is very important.  But Judy does not think of it

          as hierarchical.  In hierarchy, those "above" us would have

          been assigned by those above them, without our consent.  We

          choose to work with our teachers, our Priest/esses, our

          Queens and Maguses out of respect and love and trust.  The

          bond is freer and more flexiable- and far more real.  Nor

          are they considered to be holier or higher, simply more

          experienced.

             The tree degree system is an uncomfortable but necessary

          form of quality control.  An initiation is a statement, not

          only to the Gods, but also to the community, that this

          person is a Priest/ess, qualified to fulfill certain roles.

          If we initiate people, or do degree elevations, before they

          are competent, harm amy result.
















































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