Alexandrian Wicca is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders (also known as "King of the Witches") who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the 1960s. Alexandrian Wicca is similar in many ways to Gardnerian Wicca, and receives regular mention in books on Wicca as one of the religion's most widely-recognized traditions.

Origins and history

The tradition is based largely upon Gardnerian Wicca, in which Sanders was trained to the first degree of initiation, and also contains elements of ceremonial magic and Qabalah, which Sanders had studied independently.

The Tradition is named after the ancient library of Alexandria, which was one of the first libraries in the world. The choice of name was inspired by a view of the library as an early attempt to bring together the knowledge and wisdom of the world into one place. Maxine Sanders recalls that the name was chosen when Stewart Farrar, a student of the Sanders', began to write What Witches Do. "Stewart asked

Alexandrian Wicca is practiced outside of Britain, including both Canada and the United States. Encyclopedia Mystic states that Alexandrian Wicca "never gained the popularity as did the Gardnerian tradition because it is believed Sanders’ negative publicity hurt it. As of the 1980s none of the American Alexandrian coven had any connection with Sanders himself. The Alexandrian covens have done better in Canada where they were more firmly established before all of Sanders’ negative publicity".

Practices

Alexandrian Wicca, in similarity with other traditional Wiccan practices, emphasizes gender polarity. This emphasis can be seen in the sabbat rituals, which focus on the relationship between the Wiccan Goddess and God.

As compared to Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca is "somewhat more eclectic", according to The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism. Maxine Sanders notes that Alexandrians, as opposed to "a few fuddy-duddies" take the attitude "If it works use it". Tool use and deity and elemental names also differ from the Gardnerian tradition. Skyclad practice,

Alexandrian covens meet on new moons, full moons and during Sabbat festivals.

Ranks and degrees

Alexandrian Wicca shares with other traditional Wicca systems the belief that "only a witch can make another witch". The process through which an individual is made a witch is called "initiation". As in Gardnerian Wicca, there are three levels, or "degrees", of initiation, commonly referred to as "first", "second", and "third" degree. Only a second or third degree witch can initiate another into witchcraft, and only a third degree witch can initiate another to third degree. A third degree initiate is referred to as a "High Priestess" or "High Priest". The Farrars claimed to have published the rituals for the three ceremonies of initiation in Eight Sabbats for Witches.

Some Alexandrians have instituted a preliminary rank called "neophyte" or "dedicant." In these Alexandrian covens, a neophyte is not bound by the oaths taken by initiates, and thus has an opportunity to examine the tradition before committing to it.

Relationship to other traditions

Scholar Ronald Hutton records comments from British practitioners of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca that distinctions between the two traditions have blurred in the last couple of decades, and some initiates of both traditions have recognized initiation within one as qualification for the other. Author Vivianne Crowley often trains her students in both traditions. In the United States, Alexandrian priestess Mary Nesnick, an initiate of both traditions, created a deliberate fusion of the two, which she named the "Algard" tradition.

Janet and Stewart Farrar, both of whom were initiated into the Alexandrian tradition by the Sanders, describe themselves as having left the tradition after the release of Eight Sabbats for Witches. They were later referred to as "Reformed Alexandrian", a description that Janet Farrar does not use. The "Starkindler Line" is descended from Alexandrian Wicca, and Alexandrian Wicca was a major influence on both Blue Star Wicca and Odyssean Wicca.

Notes and references

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