Reclaiming Tradition (of contemporary American Witchcraft): This tradition arose from a working collective in San Francisco, beginning in the summer of 1980 when Diane Baker and Starhawk decided to coteach a basic class in Witchcraft. Starhawk's book, 'The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess', which drew upon her own personal training and experiences, her early exposure to the work of Z. Budapest, and her later training in Faery Witchcraft with Victor and Cora Anderson, was published the previous October. Classes were so loved by the women who took them that they persuaded Starhawk and other local feminist Witches to expand their teaching. They created a series of three courses which became the original Core Classes: The Elements of Magick, the Pentacle of Iron, and Rites of Passage. Classes were team-taught and were done within sacred space, with emphasis on the experiential rather than the didactic. This group of teachers and their students, who soon began to share what they learned, coalesced into Reclaiming Collective. Soon classes were offered to all women, all men, or mixed genders. Many classes evolved into covens. During the 1980s, many Collective members and people from the larger Reclaiming community were active in antinuclear civil disobedience. Some lived in communal households, some were anarchists. All of the Collective's activities, from designing classes to dealing with domestic concerns, to public political protests were done using consensus process, learned mainly from the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). This method of decision-making fostered close bonds among participants. Concurrently, Reclaiming Collective began performing four public sabbat rituals at the Cross Quarters and publishing four issues of a small newsletter at the solstices and equinoxes. The collective wrote a statement that appeared in each issue of the Reclaiming Newsletter. The Reclaiming Tradition has spread through the United States. Red Witch Tradition: A Goddess centered Tradition, earth-based and Pagan by nature and creed. It is a five-tiered eclectic Witchcraft tradition, offering five separate and attainable degrees of study, based upon yearlong oaths of fulfillment-called "A Year and A Day Commitment." The five degrees of the tradition are the Craft Practitioner, first Degree Witch, second Degree Priestess/Priest, third Degree High Priestess/Priest, and Elder. The Red Witch Tradition combines American Indian and European tribal spirituality, Ceremonial Magick, and Eastern Mysticism to form a powerful tradition that is truly American in style and sensibility. This tradition welcomes people of all colors, genders, ages, and sexual orientation. 'Grove of the Red Crow' is the Mystery School of the Red Witch Tradition. It offers the seeker or the initiate the opportunity to study the occult arts and sciences as fully as she or he desires, with or without the degree system of the Red Witch Tradition, although the grove does have ongoing courses, workshops, independent studies, and retreats that are designed to advance one's self through all five degrees of the Red Witch Tradition. The choice is based upon the seeker and a chosen teacher of the Tradition. To enter and/or advance within the tradition, the seeker must first be accepted, then make a personal pledge of a year and a day for each degree, with a specific teacher or High Priestess or Priest of the Tradition. Modest fees are charged by the grove for membership, newsletters, personal counseling, and classes. Initiations and direct contact with teachers relating to course work and Circles are not charged for by the grove or any teacher or practitioner within the tradition. Reformed Druids (traditionally NOT Wiccan): This flourishing tradition was organized at Carleton College in Minnesota in 1963 in protest against a school rule which required Sunday chapel attendance. The original group rituals were based on the Episcopal form of worship, but its splinter groups have since tried to revise their rituals in line with the old Celtic ways. Sacred Wheel Tradition: An eclectic neo-Pagan path which was organized in Delaware within the past decade. Calling themselves Wiccan, they focus on balance and learning. Celtic beliefs are a part of their teachings. Still concentrated in the eastern states, covens are formed from study groups which include both old-timers and novices. Notices about the formation of Sacred Wheel study groups can be found in Pagan periodicals, especially those based in the northeastern United States. Seax-Wicca Tradition: Founded by Raymond Buckland in 1973. Although of Saxon basis, it was authored by Buckland himself without breaking his original Gardnerian oath. Raymond Buckland's contribution to the Craft is a significant one. Not only did he develop a Tradition that is more than acceptable to many individuals, he also has written a large volume of textbooks on different magickal aspects and practices of the Craft, thereby enhancing many lives in a positive direction. Shamanic (also Celtic Shamanism, Native American Shamanism): While most people do not at first think of Shamanism when they think of the Celts, this spiritual practice has been noted in all ancient cultures. John Matthews book, 'The Celtic Shaman', is an excellent text on this largely forgotten path. Shamanism is not Wiccan per se, but its practices are found within the core of Wiccan belief. Shamanistic approach within Wicca is found mainly with Native American or Celtic flavours. Solitary Witch (not itself a tradition): One who practices alone, regardless of Tradition, denomination, or sect. Solitaries come in various forms. Some were at one time initiated into a coven and eventually chose to extricate themselves from that environment and continue practicing a particular Tradition or sect by themselves. A solitary can also be an individual who has no desire to practice with or learn from a coven structure, but still may adhere to a specific Tradition or sect through the teachings of another. Because Solitary practice is now en vogue, many Wiccans will not accept Solitaries as Wiccan without prior proof by the individual as to their ethics, dedication and devotion to the Craft. Strega Tradition: Follows a tradition seated in Italy that began around 1353 with a woman called Aradia. Of all the traditional Witches, this group appears to be the smallest in number in the United States, but growing rapidly. Tuatha De Danann (TOO-ah Day THAY-nan or DAWN-an) Tradition: An Irish tradition based upon the mythic tales of the Tuatha De Danann, the last race to hole power in Ireland before the Milesian (human) invasion. The mythic figures of the Tuatha constitute most of the Irish pantheon and serve as a divine foundation for virtually all of the Irish traditions. Witan (also Witta, Wittan) Tradition: An eclectic Scottish path that combines the Scottish, Celtic, Pictish, and Norse traditions. Like the Irish Witta, it values the many influences upon itself as an asset to be cherished rather than eliminated. Modern Wita has done away with much of the stratification of Celtic society and accepts self-initiation as valid. degrees of study, based upon yearlong oaths of fulfillment-called "A Year and A Day Commitment." The five degrees of the tradition are the Craft Practitioner, first Degree Witch, second Degree Priestess/Priest, third Degree High This flourishing tradition was organized at Carleton College in Minnesota in 1963 in protest against a school rule which required Sunday chapel attendance. The original group rituals were based on the Episcopal form of worship, but its splinter groups have since tried to revise their rituals in line with the old Celtic ways.