Seax-Wica or better Seax Witchcraft is a tradition, or denomination, inspired by the

neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

religion of

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

. Specifically the Seax Witchcraft is largely inspired by the iconography of the historical

Anglo-Saxon paganism Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, or Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centurie ...

, though, unlike Theodism, it is not a reconstruction of the early mediaeval religion itself. The tradition was founded in 1973 by Raymond Buckland, an English-born high priest of

Gardnerian Wicca Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian witchcraft, is a tradition in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner (1884–1964), a British civil servant ...

who moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the 1970s. His book, '' The Tree'', was written with the intent for it to be a definitive guide to Seax-Wica, and was published in 1974 by Samuel Weiser, and subsequently republished in 2005 as ''Buckland's Book of Saxon Witchcraft''. The tradition primarily honours two principal deities:

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victor ...

, and Freya. These are seen as representations of the Wiccan deities of the Horned God and the

Mother Goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or t ...

. The tradition uses a minimal set of ceremonial tools, including a spear. Runes are also significant.

Openness

Seax-Wica does not employ any secrecy oath.Buckland's Book of Saxon Witchcraft, , page xi. ''Buckland's Book of Saxon Witchcraft'' was written in mind that the reader would already be well versed in the various techniques of Witchcraft and Wiccan ritual. However, Buckland has pointed out that his ''Complete Book of Witchcraft'' gives instructions on how to proceed when no tools are available. These instructions are enough to allow one to begin, self-initiate, and consecrate one's first tools.

Organisation

Seax-Wica allows self-dedication as entry into its tradition, as well as solitary practice. In the Seax tradition, covens work by a form of democracy, electing, un-electing, and re-electing coven officers, the high priest and priestess. Within ritual settings, there are the thegn, a type of sergeant-at-arms/guard/watchman, who can also be responsible for the covenstead (the meeting place of the coven), or guarding a ceremony being performed; there is also a scribe/secretary, who keeps most, if not all, of the coven's records. The word "''

Thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...

''", or "''Thane''" is an Anglo-Saxon title (''

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

'': þeg(e)n meaning "a servant, one who does service for another.") Buckland was not the head of the tradition, but is respected as its founder, and continued to practice and contribute to it, until his death on September 27, 2017.

References

* {{WiccaandWitchcraft Wiccan traditions 1973 in religion Germanic neopaganism 1970s in modern paganism pt:Wica

Openness

Organisation

See also

References