Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

HEREDITARY CRAFT (aka [in the UK] 'British Traditional Witchcraft')

Although often applied in the United States and elsewhere to Family Traditions such as Stregheria (an Italian form of Witchcraft), the term "Hereditary Craft" has a very specific and well-defined meaning amongst British Neo-Pagans.

In the UK, "Hereditary Craft" - also known as "British Traditional Witchcraft" - is an old oral tradition of Witchcraft. Sometimes called The People, sometimes simply Crafter's or even 'Smiths, depending on the area. True Hereditary Witchcraft survives in a only few isolated pockets in the UK and should not be confused with Family Traditions within Wicca or other branches of Neo-Paganism.

The Hereditary Craft is rather insular and tends to be based on old concepts of extended families. One needs to be accepted by a family in order to undergo training. They rarely consider outsiders and can make some of the elite Satanic orders look inclusive (see SATANISM).

The Hereditary Craft relies on the notion of a continuous succession of individuals linking back not necessarily by direct parentage (the lineage is reported to skip one or two generations here and there), either to the medieval period or, possibly, to a Celtic or Anglo-Saxon origin.

It is to be stressed that one does not become a Hereditary Witch by being Initiated into the Craft but rather one must be first born into it and being born into a family does not automatically make you a Hereditary Witch either - anymore than being born in the Brahmain cast is enough to make you a Hindu priest. Hard work, application, dedication and many years of serious applied study are also required.

While direct parentage is not always considered necessary, being of a certain family 'bloodline' IS. Initiation may then follow. Those Initiated undergo a trial of strength, endurance, pain and tenacity. As the path direction is taken other trials are undertaken. There are no Degree ranks of Initiation as in Wicca - you either make the grade or fail.

True Hereditary Witchcraft Traditions do not accept eclectic apprentices. Its an absolute NO way. Wicca (in any of its myriad forms) is not a route to take in Hereditary Witchcraft as genuine Hereditary Witches consider Wicca to have blended too much material from other forms of magickal practice and occult theory and is considered a total anathema to genuine Hereditary Witches.

A British Traditional Witch will not mix Magicks from other cultures; if you have to ask them why you are considered not knowledgeable enough to bother answering - they are, after all, British Traditionalist, tracing lineages as far back as Celtic or Anglo-Saxon origin. Think about it...

As a personal note, despite the hundred or more claims to the title 'Hereditary Witch' I have heard over the years I can count the number of genuine Hereditary Witches I have encountered on one hand.

There are a number of genuine Hereditary Witches in the UK but they are indeed few and far between - and are by definition quite secretive about it. In recent years the terms 'Hereditary Craft' and 'Hereditary Witch' have been much abused by younger self-taught Wiccans seeking to somehow 'legitimize' themselves in the eyes of older practitioners and as a result most claims of Hereditary Witchcraft are suspect at best. Any claims of 'Hereditary Craft' from outside the UK are especially dubious.

As a result, some of the genuine Hereditary Witch families have made a deliberate decision to allow their Craft to 'die out' rather than see their Tradition 'homogenized' into the eclectic mix of today's Neo-Pagan Witchcraft.

see also: FAMILY TRADITION; STREGHERIA

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc

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