Occasionally I am asked what, if anything, is different between what I do and the Seax Wica tradition.  There are superficial similarities, and I am on a couple of Seax Wica e-group lists.  I can understand the confusion, however there are fundamental differences between my own praxis and that of Seax Wica.

The primary, critical difference is that Wicca is a duotheistic religion.  Many Wiccans will deny this – just as the majority spell their religion with two c’s, even though Gerald Gardner and later Buckland spelled it as ‘Wica’ – but Wicca or Wica, as defined by its founder, adheres to Mary Violet Firth’s assertion that there is only one goddess and only one god.  With no central authority, there is nothing to stop a self-professed Wiccan from worshipping a dozen distinct deities or from worshipping only one all-encompassing Great Goddess, but neither of these paradigms are truly Wiccan.

Buckland himself emphasizes this in Buckland’s Book of Saxon Witchcraft (p. 21):  “Everywhere in Nature is found a system of male and female; because that is the way of the Gods – a God and a Goddess – believe the Witches.  No all-male or all-female deity.  It is, then, a duotheistic religion.”

I could explain in depth why I am one Witch who does not believe this, but the relevant fact is that I simply do not.  I believe in the very real existence of countless gods and goddesses – sovereign spirits – some who I worship, most who I do not.  For this reason alone, and for this reason before all others, I cannot define myself as a Seax Wiccan.

The rest of it is more superficial.  I do not cast a magic circle before worship, nor do I celebrate esbats.  Many of the differences are semantic rather than substantial.  On another level, I think that I am less eclectic than the average practitioner of Seax Wica, although that is of course a generalization.  Buckland freely admits that Seax Wica is first and foremost a tradition of Wicca and not a reflection of authentic Saxon tradition.  In the introduction to the 2005 edition of his book, he says (p. xi): “I was not trying to reconstruct the ancient religion of the Saxons, nor the magic that they employed…What I set out to do was to create a modern form of Wicca…and to make it something with which I, personally, would feel comfortable.”

In contrast to this, I have tried to create a modern, relevant form of Saxon religion…with which I, personally, would feel comfortable!  I may have been influenced by Wicca, in the same way that I may have been influenced by my parents’ Presbyterian Christian religion and everything else I have been exposed to over the years, but it is not the foundation of my own Saxon beliefs and practices.

To be honest, it is not beyond imagining to see me someday practicing Seax Wica.  It is a positive, life-affirming path.  But if that were to happen, I would be something of a heretic, if the Seax tradition can be said to recognize anything like that.  I would revere “Freya” by her English title, Fréo, and would acknowledge her and Woden not as the ONLY two deities – not as “the Lord and Lady” – but as the two deities among the Saxon gods who take the most interest in wiccecræft.

In that sense, I could indeed define myself as Seax Wica (or Wicca).  But at this time, at least, I do not.  Seax Wicca can be said to be a variety of Saxon Paganism, but not all Saxon Pagans are Seax Wiccans.

Well, I have done it.  I am now the Grove Organizer for a new Ár nDraíocht Féin protogrove.  Our mission is to nurture spiritual community in our local area.  We plan to hold our first “open” rite next month.

I believe that Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) is the future of Paganism in America.  ADF will not have a monopoly on polytheistic religion any more than Catholicism has a monopoly on Christian religion, but its concepts will surely influence our culture as more and more people become aware of this international Pagan fellowship.

For decades contemporary Pagans have been faced with a choice of two extreme movements.  At one end of the spectrum is the if-it-feels-good-do-it philosophy; a Paganism with little respect for the cultures and traditions of our ancestors, where the only thing that matters is that everyone is having fun at the party.  Those at the opposite end of the spectrum are so put off by this that many of them insist on identifying by a term other than “Neo-Pagan”, although, of course, it is what they are.  (Neo-Pagan simply means a contemporary, 21st century polytheist.)  The reaction has been Icelandic Pagans (Ásatrúar) who will only associate with other Icelandic Pagans, Roman Pagans who only associate with other Roman Pagans, and so on.

ADF has found the balance between these two opposing perspectives.  An ADF ritual has a format that does not fit exactly with any specific Pagan culture, but is instead a satisfactory compromise for all Indo-European Pagan cultures.  Within the parameters of this format, ADF recognizes and respects cultural integrity.  Rather than chopping and dicing Paganism into eclectic hash, each ritual addresses a specific hearth culture: Irish, Norse, Roman, Hellenic, and so on.  Including, of course, Anglo-Saxon. 

When I join in a ritual honoring a foreign god, the format recognizes this also, and during the ritual a celebrant welcomes the “High Ones” or “Shining Ones” – where I can connect with Ing Fréa or Woden – in a way that does not clash with the liturgy.  In ADF, I can join in worship with my neighbors – be they Hellenes or Welsh or Slavs – and still be proudly Saxon.

I have been a member of ADF for six years now.  During those six years I have worshipped with Sassafras Grove, which is an awesome group of people, but which is a distance from me, down in the city of Pittsburgh.  I am still a friend of Sassafras and will be attending some of their events, but it is my hope that Cranberry will grow into a viable, thriving group here where I live.

To be as inclusive as possible, we plan to hold rites with two hearth cultures.  Not simultaneously, of course.  At solstice and equinox we will hold Anglo-Saxon rites to honor the gods of the English.  At the “cross-quarter” high days we will hold Romano-British rites honoring Celtic gods and goddesses.

These efforts may very well bear fruit.  Cranberry Protogrove was officially recognized only two days ago, and already we have two people interested in joining us for our Yule rite in December.  By “us” I mean Scott and me.  Hopefully “us” will soon grow into a larger group.

If you know of any Pagans who live in Pennsylvania, in Butler County or northern Allegheny County, please send them our way!  They can email us at Cranberry@alaricalbertsson.com, or connect with us by subscribing to cranberrydruids@yahoogroups.com.