TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT

THE FORGOTTEN PATH

By: SERGIO FRITZ

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

What is known today as Traditional Witchcraft (T.W.) is nothing more than what in the Anglo-Saxon context is referred to as “Elder Faith” and “Old Craft,” and in Spain and America as El Arte (The Craft), or just Brujería (Witchcraft). The reasons for which the adjective “traditional” was added are based on the need to distinguish itself from other types of “witchcraft,” especially from one that was extremely prominent at the time in which the “dawn” of Traditional Witchcraft happened, and the same that, up to now, has millions of followers all over the world: Wicca. The writers that felt it imperative to separate themselves from Wiccans wanted to put in evidence the fact that Wicca is an elaborate syncretic corpus with a “modern soul” that would have little to do with the original Witchcraft–the one practiced for thousands of years, with prevalence in the countryside and villages.

The Traditional Witchcraft’s cosmovision lies in the search of an understanding and a praxis in accordance with the core of what has been Witchcraft across every time and place, treating its rites, symbols, and beliefs with respect. Thus, aspects such as “Covens” or “Sabbaths,” initiations, pacts, astral projections, “familiars,” and encounters with spirits constitute significant elements that are respected, executed, and preserved. Criticism against modern esoteric groups, the blend of spiritual traditions, occultism, the New-Age, and the attempt to turn Witchcraft into a religion are aspects that should also be considered as distinctive characteristics of the traditionalist, the one who urgently desires a depuration of the magical mindset and practices.