Witches are the kind of more traditional, home and family, craft people,

so they're the ones who are making things; crocheting shawls and things like that.

But then they also have that slightly confident, dangerous, edge. 

 ~Deborah Harkness~ 

 Traditions of Witchcraft

African Tradition(s): Different African tribes refer to witchcraft differently. Generally in African traditions there are generally three classifications of practitioners who use magick... The “Thakathi” (often improperly translated into English as "witch" and almost exclusively female) are practitioners who operates in secret to curse others.  The“Sangoma” (usually female) who is a diviner, akin to a fortune-teller, often predicting or advising on a person's future, or identifying the guilty party in a crime.  And the “Inyanga”, (usually translated as "witch doctor" and almost exclusively male), whose job is to heal illness and injury through herbalism and naturopathy and to provide believers with magickal items for everyday use. 

• Vodoun (or the anglicized Voodoo): A tradition practiced in the Caribbean and the southern US which combines elements of Roman Catholic ritual with traditional African magickal and religious rites, and characterized by sorcery and spirit possession.

Appalachian 'Granny' Tradition:  The tradition of Appalachain Folk Magick dates back to the first settlers of the Appalachian Mountains who came to the United States from Scotland and Ireland in the 1700's and who brought with them their "Old World" magickal traditions. Those traditions were then blended with the local tradition of the Cherokee Tribes into a combination of local herbal folk remedies and charms, faith healing, storytelling and magick. The 'Granny' Witches will often call themselves 'Doctor Witches' or 'Water Witches' depending upon whether they are more gifted in healing and midwifery, or if they are more in tune with dowsing for water, lay lines and energy vortexes. This tradition is termed 'Granny' from the prominent role played by older women in the mountain communities. 

Asian Tradition(s): In Japan, the Shinto religion is itself a shamanistic religion and thus the Japanese do not attach negative connotations to witchcraft. The word "witch" is actually used with positive connotation in the Japanese language as a female with high skills or fame. Asian witchcraft generally centers on the relationship between the witch and the animal spirits or familiars and in Japanese witchcraft, witches are commonly separated into two categories: those who employ snakes as familiars and those who employ foxes; the Fox Witch being the most commonly seen witch in Japan. In China, witches employs books, staffs, and other implements, similar to the western traditions of witchcraft and the witches are often accompanied by familiars in the form of rabbits, which are universally associated with the Moon, with fertility and with the Goddess. The witches of China are notable for their  extensive knowledge of the occult properties of plants and herbs, as well as for clairvoyance and the study of astrology.

Australian Aboriginal Tradition: Aboriginal female elders were labeled by Christian missionaries as "witches" or, if men, as "witchdoctors"and these missionaries saw the traditional female practice of "love magick" or yilpinji as "witchcraft". Yilpinji is achieved through a creative integration of myth, song, gesture and art against a background of country. Yilpinji, love magick, is invariably based in the empowering link with the homeland shared by everyone in Aboriginal culture. 

British Tradition: (Not to be confused with 'British Traditional Wicca')  Traditional British Crafters generally practice a solitary form of witchcraft and each traditional witch draws on an eclectic mix of beliefs and rituals from the myths and religions of the various pre-Roman and pre-Christian tribes and cultures of the British Isles. The culture of the ancient British determines the cultural context of the tradition. British Traditional Witchcraft is drawn from the "energy" of "The Homeland” and its people. So, there are often differences between the practices of those witches from Welsh or Scottish regions for example, but also many similarities such as the common belief in the "magick" of the British forests and woodlands. Over time though it has begun to evolve into a much more regimented system and some in the traditional craft have become less solitary and started coming together in groups with the Wiccan covens structured initiation and degree process. Though continuing to insist on being "Traditional" and not "Wicca" by adopting its structure they are in realty becoming Wiccan in practice if not in name.

Celtic (Irish) Tradition: The Irish Tradition is really many traditions under the general heading of "Celtic" and Celtic paths are some of the more popular traditional witchcraft traditions. Most are very eclectic and hold to the ancient Celtic myths, divinities, magickand rituals. They are practitioners of the Elements, the Ancient Ones and of Nature. They are usually physical and spiritual healers who work with plants, stones, flowers, trees, the fauns and the faires. 

Cornish Tradition: The traditional magick of Cornish Witches commonly includes the work of the making and provision of magickal charms, simple rituals and magickal gestures with muttered incantations, the healing of disease and injury and divination. (see below: Cunning Folk)

Cunning Folk Tradition: The term "cunning man" or "cunning woman" was most widely used in southern England, the Midlands and in Wales. Such people were also frequently known as "wizards", "wise men" or "wise women" or "conjurers". In Cornwall they were sometimes referred to as "pellars", which originated from the term "expellers", referring to the practice of expelling evil spirits. Folklorists often used the term "white witch", though this was not used amongst the ordinary folk as the term "witch" had an evil connotation. The relationship between cunning-craft and witchcraft is controversial. The original cunning folk were often times witch hunters; seeking out and condemning an individual as a witch responsible for some evil or affliction and then performing curses against the supposed offender. Today “Cornish Tradition Witches” are often mistakenly referred to as cunning folk. 

Familial (Hereditary) Tradition:  There are people in the pagan community who claim “born witch” status because of some ancestral link to an individual who was accused of witchcraft.  There are certainly hereditary traditions of witchcraft, but by “hereditary” it doesn’t mean that the practices are biologically inherited. These are typically small, familial traditions (Fam Trads), in which beliefs and practices are handed down from one generation to the next, and outsiders are rarely included. 

Hecatine (Scottish) Tradition: A tradition in The Craft that comes from a Scottish origin which preserves the unique rituals of the Scots. Drawing on the same cultural influences of Pictish Witchcraft they differ in that Pictish is a more solitary practice. A fairly secretive tradition, not much is known of their rituals by outsiders. In Wicca the Caledonii Movement mirrors much of the same practices and the two are often confused.

Nordic Tradition (Seiðr): A type of traditional witchcraft practiced in Norse and Germanic tribal societies which flourished during the Northern European  Iron Age.  In Norse mythology it is associated with both the god Oðinn and the goddess Freyja.  "Seiður" is the Icelandic word which is used to describe their magick rituals. The female practitioners were called "vísendakona", or woman of science, and the men were called "seið-menn", or the men of magick ritual.  Seiður was a shamanic ceremony, involving altered states of consciousness and cross-dimensional journeys, wherein sorcerers would gain secret knowledge and accumulate great power which was handed to them by the gods themselves. Most of the symbols and spells appear to be for the use of simple problems in life, from catching a thief, to overthrowing an enemy. Others help heal livestock, whilst others look at cursing the animals of another. There are charms to help preserve food and ale, staves to bless the bearer with strength or courage, or symbols to help with fishing or prevent death by drowning. Many of the Nordic female witches are Augury Witches (see above) and are referred to as a Völva ("wand carrier" or "carrier of a magick staff"), who practice meditation or introspection for the purpose of clairvoyance and divination.

Pictish (Scottish) Tradition: Originally from Scotland, it is a "solitary witch" form of "The Craft". Pictish Witchcraft attunes itself to all aspects of nature; animal, vegetable, and mineral and it is more magickal in nature and practice than it is religious. Pictish witches are solitary and rarely, if ever, do they work in groups or covens

Pow-Wow Tradition: (Pennsylvania Dutch Tradition) Taken from the Alonquin word “pauwau",  which means literally "vision seeker", its principles encompass shamanic like rituals of healing through visions and the application of traditional medicines, which are often accompanied by prayers, incantations, songs, and dances. The word pauwau (pow-wow) was came to be used for Native American ceremonies and councils because of the important role played by the pauwau in both. The Pow Wow Tradition places great significance on the vision seeker as the nexus of  group (coven) activites and rituals. Though some claim that the Pow-Wow Tradition is German in origin, but seems to be more of an amalgamation of local Native American traditions with those traditions of the Dutch immigrants of pagan heritage who settled in the Pennsylvania region of the United States.

Slavic (Russian) Tradition:  In traditional Slavic witchcraft, the power of magick is considered a realistic part of life without any link to the devil or demonology. It is believed anybody can learn witchcraft with the proper teaching and that teaching often comes in the form of riddles that the initiate must solve. The Slavic witch often possesses the ability to astral travel and can quite easily fall in and out of trance states. Slavic witches observe three canons during their rituals; nudity, silence and not looking back after the working’s conclusion.

Stregheria (Italian) Tradition:  Stregheria (an archaic Italian word for "witchcraft")is sometimes referred to as "La Vecchia Religione" (the old religion). These witches are called Streghe (plural), with the title Strega (for a female) and Stregone (for a male). They follow a tradition that is based on the appreciation of wisdom and beauty. Stregheria is not a singular tradition, but instead a collection of practices that have descended from the native traditions of the Italian/Sicilian regions. It is said by some to be based on the teachings of a 14th century woman named Aradia, but, this does not mean that witchcraft in Italy began in the 14th century. The tradition taught by Aradia was a revival of the Old Ways of the folk religions of the ancient Etruscans and Romans during a time of  persecution of the peasants of Italy by the Catholic nobility. To many modern Stregherian Witches most Catholic saints are simply ancient pagan gods dressed in Christian garb and the majority of  Stregherians have removed these saints Catholic veneer and restored them to their pagan deity heritage.

Teutonic (Germanic) Tradition:: From ancient times the Teutons have been recognized as a group of people who speak the Germanic group of languages. Culturally, this includes the English, Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish peoples. A Teutonic Witch finds inspiration in the differing traditional myths and legends and in the Gods and Goddesses of  "The Homeland”” where each individual dialect originated. A German Teutonic Witch might differ from the Nordic Tradition, for example, in that they may not focus on manifesting prophetic power like the witches of Scandinavia.

Welsh Tradition: Originating in Wales, Welsh witches believe themselves to be one of the oldest traditions. It is sometimes said to be confined to certain families and members of the family become "awakened" to their calling and pass through 9 levels of attainment. It is theorhetically hereditary, but you can "be adopted" into the tradition.

Part I: Types of Traditional Witches

Part III: Neo-Pagan (New Age) Movements