| [image] | The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see discussion on the talk page.}} Seax-Wica is a neopagan religion with roots in the Wiccan tradition and reconstruction of Saxon tradition. In 1973 Raymond Buckland, an author and practioner of Gardnarian Wicca, viewed the state of Wicca as full of political infighting. He created a new variation of the Gardnarian Wicca tradition which he believed was compatible with his Gardnarian Wiccan oaths. He wrote a book called The Tree as its definitive work. It was published in 1974 by Samuel Weiser Inc. There is also an online Books of Shadows for the tradition on assorted websites. Until this time Wicca had been transmitted mouth to ear, routinely hand copying one's BOS from another's, and all was entirely covered under an oath of absolute secrecy. Only one work claiming to be the BOS of Gardnarianism was ever published, in violation of that oath, and that is Lady Sheba's Book of Shadows; it is roundly condemned as a violation of oath, incomplete, and errant in several particulars - which no-one will offer to correct. The works of the Ferrars detailing the Alexandian tradition came later, and contain omissions and intentional 'errors' by Janet Ferrar's plain admission (years later); these are corrected within the tradition by oral and hand written transmission within the order. In addition to being the first published book to detail a Wiccan tradition, The Tree was arguably the first honest and complete one. The Seax tradition does not employ any such secrecy oath; at time of publishing it was the only tradition to do so. Also, it offically accepts self initiation. This was the first tradition to do so, and created an explosion of interest, arguably sparking modern Wiccan interest and involvement by the public. There is no intentional omission or misrepresentation of any information in the work, it is trustworty as a skeleton of the tradition, if a bit sparse in the printed content of the book. If you find a copy, you can trust it to communicate the basics of the tradition to you. A point not mentioned in it is how does a solitary with no consecrated tools available get started, as consecrated tools are used to cast the circle, and tools are consecrated within the already cast circle. It is hoped that the upcoming new edition will offer wisdom on this issue. For now, one must find someone with consecrated tools, or visit one of several websites to find out about a workaround ritual. The tradition honors Odin and Freyja, and uses a minimal set of the usual ceremonial tools and a spear, and is entirely democratic in its operations. Runes are significant and regularly discussed, so this is a good tradition for runesters. Persons fond of the Germanic pantheon would probably be quite comfortable in this tradition. Note however that the genders are quite equal here, unlike some Odinist movements. Although there are a lot of solitaries in this tradition (and that is a perfectly legitimate way to celebrate this order and the mysteries), there are also many covens. A coven is autonomous, and ruled by the vote of its members, who elect or unelect the officers. There are 4 officers as currently called for in The Tree. High Priest and High Priestess are elected by the members of a coven to serve for 13 moons; also there is the Thegn, a sort of sergeant at arms/guard/watchman, who may also be responsable for the covenstead or guarding the ceremony, and a Scribe/secretary, keeper of the coven's records - and if one incorperates a congregation, a treasurer to satisfy the legal demands of most US states. This last office is not mentioned in the first edition, but may be a legal requirement in your state if you legally incorperate the congregation - you should check with a lawyer licensed in your state or territory on the matter. Dr Buckland is not the leader or ruler of the order, but is respected as its founder, and continues to practice it and contribute to it. He is currently working on the new edition of The Tree (and other works not directly related to the tradition). External links
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