Modern tradition of Wicca, most prevalent in the United States and Canada. Eclectic Wicca takes its cue from a statement by Gerald Gardner: “A good Witch is eclectic; she’ll steal from anything that works.” Accordingly, “Eclectic Wicca” refers to a broad range of practices, open to considerable adjustment by individual practitioners and covens. Still, there are a few major points which are general commonalities in Wicca:
Aside from that, Eclectic Wicca notably eschews certain traits that are common in the more conservative Alexandrian and Gardnerian traditions. Secrecy is notably lessened, if not completely absent. Hetero-normative assumptions and practices are greatly reduced from their frequency in the conservative trads, and Eclectic Wicca is much more comfortable for queerfolk.
Sadly, Eclectics are also the most likely to completely abandon the true core of the religion. If Eclectic Wicca is defined (as some authors seem prone to doing) simply as “whatever works,” then nearly anything could be considered “Wicca.” Eclectics who treat their religion as a hodgepodge of otherwise-unrelated beliefs (often randomly incorporating Buddhism, Native American practices – often badly misunderstood, at that – and the contents of the latest and most popular Llewellyn books) are largely responsible for Wicca’s poor reputation in the occult community.
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