Wicca is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices.
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern Pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events and the midpoints between them. While names for each festival vary among diverse pagan traditions, syncretic treatments often refer to the four solar events as "quarter days", with the four midpoint events as "cross-quarter days". Differing sects of modern Paganism also vary regarding the precise timing of each celebration, based on distinctions such as lunar phase and geographic hemisphere.
The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of modern Pagan witchcraft. It was founded in California in the 1960s by the Americans Victor Henry Anderson and his wife Cora Anderson.
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg, was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector of ill repute. He was seen as an expert collector of Medieval Welsh literature, but it emerged after his death that he had forged several manuscripts, notably some of the Third Series of Welsh Triads. Even so, he had a lasting impact on Welsh culture, notably in founding the Gorsedd. The philosophy he spread in his forgeries had an impact on early neo-Druidism. His bardic name is Welsh for "Iolo of Glamorgan".
Celtic Wicca is a modern tradition of Wicca that incorporates some elements of Celtic mythology. It employs the same basic theology, rituals and beliefs as most other forms of Wicca. Celtic Wiccans use the names of Celtic deities, mythological figures, and seasonal festivals within a Wiccan ritual structure and belief system, rather than a traditional or historically Celtic one.
The British Orthodox Church, formerly the Orthodox Church of the British Isles, is a small independent Oriental Orthodox church defining its mission to the people of the British Isles. It has not been in communion with any of the Oriental Orthodox churches since a 2015 decision to return to an independent status.
Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism is a polytheistic reconstructionist approach to Celtic neopaganism, emphasising historical accuracy over eclecticism such as is found in many forms of Neo-druidism. It is an effort to reconstruct and revive, in a modern Celtic cultural context, pre-Christian Celtic religions.
The Celtic Orthodox Church, also called Holy Celtic Church, is an autocephalous Christian church founded in the 20th century in France.
Celtic modern paganism refers to any type of modern paganism or contemporary pagan movements based on the ancient Celtic religion.
Jules Ferrette, also spelled Julius Ferrette, was allegedly bishop of Iona; he is allegedly the founder of the Ancient British Church.
Abba Seraphim is a British independent Oriental Orthodox bishop. He is the Patriarch of Glastonbury and head of the British Orthodox Church with the title of "His Beatitude Patriarch Seraphim, the British Patriarch of Glastonbury".
Neopaganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest Neopagan religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in the early 1970s. Hellenic Neopaganism appeared in the 1990s.
The Neo-pagan movement in the United Kingdom is primarily represented by Wicca and Witchcraft religions, Druidry, and Heathenry. According to the 2011 UK Census, there are roughly 53,172 people who identify as Pagan in England, and 3,448 in Wales, as well as 11,026 Wiccans in England and 740 in Wales.
John Pryce was a Welsh clergyman and writer on church history, who became Dean of Bangor Cathedral.
Traditional witchcraft or traditional craft are terms used by certain esoteric traditions who regard their practices as forms of witchcraft. The unifying feature of these groups is the attempt to differentiate themselves from the modern Pagan new religious movement of Wicca, whose followers typically call themselves witches, by emphasising "traditional" roots. Among traditions that have repeatedly been termed "traditional witchcraft" are Victor Henry Anderson's Feri Tradition, Robert Cochrane's Cochrane's Craft and Andrew D. Chumbley's Sabbatic Craft.
Richard Williams Morgan (1815–1889), also known by his bardic name Môr Meirion, was a Welsh Anglican priest, Welsh nationalist, campaigner for the use of the Welsh language and author.
The Ancient British Church was a British religious movement founded in the 19th century by Jules Ferrette and Richard Williams Morgan.
Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spiritual or religious movement that generally promotes harmony, connection, and reverence for the natural world. This is commonly extended to include respect for all beings, including the environment itself. Many forms of modern Druidry are modern Pagan religions, although most of the earliest modern Druids identified as Christians. Originating in Britain during the 18th century, Druidry was originally a cultural movement, and only gained religious or spiritual connotations later in the 19th century.
Neo-Celtic Christianity or Contemporary Celtic Christianity are terms used to describe a religious movement founded by Jules Ferrette and Richard Williams Morgan in 1858 upon the establishment of the Ancient British Church, a movement to re-assert or restore forms of Christian belief and practice that the movement's adherents believe to have existed in the British Isles during the first millennium of the Christian era, and particularly during the first half of the first millennium.
