A Non Traditional Pagan Temple of Guidance

What flavor of Witch am I ?

My own...just as you should be your own.
First and foremost let me say that I am well schooled in Gardnerian style Wicca (educated not initiated). I include the history of Gardner in my curricula and I am grateful and well aware of the impact his work has had on both the Wiccan and Pagan communities at large, although really it has been more the work of Doreen Valiente then Gardner in my opinion.
With that being said my personal flavor of Wicca is not Gardnerian at all. And I am far more comfortable with a much more free form style of ritual then most Wiccans. I twitch when I hear people preach about how “Wicca” is a new religion and the backing they give that statement. I understand what their intent is, I understand the importance of educating “newbies” to this regard ( I hate the term religion by the way as it always seems to denote something separate from everyday life- thank you Christians). But Gerald Gardner was not the founding father of Witchcraft, I dont care how much one tries to argue that he was...it just is not the truth. Gerald Gardner can be coined the father of the modern Witchcraft revival and even credited with bringing the term Wica back into popular usage- yes. But he did not invent the whole sha bang people.
I see Wiccae- craeft as a European shamanism and what I teach leans much more toward this than other Wiccan traditions. It is a way of life, a certain way of living life that recognizes that our spirituality is not separate from our everyday activities.
Intense personal gnosis and…wait for it….RESEARCH, tells me that the underlying force behind what came to be known as Wicca and what has become known as Neo- Paganism is a very ancient and powerful one that exists of its own accord and refuses to relish itself to antiquity nor die out even if its physical followers do for a time- it is a timeless practice that reinvents itself and resurfaces across the span of the world time and time again. But then again I do tend to see things from the hawks vantage point rather than the mouse ( I see the big picture from my high seat rather then focusing on the minute details). I also feel that in a more current context Scott Cunningham did more for the revival of Wiccae-craft/Witchcraft then Gardner ever did. And ultimately I suppose we have Raven Grimassi to thank for getting that ball rolling.
We live in a unique time where we have literally at our finger tips every culture humanity has ever known…foolish is the one who does not take advantage of the wisdom adherent in all of these. Spiritually humanity as a whole is a great shattered mess, we must find what pieces fit our souls and carefully and joyfully put them back together, the final tapestry will vary with each individual as it did with each family clan in days of yore. It is our personal duty to discover the pieces that make us soar and sing.
I am a walker between the worlds indeed. I don’t quite fit any label and for that I am most thankful for really the only thing that a label does is limit you. I will repeat here what I wrote to a friend just the other day..I am but a Witch who has stumbled into being called into the modern Wiccan Preistesshood for ease of fulfilling the tasks that the universe sets before me, but I don’t fit this mold very well either. So forgive me as I crack, break and reshape it with my own growth.