Feri and Wicca:
so what's the difference?

by Niklas Gander
copyright 2001

For the purposes of this paper, I use Wicca to mean the commonly understood popularization of British Traditional Witchcraft that is found in popular books derived from an (often faulty) understanding of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Traditions. I have found that the disconnect between what these traditions transmit initiatorily and how they are perceived from an external point of view has sometimes been great. But it still remains that the popularization of these traditions has been the cause of rapid growth of modern witchcraft as a movement, and nowadays, many use the terms Witch and Wiccan as synonyms.

So, just what are the differences between what is commonly understood as Wicca and that Tradition of the Craft called Feri? In an effort to delineate the contrasting elements for clarity of discussion, I have come up with the following points of distinction:

1. Common understandings of Wicca posit a duality of godhead, a Mother Goddess and a Father God, "the" Goddess and "the" God. Some have suggested that this goes back to Dion Fortune's postulate "All Goddesses are one Goddess, and all Gods are one God, and there is One Initiator." Some traditions of Wicca go so far as to posit that in the union of Goddess and God is born The One, the Divine Monad. The pattern here illustrated is a heterosexual one, and stresses physical fertility and polarity.

Feri, on the other hand, interacts with a plethora of Gods and Goddesses, not merely a divine dyad of heterosexual coupling. Feri deities often appear of indeterminate gender, sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes hermaphrodite and sometimes subtly shifting combinations of all the above. The pantheon with which Feries most commonly interact is made up of a Divine Matrix, called the Star Goddess, or God Herself, from whose womb springs all the gods and goddesses who walk the starry way. There are three major aspects of the Female Divine: the maiden goddess Nimuë, a mother goddess Mari, and a crone goddess Anna, also called Annys; as well there are three major aspects of the Male Divine: a youthful and effeminate blue god called Dian-y-Glas, a warrior/father/horned hunter called Krom, and a curmudgeonly god of death known as Arddu (pronounced AR-thee). Each of these primary deities show different aspects to the devotee at different times, for example the fecund Green Mari or the fierce protectress Red Mari, etc.). In addition, it is taught that we have 72 Bright Spirits, also deities, about whom and from whom we continue to learn until well into our dotage.

2. Common understandings of Wicca subscribe to a "moral" or "ethical" code called the Wiccan Rede which states "'An it harm none, do what ye will." Some Wiccan Witches interpret this to mean that all things which harm no one are permitted, leaving off on advice about actions which harm. Others interpret this to mean, rather unrealistically, that one is only permitted to do those things which harm no one.

Feri does not subscribe to the Rede at all, nor any of its interpretations. It recognizes that all responsibility for action rests with the doer, and that any action one takes in this world has repercussions of which we are only vaguely aware, and this mustn't allow one to remain passive when action is required. Sometimes action is required that could conceivably result in harm to another, but the greater ill is to remain inactive. This is not to say that Feri has no code of behavior, but that it is perhaps a bit harder to condense it into such a neat phrase. We are taught that the Feri ethical code is similar to the Japanese Bushido, but since I've not done any reading on Bushido myself, I cannot vouch for the validity of this claim.

3. Common, mostly non-initiatory, understandings of Wicca subscribe to a sort of self-imposed justice system called The Three-Fold Law, by which is meant that whatever one does returns to oneself but three times over, so we are admonished to do good rather than bad, since we will feel the effects of our actions afterwards. Sometimes this is mistakenly called the law of Karma, usually by those who understand nothing of how this term is used in Hindu and Buddhist Dharma.

Feri recognizes that the energy one raises effects the raiser as well as the world around her. Its rebound is neither more nor less than the amount of energy required in its performance. And Feri also recognizes that there are methods one can employ to avoid this common magical affliction.

4. Wicca, at least as represented in many of the books published on it, is represented as a system which makes use of a tried and true liturgical model - the rituals themselves act as the conduit which shapes the energy of the tradition, and lends it its flavor. Repeated forms are thought to tap into the shared traditional egregore, or gestalt of Witch Power. Membership in the tradition is evaluated by whether one uses the format or text of the rites as handed down. Variation in practice is frowned upon, and throws one's membership in the tradition into doubt.

While many Feries I know use the same liturgy for their circles, this is not in fact a prerequisite for tapping into the Feri power. In this way, the essence of Feri is not found in a shared liturgy as much as in a shared approach to magic and the Craft. In this, Feri might be more understood as a way of life, rather than something engaged in once a month in formal circles, when repeated liturgy acts as the focus of the coven.

5. Common understandings of Wicca, using the Divine Dyad as a model, tend to stress a concept known as polarity, and also physical fertility. Even those groups that do not stress physical fertility have re-interpreted the liturgy to refer to artistic or intellectual fertility, that is, creativity.

Feri, on the other hand, has always had a primary focus on ecstasy. Perhaps this is in part due to the plurality of deities it regularly deals with. As a result, sex of any stripe is honored as a gift of the Gods in its own right. Heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, polysexuality, transgendered sexuality, in short, all of sexuality, is its holiest mystery. It has no reason to simplify this into redundant sexual roles. The Witch, in this system, is complete in herself, needing no other to complete her magic.

6. Wicca tends to view a written corpus, called a Book of Shadows, as an oathbound secret. This conceivably includes Sabbat and Full Moon rites, spells, invocations, and other lore handed down by one's initiator.

Feri, on the other hand, has traditionally been an Oral Tradition, with no Books of Shadows handed from one generation to the next. This reduces greatly the amount of information that can be labeled as secret. Indeed, non-initiates can successfully work the rites of the tradition, accessing the Gods and Goddesses and Guardian Protectors just as an initiate can.

7. Wicca has three degrees of initiation, only after the Third of which is one qualified to go out and teach and initiate. Since the initiatory process is so protracted, First initiations can happen after only a year of instruction, since additional time can be spent between the rest of the degrees.

Feri has but one initiation, so students of Feri often wait in excess of five years until they undergo initiation. But as a result, initiates can begin training and initiating immediately thereafter.

8. The three Wiccan degrees of initiation are uniform throughout the tradition they purport to provide entry to. Variation in degrees draws membership in the Tradition into question.

Feri initiations can vary widely, and often do, as long as certain core lore is passed during the course of initiation. In this way, rites of initiation are often tailored to the specific individual being initiated. Many Feries feel that an initiation should be tailored to the individual in order to be more powerful.

9. Many Wiccan covens place great emphasis on worship, and the working of magic for healing or for helping its membership. Although some covens have adopted an approach to spiritual growth which includes personal work, this is not characteristic of the movement as a whole.

This contrasts with Feri, in which we are taught that we need to heal ourselves before we can truly wield power in a healthy way. Feri places much more emphasis on inner work, psychological healing, and personal empowerment as prerequisites to understanding true power, and divine will. Some specifically Feri tools used to accomplish this self-development work are:

a.) The Three Souls, and their alignment
b.) The Iron Pentacle
c.) The Pearl Pentacle
d.) Elemental Balancing
e.) Kala Rite
f.) Deity work
g.) Shadow Lover [or Demon work]

Of these, only Deity work is shared with our Wiccan Cousins, and even so, manifests very differently in the two types of circles. So, you'll see that Feri and Wicca are really about as distinct as Wicca and Ceremonial Magic - many of the tools are shared, but the aims and the methods tend to vary considerably.

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