The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of
modern Pagan
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
. It was founded in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the 1960s by the Americans
Victor Henry Anderson
Victor Henry Anderson (May 21, 1917 – September 20, 2001) was an American priest and poet. He was co-founder of the Feri Tradition, a Modern Paganism, modern Pagan new religious movement established in California during the 1960s. Much of his p ...
and his wife Cora Anderson.
Practitioners have described it as an
ecstatic
Ecstasy () is a subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of their awareness. In classical Greek literature, it refers to removal of the mind or body "from its normal place of function."
Total involvement with ...
tradition rather than a
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
tradition. Strong emphasis is placed on sensual experience and awareness, including sexual mysticism, which is not limited to heterosexual expression.
["The Faery Tradition" ©1988, 1995, 2000 Anna Korn] The Feri Tradition has very diverse influences, such as
Huna,
Vodou,
Faery lore,
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
,
Hoodoo,
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...
, and
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
.
Definition
Scholars of Paganism like Joanne Pearson and Ethan Doyle White have characterised Feri as a
Wicca
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 ...
n tradition. The latter noted however that some practitioners of modern Pagan Witchcraft restrict the term ''Wicca'' to
British Traditional Wicca
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 ...
, in which case Feri would not be classified as Wicca; he deemed this exclusionary definition of the term to be "unsuitable for academic purposes". Instead, he characterised Feri as one form of Wicca which is nevertheless distinct from others, such as British Traditional Wicca,
Dianic Wicca
Dianic Wicca, also known as Dianic Witchcraft, and, to some also as "Dianism," "Dianic Feminist Witchcraft," or simply "Feminist Witchcraft"' is a modern pagan, goddess tradition, focused on female experience and empowerment. Leadership is by wo ...
, and
Stregheria
Stregheria () is the root form of witchcraft originating in Southern Europe, but also includes Italian American witchcraft. Stregheria is sometimes referred to as ''La Vecchia Religione'' (" the Old Religion"). The word '' stregheria'' is an archa ...
. Most practitioners reject this delineation.
History
Anderson met Cora Ann Cremeans in
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...
, in 1944; they married three days later, on 3 May, claiming that they had encountered each other before in the
astral
Astral may refer to:
Concepts of the non-physical
* Astral body, a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers
* Astral journey (or ''astral trip''), the same as having an ''out-of-body experience''
* Astral plane (AKA astral world), a ...
realm. Born in
Nyota, Alabama, in January 1915, Cora had been exposed to folk magical practices from childhood; reputedly, her Irish grandfather was a "root doctor" who was known among locals as the "
druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
". The Andersons claimed that one of their first acts after their marriage was the erection of an
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
. The following year, a son was born, and they named him Victor Elon, with the latter being the Hebrew word for
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
; Cora claimed that she had received the name in a dream. After the birth, a ritual was held to dedicate the infant to the Goddess. In 1948, the family moved to
Niles, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...
, later that year purchasing a home in
San Leandro
San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...
. There, Anderson became a member of the Alameda Lodge of the
Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.) is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898, in Seattle, Washington, by a group of six theater owners including John Cort (the first president), brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harry ...
, and he subsequently remained so for forty years. Victor earned his living as a musician, playing the
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
at events, while Cora worked as a hospital cook. It has been claimed that Anderson could speak Hawaiian, Spanish, Creole, Greek, Italian, and Gothic.
In the mid-1950s Victor and Cora read ''
Witchcraft Today
''Witchcraft Today'' is a non-fiction book written by Gerald Gardner. Published in 1954, ''Witchcraft Today'' recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history and the practices of the witch-cult, and his claim to have met practising witches in 1930s ...
'', a 1954 book by English Wiccan
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bri ...
, with Cora claiming that Victor corresponded with Gardner for a time. The Pagan studies scholar
Chas S. Clifton has suggested that the Andersons used Gardner's work as a "style guide" for the development of their own tradition of modern Pagan witchcraft. Similarly, Kelly stated that the Andersons' tradition "began to more and more resemble that of the Gardnerians" as the couple learned more about the latter, adopting elements from it.
Anderson was in correspondence with the Italian-American Wiccan
Leo Martello
Leo Martello (September 26, 1930 – June 29, 2000) was an American Wiccan priest, gay rights activist, and author. He was a founding member of the Strega Tradition, a form of the modern Pagan new religious movement of Wicca which drew upon his ...
, who encouraged Anderson to found his own coven. Circa 1960, the Andersons founded a coven, naming it Mahealani, after the Hawaiian word for the full moon. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Andersons initiated a number of individuals into the coven. One of these was
Gwydion Pendderwen
Thomas deLong (May 21, 1946 – November 6, 1982), better known as Gwydion Pendderwen, was an American musician, writer, poet, conservationist and witch.
Early life
Pendderwen was born in Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the ea ...
, a friend of their son who shared their interest in
the esoteric
The Esoteric is an American hardcore/ rock band founded in 1996 from Lawrence, Kansas. They are currently signed to Prosthetic Records. Following several self-produced EPs, the band's debut full-length, '' With the Sureness of Sleepwalking'' ...
. Pendderwen contributed to the development of what came to be known as the Feri tradition, with some members of the lineage viewing him as its co-founder. Pendderwen noted that he had first met the family when, aged thirteen, he got into a fight with Victor Elon, although the two later became friends. Pendderwen was particularly influenced by
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...
, and on a visit to Britain he spent time with the
Alexandrian Wiccans
Alex Sanders and
Stewart Farrar
Frank Stewart Farrar (28 June 1916 – 7 February 2000) was an English screenwriter, novelist and prominent figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca, which he devoted much of his later life to propagating with the aid of his seventh wife, ...
, subsequently introducing various Alexandrian elements into Feri Wicca. In the early 1970s, the Andersons established a new coven with Pendderwen and his initiate, Alison Harlow. After Pendderwen married, his wife also joined this coven, although it disbanded in 1974.
Andersons' teaching
Over the next four decades, the Andersons would initiate between twenty-five and thirty people into their tradition.
Anderson has been described as one of the "founding teachers" and the "seminal voice" of the Feri tradition. The original word that the Andersons used for their tradition was ''Vicia'', which Cora claimed was Italian. She added that "the name Fairy became accidentally attached to our tradition because Victor so often mentioned that word in speaking of nature spirits and Celtic magic". Early initiates alternately spelled the name of the tradition as ''Fairy'', ''Faery'', or ''Faerie'', although Anderson began using the spelling ''Feri'' during the 1990s to differentiate it from other witchcraft traditions of the same name; not all practitioners followed his example. Cora claimed that ''Feri'' was the word's original spelling, adding that it meant "the things of magic". Anderson also referred to his form of Wicca as the ''Pictish'' tradition. In their writing, the Andersons mixed terminology adopted from Huna, Gardnerian Wicca, and Vodou, believing that all reflected the same underlying magico-religious tradition. It drew heavily upon the
huna system developed by
Max Freedom Long. According to one Feri initiate, Corvia Blackthorn:
:"The Andersons' teaching method was very informal. There were no classes in an academic sense, only conversations and the occasional ritual, usually followed by a home-cooked meal. Discussions with Victor were non-linear and overflowing with information. Someone once aptly remarked that talking to Victor was like to trying to drink from a fire hose. Often the connecting threads and underlying patterns in the information didn't become apparent until later on. There was also a non-verbal component to Victor's teaching. He was a true shaman, and had the ability to shift the consciousness of his students on a level well below the surface of conversation."
According to Kelly:
:"Studying with Victor presented some unusual problems. He demanded as much respect as any working-class grandfather might. One could ask for clarification, but to even hint that one disagreed with him, or worse yet, to contradict him, would result in an immediate and permanent order to leave. One was tempted to ask such forbidden questions because Victor lived in mythic time and was totally uninterested in other people's concepts of logic or consistency;... Another student told me that when Victor read a new book and believed it was true, then he considered it to have always been true and would rethink his history accordingly."
According to one initiate, Jim Schuette, Anderson was "a taskmaster. He took pride in testing his students."
One of those initiated into the Andersons' Feri tradition was
Starhawk
Starhawk (born Miriam Simos on June 17, 1951) is an American feminist and author. She is known as a theorist of feminist Neopaganism and ecofeminism.
In 2013, she was listed in Watkins' ''Mind Body Spirit'' magazine as one of the 100 Most Spir ...
, who incorporated ideas from the Feri tradition when creating
Reclaiming
In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. ...
. She also included aspects from it in her 1979 book, ''
The Spiral Dance
''The Spiral Dance: a Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess'' is a book about Neopagan beliefs and practices written by Starhawk. It was first published in 1979, with a second edition in 1989 and a third edition in 1999. It is a ...
'', including mention of the Iron and Pearl Pentagram and the three souls, all of which originated within Feri.
Another prominent initiate was Gabriel Carillo (Caradoc ap Cador), who in the late 1970s developed a written body of Feri teachings, and began offering paid classes in the tradition in the 1980s, generating the Bloodrose lineage; doing so generated controversy among Feri initiates, with critics believing that it was morally wrong to charge for teaching.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Anaar, ''The White Wand''. Looks at the artistic foundations of Feri. It also includes an interview with Victor Anderson. (available as pdf fro
White Wand: Intersection of Feri and Art
* Cora Anderson, ''Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition''. Musings about the Feri tradition and community.
* Cora Anderson, ''Kitchen Witch: A Memoir'' –her life. (Harpy Books)
* Victor Anderson, ''Thorns of the Blood Rose''. A collection of his poetry, much of which has found its way into the liturgies and rituals of the tradition.
* Victor Anderson, ''Lilith's Garden''. A companion volume to ''Thorns of the Blood Rose'', is another collection of mostly liturgical poetry, including some that was considered too "scandalous" for inclusion in the original volume.
* Victor Anderson. ''Etheric Anatomy: The Three Selves and Astral Travel'', (Harpy Books
Harpy Books. A look at the psychic structure of the human being, with intuitive insights into some of the practices of Feri magick.
* Cornelia Benavidez. ''Victor H. Anderson: An American Shaman'', (Megalithica Books). Interviews with Victor Anderson accompanied by contextualizing essays.
* T. Thorn Coyle, ''Evolutionary Witchcraft''. Training manual in Feri written primarily for a non-Feri pagan audience. Contains poetry, exercises, and lore.
* T. Thorn Coyle, ''Kissing the Limitless''. Expands on and continues the training in ''Evolutionary Witchcraft'', for use with whatever spiritual path the reader follows.
* Francesca De Grandis, ''Be A Goddess''. Comprehensive training in Fey (not-Feri)
shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
. The better portion of its liturgy, worldview, and cosmology was channeled by the author, who came from a family tradition, with feedback from Victor Anderson on parts of the manuscript.
* Francesca De Grandis, ''Goddess Initiation''. An experiential initiatory journey into Goddess spirituality and Fey shamanism.
* Storm Faerywolf, "Betwixt and Between: Exploring the Faery Tradition of Witchcraft". (Llewellyn Worldwide). A comprehensive study of Feri Tradition, that includes lore, rituals, liturgy, and recipes.
* Starhawk, ''The Spiral Dance''. Early and influential liturgical codification of Anderson craft.
External links
Feri Tradition Community ResourcesFeri Tradition Community Resources
Anderson Faery (Feri) WitchcraftEssays by Faery Witches
Lilith's LanternLilith's Lantern (archive)
by Phoenix Willow
Pagan Theologies: Feri Traditionby Niklas Gander
ReclaimingOfficial Reclaiming Collective homepage
----
{{Authority control
Modern pagan traditions
1960s in modern paganism