Lesson 2 - Some Branches on the Family Tree

I agree with you Noa about defining someone else's practice. That is why I included the disclaimer "never assume that you know about another persons practice because you can define a term." in the lesson plan.

I do see having a basic understanding of practices as important to developing a meaningful and connected interfaith community. Of course, being a know it all because I read a wikipedia page won't build anything good :-)

Below is my completed assignment. I do hope to reschedule the call I cancelled this week and would welcome suggestions on the day.

Druid - OBD states that Druids share a belief in the fundamentally spiritual nature of life. There is no one common understanding of deity. Nature forms such an important focus of their reverence, that whatever beliefs they hold about Deity, all Druids sense Nature as divine or sacred.

Folk - The magickal traditions of any group of people. These techniques, often in the form of sympathetic magic, frequently use simple techniques and methods.

Goddess worship - One example is Dianic Wicca founded by Zsuzsanna Budapest in the United States in the 1970s. It is notable for its worship of a single Goddess and focus on egalitarian, matriarchal feminism.

Heathen - Heathens work to build healthy relationships with Northern European gods and goddesses, ancestors, spirits of the land, and others in their communities, both through holy rites and through their day to day actions and deeds.

Hereditary - A Witch who was born into a family of Witches. Sometimes, the immediate parents may not be practitioners and the link is through a grandparent, aunt, etc.

Left Handed Path - Left-Hand Paths often reject societal convention and the status quo believing that the breaking of taboo will lead to spiritual freedom.

Rootwork - Rootwork is typically synonymous with Hoodoo, Conjure and Voodoo. All of which are magickal practices I would define as African American Folk magick.

Secular Pagan - Secular Paganism is not a religion; it is an ethical view of the world, based on the belief that Nature is sacred and must be respected and treasured. - Abby Willowroot. There is a great article “Am I a Secular Pagan” that is worth the read.

Shaman - I think this is likely the most tricky. To my mind, Shamanism is shifted consciousness and working on the spiritual plane using mostly natural and often passed down tools and techniques. Because the word shaman is based upon closed culture traditions, cultural appropriation often comes up in articles I’ve read.

Thelemite - Thelema is a Greek word meaning "will" or "intention". Most Thelemites hold that every person possesses a True Will, a single overall motivation for their existence. The Law of Thelema mandates that each person follow their True Will to attain fulfillment in life and freedom from restriction of their nature. Enjoyed Thelema 101.

Witchcraft - The one thing i find in common across many resources is that witchcraft is about magick. Didn’t find a single thing that talked about witchcraft as a faith. Interesting to find that one of the catholic definitions said the line between magick and witchcraft is calling upon demonic forces for aid.

Wicca - I feel like the single best definition I found for Wicca was also the simplest. “Wicca might best be described as a modern religion, based on ancient Witchcraft traditions.” Although Wicca is quite eclectic today the British Traditional Wicca is largely duotheistic.

New age movement - A spiritual movement in the western world that began in the 1960’s. It draws on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and infuses them with influences from self-help and motivational psychology". The term New Age refers to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius.
Continual indigenous religions (Shinto, Hindu, Tribal) - This is pretty straight forward. I think of them as actual pagan not neo pagan practices. Each one is unique and worth reading an understanding.

Buddhism - The theology of buddhism is complex and although the following definition does not represent the totality I think it is a good beginning bit of understanding. “In Buddhism, the ultimate objective of followers/practitioners is enlightenment and/or liberation from Samsara; rather than to go to a Heaven (or a deva realm in the context of Buddhist cosmology).”