Feri Tradition

Feri Tradition

The Feri Tradition (referred to also as Vicia, Faery, or Anderson Feri) is an initiatory tradition of contemporary traditional witchcraft. It is an ecstatic (rather than fertility) tradition stemming from the experience of Cora and Victor Anderson . Strong emphasis is placed on sensual experience and awareness, including sexual mysticism, which is not limited to heterosexual expression. The Feri Tradition has very diverse influences, such as Huna, Vodou, Faery lore, Kabbalah, Hoodoo, Tantra, and Gnosticism.

Among the distinguishing features of the Feri tradition is the use of a specific Feri power or energetic current. Feri witches often see themselves as "fey": outside social definitions and intentionally living within paradox. They believe that much of reality is unseen, or at least has uncertain boundaries. Within the tradition there is a deep respect for the wisdom of nature, a love of beauty, and an appreciation of bardic and mantic creativity.

Core teachings acknowledged by most branches of the tradition include the concepts of the Three Souls and the Black Heart of Innocence, the tools of the Iron and Pearl Pentacle (now commonly also used by Reclaiming (Neopaganism), as well as an awareness of "energy ecology", which admonishes practitioners to never give away or waste their personal power. Trance experiences and personal connection to the Divine are at the heart of this path, leading to a wide variety of practices throughout the larger body of the tradition.

Early in 2011, a schism became visible around philosophical differences between those who wish to teach the religion publicly and for pay and those who prefer the more personal, one-on-one methods traditional to religious witchcraft. Some of the "old Craft" adherents have gone back to the older "Faery" spelling of the tradition in order to distinguish themselves from the more public faction, while others have not.

Feri is not a tradition of Wicca; there are Wiccan groups and traditions sometimes calling themselves "Fairy" (Faerie, Faery, etc.), but these are distinct from the Feri Tradition.