| Blue Star Wicca | |
|---|---|
.svg) A blueseptegram is used as the symbol of the Blue Star tradition. | |
| Abbreviation | BSW, B* |
| Type | Wicca |
| Classification | British Traditional Wicca (loosely) |
| Region | Mostly inUnited States |
| Founder | Frank Dufner |
| Origin | 1970s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Members | Around 1,000 (United States), 100–200 (outside United States)[citation needed] |
Blue Star Wicca is one of a number ofWiccan traditions, and was created in theUnited States in the 1970s based loosely on theGardnerian andAlexandrian traditions.
The "Coven of the Blue Star" and the traditions was established inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania in 1975 by Frank Dufner.[1] In 1980, on its membership application to theCovenant of the Goddess, the coven is described as practicing "Great American Nontraditional Collective Eclectic Wicca." Early hives from the original coven spread throughout the New York metropolitan area.[citation needed]
Tzipora Katz joined the coven in 1977 while with Frank Dufner, and was the original high priestess. Their marriage ended in 1983 when Katz became involved with folk musicianKenny Klein and releasedMoon Hooves in the Sand, which contained Blue Star liturgical music. From the years 1988 through 1992, the duo toured the US, and the couple helped found new covens while on the road.[2] In 1992, Katz (as Tzipora Klein) publishedCelebrating Life: Rites of Passage For All Ages through Delphi Press. Klein publishedThe Flowering Rod: Men, Sex and Spirituality in 1993, also through Delphi Press.
Blue Star practitioners includemusic in their ritual and liturgy along with ritual feasting, the use of aseptegram as a symbol rather than apentagram, and initiatorytattooing.[1] Blue Star and theFeri tradition are the only two large traditions of witchcraft to feature a septegram prominently in theirsymbolism.[2] Blue Star rituals typically have a roundaltar in the centre of the circle of participants. The positioning and handling of the ritual tools on the altar is given special attention within the tradition.[1]
The Blue Star tradition'stheology allows for enough flexibility to allowpolytheists,pantheists andmonotheists to participate in the tradition, and rituals can involveprayer orinvocation to Wiccan deities, thegods andgoddesses ofPagan peoples, or deified abstractions.[2]
Blue Star Wicca was inspired at least in part by both the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions, and was influenced by theAmerican Welsh tradition and thePagan Way series of class material.[2]
Blue Star has been cited as an influence on traditions such as Maidenhill Wicca and Braided Wheel; theOdyssean tradition is considered a "sister" or "cousin" tradition by adherents.[2][3]
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