Okay, so these people aren't fluffy bunnies. They're sort of the polar opposite... or perhaps right next door. Whatever relation they are, they're just as bad, and just as (or more) likely to piss you off. They practice 'Traditional Wicca'. Hardasses. Wiccan fundies. Now, I'm not saying all Traditional Wiccans are bad. There's just a great number that are, and give a bad name to their Traditions, just as the crazy creepy fundamental Christians give a bad name to Christianity. These people might have lineage back to the first Gardnerian coven, or they may just have delusions of grandeur, or just a great big superiority complex (sometimes it's difficult to tell those apart).

Most Gardnerians tend to believe that Solitary Wiccans aren't 'real' Wiccans. Let's get this straight... Gerald Gardner is not the end-all be-all of Wicca. He proclaimed that magick had to be performed skyclad, lest clothing impede the transfer of magick. He also placed emphasis on the ceremonial importance of 'scourging' or whipping (this raised eyebrows even among his fellow believers, and most Gardnerians don't do the flagellation thing). Wanna go nude for ritual? Have at it. It's a wonderful thing, if you feel comfortable, but it should never, ever be forced. If someone tries to tell you that you absolutely have to strip down for their circles, please find another coven. And the scourging? Uh, well... again, I suppose if it's something you want to do, okay. But to tell someone that they have to go through some torturous experience to be a part of your celebration? That's past 'silly', and way into 'just fucking stupid' territory. If you want to learn more about things Gerald said that have since been proven lies (such as claiming to have doctorates in philosophy and literature, and so-claimed 'ancient lore'), read about them here.

One of their biggest gripes about the 'rest' of the Wiccan traditions is that they don't trace their lineage back to the first coven ever, or some such. To them, if you can't (or won't, or just plain don't) trace that lineage back to whenever, you aren't Wiccan. They'll screech and tell you something along the lines of, "You're not Wiccan. You're just neo-pagan, or neo-Wiccan, or a New Ager." They love the 'neo-' prefix, and use it as a pseudo insult because it means 'new' or 'recent'. Wicca itself is a very new religion... how can they call Dianics, Eclectics, Faerie, and other Traditions new, when theirs is just a couple of years older? I don't know, don't ask me, it's part of the WTF factor of their whole elitism thing.

Another of the things you might get into it with them about is initiation and dedication to the Goddess (and/or the God). To them, initiation is something that is done by a coven, to a new member. They'll especially spazz out at the mention of self-initiation or self-dedication. They don't believe that you're reeeeally Wiccan until you've been initiated into a coven, and you absolutely positively cannot initiate yourself. How unheard of! Pardon me while I roll my eyes repeatedly. Here will come those neo- prefixed words again. "If you haven't been initiated [insert 'into a coven' or 'by a Gardnerian' here], you aren't a Wiccan! You're just a neo-pagan!" Riiight. Now, if you went up to your average, everyday Christian (and it has been proven by many polls that the average Christian does not go to church every time the doors crack open) and told them that they are not really a Christian just because they don't attend church, or because they haven't been baptised into a certain church... well, most will look at you like you're a moron, and some of them might just deck you. See the parellel I'm drawing there?

Another thing you might hear them having fits about are secrets. Secrets, secrets, secrets. Now, I understand the need for some secrets. No one wants everyone on Earth knowing everything they do. But sometimes, secrets breed distrust. Even more often, they breed fear. Fear breeds hate. (And yet, they wonder why people from other Traditions look at them sideways?) They keep everything they do very secreted, and label anyone who breathes a word of any of these things an 'oathbreaker'. There was someone a little while back who somehow got ahold of a Gardnerian's Book of Shadows and published it somewhere on the internet. Right now, they're all quite glowery over him. (By the way, if you want to have a look at a Gardnerian BoS, wander over this way.)

I have also found that there are more political conservatives/Republicans and pro-lifers among these superiorists than in the other Traditions put together. Take from that what you will (all I can think is "it figures"). Little disclaimer here: I respect these Wiccan fundamentalists just as much as I respect any religion. But that does not mean I have to agree with the things they do.