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Circle of the Ancient Ways Temple is an Pagan Way Tradition coven,
teaching basic Craft. Covensted is in the Calumet region of northwest Indiana, also serving northeast Illinois.
Circle
of the Anicent Ways historical roots run deep into the fertile soil of Chicagoland's Pagan family, a descendant of the Chicago
Pagan Way line of Craft traditions.
Richard Clark's south suburban Calumet Pagan Temple of the 1970's was the seed
of many Chicago area witches and covens, just as the northside Chicago Temple of the Pagan Way. R. Clark was initiated by
Donna Cole Shultz, a former High Priestess of Temple of the Pagan Way with High Priest Herman Enderle, which followed Ed Fitch's
"Pagan Way" ritual system.
The Pagan Way system developed as a means to open up Gardnerian practices to a wider audience.
Circle
of the Ancient Ways ritual practice at this time, particularly Esbat practice, continues to resemble the Pagan Way system,
with less emphasis on its' ceremonial magick elements. Our ritual practices may be described as eclectic, as this Temple has
added to the Pagan Way system by exploring Celtic, Egyptian, Baltic, and other mythological and ritual traditions throught
the years. We do not "take pieces" from these systems and incorporate them into our practice, but we do study then.
About
1993, Circle of the Anicent Ways Temple was born as Ab Het Per. This was a coven that was formed after the High Priestess
of Aglaian Triad of Wicca left to form a new coven. In 1997, with a change of leadership of Ab Het Per, the name was changed
to ALKA of the Sacred Hearth. ALKA is an ancient Baltic word meaning grove, sanctuary.
In 2008, wishing to go back
to the Pagan Way roots, to become less eclectic, another name change was initiated, with no change in leadership.
Circle
of the Ancient Ways Temple is currently run by a High Priestess (the High Priest recently left us for the
Summerland) RIP Kovas. The group has been run non-stop by properly trained and initated Pagan Way High Priestess (and High
Priest). Just as we can not divulge the names of coven members, the names of the HPS is also private and will not
be divulged here.
Pagan Way History
"In 1967, an occult study and worship group was formed in Chicago....it's goal as restoring the Temple of Initiation
of the ancient Mysteries, ie. magick, the Craft and Paganism as expressed in the traditional philosophy of Western Occultis"
(Lucien).
According to Dianis Lucien (1988) "Pagan Way Witchcraft in Chicago, (and its daughter the Calumet Pagan Temple)
and indeed many Craft and Pagan groups around the country past and present, trace their origin and Initiatory descent to the
Temple of the Pagan Way in Chicago.
The members of the group were initiates of different systems of the Arts and all held Paganism to be the true religion
of the West....the group reconstructed ancient past mysteries and then developed modern methods of work which were meaningful
to the members and of service to all humanity." In 1974 the magickal name Uranus was adopted by the General Council.
Permission to reproduce part of Aglaian Triad of Wicca information page was obtained from Jeffrey Benner, September, 1999.
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