HISTORY OF THE CORRELLIAN NATIVIST TRADITION

 

 

 

The Correllian Nativist Tradition is based upon the teachings of members of the High-Correll family.  The High-Correll family were descended from a line of Cherokee Didanvwisgi who intermarried with a line of Scottish Traditional Witches, whose descendants were further influenced by Aradian Witchcraft and the Spiritualist Church.

 

The founder of the Tradition is the blv. Orpheis Caroline High-Correll.  She is said to have founded the Tradition as an entity separate from her ancestry, on September 4, 1479 Pisces (1879 CE).  Orpheis Caroline was a practicing psychic, spiritual healer, and herbalist, and spent many years with the traveling circus which she owned with her husband, John Correll.

 

In creating Correllian Nativist Wicca, Orpheis Caroline drew upon her Native American heritage, as well as ideas of European Witchcraft, Spiritualism, and Hermetic thought.

 

The early history of the Correllian Tradition is somewhat unclear, with familial and religious structures wholly interconnected.  The family followed a very formal, matriarchal and matrilinear structure with its roots in Cherokee custom, from which the current offices of the Correllian Tradition derive their form.

 

Lady Orpheis called the Tradition simply Nativist, and this would remain the Tradition’s primary designation until the appellation of the term “Correllian Nativist” in 1592 Pisces (1992 CE), or as we now more commonly call it; Correllian.

 

Lady Orpheis’ Nativism was a highly political and deeply synchretic form of Pagan universalism, which stressed the need for the world’s Native (Pagan) religions to unite in the face of colonial Christianity. 

 

Whether Correllian Nativism was originally a branch of what would be later be called “Wicca” or not is a matter of debate.  Correllianism’s claim to Wiccan status rests both upon Lady Orpheis’ claimed Scottish Traditional lineage, and also upon her Aradian lineage, which she acquired in 1504 Pisces (1904 CE) through Lydia Beckett, a student of Charles Leland.  We would say that any such debate would be only a matter of semantics anyway.

 

There have been many changes instituted in the Tradition over the years, particularly in the Council of 1579 Pisces (1979 CE) and the Council of 1592 (1992 CE) both of which struggled with the necessities involved in adapting the Traditions forms to the modern world and to the needs required for a public Tradition.

 

Today the Correllian Tradition has two Joint-Heads designated as First Priestess and First Priest, whose powers are represented by the office of Chancellor.  This is based upon the traditional Cherokee clan structure which was used by the High-Correll familial Tradition.  The Tradition has always had a Matriarchal Head (in Cherokee the Agayv Gigagei) and what might be termed a Fraternal Head.  The Matriarchal Head of the Tradition was usually the oldest woman, the Fraternal Head her brother or son. 

 

 

 

Below is a list of persons who have served in this capacity during the Traditions existence, ending with the current Joint-Heads.

 

Matriarchal Heads of Tradition              Fraternal Heads of Tradition

 

Orpheis Caroline High-Correll              William High

Mable High-Correll                               Frank High-Correll

LaVeda Lewis-Highcorrell (Regent)      William High-Correll

Krystel High-Correll                              Don Lewis-Highcorrell

 

BELIEFS OF THE CORRELLIAN NATIVIST TRADITION

 

“So what is the Correllian Nativist Tradition, and what makes it different from other Wiccan Traditions?”

 

Usually when people ask this question they are expecting a liturgical answer – some about the existence of certain special beliefs or rituals formulas that are totally unique to Correllianism.

 

It is a fact the Correllianism does put an unusually strong emphasis on philosophical aspects of Wicca, and on the spirituality and inner mysteries of the Wiccan religion, but liturgically our beliefs do no especially differ from those of other Wiccan Traditions.  Rather it is our attitudes toward the Pagan community and its future that tends to set us apart.

 

The Correllian Nativist Tradition is dedicated to the advancement of the Pagan people.  We believe strongly in the need for increased communication and co-operation between Pagans everywhere, from all Wiccan/Pagan Traditions.

 

We stress the importance of the Pagan Clergy as teachers and facilitators, and the need for a strong public presence.

 

The Correllian Nativist Tradition and its Shrines and Temples emphasize celebratory as well as initiatory Wicca, and as such are strongly committed to accessible pubic ritual worship of the Divine.

 

CORRELLIAN NATIVIST STRUCTURE

 

On Candlemas of 1579 (1979 CE) the Regent LaVeda, of beloved memory, convened the Correllian Council of Elders for what would be a momentous meeting.  This meeting ended the blv. LaVeda’s Regency, acclaiming her cousin Krystel High-Correll as the new Head of the Correllian Tradition. The Elders also acclaimed Lady LaVeda’s son, Donald Lewis Highcorrell, as Co-Head of Tradition. 

 

The Traditions current First Priestess is the Rt. Rev. Krystel High-Correll, and the First Priest is the Rt. Rev. Lord Don Lewis High-Correll.  The other leading governmental bodies within the Correllian Nativist Tradition include: The Witan Council, which is made up of all sitting Third Degree Temple Heads, Elders, and the Officers of the Tradition; and the Correllian Council of Elders which includes the Tradition Heads, Tradition Elders and many of it’s most respected members.  For more info about the Correllian Nativist Tradition and its various member Shrines and Temples go to:

 

http://www.correllian.com/index.htm