Traditional Cochranite Witchcraft

Traditional witchcraft, Traditional Craft, or TradCraft, are various terms used by certain esoteric traditions who regard their practices as forms of witchcraft but seek to stress their difference from Gerald Gardner’s Wicca and the modern Pagan movement by emphasizing a traditional aesthetic rooted in European folklore, and especially in practices as presented in extant records of the Witch Trials.

Historian Ethan Doyle White has ironically noted that noted that:

Although typically united by a shared aesthetic rooted in European folklore, the Traditional Craft contains within its ranks a rich and varied array of occult groups- [including] those who follow a contemporary Pagan path that is suspiciously similar to Wicca [despite Traditional Witchcraft’s rejection of any relation to Gardnerianism and the wider Wiccan movement].

As Andrew Chumbley noted, too:

To the question: ‘What is Traditional Craft?’, there are as many useful answers as there are practitioners of this mysterious persuasion. There is no single straightforward answer to such a query, and it is the wonderful diversity of possible responses which genuine practitioners may offer that is […] most enthralling. The scope of practices and beliefs which may be encompassed by the name “Traditional Craft” is unknown and shall ever remain so.

The main one of concern here is Cochrane's Craft, or Cochranianism- founded in 1951 by the English Witch Robert Cochrane (under the pen name of Roy Bowers) while in his early twenties; ironically Robert Cochrane is himself the one who gave Gardnerian Wicca its name, creating “Gardnerianism” as an insult; Cochrane was known for his scathing criticisms of Gerald Gardner and the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca during what would become a lifelong obsessive vendetta against Gardner and his creation.

The first coven Cochrane raised was named The Clan of Tubal Cain after the biblical figure Tubal-cain, the first blacksmith, who also plays a significant role in Traditional lore. He then initiated his wife Jane and several others into the craft. Among these was Evan John Jones, and later even Doreen Valiente after she abandoned Gerald Gardner and Wicca. In 1966 Robert Cochrane committed suicide, however, and his widow Jane named Evan John Jones the new Magister of the Clan of Tubal Cain.

In 1982 Dave & Ann Finnin (both Americans) were adopted into the Clan of Tubal Cain. They were later named Magister and Maid of a satellite group called The Roebuck. Conflicts later arose between Jones and the Finnians, and he ceased communications with the couple; David and Ann Finnan had previously received 3 years of training under Joseph “Bearwalker” Wilson, but later rejected his 1734 tradition in favor of John Jones of Clan Tubal Cain instead.

In 1996, Jones was introduced to Shani Oates via Mike Howard and appointed her the Maid of the Clan in 1998, giving her "supreme and undivided authority over the whole Clan". Oates then named Robin the Dart her new Magister. In 2017, Ulric Goding was further appointed by Oates as Magister of the Clan, as the successor.

Describing Cochrane's creation of his Witchcraft tradition, Oates remarked that:

Like any true craftsman, he was able to mold raw material into a magical synthesis, creating a marvelous working system, at once instinctively true and intrinsically beautiful.

Main Sources

'Traditional Witchcraft' section of the "Neopagan Witchcraft" article via Wikipedia
'Cochrane's Craft' article via Wikipedia
'The Non-Adept’s Guide to Robert Cochrane' by Jason Mankey via Pantheos
'How to Use this Course Guide' PDF by Laurelei Black and the The Red Thread Academy
'What is Traditional Craft: A Brief Discourse Regarding the Nature of Traditional Witchcraft and Allied Forms of Magical Practice' article by Andrew Chumbley