With a few minor differences, the Alexandrian Wiccan tradition is quite similar to that of Gardnerians.
- The majority of Alexandrian rituals are substantially influenced by Western ceremonial magic.
- The Goddess and the God are often used to represent the sexuality of chit female-male polarity.
- The year is divided between the Holly King and the Oak King in the Alexandrian ceremonial year, and many ritual plays relate with the idea of a dying/resurrected Alexandrian Wicca was created by Alex Sanders and his wife, Maxine Sanders, at the time.
- Alex Sanders claimed that his aged grandmother initiated him into a familial lineage of Wicca in 1933, however paperwork has subsequently surfaced indicating that Sanders had Gardnerian training to the first degree with an English Gardnerian witch.
- Unlike common assumption, the name Alexandrian is claimed to relate to the Egyptian city of Alexandria, which was once a center of intellectual and occult activity.
Though similar to Gardnerian Wicca, the Alexandrian Wiccan approach is a little more varied.
- In Alexandrian covens, ritual nudity is optional, and many images of Sanders during ritual show him in ceremonial robes rather than sky clad (Clothing and Ornamentation).
- As a rule, Alexandrian covens focus strongly on training and place more emphasis on ceremonial magic practices such as Kabbalah, angelic magic, and Enochian magic.
- Mary Nesnick, an American initiate in both the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions, synthesized the two systems into a "new" tradition she dubbed "Algard."
- The Alexandrian coven has a hierarchical structure that includes degrees and a High Priestess and High Priest.
- They usually assemble once a week, or at least during full and new moons, as well as festivals (The Ritual Year).
- The tools and rituals used by Alexandrian Wicca are mostly the same as those used by Gardnerian Wicca, albeit in some circumstances they are employed differently (Tools of the Art).
In addition, the names of Alexandrian deities and quarter guardians vary from those employed in Gardnerian ritual. The discrepancies may look superficial, yet they reflect profound and profound philosophical disagreements.
The two traditions have progressively migrated into each other over the last thirty years, particularly in the United Kingdom, where Viviane Crowley often trains her initiates in both systems.
Individual covens continue to follow different ways of life and labor, but the word Wicca has come to include both traditions in the United Kingdom and North America.
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