Pseudo History, Fluff Bunnies and Wicca

The following is long and a bit rambling. It is just some thoughts I have had going around in my head, and thought I would put down for personal clarity. These are just my opinions. I don’t wish to imply that I have a unique and correct insight that others miss. This is simply the way I have seen things. I thought I would post this and give others the opportunity to comment one way or the other.

It is not really meant as a rant against fluff bunnies. Rather some observations of how and why things have gone the way they have in Wicca, and how I feel it effects me as an individual. I would really like to get some others’ perspectives on the whole evolution of things, even from those non-Wiccans here.

I have been noticing a few things about Wicca and the changes it has been going through over the past decade or so. I first began to get involved with Wicca in 1982. I felt it would round out my spiritual practices, and it did.

I have to admit that one of the things that appealed to me about it were the mystery and the fact that it directly addressed some of the most primal aspects of human existence; life, death and sex.

At that time the more vocal debates about the origin of Wicca were just getting into swing. There had always been controversy I suppose, but up until then it was mostly debate within or between occult groups, and an occasional article in one of the few Pagan publications.

So, for the most part, at that time people were still being taught the idea that Wicca was an ancient tradition that went back practically to Paleolithic times. That the form may have changed, but what we were doing was in direct decent of what our primitive (yet spiritually advanced it seems) ancestors did. I know that for me and the circle of individuals I associated with, this so called ancient link and sense of antiquity given to what we were doing lent a sense of awe when we entered a circle. It produced a certain mindset that opened us to the wondrous. Gardner may have reworked some stuff and supplemented it, but as far as we were concerned he was a Witch who’s practices could be traced to the farthest reaches of human memory. He was in touch with something that modern man, living in modern society, had been mostly cut off from. We few who were following this path were trying to reconnect to something ancient, enlightening and yes, powerful.

There were some good books out. Even those of us lucky enough to find a coven supplemented our practice with stuff from these books. But these books were written by people like us, who felt we were dealing with something ancient and mysterious. They were not best sellers, and most bookstores did not carry them. Searching these books out lent a certain sense of adventure to the whole learning process.

Gardner had talked about life and death in plain terms. Death is still a subject that we avoid in most western societies, but here was a guy who explained that birth, death, and sex were all a part of the great cycle we, as animals on the Earth, were a part of. It was a philosophy that included both the base and the sublime. It dealt with the body and its functions, sweat, blood and the dirt under our feet. But also the spirit, the search for transcendence, the union with the higher forces of the universe.

We thought about things we otherwise would not have. We celebrated dirt, sex and death. There was joy in it, but also something dark. Not in an evil way, but in the sense that we were putting our minds to things our society labels as impolite conversation, morbid topics, and things better left unexamined.

As time progressed things changed. At first it seemed like a very good change to me. More books. Books actually geared to solitaires. Books suggesting self initiation is ok. And eventually books that dealt with the idea that the history we were being told about our links to the distant past, the numbers killed in the “Burning Times”, the stories of who were witches secretly in the past and the things they had done, were not accurate. That some were outright lies. That Gardner made it all up.

I did not care, and neither did most of those I knew. So Gardner made it up? He would not be the first to create a false history to give validation to his creation. It did not change the fact that what he created answered a spiritual need for some of us. So what if some of the awe at the thought of the antiquity was gone? So what if some of the mystery was lost when numerous variations of our secret ceremonies were being published in books for anyone to read?

At first it seemed that those who were learning on their own from just books and experimentation were doing well. They were just as dedicated, and often just as educated. They also tended to have a streak of creativity that was breathing new life into Wicca. They were making it more accessible and understandable. This was, to me, a good thing. If Wicca could help people searching for something missing in their spiritual lives then I was all for it. We were still part of something different. Something that may becoming available to more people. But due to its frank nature, and dealing with certain aspects of life that most preferred not incorporate in to their spiritual thinking, it was not going to be the path for very many despite this deluge of information being easily accessable.

But as the history was refuted and the secrecy was stripped away things started to change. There were those who felt that since Gardner made it up it was fair game to change the things they did not like. Fine to certain extent. I am all for people modifying to fit their needs, to a point.

But in my opinion some of those things that have been changed are some of the things that make Wicca what it is. The first casualties were the Death and Sex. Birth was ok, and you can’t get away from the death completely, but it was drastically reduced in importance and brushed under the rug.

Magic, in terms of spell work, started to take precedence over religion. I never understood this since you don’t need the religion to do the spell work. But it seems many would be Witches and Magicians wanted to seize on the concept of “White Witchcraft” in a way that seemed less threatening to others or themselves.

The problem is that Gardner’s Wicca was not not threatening (please forgive the double negative). It was, in fact, rather radical and dangerous in its own way. Not inherently dangerous to the individual practicing it, but dangerous in a societal sense because it provided a worldview that was significantly different from that of Western society as a whole. At lest that is how it seemed to me in my younger years. The changes being made were in order to make it more appealing as a possible spiritual path to a wider bunch of people, and more acceptable to society at large.

The books coming out were “lighter”. Less Sex and Death. Not only were certain practices that were not appealing to a large number of people called unnecessary, old fashioned or optional: they were not mentioned at all.

I was recently reading a review of some Wicca books on amazon and found people criticizing Raymond Buckland’s early books. Not criticizing his writing style or overly authoritarian tone. They were criticizing his use of bondage and scourging during initiation rites. His discussion of sexuality as sacred. His explanation of the Great Rite in fact, not symbolism. There were those calling him sick and perverted.

I was floored at this. All these things are part of the Wicca Gerald Gardner created. They have been a part since long before I was born. And here are people who have no clue of that. They call themselves Wiccan, but look upon some of the most basic concepts of Wicca as sick and perverted.

With the discarding of the Pseudo history Gardner created for Wicca there seems to have been a loss of understanding of why he did things the way he did. I have come to realize that the pseudo history contained a lot of the myth and symbolism that defined the message of Wicca.

Joseph Campbell once said that the problem with Christianity is that it takes it’s myths too literal. In doing so the symbolic message contained in those myths is lost to many. In the case of Wicca we have discarded the myth altogether, and with it the core of what it is all about.

I try not to be judgmental, but I have a hard time seeing these “fluff bunnies” as Wiccan. Not because I am an elitist who thinks that every one who does not agree with my version of Wicca is a heretic. But these are people who don’t even have a clue they are disagreeing with the original teachings of Wicca. Wicca is a religion of Death, Birth and Sex, yet these people are trying to remove these very things, or at lest trying to change the concepts to the point that Gardner himself would not recognize.

The books are teaching something very different than what I was taught. They are more about spells with a touch or religion thrown in. They are about casting circles and consecrating the pretty new wand you bought at the local occult shop. The dirt and blood and sweat are gone. The extremes of life, the pain and joy, celebrated and cherished in Wicca have been converted to more acceptable and palatable middle of the road point of view.

The few concepts that have survived because they were acceptable enough not to be changed or removed have been adhered to with such ferocity that their true meaning and purpose have been lost in rabid fundamentalism. Like most fundamentalists these Wiccans hold certain things about their religion as absolutes while brushing the aspects they are not comfortable with under the rug. The old “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” syndrome.

The mystery religion of Wicca is now Pop Culture. Wicca (in it’s lightened form) is hip. It is on television. Or at lest the term Wicca is. Those who are supposed to be Wiccan on these shows bear even less resemblance to Gardner’s concepts than the new crop of fluff Wiccans. We have become trendy and trite. The lightening up of Wicca has not really brought us in to the mainstream of religion in the U.S. We are just a fad to some, a joke to others, and just as evil to those who look for evil under every stone.

I am starting to feel that Wicca, as I have always thought of it, is dead. There is a new Wicca in town and it bears little resemblance. I am reluctant to use the term anymore for myself. I find that if I have to describe myself in terms of religion I fall on my roots and simply say Buddhist. At least that typically gets some respect. Or just call myself a general Pagan and leave it at that.

I am not a strict traditionalist. I think change can be a good thing. But change something too much and it is no longer the same thing. It is fine for folks who don’t feel comfortable skyclad to wear robes, but don’t turn around and call the skyclad folks perverted. It is fine to forgo scourging in initiations, but don’t assume that it was there just for kicks. Try to understand the reason it was there and replace it with something that achieves the same effect in a way more acceptable to you. Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.

This new, new religion of Wicca is not for me. The old, new religion of Wicca was more my cup of tea, but there is no place for it anymore it seems. What is a middle of the road Pagan/Buddhist to do? I don’t fit in with the strict British Traditionalists who accept every word of Gardner as holy write, and I don’t want to fit in with the fluff bunnies. I don’t want to abandon this part of my spiritual life. My core is Buddhist, but my outlook is often very Pagan. Change can be grand, but change can also suck. It all depends on what way the wind is blowing I guess.

 

Editorial Copyright © 2000 by Tony M. -originally found on ecauldron.net

The Thong Of Thor (Humor)

In days of yore, the great god Thor would ramp around creation.
He’d drink a pint and slay a giant and save the Nordic nation,
Or kill a Worm to watch it squirm and vainly try to fang him,
Or lock up Loki in the pokey and on the noggin bang him.

Once he did bawl through Thrudvang Hall that on a trip he’d wander
In a disguise from prying eyes, in Midgard way out yonder,
So all his slaves, huscarls and knaves, packed up his goods and gear, O,
And off he strode, on Bifrost road, a perfect Aryan hero.

In Midgard land he joined a band of hardy Viking ruff-i-ans,
And off they sailed and rowed and bailed among the auks and puff-i-ans.
Whene’er they’d reach a foreign beach they stopped to raid and plunder;
Each Nordic brute got so much loot their longship near went under.

But as they rolled in coins of gold, they had one joy forsaken,
For on each raid Thor’s party made, no women could be taken.
Each drab and queen fled from the scene when Viking sails were sighted,
And Thor felt the need for certain deeds that had gone unrequited.

Thor’s brows were black as they went back to Oslo’s rocky haven;
Unto his crew he said, “Beshrew me for a Frankish craven
“If I don’t wrench some tavern wench, or else may Frigga damn her.”
Replied one voice, “You got first choice; you’ve got the biggest hammer.”

Into an inn that crew of sin disembarked upon their landing,
Each tavern maid was sore afraid of pirates of such standing.
But golden coins warmed up their loins and the ale soon ran free;
Thor’s motley crew poured down the brew and made an all-night spree.

Thor’s glances strayed unto a maid with hair as gold as grain,
A lisp so shy, a downcast eye, and not a trace of brain;
He swept her charms into his arms and to an upstairs bower,
And did not cease nor give her ease for six days and an hour!

When he rose up and drained a cup, she looked like one that’s near death:
Her limbs were weak, she could not speak, and only gasped for her breath.
“You ought to know, before I go, I’m Thor,” he bade adieu.
“You’re Thor!” said she. “Conthider me! I’m thorer, thir, than you!”

An Article and a Thought

Wiccan Ethics And The Wiccan Rede

David Piper

---

Part I: What Sayeth The Rede?

The “archaically worded” construction “An it harm none, do what ye will,” rendered into modern English is literally, “if it doesn’t harm anyone, do what you want.”

Many modern Wiccans “reverse” the construction, however, taking the first part and putting it after the second to read: “Do what ye will an it harm none,” or in modern English “Do what you want if it doesn’t harm anyone.”

Many people give the word “an” or “if” a value of “so long as” – which is acceptable substitution, because it doesn’t alter the meaning of the Rede itself. However they then proceed to read “so long as” as “only if,” and that is *completely different*, because the Rede has ceased to be a “wise counsel” [anyone checked the meaning of "Rede" in the dictionary lately?] and become an injunction: prohibitive commandment, rather than permissive advice.

In other words, the original archaic construction actually says “if it is not going to hurt anyone, it is OK to do” – this is *not* the same as “if it hurts anyone it is *not* OK to do.”

What is the significance of the change? A larger one than you might see, at first glance.

The “actual construction Rede,” or AC Rede, says it is OK to do something that won’t harm anyone, but it *does not say anything* about those things which do cause harm, except to set an ethical standard of harmlessness as the criteria to judge by.

The “modern reconstruction Rede” or MR Rede, explicitly says that any and all actions that cause harm are forbidden.

The two constructions do *not* mean the same thing at all. And it should be obvious that this has implications on our thinking, and discussions of the possibility of “obeying” the Rede.

Most of you will have heard or read, as I have, people saying the Rede is something to strive to live by, even though mundane reality makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to do so to the letter. *This is only true of the MR Rede, not the AC Rede!* As examples, they cite situations such as self-defense; *this violates the MR Rede*. Period. But it does *not* violate the AC Rede. Period.

Earlier, I stated that the AC Rede does not rule on actions that do cause harm – and this is true. It only rules on those actions which do not, by saying that they are acceptable. This is relevant to “victimless crimes” for example – civil “crimes” may in fact be “ethical,” by the judgment of the AC Rede.

What the AC Rede *does* do, in terms of actions that cause harm, is state an ethical value by which an individual must judge the results of her/his actions before acting. In other words, by stating that a harmless action is ethical, the AC Rede sets harmlessness as the criteria for evaluation. Acting to prevent greater harm – but in the process causing lesser harm – may then be ethical, if there is no harmless, or more harmless, method of preventing that greater harm – because *not* acting to prevent harm is to *cause* it, by an act of *omission* rather than *commission*.

In short the difference between the AC Rede, and the MR Rede, is that the AC Rede is a perfectly-obeyable ethical standard, but the MR Rede is not, as so many people have pointed out. Do we take as our ethical standard a “counsel” which *can* be obeyed, or one which *necessitates rationalizing in some instances*? Which is truer to the Wicca, and to the *real* Rede?

“Rede: n. [Middle English Rede < Old English raed < base of raedan, to interpret] [archaic] 1. counsel; advice 2. a plan; scheme 3. a story; tale 4. an interpretation” (from Webster’s New World Dictionary)

Part II: “Do good, an it be safe…” (from the Ordains)

The MR Rede is the most common interpretation in Wicca today; so much so, that not only do many Wiccans not realize there’s a difference in the two constructions, but they *deny* it when it is pointed out to them, holding firmly to the MR Rede as what the original has always meant.

At first the change of language was only an attempt to bring the language up from archaic, to modern English; but in doing so – especially with the public relations campaign, to convince people that Wiccans are “not black magick/not devil worship/not evil nasty curse-casters” the “harmlessness” aspect of the Rede was stressed, over the personal responsibility aspect. And in essence Wiccans became the victims of their own PR campaign.

An additional result is the injunction that one may never work magick for others, even to heal, without their knowledge and consent. Of course, we are allowed by this injunction to ask “Can I pray for you?” as a means of obtaining the consent. From “a love spell aimed at one particular person is unethical because it violates their will only to serve our lust” we’ve moved to an extreme: to the prohibitive injunction against ever doing any magick for another without permission, since it violates their free will. Does anyone *really* believe the Gods will judge them ill, for attempting to heal someone?

What of the case of an unconscious accident victim and family unavailable to ask – are we forbidden to work? No, of course we’re not – but we *do* have to accept the karmic consequences of such acts. Do you really think that a neurotic who uses an illness as a crutch wouldn’t be better healed of that neurosis as well as the illness? Of course that may call up some karma if the person isn’t strong enough to give up that crutch yet. Once again the real criteria is *personal responsibility* and consideration of the consequences of one’s actions *before* one acts rather than the “thou shalt not” prohibitive commandment.

There is however another reason for the “prohibitive form” of these Redes – one which has some validity. The teacher bears a karmic responsibility for the student. There was a group whose teaching was, “No magick may be done for another, even to heal, without their consent; any exceptions may be decided only by the High Priestess and the High Priest.” The point of this is that a student is not yet experienced enough, not yet wise enough (since wisdom is the harvest we reap of our experience and knowledge), to have that kind of decision, and the resulting karmic burden, left to rest fully upon her/his shoulders – hence, some teachers and some Trads do not allow neophytes to have responsibility for that kind of decision-making.

It is far better, however, to teach a student the essential importance of personal responsibility, the need to look ahead for possible consequences before they act, than to lay “thou shalt not’s” upon them despite Wicca’s insistence that we have none.

I received a comment about the last sentence in part I, paragraph 3, that said “Ack! Welcome to the One Wiccan Commandment! Any ‘thou shalt nots’ lurking around?” Food for thought, my fellow Wiccans! Food for thought!

—

I know it has been a while since I have updated my BOS but to be honest I simply have not had the time.  My life changed a lot over the last few days and all I have for you (in all originality) is simply this one thought:

Where on earth do we get this idea that the faith we idealize is simply the only one?  How can we be true human beings if we do not try to get on with the other humans of other faiths?  Life is not about whose faith is best.  Life is about learning new things, and if we are not openminded about change and new and different ideas, then we are not going to learn anything at all.

Part of the reason I write this is because I do belong to an interfaith organization and my coven is an interfaith community.  Of course, not all of us are a single sort of pagan and such, but we all embrace the truth of life as being truly full when knowledge is being gained.

This obviously goes the same way for race and sex and “able-ism” and such other differences…  Humans are humans and I simply cannot tolerate intolerance.

So to all:  Be aware of what you say, for it is truly an extension of what you think and believe…

A Little Humor…

As we all know, WWJD? is “What Would Jesus Do?” Now we have:

WWAD? Adonis- Take them boar hunting.

WWAD? Aequitas- Give them a fair deal.

WWAD? Angerona (Goddess of secrecy)-Not gonna tell ya!

WWAD? Anubis- Give them a fine funeral.

WWAD? Aphrodite- Don’t you mean “Who” would Aphrodite do?

WWAD? Appolo- Test their musical skills… in a fair contest.

WWAD? Artemis- Turn him into a stag to be torn apart by his barking poodle.

WWAD? Astarte- Make love AND war.

WWAD? Athena- Stare him down (Then beat the crap out of them… in a logical manner.)

WWAD? Attis- First off… his voice would get REAL HIGH!…

WWBD? Baal- Shine some light on it.

WWBD? Bacchus- Get them drunk and turn them into dolphins.

WWBD? Boreas- Blow them out of the water.

WWBD? Britannia- Rule!

WWBD? Buddha- Does it matter? If you are enlightened it does not. If you are not enlightened it still doesn’t matter.

WWCD? Ceres- Discuss it calmly while holding a scythe.

WWCD? Ceridwen- Stir it up one more time.

WWCD? Chaos- No one is quite sure… but it will be messy and interesting.

WWCD? Cthulu- Does it matter? No one will survive anyway.

WWDD? Demeter- Lay waste to your lands if you don’t have her daughter back by 10 p.m.! (And DON’T lay a hand on her!)

WWDD? Discordia- Here… have an apple…IF you are the fairest!

WWED? Elueusinians- It’s a mystery!

WWED? Epona- Give them a good tip on a fast horse in the sixth.

WWED? Ereskigal- Strip them and hang them on a hook to rot.

WWFD? Fides- Keep good faith.

WWFD? Flora- Say it with flowers.

WWFD? Fortuna- Play the lottery.

WWGD? Gaia- Remind them to worship the ground they stand on.

WWHD? Hades- Tell them to go to Hell.

WWHD? Hecate- Show them the right path… or is it the left?

WWHD? Hera- She’d get jealous.

WWHD? Hercules- He’d labor to come up with an answer.

WWHD? Hermes- Tell them to get the message or take a hike.

WWHD? Herne- Lead them on a Wild Hunt!

WWID? Iris- Paint them a rainbow to send the message.

WWID? Isis- Find every part of them after they are torn apart.

WWJD? Janus- Look the other way.

WWJD? Juno- Make sure they marry well.

WWJD? Jupiter- Strike them down with a bolt from the blue.

WWKD? Kali- Tear out their beating heart, drink their blood and dance on their trembling corpse. Then wear parts as jewelry.

WWKD? Klotho- Wind it up.

WWKD? Kwan Yin- Show them some mercy.

WWLD? Lilith- “Banish him to the desert to play with her children!”

WWLD? Loki- Turn left at the next street, buy five chickens, “borrow” some jewelry, change into a seal and steal some apples. For starters.

WWLD? Luna- Moon them!

WWMD? Marduk- “Chop, chop. Slash, slash!”

WWMD? Mars- Suit up for battle.

WWMD? Mercury- Change his mind… again.

WWMD? Mithras- Cut the bull!

WWND? Narcissus- Huh? Is there someone else here?

WWND? Nemesis- Get “furious”.

WWND? Neptune- Ride the ninth wave.

WWND? Nike- Be victorious.

WWND? Nyx- “Good Night!”

WWOD? Odin- Hang on a tree for nine days until you start seeing things.

WWOD? Orpheus- SIng the blues.

WWOD? Osiris- Cut to the “bone”.

WWOD? What would Odin do?

WWPD? Pan- Tell them to pipe down of F_ck off.

WWPD? Pax- Tell them “peace”.

WWPD? Persephone- Just take a little bite, it wont be that bad.

WWPD? Pluto- Hump Minnie’s leg.

WWPD? Poseidon- Have an adventure… but there has to be a morning after.

WWPD? Prometheus- GIve it some thought first.

WWSD? Set- You don’t want to know but it wont be nice.

WWSD? Shiva- Start all over again.

WWTD? Themis- Put on a blindfold before she decides.

WWTD? Thor- Hammer it out.

WWVD? Vesta- Keep the home fires burning.

WWVD? Vulcan- Live long and prosper.

WWYD? Yahweh- “I hear you, I hear you. Stop with the burning bush already! OY!

WWZD? Zeus- By Jove, he’d flirt with the girls!

from paganlibrary.com

An Article To Share…

Roots of Our Religion

Part I: Gardnerian Wicca and American Folk Magic

by Merlyn 

Introduction

 

How much did Gerald Gardner borrow or make up in the Wicca he presented to the public? Several Pagan scholars including Issac Bonewits, James W. Baker, and Aidan Kelly, contend that Gardner’s Wicca is largely based on practices he either created or borrowed from the Western ceremonial magic tradition of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

In contrast to Gardnerian Wicca, remnants of an authentic folk magic did survive into the 20th century. This folk magic, whose practitioners have been Christians for centuries, may be the true surviving remnant of ancient European religions. In this article, I will summarize what is known about the origins of Gardnerian Wicca and then describe two American folk magical traditions, Southern Appalachian magic, and Pennsylvania Dutch hexcraft or “pow-wow.” 

 

Gardnerian Wicca

 

The modern witchcraft revival can be largely attributed to Gardner’s publishing his non-fiction book Witchcraft Today in 1954. The repeal of the last English witchcraft laws in 1951 made it possible for Gardner, a retired British civil servant with a long career in the Far East, to openly publicize his ‘witchy’ religion. 

 

Witchcraft Today described a surviving pre-Christian religion that celebrated the seasonal changes with Sabbats and the lunar cycles with Esbats. The model Gardnerian coven consisted of thirteen people who worked together skyclad during fairly elaborate rituals. The High Priest and High Priestess participated in ‘The Great Rite’ of ritual sex at least in private if not at coven events. Gardner called this religion ‘Wica.’ Later another “c” was added to Wica to form the word ‘Wicca’ commonly used today. Wicca is the Anglo-Saxon word for a male witch according to Baker, who notes that this term had been out of popular usage centuries before Gardner adopted it.

 

In the thirty years since Gardner’s death in 1964, Wicca has had an amazing growth. This religion obviously fills a need in the lives of people, who seek spirituality but who reject patriarchal and often anti-sexual alternatives. Wicca, or the Craft, is the major path followed by members of a neo-Pagan community now estimated to be 500,000 people by Aidan Kelly, who believes that Wiccans should distinguish between Gardner’s Wiccan mythology and its actual history. 

 

Gardner’s source of information about Wicca came purportedly from the New Forest coven in England where he was initiated as a witch in 1939 by ‘Old Dorothy’ Clutterbuck. He also traced the roots of the New Forest coven back to pre-Christian times, and stated that a handwritten Book of Shadows was the source of their ancient rituals. 

 

However, starting in Gardner’s lifetime and continuing until today, several persistent critics have challenged his claim that Wicca was a surviving ancient religion. His critics primarily focus on the fact that no independent research has validated the existence of Wicca. Baker, for example, notes that Gardner was a member of the Folklore Society in England, but society members interviewed after his death said they had never heard of the Wiccan sect that Gardner claimed to have uncovered.

 

The Four Criticisms 

 

I will now examine in greater detail four of the criticisms raised about Wicca by those who believe that Gardner completely fabricated it. The first criticism is that the New Forest coven too neatly followed the model of witchcraft that Margaret Murray had described in her 1921 book, The Witch Cult in Europe. Murray’s thesis was that a universal, pre-Christian, goddess-based religion existed throughout Europe. This idea was greeted with ridicule by her academic colleagues and damaged her credibility as a respected Egyptiantologist. Today, few scholars consider her interpretations of the then-known facts to have been accurate. Still, Murray brought the idea of goddess-worship, which Gardner’s Wicca practiced, back to center stage after a long absence.

A second criticism is that ‘Old Dorothy’ Clutterbuck and her New Forest coven never actuality existed, except in Gardner’s mind. However, Doreen Valiente, who in the 1950s belonged to Gardner’s coven (which was not the New Forest coven), located the birth and death certificates of Dorothy Clutterbuck in the early 1980s. Clutterbuck was born in India in 1881 and died in England in 1951. She left an estate of 60,000 pounds, which made it reasonable for her to have owned the old large house near the New Forest where Gardner said he was initiated. 

 

A third charge is that British occultist Aleister Crowley was paid by Gardner to write his rituals. Valiente, who is the author of several books about modern witchcraft, is a source of many facts about Gardner. After joining Gardner’s coven, she said she helped him write or rewrite some of his original rituals. The copy of Gardner’s Book of Shadows that Valiente first saw did owe a good deal to the works of Aleister Crowley, as well including an adaptation of a poem by Rudyard Kipling called “A Tree Song.” When she confronted Gardner, he admitted that he had borrowed freely from Aleister Crowley’s writings to fill in gaps in the original New Forest materials. Valiente, however, dismisses the charge that Aleister Crowley who died in 1947, several years before Witchcraft Today was published, wrote Gardner’s rituals. 

 

Valiente further believes that Wicca’s Freemasonry terms such as ‘the working tools,’ a reference to the candidate’s ‘being properly prepared’ for initiation, plus the three-degree system of initiations were incorporated from Masonic ritual by Gardner, who also was a Co-Mason. 

 

A fourth criticism, made by Issac Bonewits, is that the Wiccan Rede is also of modern origin. Bonewits is an independent scholar, active Druid, and long-time critic of Gardner. He noted that Crowley wrote “Do what thou whilst, that is the whole of the Law,” early in the 20th century. This statement is quite similar to the second part of the Wiccan Rede, “Do as thou whilst.” The first part of the Wiccan Rede, “And ye harm none,” may have been added by Gardner, Bonewits believes, to avoid charges that Wicca was a negative religion involved in cursing people.

 

In the 1960s and early 1970s, it mattered greatly to some witches whether or not Gardner had discovered a true surviving witch’s coven or if, instead, he mostly created the Wiccan religion based on his extensive knowledge of the occult. It’s true that Gardner did boast about his extensive knowledge of the occult in Witchcraft Today. Based on the critiques made by Bonewits, Baker, Kelly and others, today most Wiccans accept that Gardner freely added materials from other occult traditions to his brand of Wicca. 

 

Gardnerian Wicca does provide us with a positive mythology of pre-Christian religion that we wished had survived, but for which there is almost no historical evidence. The worship of the Goddess and the Horned God of Nature at seasonal and lunar celebrations are authentically very ancient. Only the Gardnerian rituals and tools we use are of modern origin. 

Historical Witchcraft 

 

A traditional witchcraft, untainted by Gardner or other modern reconstructionists, does exist, although its practitioners usually do not call themselves witches. Instead, Baker writes that they are called the village sorcerers, wizards, cunning men, and wise women. These wise ones, or white witches, were common in the British Isles and isolated parts of the United States until well into this century, when mass public education spread a scientistic viewpoint that devaluated and dismissed traditional knowledge as being merely superstitious. Baker says that the cunningfolk had no unifying Book of Shadows that contained their standard rituals. Traditional village witchcraft was practiced by solitaries who passed on their knowledge to one apprentice at a time. Local folk went to the wise ones for cures, prophecy, and protection. The wise ones also knew and used local native plants in their medicines and magical potions. 

 

Two American folk magic traditions with historical roots in white witchcraft are those of the Southern Appalachians and the Pennsylvania Dutch. I will examine each of these traditions in the following sections. 

 

Appalachian Folk Magic

 

Starting in the mid-18th century, Anglo-Celtic settlers from the lower social classes sought to flee recurring religious and political persecutions in Scotland and Ireland by immigrating to the southern Appalachian mountains in North America. Cross-cultural exchanges of customs and intermarriage between the European immigrants and American natives led to a hybrid magic that was based on Celtic and some native customs. 

 

Geographical barriers, imposed by the mountains, resulted in widespread poverty and isolation among the mountain people, which allowed their beliefs and magic that dated back to the Middle Ages to survive undisturbed. 

 

Edain McCoy summarizes both the beliefs and rituals of this magical tradition in her book In a Graveyard at Midnight. A spell cast in a graveyard at the stroke of twelve was the most prevalent folk magical practice, because while burial grounds were considered places where evil lurked, they also were believed to contain great magical power that could be harnessed for good or evil.

 

McCoy writes with a special understanding about this magical tradition because she is both a descendent of the “feuding” McCoy clan of eastern Kentucky and a practicing Wiccan living in Texas. Some of the specific beliefs behind the magical practices she writes about include the following:

 

1) Good and evil are divided into two distinct and warring camps that are lead by the Christian God and the powerful Devil, respectively.

 

2) Mountain people have a sense of fatalism, which means they believe there are certain conditions that their magic cannot cure. Fatalist thinking is related to predestination and is a legacy of the Calvinist theology of the early Scottish Protestant churches.

 

3) Certain individuals are blessed with paranormal powers and have more powerful magic than ordinary people. These people can choose to use their power for either good or evil purposes. 

 

4) Magical curses are both real and potent. 

 

5) Nature provides omens and portents of the future which the wise heed.

 

Southern folk magic has always tended to be a solitary practice. This folk magic requires little preparation, and no expensive tools, specialized knowledge, nor priestly caste. It is primarily concerned with omens, portents, curses, cures, and protection and is not geared toward obtaining material goals. For more information on how to perform the Southern mountain spells, make the charms, do the divinations, or even cook traditional southern recipes, you should check out McCoy’s charming book. Today the continuing survival of Southern mountain magic as an indigenous folk practice is doubtful. However, elements of this folk magic may survive or be revived through McCoy’s book and her personal magical practice. 

Pennsylvania Dutch Hexcraft or “Pow-wow”

 

Further north in Pennsylvania, German settlers began arriving in the late 17th century, the bulk of them immigrating in the first half of the 18th century. The term Pennsylvania “Dutch” is a corruption of the German word “Deutch” meaning German. Silver RavenWolf lives in Pennsylvania and describes this magical tradition in HexCraft. She has Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors, as I also do. 

 

Two distinct groups of German immigrants came to Pennsylvania. The Fancy Germans, or Lutherans, brought their elaborate folk history with them, including the ornate customs of Christmas and Easter, the Yule tree and log, colorful decorations, baskets, and pictures of bunnies. The other German group was the Plain or Pietist Germans. They included members of the Mennonite, Amish, Dunker, and Brethern denominations. The Plain Germans wore distinctive clothing and tried to live a simple rural life-style guided by their interpretation of the Bible. Some of the pow-wowers Silver RavenWolf interviewed were Brethren, Mennonites, and Dunkers. 

 

South central Pennsylvania was fertile and not physically isolated, as were the southern Appalachians. Hexcraft, or pow-wow, as it is locally called, survived because of the tendency of both Fancy and Plain Germans to live in tightly knit communities, where they preserved their customs and language into the 20th century.

 

Native Americans were present, at least initially, when the Germans arrived and the term pow-wow was possibly derived from the early settlers’ observations of Indian pow wows. Silver RavenWolf thinks the word pow-wow may also be a derivative of the word power or may come from the Native American pow wow definition meaning “he who dreams.” 

 

Pow-wowing includes some charms and incantations dating from the Middle Ages plus elements borrowed from the Jewish Qabala and Christian Bible. Pow-wowing generally focuses on healing minor health problems, the protection of livestock, success in love, and the casting or removing of hexes. For over 200 years, pow-wowers have considered themselves to be staunch Christians endowed with supernatural powers to both heal and harm. 

 

Hex signs are the most widely recognized symbols associated with pow-wow magic. The word hex means a spell or bewitchment and comes from the German word hexe for witch. Hex signs are round magical signs and symbols used primarily to protect against hexerie (witchcraft). They were used by the Fancy Dutch but not the Amish and strict Mennonites. 

 

Some hex symbols and designs originate in the Bronze Age. Ancient Celtic and Germanic tribes put emphasis on the energy patterns of the divine Source rather than its representation as a human archetype. The Source was depicted in universal designs that assisted in focusing power either toward or away from the design. The basic pattern found in the original hex signs is the double rosette, which is found at many ancient European holy sites. 

 

Most of the charms used in pow-wow magic were originally described in two books. The first book, Long Lost Friend, was written in 1820 by John George Hohman. He was a German Catholic immigrant who documented various charms and herbal remedies that had been preserved orally for centuries. The second book is the anonymous Seventh Book of Moses, also called the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. This book contains a mixture of wisdom derived from the Talmud, Qabala, and Old Testament. Silver RavenWolf says these two books were once found in almost all Pennsylvania Dutch households.

 

Pow-wow tools include common items such as spools of red and black thread, a ball of red yarn, several lengths of red and black ribbons, small hand-made ceramic bowls, a seam ripper, a creek stone (divinity stone) and a container of holy water. Red and white are the basic colors used in pow-wow.

 

Pow-wowing was still common in the early 20th century. Gradually over time, several local murders were attributed to pow-wowers. One belief held by some pow-wowers was that a curse could be broken by killing the person who placed it. Pow-wowing rapidly declined in the 1920s when the news media portrayed it as an embarrassing example of backward and superstitious Pennsylvania Dutch behavior. While researching her book, Silver RavenWolf found only elderly pow-wow practitioners, who often lived in local nursing homes. 

Conclusions 

 

Gerald Gardner’s reputation as the “discoverer” of an ancient witch religion may have been damaged beyond repair. However, even staunch critics, Issac Bonewits and Aidan Kelly, point out that his role as the inspired creator of a ‘new’ religion has not been given its deserved recognition. For example, the Wiccan Rede, regardless of its origin, has greatly helped Wiccans in distinguishing their positive magickal religion from that of Satanic cults and other negative occult groups.

 

The folk magic of the southern Appalachians and the Pennsylvania Dutch is rapidly disappearing as these communities are integrated into the modern America of satellite television, fancy cars, and conspicuous consumption. Edain McCoy and Silver RavenWolf have performed a valuable service in recording what is left of these magical traditions. 

 

The power of American folk magic rests on its ability to fulfill a basic human need by providing more certainty and control in the lives of its practitioners. Adding elements of either folk tradition to our Wiccan practices can help us become more connected with an authentic folk magic brought to this continent by our immigrant ancestors. 

 

In Part 2 of this series, I will describe Wicca’s medieval roots including those derived from Hermeticism, the Qabala, and the Tarot. References 

James W. Baker, “White Witches: Historic Fact and Fantasy,” in Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, James. R. Lewis, ed., SUNY Press, 1996.

Farrar, Janet and Stewart, A Witches Bible Compleat, Magickal Childe, 1984.

Gardner, Gerald, Witchcraft Today, 1st edition, Ryder and Co, U.K., 1954; this edition, 7th paperback printing, Magickal Childe, 1991.

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Witches, Facts On File, 1989.

Hopeman, Ellen Evert and Lawrence Bond, People of the Earth: the New Pagans Speak Out, Destiny Books, 1996.

McCoy, Edain, In a Graveyard at Midnight, Llewellyn, 1995.

RavenWolf, Silver, HexCraft, Llewellyn, 1995.

Valiente, Doreen, The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Phoenix Publishing, 1989.

 

This article was originally printed in the Lady Letter, a publication of Our Lady of the Woods, a Wiccan coven. E-mail Address, LadyLettr@aol.com

Colors Of Ignorance. 2 Letters. Priest VS Witch

A LETTER TO WITCHES

 

By Dr. Robert A. Morey

 

The following is a letter that Dr. Morey has written to teenage witches that he thought you might like to share with others.

 

   

I see from the pentagram you wear and all your magical charms that you believe in the power of magic. Perhaps you have attende a Wiccan gathering or you have participated in some magic rituals.  I don’t know.

 

But so many questions fill my mind. Have you “drawn down the moon” yet? Have you ever felt a power come upon you? Do you worship a par-ticular goddess? Have you been initiated? Do you have a Wiccan name?  Have you gone skyclading? Are you in the outer or inner circle?  Have you used blood in your rituals? Have you ever called forth a familiar spirit?

 

The reason I am writing you is that I have studied the occult for thirty years and I have come to certain conclusions.

 

Now, I know that you will disagree with some of my conclusions because we have traveled different paths. But I have added the benefit of the testimonies of those who used magic in the highest levels possible such as the Golden Dawn and the O.T.O. and then have come to faith in Christ and now have renounced magic.

 

All I ask is that you have an open mind and give serious attention to the things I now bring up. Remember an unexamined faith is a worthless faith.

 

I. The fact that magic does not work.

After all the talk about the “power” that people can get from magic, I have never known a more powerless group of people.  Many of those who use magic are sick all the time. They go through multiple marriages. They have money problems. Their cars get flat tires. They get their share of flus and colds.

Even more seriously, they cannot beat their own drug or sex addiction. They are usually in bondage and totally powerless to change their life for the better.

If magic really worked, they would never be sick. They would win every horse race in town! They would own Wall Street by now! They would be able to maintain a successful marriage.

But the fact is, you waste a lot of money and time on magic and are no better off. In fact, you will end up worse off.

If magic worked, witches would be picking up the winning lottery numbers every week. But the fact is that when the “rubber meets the road” magic simply does not work.

II. Their lame duck excuses as to why they are sick or why they can’t keep their marriage together or why they aren’t rich, are weak and feeble.

One psychic “healer” (a relative of mine) is sick all the time.  Her husband is dying of cancer! When she boasted to me of her magical powers, I confronted her with the rather obvious fact that her magic did not work for her or her ex-husband. She replied that her magic will not work for herself.

But who says that you cannot heal yourself by magic? Where is it written down? And who says that your husband or wife cannot use magic to heal you? If her magic cannot help herself or her husband, then what good is it?

I could not help but point out that she was always crying about money problems. What use is her magic if it cannot make her rich?

 

III. A magical world view is internally contradictory and hypocritical.

A. To say, “there are no moral absolutes” is to give an absolute.

B. To say, “Do what thou wilt, this is the whole of the law” has been used to justify everything from black magic to human sacrifice. If there are no standards, then on what grounds can they condemn child abuse, Hitler, murder, etc.? They can’t.

C. To say, “everything is relative” and “there is no evil,” and then to turn around and say that Christianity is “evil” is contradictory.

D. To say, “Everyone has the right to believe what they want” and then condemn Christians for what they believe is contra-dictory.

E. To say, “Do what thou wilt” and then tell Christians NOT to do what they wilt is hypocritical.

F. To say, “that it is wrong to judge/condemn others,” and then to judge/condemn Christians is contradictory.

IV. A magical view of life does not correspond to reality.

G. No magic is going to make you thin if you do not stop eating.  No magic will make you rich if you do not get up and go to work.

H. The claim of modern witches that they are reviving pre-Christian paganism is not true historically. The rituals and beliefs of modern day magic are of recent origin.

I. My brother in law who is in the occult told me he was going to use magic to get himself a parking space in N.Y.C. I in turn told him that I would ask Jesus to get me a space. He drove around for four hours before finding a place while I found one immediately and did not have to go around the block even once! His magic was not even good enough to find him a parking space!

J. A magical view of life is a cop out and it breeds irresponsibility.  Instead of taking responsibility for their life, those who use magic always blame “bad luck” or claim that someone is using black magic against them. The truth is that YOU are responsible for the choices you make in life – not magic.

K. It attracts people with mental problems.  Sad but true. I have seen this many, many times. The State Mental Hospitals are filled with people who were users of magic. It appeals to people with those kind of people.

L. They live in constant fear of the powers they draw down.  Hence they need the occult protection of the circles, towers, shields, charms, etc.. What a terrible religion of fear!

M. If you depend upon trinkets such as pentagrams to protect you, you do not have any real power. To think that a stupid piece of metal or glass is going to protect you from a demon you summon is absurd.

N. The lust for blood is evil. It has led to horrible crimes.  Killing animals and people for their “energy” is wicked as well as criminal.

O. Sex magic is filthy and gross beyond words and involves child abuse, bestiality, sodomy, etc. You will never have a normal satisfying sex life once you debase yourself in sex magic.

P. Magic is for losers.  The greatest magicians always end up broke, alone, and miserable. Check to see what happened to people like Crowley. They were all losers.

Whenever a true Christian challenges them, the magicians always lose.  I have challenged occultist to take their best shot and they always failed. On one occasion, a coven sent demons to kill me but I didn’t even get a headache!

Q. While there is a lot of hate and lust in magic, there is no love. If you leave or reveal the secrets, they will try to kill you.

I helped to move a girl from Philadelphia to Florida to escape her former occult friends. If they really loved her, why did they try to kill her? If she wanted to leave the group, why did they object to her doing what she wilt?

R. There is no forgiveness, comfort or salvation in magic.  It has no Savior or God who loves and cares for you.  The occult is lonely, sad, cold and sterile.

S. The Bible says that true power behind the magical arts is Satanic. Those who deny this are dupes of the devil.

These are just a few things that came to mind as I thought about

what I have seen in thirty years of research in the occult.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ has broken the power of magic and has brought life, love and immortality to light through the Gospel.  Jesus is Victor!

 

The occult has nothing to offer that compares with the love of Jesus. Turn to Him in repentance. Renounce your witchcraft and the works of the devil. Burn your magic books and mash your altars. Turn or burn. Repent or perish! Jesus is the answer.

John 3:36.

 

A LETTER TO DR. ROBERT A. MOREY

 

I see from the words you write that you completely condemn witchcraft.  Perhaps you have discriminated against them before.  Or, worse yet, perhaps you have attempted to convert Witches.  I’m not really sure.  What’s more, I don’t care.

Still, I have things that haunt my mind.  Did you really study the occult for thirty years, or did you study Satanism?  I’m pretty sure you studied Satanism, because you’ve spouted a lot of Satanist crap.  Wiccans and pagans are not Satanists, and they never have been.  No pagans have ever or will ever use blood in their rituals, or call forth familiar spirits, seeing as how that is against our creed.  You are sadly misinformed.  I’m not even going to bother calling you “sir” or “Dr. Morey” because your views are entirely and disgustingly wrong.

Yes, Satanists have done a lot to pollute the media with scenes of bloody plastic on the floor, barbaric rituals that call for the butchering of animals, and the like, but those of the Wicca, those of the Old Faith, are entirely a different story.  I, if you must know, have been studying the occult, the real occult, since I was a child.  Although I am only eighteen, I can tell that my knowledge of the occult is far beyond anything you have ever studied, or ever will study, owing to your complete lack of openmindedness.

You speak as if we were not in the twenty-first century, but the eighteenth.  We are not in the time of the Salem witch trials (which, by the way, was entirely fueled by a wheat and rye fungus called ergot, which makes the person who consumes it hallucinate, makes them feel as if their skin crawls.  Ergot was at fault for all those deaths—not a witch.), and most people out there, Christians and non-Christians, harbor horribly bad images of what they think Witches are.  It is time for the truth!

You spout testimonies from the O.T.O., the Golden Dawn, etc.  Unfortunately, no one really gives a flying crap about these movements because they were pioneered by such disgusting lowlifes as the notorious Aleister Crowley and his wife, who were, no matter what people say, both devoted Satanists and did EVERYTHING you mentioned in your Letter to Witches (which is all utter bullcrap, and I have distributed it to all my students and friends as such).First off, let’s discuss magic, shall we?  Now, really, listen carefully.  It is spelled MAGICK.  Magick, not magic, because magic is pulling rabbits out of hats and making coins appear out of thin air.  Magick, however, is the very essence of your soul.  Basically, when Christians want to save a pagan’s soul, they are wanting to suck out all their magick, depriving them of the path they have so carefully followed.  Magick is within you, in the universe, and to “practice Magick” is to put complete and total faith in the Divine, in yourself, because you are the key to your own salvation and happiness.

Next, let’s discuss the pentagram.  It is a symbol that Christians used to use, way back when, way before you condemned it as a Satanist symbol.  It used to be yours, too!  The top point symbolizes God, and the rest of the four points symbolize the Earth, the Air, the Water and the Fire, the elements, the essence of this planet.

Your third point, “A magical world view is internally contradictory and hypocritical,” made me scream out loud with total frustration.  Here is the truth about pagan history:

The most recent Goddess movement was started by Gerald Gardner, this I will freely admit, however, Gardner did not base Wicca on anything but his own imaginings.  The Old Faith, the very essence of Goddess Worship, does come from pre-Christian times.  However much you want to deny it, everything in the Christian faith, from the chalices and candles on the altar and the cycle of birth and death of Jesus, come from the old tales of the Goddess.  You see, the God and the Goddess are as one in our lore, however, the Goddess, ever Virgin (hint, hint), gave birth to the God, and as he grew, he became ever bolder, and soon he lost his life in the fight against the Green King.  But, every year he is born again.  Do you see my references here?  No, I am not denying that Jesus ever existed, because he did, and so did his parents.  He was a teacher of good things, which is wonderful, because pagans revere the teachers, INCLUDING Christ, if you must know.  However, pagans do not believe that Jesus will save your immortal soul if you only confess your sins and receive atonement.  That’s ridiculous, because Jesus is dead, and no matter what any stupid idiot out there has told you, no one can bring back the dead.  Ever.

Christians ousted the pagan faith first from Britain, Wales, Ireland, etc., and then they moved on to convert the rest of the world.  They burned anyone who did not comply.  You deny this because no one ever recorded it, but it is in our records.  We were responsible enough to keep records of our mistakes.  How about you?

You mentioned in your letter (or misinformed piece of trash), that “whenever a true Christian challenges them, the magicians always lose.”  Um, where have you been the last few years?  Most Christians are taught love for all humanity and mankind, including those of us out there who practice a different faith.  (The fact that you mention Crowley in this so-called “letter” makes me think, as he was truly a loser.)  Magicians, as in magicians who pull rabbits out of hats, don’t pertain to paganism.  We prefer to call ourselves Witches, Wiccans, Pagans, or those of the Wicca.  Or, even better, those of the Old Faith.  Magicians are merely practicing a hobby, not a religion.  I really challenge you, though, to think of the people your Christian ancestors and predecessors in the 1200s and 1300s and who they were, what kind of people they were.  Truthfully?  They were all complete cowards, total losers in themselves, because they didn’t even think to look into the kind of faith the pagans practiced.  There are the same basic principles (being as Christianity took so much from the pagan faith), there is the same basic faith structure, so why are you being so judgmental about a faith that teaches love for the earth?  How about a faith that teaches never to harm anyone?

 

Now, I will challenge some of your more stupid points.

“To say do what thou wilt, and then tell Christians NOT to do what they wilt is hypocritical.”  Okay, excuse me and my language, but who the fuck taught you that?  Have any of the Wicca ever told you that you can’t do what you want to just because you’re Christian?  Give me a break.

“To say that it is wrong to judge/condemn others and then to judge/condemn Christians is contradictory.”  I can’t stand this accusation, because first of all, no one has ever said, to a Christian or otherwise, anything that judges or condemns Christians.  Christians are always the ones to judge and condemn pagans and witches.  I pity the fool who takes your words seriously, Dr. Morey, because they themselves are in for a life of misery.

When you mentioned that thing about your brother-in-law and the parking space, I laughed so hard I fell off my chair.  Where does this fit in with all the bullshit you’re spouting?!  It’s completely irrevelent and stupid to suggest that anyone would use magic to find a friggin’ parking space!  Do you know what I do?  I pray to my Goddess.  That works just as well, and it doesn’t involve any “lizard’s tail.”

You really need to read Evan Jones’s “Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed,” and also Scott Cunningham’s “The Truth About Witchcraft Today.”  If you accuse people in the occult of such things as you have accused them of in your letter, you will totally get laughed at, or the people will get offended and renounce you.

I am including an article with this letter.  It is titled “How To Share The Gospel With Pagans,” which is by a practitioner of the Craft who calls himself Gwydion.  You will find that most pagans are very open about Christianity, instead of “judging and condemning” the Christian people or the Christian way.  The only quarrel most of us have with your faith, to be completely frank, is that you always seem to think that we need saving or help because we are practicing a faith that worships God differently than you do.  You seem to think that Goddess-worship is sinful (probably because of the Adam and Eve thing, where Eve sinned by eating that apple-yes, I know about that, in fact, I read the Bible quite often.  Believe it or not, I used to be Christian!  This is why I know so much about the conflicts between our faiths, and about the history.), that having a Horn’d God that predates your Christ is equal to worshipping demons and devils.

Another thing.  You twisted one of our most sacred laws.  It is not “Do what thou wilt, this is the whole of the law,” it is “Do what thou wilt, an it harm none,” meaning, do what you will for your Goddess and Craft, but you cannot harm a soul.  This is one of the reasons why I dislike Christian clergy at times.

I have had to deal with your kind before, Dr. Morey, and I know how to deal with you.  You’re a closedminded little freak, and you need to open up and understand that we pagans are not Satanists, demon worshippers or similar, because we are faithful followers of our Mother Goddess.  Stop telling us that we need to be “saved” and to repent for our “sins,” because we have our own way of life.  We let you have your own way of life.  We don’t tell you to repent to our Goddess because you practice a different religion, because you took our ancient, holy chalices and altar-cloths and our ways and blasphemed them the way you did.  We were surprisingly forgiving in that regard.

It is no matter that you challenge occultists, because you challenged me, and I am a force to be reckoned with.  I am not saying this to boast or brag, I am saying this because I am a fighter for pagan rights, since in my neighborhood pagans are barely allowed to speak up.  I pray for the future generation of people in religion, because it is they that must open their hearts and minds to change and difference.  We have already seen that most people born of the twentieth century never will.

You took the side in writing your letter that most Christians take.  You defended your faith, which is admirable (even though I don’t see how it needs to be defended, seeing as how your Christian predecessors pretty much conquered the world), but you brought in all the wrong testimonies.  Perhaps you know this.  Now, I’m not going to threaten you with “cursing,” because that is against my faith and my Goddess.  I don’t believe in hell, and I don’t believe in “Satan.”  I believe that to give an evil thing a name is to give it power, and so when you call your demon-thing by so many different names, you fuel the evil in the world.  I truly believe that dwelling upon the thought of evil is the cause of material evil.  Do you see the connection I’m making?  Clear as day.

Basically, when you tell me to “turn or burn, repent or perish, Jesus is the answer,” all I’m really getting is the idea that you are warming up to another convert.  Young pagans who learn about Christians and their ways tend to have visions of clergy rubbing their hands together and cackling because they converted another “lost soul,” and believe me, that scares the daylights out of them.  They don’t see why Christians and pagans have to conflict over the same things over and over again, they don’t see why two faiths that are so damn alike are seen as so different.  To tell you the truth, I don’t either.

It is really bloody hard to be a pagan in this world.  You might think that it’s easier than it was a thousand years ago, but it’s really hard.  You have to deal with Christians lording it over that they conquered your kind thousands of years ago, but you know deep within your heart that even though Christians conquered the areas that your faith was practiced, they couldn’t conquer your mind or your heart.  If you were strong enough, it wouldn’t even scare you, really, because you understand that you can still practice your faith in your mind, that you still practice when you go to church because you can still think.

As you can see, I will never be afraid of your accusations, of your threats, because though you say that if I don’t repent and come to Jesus Christ, I know the truth.  I know why I practice paganism.  I know why I believe in the Goddess.  I am completely secure in my thought, in my faith, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I also know that though everyone says differently, the Christian faith and the pagan faith are alike in many, many different ways (for example, did you know that there are pentagrams etched into the stained glass of some old German churches?), and I just prefer my way of worshipping God better.

That is my word.  Keep to your faith, and we’ll keep to ours. 

Spoken VS Written Word In Ritual

All who know me, especially those who work Circle with me each month, understand my obsession with words.  I write excessively, and I talk excessively.  My life revolves around words.  In ritual, now, this is a completely different idea.  I live in a home where my faith isn’t fully accepted, and where I simply do ritual when my family is out.  I work ritual with much written word.  Since my blog went down, I suppose there will be a brand new category:  Written Ritual!  I do not believe that you must SPEAK each word intended for the Goddess to hear!  The Goddess will hear all – including thoughts, when they are intended for Her ears.  My current thoughts are for the Ostara esbat that we are currently celebrating – the beginning of spring, the eve of new beginnings.  Tomorrow, or perhaps Saturday, I’ll post a Written Ritual…  But for now, I just wanted to post up a quick thought.

AHHH!!!

Oh my Goddess.  The blog went down!!!!!  I logged in and suddenly everything was GONE!!!!!!I have to redo everything now.  O, Goddess.