In my time on the Internet and dealing with various email groups, I have found that there is a ton of information being disseminated. Looked at objectively, some of it is good, some is bad, but a lot of it seems to be coming from a paltry 20 total sources. Cunningham, Silver Ravenwolf, Buckland, The Witches’ Voice, and Mike Nichols seem to be the most prominent sources, although some information can be traced all the way back to AOL’s Pagan files and Athos’ Pagan Files, the latter which is now sadly gone from the web.

One of the top sources currently appears to be “Witchcraft, The Facts“. The Rev. Norm Vogel seems to feel that his work should be the primary source for what Witchcraft is and that his interpretation is the only interpretation. This despite the fact that this alleged seminal document is a scant one page that he wrote almost 5 years ago, judging by the copyright. Apparently there are many visitors who go to his site and praise him for his work, giving him ego strokes that he apparently must have. It only feeds his incorrect belief that he is correct and speaks for everyone.

Should anyone with any knowledge come to the site and try to offer a view that in any way contradicts the site, they are immediately attacked as idiots who don’t have Rev. Vogel’s alleged years of experience and therefore can’t possibly know anything. He will pull in groups of people who support him and keep attacking with aspersions and insults, as well as gross and disgusting suggestions. I have been a subject of these tactics.

This article will verify the facts and demonstrate the undeniable fallacies inherent in Rev. Vogel’s article. Anyone can come and read them if they choose to, so they can see for themselves that Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism are not just what he espouses.

(Please note, this text is taken verbatim from the site Witchcraft the Facts. I also have the author’s permission to reprint it here.)

1. Witchcraft means “Craft of the Wise Ones” and is also known as the “Old Religion”. Its practices can be traced to Neolithic (“Stone Age”) cave paintings. In early times, the Witch was the local lawyer, psychiatrist, and doctor. The field of modern medicine can trace its origins to the herbal medicines of the Witch.

Witchcraft is a nature religion, not unlike the shamanism of the Native Americans. As the concepts of male and female exist through-out life — indeed, are necessary to create it — most Witches perceive Deity as male and female: the Goddess and the God. Like the concept of the Trinity, these aren’t “many” Gods; they are aspects of the ONE Creator.

The Goddess is seen as Mother Earth and Mother Nature, and is represented by the Moon. She is seen in the fertility of the plant, animal, and human kingdoms. Her power is at a peak in the “fertile half” of the year, from May until October.

The God is seen in the woodlands, the Sun, grain, & the hunt. Because most of the animals that prehistoric humans hunted had horns, He is usually depicted as the “Horned One”. His power is at a peak in the “dark half” of the year, from October to May.

Witchcraft has been called the Craft of the Wise, well only if you have never bothered to check with a dictionary at any rate. I quote from the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (unabridged) copyright 1993:

Witchcraft 1 a: an act or instance of employing sorcery esp. with malevolent intent: a magical rite or technique b: the exercise of supernatural powers: alleged intercourse with the devil or with a familiar 2: an irresistible influence or fascination; CHARM, ENCHANTMENT syn. see MAGIC

Please note, no place in the above dictionary quote does it mention “Craft” or “Wise Ones” or anything about a deity. The trend of equating modern Neopagan witchcraft with the poor and scattered remnants archeologists have been able to piece together started with Gerald Gardner. Since then there has been a popular movement to reclaim the word “witch” from those who have been charged with defilement of the word, i.e., the Christians and the Inquisition.

The tracing of Witchcraft to Neolithic times was a myth started by Dr. Margaret Murray, and perpetuated in current times by Raymond Buckland in his book “Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft“, Scott Cunningham and also Silver Ravenwolf. That Dr. Murray’s theories have been discredited by time and better archeology seems to be immaterial to many trying to reclaim “Witchcraft” from the current dictionary and encyclopedia definitions. Her thesis has been refuted by, among others, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (New York 1971) 514-16, Norman Cohn, Europe’s Inner Demons (London 1975) 107- 25, and most recently by Robin Briggs, Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft (New York 1996) 37f.

From the little we know, Gardner appears to have been trying to align his fledgling tradition into the definition of Witchcraft as it stood at the time he created Wicca. He intended for it to be acknowledged and seen as a magickal tradition, one that could possibly be seen as malevolent and dark.

I can only speculate regarding the motives behind Gardner’s act, but it would appear that he was trying to give Wicca a patina of legitimacy by linking it to ancient times. There was probably little chance that his newly created magickal tradition would be given serious consideration by the then current crop of magickal practitioners without this connection. So, one can assume (and several scholars, among them Isaac Bonewits, have) that this is what prompted the connection to the past, as well as his connection to Margaret Murray’s essay.

What does this have to do with Norm’s first point? Only that Witchcraft and Wicca are used interchangeably, applying statements that only apply to Wicca to all witchcraft, and vice-versa.

There are legitimate witchcraft practices. African Diaspora religions like Voodoo and Strega just to name a couple. There are also many magickal practices that have nothing to do with witchcraft, like OTO, The Golden Dawn, Alchemy and High Magick (out of the Key of Solomon). There are also heathen practices that are not witchcraft, and pagan practices as well, as seen in Druidism, Asatru, Theodic, Kemeticism, and Hellenism. Additionally, there are native practices that could be called Witchcraft, but which violently disassociate themselves with witchcraft as they see these practices as being evil and malevolent, i.e., Aboriginal Australian practices and Native American Medicine practices.

Yet the first statement would make one think that ALL these practices including such groups as Hindus, Buddhists and Shinto are parts of Witchcraft. It makes sweeping statements to include these practices, whether or not they actually fit specific religions.

Modern Witchcraft, which seems to be the point of this website’s so-called facts, as described in this document, is a purely modern construction and part of the Neo-Pagan pathways. This does not denigrate or deny its legitimacy, nor does it invalidate the practice. Far from it, I can honor and support those who only identify as a Witch, at least as long as they are not trying to make all-inclusive and sweeping statements equating witchcraft with all non-Abrahamic descended religions.

Witchcraft, first and foremost, is a craft. It is a set of skills that can be described as a magickal tradition. It does have some of its roots in the past, since herbalism and other “primitive” practices are incorporated into the body of work known as Witchcraft. That’s well and good, but that does not mean that Witchcraft is centuries old because it includes elements that are ancient. If that were so, the Empire State building, in fact any modern skyscraper, in New York City or any other city is ancient since its made up of the element Fe (iron) that was part of the ground for millennia and actually predates life on this planet.

The argument that flows out of attempting to disprove the ancientness of the Empire State building is the same argument that can be applied to disproving the ancientness of Witchcraft and Wicca. Namely when one alters something so much that it becomes an entirely new thing it can no longer be called by an ancient name. Iron is iron and steel, though it is made of iron, is steel. If either are used in a building, the building is still a modern construct.

Most of the legitimate witchcraft traditions that I mentioned earlier are not nature worshiping, per se, or Goddess and God worshiping religions. Voodoo worships spirits or Loa. Strega honors the Goddess Diana and the God Lucifer (here meant as the Son of the Morning), not some amorphous deity that is simply a compilation of all deities into one amorphous blob.

There are strong indications that Witchcraft is not connected to a religion, or even a set of religions at all. It is a skill set, as has been stated many times, many of which are incorporated into other aspects of life as well. Yes, Witchcraft has herbalism incorporated into the practice of Witchcraft. Part of the information discovered by herbalists over time was included in modern medicine, but more than that, Alchemy, The Age of Enlightenment and other scientific processes and discoveries were the actual precursors to modern medicine. It is possible to argue that surgery was part of the herb-wife’s knowledge (the ones who could have been accused as witches in the past) but the discovery of different blood types, how to do transfusions, eye surgery, mapping out the internal structure of the body, discovering tools to help like the X-ray and so on were done by scientists. They used painstaking trial and error and occasionally out and out guesses to base their search for knowledge on. People died to advance their knowledge.

If one reads and studies the journals of the medical profession at the turn of the 20th century, one begins to realize that while herb knowledge may have played a part in their work, it was a very small part. Those who used plants to cure illness were seen as idiots and mavericks and despised and reviled by their peers. The fever-reducing properties of Willow bark were known for centuries by herb-wives, but when a patient had a fever, the doctor usually bled them or gave them doses of opiates, not willow bark.

Truthfully it has only been in recent years that herbal remedies have been looked at as more than just pleasant granny tales.

“Lawyers and Judges”? This statement can be traced to Raymond Buckland, and possibly further back. There is NO credible evidence to either support or refute the idea that the local midwife, herb-witch or Goodwife was responsible for the direction of a community.

While this can be seen to exist in individual places around the world, normally in primitive aboriginal hunter and gatherer cultures in modern times, we cannot assume that this is the correct model for the far distant past. In a primitive society, where wisdom is revered and knowledge of the Gods is seen as a life path rather than held in contempt, a wise leader may consult with those who have memories of other times and other situations. But with the concept of laws and lawyers, most of this respect goes out the window in favor of writing judgments down and following legal precedents to the letter.

A quick look at modern American society will show the fallacy of this argument very quickly. Abigail Adams wrote strongly worded arguments to her husband that women should be given voting rights, for they bore the children and took care of most of the household (meaning they sewed, made herbal remedies and simples, fed livestock and so on) and were intelligent enough to make decisions on who should and should not speak for them in the various forms of government. John Adams rejected this argument completely and helped enact measures to make sure that only property owning white men had the right to vote. Going even further back into history, Lady Godiva (if legends are to be believed) had to humiliate herself to reduce the taxes her husband had levied on the city he was mayor of, and many other examples, some from as far back as the Sumerians and Macedonians. These women and wise people were not consulted in decisions of the rulers, the leaders. It cannot even be argued that Celtic society did this, as the King and Druid (Brehon) were the ones responsible for the laws and judgments.

It is only when one gets back to a tribal society that it can be shown to have happened, and even then it is only progressive and forward looking tribes that this consultation may have happened. Where women are seen as less than men, consultation with these “wise people” cannot occur. One confers with equals and superiors, not inferiors.

If we actually look at a religion that is matrilineal (meaning that inheritance and religious identity come from the female) we still don’t see this. Judaism has a matrilineal line, and the woman of the house is responsible for the household’s spiritual identity as well as the proper prayers and rites of the household. It could strongly be argued that in Judaism that the wife is the “wise woman” that we are referring to in the above passage, holder of the household, mother, priestess (in some lights), judge and lawyer, doctor and financial advisor. But in some traditions of Judaism, a rabbi who is touched by a woman who is not his wife is considered ritually unclean. Women are not allowed to study the Caballah, and are not allowed into the main part of the synagogues but must be confined behind screens, watching but not actively participating in the rites and rituals of their own religion.

I will grant that on a case-by-case basis, all that has been stated by Norm could happen, but the argument is back to the Empire State building again. One small component in a structure that cannot reasonably support it does not make the entire structure that thing.

In short, the first statement, if looked at with provable scientifically validated research on one’s side, does not stand up under its own weight. Witchcraft is NOT nature oriented, since many witches from the past could have cared less about the environment. Witchcraft is NOT centered around the Light-half and Dark-half of the year and is NOT centered on the worship of the God and Goddess. I will grant that WICCA contains all of these elements. Had Vogel said that, I would have few arguments with him and his site.

2. Witches don’t do evil. They believe in the Wiccan Rede, which is “If It Harms None, Do What You Will”. (In other words, “Do whatever you want; just as long as it doesn’t harm anyone — including yourself “). But, Witches DO believe that it is moral to defend yourself against evil or physical (or psychic) attack.

Most Witches also believe in the “Three-Fold Law”, which states that whatever you do — be it good or evil — comes back to you three times over, so (obviously) there is no incentive to do evil.

Here is where the blurring of the line between Witchcraft and Wicca is most evident. The Rede is a statement of WICCA. Not even all Wiccans subscribe to it. The Rede has been traced to one tradition of Wicca and didn’t appear until published in a print journal in the mid 1970′s ( The Wiccan Rede Project ) Gardner did not have it in his book of shadows (as seen in Aidan Kelly’s publication of it at http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm ).

In point of fact, there are witches that do evil. Remember, witchcraft is defined as being malevolent. Many who identify as witches use magick to gain things for themselves, without regard for whom may get hurt, retribution or anything else; for example, Satanic Witches do this very thing and believe they are fully justified by their religion in doing so.

Please notice that Mr. Vogel does not consider Satanic worshipers to be included as “witches”. Satanic witches consider themselves witches, there is even a whole book written by Anton LaVey about the Satanic Witch.

Please also note that in “Aradia, Gospel of the Witches” by Charles Leland, one of the seminal works of modern NeoPaganism, there is no mention of the concept of the Rede or Retribution or any other structure such as is pointed to in this “fact”.

In fact, “Aradia, Gospel of the Witches” specifically states that you must harm those who have harmed you. To quote:

And when a priest shall do you injury
By his benedictions, ye shall do to him
Double the harm, and do it in the name
Of me, Diana, Queen of witches all!

To me, that says it all right there, Witches harm, and have a mandate from the Goddess to do so.

3. Witches do NOT believe in or worship Satan, and do not perform any sort of human or animal sacrifices. Satan is a relatively new concept that originated with Christianity & Zoroastrianism. Witches put the responsibility for our own actions squarely on whom it belongs: ourselves. Witchcraft teaches us to be responsible people who take responsibility for our own actions.

When the Christian Church decided to obliterate religions that were a threat to its power (including Witchcraft), they decided that their “Satan” had horns and that Witches were actually worshipping the Devil. This became the death warrant for millions of innocent people.

While parts of the above statement are factual, it once again discounts segments of the very witchcraft groups he alleges he is including! In point of fact, some Satanists worship Satan. Satanists are witches by their own declaration and association, and they worship Satan. I mean, one can’t get clearer than that.

Rev. Vogel has stated that Satanists are not witches. It does not seem to matter to him that the people who practice this religion profess to be witches. However, I suspect that if a Roman Catholic Cardinal proposed a definition of Wicca and/or Witchcraft that did not include the “Reverend’s” personal beliefs, he would be highly indignant. In fact I suspect further that he would attempt to raise a howl heard round the world. Were he to modify his declaration that Satanists are not Witches to mean that they are not Wiccan, he would be correct. However, if Norm were to unbend enough to use the standard definition of witches as it appears in the dictionary and in history and practice, he would see that witches, do, in fact, worship Satan and his world would be in danger of ending.

I will grant you that Wiccans do not worship Satan (although if there are “Christian Wiccans” then there can certainly be “Satanic Wiccans” as well), and many Pagan paths also do not worship Satan.

As to the “relatively new concept” clause, I decided to check this statement out online. Taking it as fact, I checked on Zoroastrianism for their concept of good and evil. I referenced this page ( Tenets of Zoroastrianism ) and read that this concept dates from between 8000 and 1500 BCE. I have a serious problem calling a concept that has been around from 3500 to 10,000 years “recent”. That means that the “witchcraft” he is talking about is not older than this, but actually just being born, since it only is about 100 years or so old (dating back to Charles Leland).

I’ll agree that the modern, Western concept of Satan as his own entity may have been created within the last 700 years, which would make that aspect of a 10,000 year old concept “relatively new”. However, to be accurate with Norm’s belief, that would presuppose that Witchcraft is older than Christianity. Otherwise, how could a “relatively modern” religion like Christianity steal the God figure of the Witches to identify it as Satan? Now, while some references to witches DO appear in Roman documents and Greek documents, predating Christianity, once again we are back to The Empire State Building argument. Just because a word is ancient does not mean that anything that identifies with that word is ancient as well.

The second part of this “fact” is problematic. Modern research has revealed that “millions of innocent people” didn’t die in the “Burning Times”. That number was a guess by a scholar in the mid 1800′s and has since been debunked. While the true death toll is not known and probably can never be known, the current estimates range from 1500 to 150,000 over a 900-year period. This is gleaned from trial records, hysteria, journals, and city records over the period spanning from the 1100′s to present day. This number also includes victims like Tempest Smith who committed suicide because of persecution as a Wiccan at her school.

The critical thing to note about the persecution that many Wiccans and Witches point to as proof of their membership in a persecuted minority, is the fact the Inquisition, while horrendous, was not targeting witches. It was targeting heresy in the Roman Catholic Church. The charge of Witchcraft was a convenient blanket charge to begin the process of investigation. Those that pled guilty to the charge of Witchcraft within some Ecclesiastical courts were spared. The Protestants, particularly in Germany, were not as lenient.

Spain was the originator of the Inquisition and this needs to be put into a historical perspective. Ferdinand and Isabella had just reconquered Spain from the Moors. They, and more particularly Isabella, were deeply religious and felt the need to cleanse their country of the influence of the religiously tolerant “infidels”. From there, the hunt spread to Jews, Homosexuals, those with unconventional political beliefs, those who would not agree with the system (like many scientists), and others outside the norms of society. The Inquisition in Rome in 1600 burned Giordano Bruno, the scientific philosopher, to death for his apostasy and heretical views. These are the same targets of Hitler’s pogrom, of the Communists, in fact, the same minorities of humanity that have been stalked by those in power since the world started. Liberals, free thinkers, and humanitarians were specifically targeted for being the beatniks and hippies of their times. Although the charge of witchcraft may have been levied against them that did not make them witches.

It also fails to take into account the Christian belief that if you do not worship the Christian God, then you automatically worship Satan. To see this dogma in action, look at Jack Chick’s publications. In those little pamphlets everyone who is not Mr. (and I use the term lightly) Chick’s brand of Christian identified as Satan worshipers. Chick’s dogma says that anyone who worships strange gods, meaning any ancient deities, YHVH, Allah, Buddha and anyone following other teachers, has been deceived by Satan into falling away from God, and MUST be rescued. Many liberal ministers will agree that other religions have a lot to offer, but when it comes right down to brass tacks, they state that if you don’t worship God, Satan has deceived you. As a result, any non-Christian by definition must be a worshiper of Satan. Some, like Bill Schnoebelen, even go so far as to attempt to prove that ALL religions other than their narrow view of religion are created by Satan to make the elect fall away.

Sorry, Norm, but those who practice African Diaspora religions like Voodoo and several other versions of Pagan religions do have blood sacrifice, and in some cases, animal sacrifice. I hardly think they can be identified as off shoots of Christianity. The rites of animal sacrifice are rigidly defined. They have been handed down for generations in many cases and are designed to insure that the animal is honored, praised for its sacrifice, celebrated, and instead of the remains being disposed of like used toilet paper, it is consumed and celebrated during the consumption.

The comment about human sacrifice is specious and misleading. No modern religion I am aware of has been shown to practice any form of human sacrifice other than self-sacrifice through suicide.  Certainly the Buddhists of the past, the Branch Dividians and the “Heaven’s Gate” cult practiced this form of human sacrifice through suicide.  His statement tries to imply there is a group somewhere practicing “Ritual Satanic Human Sacrifice” on a regular basis, which has been repeatedly proven to be false. It is a straw man set up for the sole purpose of demonstrating to the credulous how evil “they” are, without ever stating who “they” are. For a good set of resources in debunking the straw man of “Ritual Satanic Abuse”, please see Diane Vera’s excellent website and the Satanic Ritual Abuse page.

Surprisingly, Norm does have a point regarding the responsibility clause. Wiccans, Witches and Pagans profess taking responsibility for our own actions, and don’t believe in a scapegoat/redeemer who will rescue us from the consequences of our actions. (As my wife is fond of saying, “You made the mess, you clean it up.”) We also don’t hold that we will get all our rewards after we die, we expect to have good things happen to us during this lifetime, as consequences of our actions. Well done there Norm.

4. The Pentagram (a five-pointed star in an upright, one-point-up position) is the symbol of our religion. The top point symbolizes Spirit (the Creator) being ‘above’, or ruling, the Four Elements of Life — Air, Fire, Water, & Earth — which are the four lower points.

The Circle, being without beginning or end, symbolizes the Deity. It is completely encompassing the Star within it (which represents the out-stretched human body, reaching out in search of its connection with Spirit). Together, they represent the Creator’s Protection & Wisdom.

Inverting the Pentagram, as is done by Satanists, symbolizes that the Elements (the “material world”) are superior to the Creator. Unfortunately, through misunderstandings that have been repeated by the media, the Pentagram — in whatever position — has become wrongly equated with Satanism. (Please note, though, that in England, there are several traditions that use the inverted pentagram as a symbol for a second degree — which obviously has nothing to do with Satanism).

Okay, while this is confusing, obfuscating and misleading, parts of it are accurate. But the question remains, which religion is he talking about when he states “our”? Witchcraft is a skill set, like being a carpenter. It is not a religion. I could claim that the cross is the religion of carpenters, but it would be inaccurate since carpentry is a skill, not a religion. (I know there was one carpenter that became closely associated with crosses, but that is not an automatic assumption that all carpenters worship crosses.)

It is the same situation here. Wicca’s symbol is the Pentagram. The symbology of that is also accurately described. But the inverted pentagram is the symbol of the Church of Satan, the Triskel the symbol of druidism and the hammer the symbol of Asatru. All of these religions (and yes, they are all religions) have different symbols as well as having witches in their ranks.

5. A male Witch is not a “Warlock”. This is a Scottish term, meaning “traitor”, or “oathbreaker”. (A male Witch is a “Witch”).

The actual etymology of “Warlock” is still the subject of heated debate. But the proper term for a male witch is “witch”, just as a female judge is “Judge”. But, and I say this to be totally accurate, there are those who identify themselves with witchcraft who prefer to be called warlocks. I know it seems like an uphill battle, one that is going to go nowhere fast, but that is what these people choose to be called. It is akin to Wiccans trying to rescue the term “witch”. The term witch has had specific meanings for hundreds of years, and so has Warlock. Attempting to sweep centuries of belief aside because a small group is trying to redefine it is silly. It is like trying to redefine the term “chartreuse” to mean “thick headed”. People are still going to mean the color when they say chartreuse. All the polite corrections in the world are not going to change anything nor will it do anything more than irritate people. Pick your battles and ask yourself this, “Do I need to be persecuted to make myself feel special?”

6. Witchcraft is a legal religion protected under the First and Fourteenth amendments. (See the US Army “Chaplain’s Guide to Ministering to Wiccans”. There are 2 references to this guide; please click on each number: 1 , 2 ) .

We are non-proselytizing; we don’t seek to convert anyone . We feel that all religions are equally valid, and that you should be free to choose the one with which you are most comfortable. No religion has the monopoly of God (despite what some may claim).

In our opinion, far too many religions place too much emphasis on the actual religion (or it’s leader), and seem to be worshipping that, instead of God. This, in our opinion, is wrong thinking.

As long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others, we all have a right to our own method of worshipping the Deity.

As much as it pains me to say this, President George W. Bush was actually right when he said, “Witchcraft is not a religion”. I know, I know, I fought against that so long myself, screaming about how he was wrong and so on. Forgive me. Witchcraft is NOT a religion; it is not protected by anything. WICCA is a religion, and THAT RELIGION is protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. And Wicca DOES NOT EQUAL Witchcraft.

Much of the rest of this is accurate, and I will get to my problems with this passage shortly. Wicca incorporates witchcraft into its structure, but Wicca is not Witchcraft. Wicca is a religion; Witchcraft is the skill of magick within Wicca. There are Wiccans who are not Witches, and there are many witches who are not Wiccan.

Ultimately, Norm has simply taken the “history” lesson out of Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, added a few details he thought of on his own, and threw this essay up on the Internet. Given the state of research and knowledge 25 years ago when The Complete Book was first written, this was fine. We have now moved into a new millennium. New facts are being discovered constantly and things are changing. It is critical that anyone claiming leadership stay current with the latest facts and update their information accordingly. Our total body of knowledge has expanded, and neither Buckland nor Norm has changed to fit that new knowledge.

I would point out that this is exactly what the Catholic Church and many fundamental religious groups are infamous for doing. Their stone-set dogma insures their ears are ossified and incapable of learning anything that negates or conflicts with it.

Here is my problem with the passage, to refresh your memory Norm says, “In our opinion, far too many religions place too much emphasis on the actual religion.” My first problem is this; why is Norm speaking with the Royal “we”?  I feel this is just a tad bit arrogant.  And aren’t religions supposed to emphasize religion? If they don’t aren’t they just Rotary Clubs in disguise?

Seriously, I think I understand what he might have been trying to say here (that he objects to religions that place too much emphasis on the trappings of religion or the corporation of religion) but I am not sure he understands that what he said is not what he meant.

There is one basic flaw in this document that drove me to write this article. The continual confusion of Wicca for Witchcraft is wrong. Believe it or not, if Norm would replace every instance of Witchcraft with Wicca, then the majority of my objections with this document would disappear. There are still a few minor historical inaccuracies, but they are minor in comparison to the rest of the article. The continual Wicca/Witchcraft confusion turns what could have been a decent factual document that I could support into a statement of inaccuracy and irrelevance. In either case he needs an editor to clean it up.

Norm has been frequently charged with being “fluffy” in the past. I ask you the reader this, having read the original Norm and refutation in this article, can you doubt it?

A personal cause for my distaste is the specific manner in which the good Rev. handles those who have visited his site and offered corrections to his alleged facts.

My personal feeling is that a leader leads with passionate reason. A true leader does not throw a howling temper tantrum like an ill-bred two year old venting his spleen at being told he is wrong. Rev. Vogel attempts to use the tactics of an outraged water buffalo to humiliate and intimidate his critics into silence with slanderous personal attacks in his guest book. Not satisfied with this he insists on attacking their sites and their forums or guest books, going so far as to publish the source of his ire’s email address on various lists where his supporters lurk. This results in multiple emails from people who have been urged to spam the “heretic” who has displeased their leader. I wonder if his supporters realize they can be reported to their ISP’s for harassment and lose their service.

This kind of behavior simply leads to retaliation from the attacked and their supporters, a normal and very human behavior. I have never had a problem admitting when I have incorrect facts, in fact I ask that people with more knowledge provide me with background information so that my articles, essays and even rants are as accurate as possible. “Attack facts, not people” does not appear to be a lesson our subject has learned. If you wish to see proof of his behavior, please look at http://davensjournal.com/Norm.txt. I would suggest a quick look through his guest book but he has deleted all the inflammatory posts. Unfortunately for him, I saved all the relevant copies.

I’ll admit that there are a lot of reasons to despise Norm Vogel, but ultimately it is not worth it.

One last thing before I close this essay out, at the bottom of his page, Norm has put these statements:

IMPORTANT: Please note that info on the “Fact” & “FAQ” pages does NOT reflect the opinions of ALL Witches; however, it DOES reflect the vast majority. (So, please don’t send me any “bullshit letters” complaining that I’m “wrong” about anything! You are entitled to your perceptions of the Craft, as am I!). I respect YOURS; please respect MINE.

And, if you have a ‘bitch’ about my definitions of “Pagan”, “Witch”, “Wiccan”, I invite you to come up with one that EVERYONE will agree on — If you do, I WILL use it! This subject has been fought over for YEARS, and no one has (or, CAN, imho) come up with one!

Now, I’m going to respond to these statements.

His first paragraph is inaccurate. His page is titled “Witchcraft the Facts” which would seem to purport he is presenting actual facts that can be documented and pointed to by scholars from multiple disciplines. Oh, let me clarify, I mean scientific disciplines like archeology, linguistics, anthropology, ethnography, sociology, statistical analysis and theology, not just anyone’s current favorite Llewellyn author. Being able to bullshit with authority is still lying.

If the majority of witches are holders of the same opinion, then why do so many witches go to his site and try to correct his “facts”?

If these are truly the facts of Witchcraft, how can he then state that all this is the opinion of the majority of Witches. Well, which is it? Fact or opinion? Facts are facts, opinions are opinions and everyone has an opinion. There is only one set of facts. The fact states that what has been put up is not fact at all, but Norm’s personally held beliefs. If that’s the case, fine, well and good, more power to him. But presenting it as fact is just plain wrong.

He goes on to state that his opinion is his opinion and that he respects the opinions of others.  His behavior shows otherwise however, and by making blanket statements as he as done, he does not respect the beliefs and opinions of other religions either.  If he did then he would not dismiss Satanists as Witches so quickly.

In his second paragraph he challenges others to come up with definitions of Pagan, Witch and Wiccan. In the past, better, more accurate definitions have been presented to him. To date, he has not used any of those definitions.

Why? He demands that the definition be one that “everyone can agree on….”. This gives him the ability to say “I don’t believe that” and now “everyone” does not agree with the definitions. As a point of logic, there is absolutely no way to come up with a definition that EVERYBODY in the universe will agree to, the best that can be done is to come up with a definition that most will agree on. With 2,000 years, the Christians haven’t managed to define what is Christian either, cold consolation though that may be.

Here follows an agreed upon new definition of the words. One can hope that the good Rev. will find them acceptable.

Witch (Neopagan definition): A witch is one who practices one of a variety of form of magic derived from the folk practices of previous times. Most often this is denoted by herbalism, midwifery and divination with various tools, but can also include those who cast spells using the natural forces of nature. This differentiates them from Ceremonial Magicians.

Pagan (Neopagan definition): A person who is a member of any of several modern religions that are loosely based on some form of ancient religious practices or based on modern fictional works most often denoted by a polytheistic or duotheistic godhood, research into past practices and a lack of a “holy scripture” in the dogmatic sense. It can also be characterized by most often having been created within the last 100 years. It cannot be classed as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism or Hinduism or other mainstream religions.

Wiccan (Neopagan definition): A member of the religion of Wicca, as created by Gerald Gardner or any of its many subsequent spin-offs. Characterized by having a duotheistic deity structure, adherence to “The Wiccan Rede” and belief in “The Law of Returns” or a similar statement. Please note, Witches can be Wiccan, but not all Witches ARE Wiccan.

Originally posted 2010-12-11 19:15:42.

(Daven’s Comments: Please note this carefully; this is NOT my essay. It is one of the classics of NeoPagan Literature, and as such deserves to be out there in the community. Every time, however, I find a copy of it, it somehow disappears off the Internet completely. To prevent this from being lost, I am putting it up here. So I don’t have to be anxious about whether or not it will vanish the next time I need to reference it. If you wish to see a more up to date version, please go to THIS SITE and read. I honestly don’t know the difference between these two, but that one is a higher version number. Sad to say the original site Clannada na Gadelica seems to have disappeared off the Internet completely. I leave this link here out of respect.)

by Iain MacAnTsaoir and Dawn O’Laoghaire

The following is by no means an indictment of the religion called Wicca. Wicca is indeed a valid and powerful path for those who truthfully walk it and understand it. However, there is a body of people who believe that Wicca is the descendant of the religious ways of the Gaelic or other Celtic peoples (or ‘Celts’ as a general nomenclature). This simply is not the case.

The following is a brief comparison of the Wiccan religion and Celtic religion. The purpose of this exercise is to dispel the notion that Wicca is Celtic, or derived from Celtic religion. It is by no means to be taken as an in-depth survey of either religion. There are a great many questions that could be answered for people if they would visit with the elderly people in the rural areas of the Old Countries, or at least read books written by solid academians instead of profit oriented, new age writers. We will place at the end of this article the sources that can be used to substantiate what is said herein. I encourage you to investigate each source given, to check the veracity of the statement for yourselves

When we talk about Celtic religion, we must define what we are talking about. Precisely put, we are talking about religious beliefs, practices and world views that existed in Gaelic and other Celtic cultures, as these developed as natural manifestations within the cultures. While this woudl included Celtic Christianity, for this article we are addressing Classical (pagan) Celtic theology. The pagan methodology and understandings of Gaelic spirituality survived the coming of Christianity and have continued to this day within the ways of people who are by and large nominally Christian. This is however, where Gaelic Traditionalists, both pagan and Christian, look when establishing their beliefs and methodologies.

An example of what existed in Classical times, when compared with what began afterward, is the use of the Maypole. Prior to importation by Germanic invaders, the Maypole was not in use in Gaelic lands. The High Days, which were fire festivals, saw people gather at the local river to make votive offerings, as well as light bonfires on the hill tops. It wasn’t until the coming of the Saxon that the Maypole came to Gaelic lands, and even then the use of the Maypole stayed in the areas where there was a Germanic population, and was not adopted by the indigenous Gaels.

The spirituality of the various Celtic peoples has not changed. The Gaelic peoples still recognize that there are spirits of the Sky, the Sea and the Land (X). It is only in their official methodologies concerning the Upper Realm, that concepts and methodologies have changed. The Three of Power can still be found in prayers and incantations such as recorded by Alexander Carmichael at the early part of the 20th century. Yet there are a great many who claim that things that have never been a part of the Celtic paradigm are Celtic. Wicca seems to be a religion that is particularly prone to this. The people who make the statement that Wicca is Celtic are usually of two sorts. These are the new people who either for their own reasons truly believe this to be the case, or they have fallen prey to some unscrupulous teacher who uses the allure of things “Celtic” to draw in new students or ensure profits. In both cases the problem is exacerbated by the fact that solid information is not easily accessible to the general public. The people who fall for the antics of the unscrupulous teacher usually do not have access to the information it takes to refute the falsehood. All religions have these types, and the fact that these will also exist within Wicca should not serve as a reason to condemn that path.

People who, with utter conviction, state that Wicca is a Celtic path usually have derived this idea by one of two common arguments (taking for granted that they haven’t been misinformed). The first is conveyed by the person stating something to the effect of, “… _____ (usually Gardner is named) drew upon Celtic lore when putting it together… .” The second statement used is, “…it just *is* Celtic, it’ always been Celtic, its always been in places like Ireland and Scotland.” Both of these arguments are easily disproven. The following shall go toward that end.

Traditional Celtic religions, as is the case with all religions, are cultural manifestations. In tribal cultures the people’s spirituality is part of their identity and world view. Gaelic Traditionalism, for example, holds within the Gaelic culture. This just as a Traditionalist Lakota would remain faithful to their culture. In the Gaelic experience, though regional variants of the name would exist, the Mother of the Gods is Danu, and her mate is Bile. From that union came Dagda and Bride, who are described in some articles of lore as mates themselves. From texts and folklore we see that the Gods were born of that union. The Gods are the First Ancestors of the people, and are individuals. Scholars have noted that when Celtic culture entered an area, the Celtic gods of the Upper Realm went in with them. These then intermarried with the local goddesses of the land (the goddesses of sovereignty). Extant geneological texts chart how the ancient Gael believed that they originated with those unions. Hence the very Gods of the people are their First Ancestors.

The various ideas surrounding the ancestors manifest in a host of customs, such as the Feast of the Dead. Also, such concepts as that of the dead reincarnating through blood lines, in conjunction with the customs of the Gaelic peoples, provides a sense of continuity and identity that cannot be missed.

Just as Traditionalists hold steadfastly to their own culture, Wicca tends to draw from various cultures and ideologies. What allows the practicioners of Wicca to put elements from various religions together is the modernist ideology that has at it’s root the Jungian concept of archetypes. Wiccans tend to work heavily in the idea of archetypes — “All goddesses are the face of the Goddess”. They focus on the traits which various deities share, much the same way a Jungian would focus on the shared traits of heros in a Jungian analysis. Wiccans also speak heavily on the subject of masculine and feminine dualities (anima andÊ animus), which are central to Jungian theories of personality. Some Wiccans focus on claiming the shadow side, or “dark” side of individuals, which is a straight lift from Jungian theory.

The concepts that are traditionallay part of Celtic religions reject this type of analysis and state that the Gods are individuals. Furthermore, as stated, traditional Celtic beliefs hold that the Gods are tied to the people by a familial links. As an example, while a Gaelic Traditionalist might agree that your mom and their mom (or your tribe’s Mother Goddess and their tribe’s Mother Goddess) share some traits by virtue of both people being moms, it is a mistake to say that just because both people are moms, they are interchangeable. To the perspective of a Gael, the basic fallacy of extending Jungian analysis to far is this your mom isn’t their mom, no matter how mom-like both people are. Needless to say, one can’t hold an archetype relationship to either the God or the Goddess and a direct and intimate personal relationship to your people’s gods at the same time. The two ideas contradict each other.

Another of the signs telling of the Jungian foundation in Wicca is the propensity to constantly ‘borrow’ of concepts, icons and sacred relics from other cultures and their religions. This causes a great deal of friction to exist between people of other cultures and Wiccans. This friction manifests itself in such passive things as traditional peoples separating themselves and establishing communities aside from the general pagan one. It also manifests in such things as the literal Lakota Declaration of War against those who “steal” (words the spiritual leaders of that People used) that cultures spirituality. The unanimous opinion of the people in the various traditional forms of spirituality is that Wicca and Wiccans spend too much time “borrowing” everything under the sun and throwing it all together. Yet, to be fair, from Wicca’s arcehtypal-based viewpoint, that’s both okay and logical.

From a traditional Gaelic view point, and traditionalists of other cultures say the same things, these practices dishonor the ancestors, distort the fundamental truth (your mom ain’t my mom), and interfere with the duty that traditional people generally feel to preserve and restore traditional cultures. This is because, to them, Wicca creates a distraction that sidetracks people looking for the traditional ways, as well as sucks up the time, interest and energy of people who might otherwise be helping to find ways to preserve their culture. Wiccans also often present themselves as the “true” Celtic religion which prevents some people from ever finding their way back to the path of the ancestors, which would, in the view of a traditional person, honor the gods properly. Meaning, as individuals and as the ‘First Ancestors’. What most traditionalists find deplorable is that many Wiccans embrace the misinformation regardless of fact and refuse to deal with conflicting ideas or views when faced with facts.

Having established the Jungian foundation that allows for misinformation to remain unchecked in the Wiccan community lets start dispelling some of the fallacious notions that exist. The first notion to be addressed is, ‘Wicca is what the Celts of old practiced.’ Toward dispelling this idea, let’s state some things that are faily well established as fact because of the preponderance of evidence,

The first is that modern neo-paganism is highly impacted by, and reflective of, Gardnerian Wicca and its derivatives. The second is that, when Gardner was putting his creation together he drew upon Eastern philosophies, Egyptian ideologies and Judaic ceremonialism, in addition to Celtic lore.

This easily becomes confusing, but when something is made up of components, the whole mechanism is not solely of any one of those components. To state such denotes a severely faulty argument. Let me demonstrate this. For a great many years American Motors Corporartion (AMC) put out a whole line of automobiles. These automobiles very often had Chrysler engines, Ford transmissions, Chrysler brakes, Ford seats and, I believe in one instance, even General Motors instrumentation. All of those components, motors, transmissions, seats, etc, were fixed into a body made by AMC. Yet the complete car wasn’t a Ford because it had a Ford engine, nor was it a Chrysler because it had their transmission. It was an AMC, a creature all its own. The same is true about Wicca. It has a Hindu engine, an Egyption torque converter and a Celtic transmission. These things were set in a ceremonial body that, while reflective of the bodies used by the Hermetic Orders, is Wiccan alone. It is a creature unto itself.

Concerning the second argument they use, I direct your attention at two areas. These two areas will suffice nicely in dispelling the false notion that Wicca just *IS* Celtic. The first area is the theologies of the two systems

The two systems, Wicca and Celtic, and in particular Gaelic, contradict each other on several points. These conradictions are enough to, as a whole, form a severe dissonance between the two religions. In Celtic religion, there are three basic spheres. These are the Sky, the Sea and the Land. Each of these has a ruling body. For the Sky the sun, for the Sea the Moon and for the Land the Earth.

By careful study of the ancient texts, as well as the language itself, we see that the Sun and the Moon are feminine. They are sisters to each other. Though in some lore there is traces of evidence that some believed that while the Sun was feminine, the Moon was masculine. In Gaidhlig the names of both luminaries are feminine, and in invocations and spells they are both addressed as feminine beings. Yet they can change gender according to which of their attributes is brought to the fore. The nurturing, warm Sun who promotes growth is feminine, the light, as personified by Lugh, is masculine, and the scorching Sun just before Harvest is represented by Balor. This contrasts sharply with Wicca which is based wholly on a Feminine Moon and Masculine Sun.

Wicca is a religion whose philosophical foundation is Neo-Platonic dualism with a Goddess and a God as archetypes. Not only is Celtic religion vastly different in that it is truely polytheistic, totemistic, animistic, and zoomorphic but the very processes of reason upon which the whole of the Celtic worldview is based is founded on a tripartite cosmology. In Celtic understanding the world has three independent and free sphere, Sky, Land and Sea. The three realms are both the legs of the cauldron of the world, as well as the three parts of the Tree of the World

The next area of difference regards ethics. The basic ethical statement of Wicca is called ‘the Rede.’ The Wiccan rede states, “An It Harm None, Do As Ye Wilt.” The nature of the Rede is untenable to Celts. The whole morality of Wicca is “harm none”. While it is a theoretical statement, it is one with little real life practice. This is because it’s a rule that must be broken just to survive and as a result leaves interpretation and application to individuals, and common sense, isn’t

Such statments as are typical of the Rede are not a part of the Celtic paradigm, in which we find a heroic morality. In real life, the term “harm none” is typified by the moralities of Wicca, Christianity, and others where the primary imperative is to not hurt others. Heroic is typified by Celtic and Norse religions primarily, though other examples exist. Heroic morality is summed up by the Gaelic hero Caelte as, “truth in our hearts, strength in our arms and fulfillment in our tongues”. Heroic morality is rooted in concepts of personal honor, responsibility and fulfilment of duty. These are all traits of the Heroic morality, but like the Tao, it is an intangible concept that cannot truly be adequately defined

Because Wicca and traditional Gaelic spirituality arise out of different analyticalÊ perspectives, their moralities — the “scripts” they create for their adherents — are radically different. Wicca is a religion that is based on a logical extension of Jungian analysis (and yes, Jung was big into religion) — thus it’s sole ethic “Harm none and do what thou wilt” tends to reflect a personal, individualistic practice. Traditionalist Celts living a “heroic” morality focus on heroism, personal honor, tribal honor and duty to the tribe and “Do what you wilt” is the last thing on their mind. What honor and duty calls for are at the opposite end of the spectrum from what the individualistic bent of Wicca would call for.

The vision conceived and portrayed by Wicca, of what comes after this life, is limited and vague. Celtic religion, on the otherhand, has a complex and intricate conceptualization of the otherworld. In fact, OtherWorld’s interaction in this world is, in many ways, the pivot point of Celtic religion.

Wicca is primarily an invocatory/ecstatic religion which revolves around special rituals. The ‘formularies’ used by Wicca can be traced back through the lodges of ceremonial magic, and especially the work of Alister Crowley. In Celtic religion, the tenets are votive in nature and stress ethics and morality, only secondary importance is placed on ritual. To Celts, life itself is ceremony, with every thought, word and deed being spiritually significant and magical

The very foundation of Gaelic culture was the home. The hearth was the cornerstone of the spirituality of the people. In Gaelic religions great emphasis is placed on the sanctity of the home, and strength of the family. Families, to traditional celtic peoples, include people who have adopted each other. The individuals are encouraged to walk in strength and to fulfill their responsibilities to their families. These components are not found in Wicca

In Wicca, sacred space is ritually ‘created.’ To traditional Celtic sensibilities, both blessing the salt and not blessing the salt are superfluous arguments. This because to the Celtic mind, human kind can make neither the Gods, nor Their creations, any more or less perfect than they already are.

In traditionally based Celtic religions all all space is sacred. The Land is the Goddess of Sovereignty, the Mother of the peoples living there, and holy unto Herself. Sacred space is omnipresent, it is the history of a place or some other distinguishing thing that causes certain places to see different religious usages. What is done at a site depends on the natural predisposition of an area or its history. That the ancestors saw things in this way is established through such literary evidence as the Dindsenchas (a book of place histories).

Related to the concepts of the land is that, the Gods that Celts took with them into a new land (Sky Gods/ Gods of the People), mated with the Land Gods already in that land. Out of those unions came the oldest Gaelic families, out of which came later Gaelic families. What this means is that the Celts saw the Gods as their relatives. Hence we see one of several manifestations of ancestor veneration. Wicca has no component for venerating or developing a relationship with the ancestors, or the Goddess of the land or other land spirits of the lands that a people live in. These are big items in traditional Celtic religions.

Wicca is an initiatory mystery religion. Gaelic and other traditional Celtic religions are inclusive, with very few initiatory elements. Within Wicca there are various degrees and levels, each having its own mystery, each mystery being revealed by someone in authority. While the scope of this article is not designed to explore religious functionaries in pre-Christian Celtic cultures, in Celtic religion, the declarations of the Gods are found in the Order of Nature. The revelations are from the Gods themselves, and in general each person with sincerity seeks to understand the natural world (which includes the “supernatural” world) around them and their place in it. There also the concept of interacting with the natural world as co-inhabitors of the world

As briefly touched on earlier, Wicca uses the classical elements as a fundamental concept. Celtic religions traditionally do not use the classical elements (air, fire, water and earth) in any way. Some point to the inclusions of the four mythical cities of the Tuatha De Danaan, as recounted in the Lebhar Gebhala Erenn as proof of, or a model of, the use of the elements of the later Greek elements. These folk attribute the four treasures that came from those cities as symbols for those elements. However, scholars tend to think that these may have been included as they were by Christian monks to bring things more into line with the Roman concepts as typified by the Roman Vulgate.

Some will argue that the floor plans of sacred sites support the concept of the use of directions in conjunction with the four elements. First, such associations would be speculation only. Secondly, these floor plans are of the square temples that are found primarily on the continent. This floor plan was carried over to the isles with the Romans, and is found as a part of Romano-Celtic culture. The majority of insular temples were round. Typical of this genre is the important ritual structure at Emain Macha which was itself round. Archaeological diggings has shown that the site was based on five concentric rings (perhaps associated with the same five circles placed around a new born) of oak posts, with an opening to the west. Circular sites aren’t plagued with such concerns as which side faces which direction. Indeed, the sitting arrangement of the five kings at Tara, indicate an association with the directions, but these need to be addressed within the framework of the culture. This framwork would be winds, or ‘airts’, not the four Greek elements. The airts are still to this day what are associated with the dircetions, as shown by some of the incantations recorded in the Highlands by Carmichael. The Greek elements were only associated with the Four Treasures in the late 1800′s, by the work of the Golden Dawn, of which Yeates was a member.

If we want to address the Four Treasures, we must recognize exactly what is being stated in the texts. Of those treasures, one was the Sword of Nuada and the other the Spear of Lugh. Lugh did not come with the Tuatha De Danann when They came into Ireland. Lugh showed up later on, just prior to the second battle of Maig Tuired. According to the lore, Lugh’s Spear was forged by Goibiu. In that battle Nuadh was killed, and it was after the battle that Lugh took the kingship. Hence, by seeing that Nuadh was gone, and Lugh ascended, Nuadh’s solar symbol (the sword) was replaced by Lughs solar symbol (the spear). This helps us to see that the significant number involved is ‘three’

Also as stated, in Celtic culture there are the basic spheres of Sky, Sea and Land. These three realms are three parts of the cosmology of most Indo-European peoples, and are not the equivalents of “earth, wind, fire and water” of the Hellenistic Greek world that has filtered down to the modern era through the ceremonial magical lodges.

The Sky, which is related to Fire, is the realm of the gods of culture, light/enlightenment, order, permanence, purity, and the skills (The Tuatha De Danann). The Sea, which is the realm of the watery Underworld is associated with chaos, decay, and death through which comes renewal and rebirth (the Fomorri). Regarding water proper, it is through the sacred wells (direct conduits to OtherWorld), from the Waters of Heaven (which maintains during the rule of the truthful king), that the waters which encircles the Earth, sustains and maintains the people of the Land. It is here on the Land where humans physically exist, living in contentions on the ‘plain of sorrow’, caught betwixt the above and the below.

The closest thing to an elemental system amongst the Gaelic Celts is what are called the dhuile, as such is defined as ‘elements’ in Gaidhlig. These are anywhere from seven to eleven, usually nine, items. These range from sun to lightning to rock. The duile are a way of understanding the relationship of the person to the cosmos, with each item found in the cosmos relating to a part of the person.Wicca has nothing along these lines. In addition, the fertility nature of Wicca addresses the land Gods almost exclusively. When Gods of the other realms are named, they are usually outside of the place held for them in their traditional pantheons. In Celtic theology each is held and venerated in their traditional capacities. As far as the directions are concerned, the overwhelming evidence shows that in tradiional celtic religion, the directions have always been associated with the winds. Not only is evidence found in texts which record folklore and custom, such as the Carmina Gadleica, but also in texts far more ancient such as the Senchus Mor , the Saltair Na Ran, and the Hibernica Minora.(X)

Wicca places little emphasis on mythology. Yet in Celtic religion, mythological stories are a central feature. These, in fact, form the core of magical practice, teaching and what ritual exists (manifested commonly in ‘passion plays’). In Wicca there is no clear teaching of what is required to break past the cycles of rebirth. Yet in Celtic religion, the requirement can be clearly and concisely stated. That being to fullfill one’s duty, to always be honorable and to stand for the truth come what may, while understanding *why* what is honorable is considered so.

Wicca is a relatively recent addition to the religious paths of humanity. There is a lot of mis-information bandied about regarding it. It is sad that a great many of its followers have to do the religion such a dis-service by claiming lineages that don’t exist. I would point out the now tired joke about Wiccan grand mums. Celts tend to discount initiation, or any other device through which validity is gained through some person or agency. To a Celt, that one exists is proof of their validty. The only generally recognized ‘initiations’ are those afforded by the process of life itself, with the two most important being birth and death, with marriage, parenthood and grand-parenthood coming along in a close second place.

Some well known writers have claimed a great antiquity for Wicca. Yet, if it has any age to it at all, then it is through the Wicce which were Saxon in origin, and patriarchal from the start. These are thought to have been members of the Lodges of Cunning Men. They have nothing to do with the mythological Druids (a product of the British Revival effort of the 18th cenutry). The Wicce have even less to do with the historical Draoi. Such histories, as have connected the two groups of people, are in fact pseudo-histories, or as Margot Adler calls such ideas in her book, Drawing Down The Moon , “myths”.

These same writters state that the word Wicca, derives from the Saxon word, Witan. However, the Witan was the proto-parliament of old Saxon England. If one wishes to twist etymology in this way, it would be more correct to trace the word witch, back to the word ‘wicga’, which is Old English for the insect known as the earwig, and which literally means “creepy-crawly”.

These same writers state that Wicca was practiced in the Celtic lands, and specifically name Gaelic lands, where these practices were supposedly called “Witta”. Yet, from the Gaelic language itself we can see the truth that Wicca is not descended from the Gaelic Celts, nor, because of the similarities in language, even the Cymru (those known to the Anglo tongue as the Welsh). The simplicity of this fact is seen in that that there isn’t even a ‘W ‘ in the Gaelic language, so niether Wicca nor Witta as a derivation could be Gaelic. As concerns the Gaelic language, the sound [w] does exist in Gaelic, or at least in Old Irish, as a lenited /m/ or /b/, like the [w] in the current pronunciation of Samhain [sawhIn - thats a capital I]. But that never occurs at the begining of a word.

In technical speak the ‘w’ does not exist in the language, nor is [w] ever its own phoneme, just an allophone of /m/ or /b/ (depending on the word). Since lenition is rare at the beginning of a word though, it is extraordinarily unlikely that any native Gaelic word would have a [w] at the beginning, and thus ‘Wicca’ is practically impossible in Gaelic even transliterated into the Roman alphabet.

The truth is that modern Wicca, as it is most commonly practiced, is a fairly modern construction, dating from the middle part of this century. This was best summed up by one Dr. Marilyn Wells PhD, anthropology Department at Middle Tennessee State University, who has referred to modern Wiccans as Neo-Wiccans. In other words, there is little to no connection between Gardners creation and the Wicce of the middle ages, and no connection to the Celts; except for what modern Wiccans have borrowed and incorporated. As a matter of fact, if the veracity of The Pickengill Papers is complete, as many Gardnerians have vouched, then the Lodges of Saxon Cunning Men stood in the place of adversary to the Celtic Wise Women , which also goes to support this essay.

More evidence supporting this, can be found in a body of religious laws called the “Law of the Craft”. While there are a great number of groups operating who do not use the set of laws that Gardner wrote, these do, however, usually use some derivation. “The Law of the Craft” as it was created by Gardner, and forwarded by a great many people who recieved it from their grandmothers (a bit of humour), at the least shows the attitude present in the creators of this religion. The undertones still reverberate. There are printed copies of this body to be found in the public domain, in such books as Lady Sheba’s Grimoire, and The King of the Witches by June Johns. There is also to be found on the Internet, a work comparing several versions of that body of law. There are three items of note, where that law is concerned. They are:

1. The uniform appellation given to modern Wicca, as a “brotherhood.”
2. The quote,”… as a man loveth a woman by mastering her…”
3. The quote,”…let her (the high priestess) ever mind that all power is lent…from him (the priest)…” (Her power is absolute in Circle only, and even then lent from the Him [the priest figure])

parentheses added by author-

All three of these items fly in the face of how women were viewed by pre-Roman Gaelic people. Our people viewed women as equals to men, and this through the Brehon Laws which governed the society. Women had the right to possess and disburse property. They possessed the right to inheritance. They possessed ascendency to the throne; in many places above the right of men to do so. They possessed the right to keep and bear weapons, and be it noted that subjegating an armed populace is indeed a difficult thing to do. It was not until Christianity was firmly implanted that women lost these rights, and the equality of the law concerning women came into question.

Other corollary evidence comes from Wiccan statements about themselves. Of the Druids, all that can be agreed upon, based on evidence, was that they were intimately involved in sacrifices. Yet, many Wiccan state that they “..are the priestcraft for the pagan people…”. They are even “training clergy”. Yet, within Gaelic/Celtic culture all people were considered capable of, and responsible for, the mediation of the Gods on their own behalf. Celtic regard for personal responsibility is amply abundant. This is particularly true as regards to mediating the Gods on ones own behalf, and is so obvious and well known that even pop culture books such as The Celtic Tradition by Caitlin Matthews tell of this truth. This has even been commented on by respected celtophiles such as Peter Berresford-Ellis as being a part of the mindset of the Gaels unto this day.

Even the Triads of our people show where the redactors hands slipped on occasion, and let go expressions of the feeling among our forebearers, that kept priests were an abomination. The idea evidently being that the first place we give up our personal power over our lives is to priestcrafts. From there on out, it is one piece of our lives at a time, until we are veritable slaves. Slavery is not a position taken with grace by our people.

This is not to deny the fact that certainly after the coming of Christianity, and probably before, that there were probably orders of Monks dedicated to the service of one or a number of deities. This is only to say that just as there were not temples of the Greek and Roman type, neither were there sacredotes or “clergy”, whose functions were to mediate and or intercede the Gods on the behalf of other people. The sacrifices that these officiated over were not to appease angry dieties. Indo-European sacrifices were for the renewal of the world, which itself according to Indo-European thought was created from the primordial sacrifice of a diety.

In fact traditional celtic religions was votive/sacrificial in nature. Concepts of votive oferings and world renewing sacrifice, though central to Celtic religion, has no position in Wicca.

When I was asked to write this essay, I was also asked to keep it as short as possible, yet not neglecting thoroughness. This should be enough though, to establish the premise quite securely, that Wicca is not descended form our Gaelic/Celtic ancestors.

Sources:

• Popular Superstitions, Sir William R. Wilde, Sterling Publishing, c. 1995
• The Druids, Peter Berresford Ellis, Eerdmans Books
• Death, War and Sacrifice, Dr. Bruce Lincoln, University of Chicago
• Warriors, Priests and Cattle, Dr. Bruce Lincoln, University of Chicago
• Myths and Symbols of Pagan Europe, H.R. Ellis-Davidson, Syracuse University
• Myth, Legend and Romance – An Enclycopedia Of The Irish Folk Tradition, Dr. Daithi OhOgain, Prentice Hall
• A History of Pagan Europe, Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick
• Celtic Goddesses, Miranda Green, Braziller
• The Silver Bough Vols 1-4, F. Marion MacNeill, Maclellan
• The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, Dr. Anne Ross, Barnes & Nobles
• The Celtic Consciousness, edited by Robert Driscoll, Braziller
• The Carmina Gadelica, Alexander Carmichael, Lindisfarne Press
• Celtic Heritage, Alwyn and Brinley Rees, Thames & Hudson
• The Tain, Thomas Kinsella, Oxford
• The World of the Druids, Miranda Green, Thames & Hudson
• Twilight of the Celtic Gods, David Clarke with Andy Roberts, Blandford
• Lebor Gebala Erenn Parts 1-5, trans. R.A.S.MacAlistair, Irish Texts Society
• Clannada na Gadelica, “A Tripartite World and Triune Logic”;, Iain MacAnTsaoir, 1997
• The Pickengill Papers-The Origin of the Gardnerian Craft, W.E. Liddell, Capall Bann pub. Oxford
• History Of Britain, Oxford University Press
• Dictionary of Word Origins, John Ayto, Arcade, c. 1990
• Celtic Women, Peter Berresford Ellis, Eerdmans Pub, c. 1995,
• The Women of the Celts, Jean Markale, Gordon Cremonesi, c. 1975
• A HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT-Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans, Jeffrey B. Russell, Thames and Hudson
• Drawing Down The Moon, Margot Adler
• The Pickengill Papers, W.E. Liddell
• The Celtic Tradition, Caitlin Matthews, Element Books
• The Celtic World, Miranda Green
• Merlin : Priest of Nature, Jean Markale

Some parts of this essay were based on an article by Lughaid MacRoberts, who encouraged the author of this article to utilize his paper which was copyrighted in 1988.

Prepared by Iain MacAnTsaoir

copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Clannada na Gadelica – all rights reserved.

Originally posted 2009-10-27 19:43:01.

(Note from Daven:  This is an outstanding article, and I think everyone should read this.  As I say in the next part, When I first read it, I got chills.  You can find Wren’s site at http://www.witchvox.com on the net.  Check them out, The Witch’s Voice is one of the most important sites on the net, and a real boon for those of us in the Craft. This article is used by permission.)

Neo-Pagans and Self Actualization
(February, 21st., 1999)
-by Wren Walker

College students and business managers are familiar with the works of Abraham Harold Maslow. Psychology professors often include Maslow in their classroom course of study for the same reason that corporate trainers may implant some of his material buried within their orientation or management skills workshops. Maslow had an interesting theory.

Building A Pyramid

Abe Maslow earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in 1934. Early in his career, he conducted extensive research into the behavior of monkeys-more specifically into the needs of monkeys and which of those needs was fulfilled in what order. From this research came his now famous “hierarchy of needs” theory. This “need scale’ is often shown as a visual graph in the shape of a pyramid. From the bottom to the top, the basic needs are:

1. The physiological needs. These are the basics of maintaining life and good health: Water, food, certain vitamins and minerals, temperature, oxygen, etc. Also included in this category are the needs to be active, to rest, to reproduce, to avoid pain and to sleep. (If you have ever had that ‘need’ for chocolate, then you know how REALLY important these needs can be!)

2. The safety and security needs. After people have satisfied the needs in the first set -and devoured that chocolate bar-the next need that they turn to is the establishment of a safe and secure environment. Shelter, structure, order and some limitations to the influence of outside forces manifest in the search for that “safe neighborhood”, a good job, a little nest egg for emergencies and some good hiding places for those chocolate bars. A system of law and justice becomes an important factor for consideration on this level. If someone steals your candy bar, dammit, you want to know that they are either going to buy you a new one or pay the consequences…

3. The love and belonging needs. After people are fed and secure, a third factor begins to emerge: the need to establish relationships through friends, lovers and family. In time, this need to be with others of our own kind will extend outward into a community setting. We date, marry, have families, go on trips, join clubs, and celebrate all the highs and lows of life within these circles. We want our friends and families to share our joys and be with us in our sorrows. Some of our favorite folks become our favorite folks when they offer to share their chocolate bar with us.

4. The esteem needs. Maslow splits the esteem needs into two groups-the higher and the lower. The lower one is the need for the respect of others, the need for status and glory, recognition, fame, attention and even dominance. Lower esteem needs may come and go with the outside forces and people who are providing them.

The higher esteem needs are met within ourselves and so, while they are harder to establish perhaps, they also harder to lose once attained. You don’t have to please “mommy’ in order to get that chocolate bar anymore. You’ve earned your own money and now you can buy your own candy whenever you want to. Maybe even start your own candy bar company…

Obviously, this is a very simplistic version of the first four hierarchies. But even in this short description, we can see where some of these needs would overlap and shift depending on our circumstances. If we get fired from our jobs or get a failing grade in a class (level 4 needs), then our needs move back a bit and we may compensate by seeking more love and acceptance (level 3 needs) from our family and friends until we regain our emotional footing. We may even go to our rooms, shut the door and not come out for a while (level 2). Please slip the chocolate bar under the door.

Your life experiences may also color how you view these basic needs. If you were always hungry as a child, food may be important to you throughout your life. If you were rejected or abused, you’ll focus on love and acceptance needs. If your parents were “overachievers”, then you may always feel that you have to measure up to the same standard or be considered a failure.

O.K. Wren , this is all very interesting stuff, but what does it have to do with Neo-paganism?

Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot. Maybe a look at the top of the pyramid is in order.

The Top Of The Pyramid

5. The growth -or self actualization -needs. These needs are what drives people-motivates people-to keep seeking, keep trying, keep looking for something more. If all the needs of humanity could be truly satisfied with simply meeting the needs in the first four categories, the world would have long since fallen into decay and stagnation. Something else drives some people to look for…well, something else.

Maslow, as he formulated his theory, expressed his opinion that only 2% of people were what he called, ‘self-actualizing’ personalities. That is a very small number indeed. But when you consider that most of the world’s populations are still struggling with famines, droughts, wars, poverty, economic unease and ethnic unrest, this is not really that surprising. The first four needs have not been met there.

Who are the self actualizers? Maslow took a group of people that he considered to be self actualizing personalities and studied their lives, their writings and their achievements. From this study, he came up with certain traits that may identify such personalities. In this group, he included people like Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, William James, Eleanor Roosevelt and others. To Maslow, these self actualizing people had much in common.

Self actualizers are reality centered. They can tell what is fake and what is real, what is dishonest from what is genuine. They are problem-solvers-which means that they approach life’s difficulties as problems demanding solutions, not as personal disasters to be avoided or blamed on someone or something else. They also do not believe the ends justify the means, but rather that the means could actually be ends in themselves. In other words, they held the maxim that “the journey is its own reward”.

Here is where you may begin to recognize yourself or some other pagans that you may know. Here is where many of the tenets-or even goals- of Neo-paganism can be seen. Perhaps here too is where you will find a description of who you -without even knowing anything about Maslow or his theories-may be striving to become.

Neo-Paganism May Be A Good Breeding Place For Self Actualizers

Self actualizers relate to others in ways that other personality types do not. They are very private people and are quite comfortable being alone. Talking to a few people that I consider to be self actualizers, they all stress that they have a very strong NEED (emphasis theirs) to be alone sometimes. They simply have to have this private interlude in order to be happy.

Self actualizers are fairly independent of current cultural trends. They pick what they want to adopt -only for those reasons important to themselves- and disregard the rest. They tend to rely on their own experiences and make their own judgments. They do not bow to public pressure or change their core beliefs and values when the rest of society decides that this or that is the latest cool fad. They are non-conformists, but in a totally positive way. They don’t try to change other people’s views, but are simply comfortable with their own and don’t really care if other people are not.

Self actualizers believe in democracy. (Thomas Jefferson, you could say, would be the prime example of this type of belief.) They are open to the diversity and variety of independent thinkers to the point of celebration. They find different points of view to be challenging rather than threatening, stimulating rather than crushing, to be encouraged rather than to be avoided.

They also tend to develop very close friendships with only a few select people-often other self actualizers-who may hold different views on subjects, but similarly embrace the love of diversity. They find relationships with many other people outside this group to be both shallow and somewhat exhausting.

Other traits of self actualizers include:

A sense of humor that is most often directed at themselves and at the foibles of society rather than used as a weapon against others.

A readiness to accept people as they find them rather than try to change them. (They themselves change only to suit themselves, so in fact here they are just returning the favor.) Self actualizers tend to have some traits that they consider “quirks” and accept that same “quirkiness” in others as a unique and interesting twist. Yet for all this, they are often very conventional in speech and appearance as they have no “need’ to draw attention to themselves. (as in level 4).

Self actualizers can look at old things in the same way that a child looks at a kitten for the first time. Every day is new and fresh and exciting. This also explains their ability to come up with innovative ideas seemingly from “out of the blue.”

They have their faults, of course. They can suffer anxiety over the state of the world, over evil, over those who just don’t seem to “get it.” They can be absent-minded as they muse away. lost in their own thoughts. And if their need for privacy is not met, they can become cold, withdrawn, humorless and be quite scathing and cynical.

Sure sounds like a lot of pagans that I know…

The Road To Self Actualization Is Not A Free Ride!

Looking back at the traits of self actualizers, we also can see many of these traits reflected in the basic beliefs of many Neo-pagan practitioners. Maybe even in ourselves.

Neo-paganism is, if nothing else, a spiritual journey, a search as it were both for self and for…that something else.

Let’s take a look at some of things that self actualizers and many Neo-pagan belief systems and their practitioners have in common. While your mileage may vary, and not all groups or individuals may believe or strive toward all of these traits, at least to me, some of these traits look an awful lot like what we believe in-or profess to believe in- and strive to emulate.

These are the “must haves” for self actualizers. These are the things that they say that they need in order to be happy.

1. Truth. Neo-paganism is not a fantasy world of made-up characters. It is not a role-playing game. It is a real and growing group of diverse individuals on a spiritual search to both recapture and rekindle lost earth-based religious practices and beliefs and to develop new theological paradigms. Where this will ultimately take us, we are not sure. There may never be an ultimate truth. But for us, the “journey is the reward.” Neo-paganism is not escapism from the “real world”, but a desire to return to earth-based religions in order to understand, embrace and appreciate real life at it fullest. In order to do that, Neo-pagans realize-as do self actualizers-that they are comfortable only when they are truly being themselves.

Anyone who feels the need to put on a false face is not yet self actualized. Such can be found within the Neo-pagan community, of course, as in all walks of life and society. These people are probably still working on level 3 or 4 needs. In time, tiring of the energy expended in maintaining such a facade, they may find ways to meet these lower needs in more constructive ways and eventually come to self actualization.

2. Beauty. The glory of the sunset, the gentle glow of the moon, the softness of a child’s cheek and the crashing of coming thunder-all these things have meaning and beauty to us. This is not a denial that life has its ugly moments, that people can act in selfish ways (What needs have not been met there?) or that vulgarity is often a part of mainstream humor. It is simply that when we meditate, we tend to choose those symbols that radiate beauty of some kind. Why? Because beauty raises us up to a higher level. We’ll examine this experience of the ‘higher level” a bit later.

3. Goodness. Yes, I know that we “all have our dark side.” But self actualizers have already met this part of themselves. struggled with it, embraced it, integrated it and still believe that not only are they themselves basically “good”, but that almost everyone else is as well. That “humans are sinful creatures by nature” thing is a concept that most Neo-pagans reject.

Another trait of self actualized personalities is that they have developed their own sense of morality. This would be scary in a less developed personality-and we have seen the effects of such certainly within the pagan community-yet because of the spiritual balance and equilibrium that has been achieved, self actualizers rarely do anything that hurts another–not because of fear of punishment or the breaking of an outside moral code (to some, their mores may actually seem amoral), but because they feel it would be an affront to beauty, to vitality, to truth.

4. Unity. Not as in “we must all believe exactly the same thing in the same way”. In fact, as we have seen, the love of diversity and variety is one of the strongest traits in self actualized people. (This trait which runs so very strongly throughout Neo-pagan thought was actually what got me interested in writing this article.) No, what is meant here by unity is “wholeness”. Self actualizers need to feel whole within themselves and integrated within their spirit. While some Neo-pagans have done this-and many others are striving to do so-it is also already very much part of what we both believe in and embrace. One of the basics of pagan belief systems has always been a desire to reconnect- reintegrate- with the earth and the Old Ways. We are seeking wholeness.

5. Vitality. Repeating lessons or rituals by rote is not enough for self actualizers. They were probably bored to the verge of tears and doodling pentacles in their notebooks. The history lesson must be more than names and dates. The ritual must be more than atmosphere and gestures. Dead religious forms, non-viable religious tenets, have no appeal to self actualizers. They don’t appeal to most pagans either. The religion-by-rote model is what many discarded on the road to Neo-paganism and they won’t settle for it here either.

6. Self-sufficiency. Self actualizers find meaningfulness in their own way and realize that each person must do the same. The work is personal. It can never be anything else. You have to want it and you have to want it bad. So badly, that nothing will deter you from the quest for very long. You keep coming back to it. You can’t explain what it is that you are looking for any better than self actualizers can tell you how they themselves found it. (Note 1)

Each person-led on by the need to attain self actualization-finds his or her own way there. It cannot be transferred by a touch or learned from books. In fact, if you ask self actualizers how they got there, they have a difficult time trying to explain it. Words cannot convey anything more than hints as to where to look and what may be helpful.

Which in fact brings us now to that trait that I believe to be the most compelling evidence that, within the scope of Neo-paganism, self actualization may be taking place on a large scale.

Peak Experiences

I talk with a lot of pagans every day. I have probably talked with thousands over the last three years. There is no doubt in my mind that many, many of these people have experienced what Maslow called “peak experiences.” Self actualizers, he found, tend to have more peak experiences than the average person.

A peak experience is one that takes you out of yourself, beyond yourself. It can make you feel very large or very small. It gives you the feeling of being a part of the eternal, the whole, the infinite. During these episodes, things become very clear. Mystics call this a state of “illumination” for that reason. A large pattern or plan becomes evident and your part in it comes into focus.

This is where you walk with the Gods as an equal. Where every separate thing finds its place in the whole. This is the place from whence you leave as having been changed forever.

“Feelings of limitless horizons opening up to the vision, the feeling of being simultaneously more powerful and also more helpless than one ever was before, the feeling of ecstasy and wonder and awe, the loss of placement in time and space with, finally, the conviction that something extremely important and valuable had happened, so that the subject was to some extent transformed and strengthened even in his daily life by such experiences.”–Abraham Maslow.

These states can come at any time and at any stage of life. In fact, many people who still have a long way to go toward self actualization have peak experiences too. The artist, the musician, the poet, the writer, the diver, the skier, the engineer, the saint, the prisoner, the inventor and many other types have experienced this as a fleeting moment which occurs while they are pursuing their work or in deep thought. The difference with actual self actualizers is that they tend to have these peak experiences more often and that the experiences may last for a longer time when they do.

This would indicate that self actualization itself is more a matter of degree, or familiarity of the process if you will, than an ultimate one time, one-shot goal. It is not something that is sought out for the experience itself. Some Buddhist masters teach that psychic gifts and certain powers are not to be sought as gifts and powers in themselves. They will develop as the individual develops. At that point, they are accepted without egotism. When they no longer are sought in an attempt to fulfill a level 3 or 4 need, they simply are there.

Self actualized people have more peak experiences- and they have more peak experiences because they are self actualized. Like in the Buddhist philosophy, a peak experience can not be achieved as the result of a wish fulfillment for a lower hierarchy need. There are no shortcuts and, as a general rule, none of the other need levels can be circumvented to reach this one. (note 2)

Are Neo-Pagans REALLY More Self Actualized?

Some days, I really wonder. There are the flame wars, the Witch wars and the backstabbing. There are self appointed gurus, power seekers, money grabbers and abusers of all kinds.

But then, there are also all those people that I have talked with. They have told me their stories in the halting and uncertain words that leads me to believe that they truly are attempting to describe a very real experience that goes beyond what words have the capacity to contain. They know that they have been changed by this experience.

Is there something-some formula- within paganism that may offer a springboard toward self actualization? (note 3)

I doubt that we shall ever find a set formula-in fact, we cannot because as we have seen, peak experiences are not achieved through the practice of a mere technique. It may actually be dangerous to do so because unless the other lower needs have been met and those experiences integrated into the personality, mental or emotional unbalance or even illness may occur.

But there are some practices that regularly take place within paganism that may help to meet the lower needs, integrate personality imbalances and bring about the changes that allow for self actualization to occur. They are:

1. Connection to the divine within and the divine-by whatever name-without. With this comes the realization of integration of the parts into a whole. This is exceptionally good therapy for fragmented personalities. It also builds self esteem. (level 4).

2. Acceptance. Many pagans have that “coming home” feeling when they first begin their journey on a pagan path (level three) and because they may have fears of being discriminated against because of their beliefs, they also find safety and security in interacting with other pagans, (level 2).

3. Respect. Most pagans are quite tolerant of alternative viewpoints. (level 3 and 4) Of course, this depends on the other individual’s higher needs at level 4 being met. If a person is still working out his/her own esteem needs by utilizing the lower level 4 version- through seeking glory, attention, fame or status-it is less likely that they will be able to give to anyone else what they themselves feel that they do not have yet. Happily, the pagan community seems to have sufficient numbers of pagans who are confident in who they are and are free to engage in debates and discussions without the need (lower level 4) to win at another’s expense or at any cost. That’s respect.(higher level 4)

4. Shamanic journeying. meditations, guided imagery, altered states of consciousness. Many pagan paths embrace some or all of these practices. While caution is advised when undertaking any of these practices under the guidance of someone that you may not know well enough to have formed an opinion of his/her motivations, these techniques offer many therapeutic benefits. Under the loving care of a truly gifted, knowledgeable and sincere guide, these practices can heal broken emotions and offer insights into deep-seated problems that the conscious mind often blocks out to the detriment of further growth. Many therapists use some form of imagery work in their practice.(level 2,3, 4)

“This ability of healthier people to dip into the unconscious and preconscious, to use and value their primary processes instead of fearing them, to accept their impulses instead of always controlling them, to be able to regress voluntarily without fear, turns out to be one of the main conditions of creativity.” –Maslow.

5. Neo-pagans tend to embrace and value the same traits that self actualized people possess: truth and personal authenticity, beauty, goodness, unity or wholeness, self-sufficiency and vitality. These ‘values’ provide support and encouragement for those who are seeking to develop these traits within themselves. This may eventually lead to meeting those lower level needs and to providing a background from which peak experiences are more likely to occur.

Many of us may have already met pagans who have had peak experiences or who are self actualizers. You may be one yourself. There seems to be a large number of them throughout the Neo-pagan community. They tend to be rather private about personal matters-a trait of self actualizers, as we know- but since other self actualizers are probably the only ones who can understand what this experience is all about, they do tend to find one another. A few words and a nod usually says it all. They understand. They’ve been there. They may not have a tangible t-shirt, but they do have “something.” And yet as they will quite freely admit, they too have only just begun the journey.

Neo-paganism has been on its own journey to rediscover its past. What needs have already been met along the way?

Then comes the even bigger question: What needs still have to be met in order to move Neo-paganism on up to the next level? Will the need for self actualization continue to be- if not actually promised-at least very possible within the perimeters of Neo-paganism? Or will we remain at some lower level-struggling with self esteem needs and with safety needs- for a long time to come yet?

Maslow listed some of what he considered to be the effects that self actualizing personalities report from peak experiences:

The removal of neurotic symptoms

A tendency to view oneself in a more healthy way

Change in one’s view of other people and of one’s relations with them

Change in one’s view of the world

The release of creativity, spontaneity and expressiveness

A tendency to remember the experience and to try to duplicate it

A tendency to view life in general as more worthwhile.

Our society suffers from disengagement, disillusionment and disassociation disorders. Contrary to what some religious doomsayers would have us believe, society is not so much ‘un-holy’ as it is “un-whole-ly.” Paganism addresses this fragmented sense of self in unique and innovative ways.

In my more cynical moments, I have sometimes been heard to say that the Neo-pagan community needs therapy. As I write this article, it occurred to me that perhaps the Neo-pagan community IS the therapy. Perhaps that is one reason why Neo-paganism is on the rise and that so many self actualizers can be found within its ranks. (note 4) The world needs to experience wholeness and, at least here in the Neo-pagan community, people seem to be finding it at some level.

In the decades ahead, this formation of a new pathway into wholeness may be written into the annals of psychology journals and religious history as our ultimate gift to humanity.

Walk in Light and Love,

February 21st, 1999
The Witches’ Voice
Clearwater, Florida

(Note from Daven:  If you want to go directly to the next installment, click this link.)

Footnotes:

Note 1: I have selected only a few of the traits that Maslow attributed to self actualizers. A full list may be found in the references listed below.

Note 2: I mention that this is usually the case because there are reported instances of peak experiences from people who seem not to have had level one needs met. Rembrandt was poor most of his life, vanGogh was probably psychotic and imprisoned men and women-some suffering under extremely cruel conditions-have written soaring poetry, painted masterpieces or developed inventions. Perhaps the development of personal ingenuity in meeting the other need levels in some way compensated for lack in the basics.

Note 3: Maslow himself realized that this theory was not a final answer, but perhaps could be viewed as just the first step in a new way of thinking about motivation. Critics have pointed out that communication seems to be lacking from the list. I would also point out that while communication may indeed be important on the lower levels of the pyramid, words fail when it comes to the self actualization experience itself. Transpersonal psychology is an outgrowth of Maslow’s work.

Others accuse Maslow of being “too good”-of having too much faith in the inherent goodness of mankind. Some days, I tend to agree with them.

Note 4: The old ‘wise ones’ were the original therapists. They realized that hostile feelings could not-should not for mental health reasons- be repressed, but that the murdering of an ‘enemy’ was not really good for the community. Sticking pins in a image could offer a place to release these negative feelings without the shedding of blood. I can think of many other examples of how the old ‘wise ones’ used what have become modern day psychological therapies. Therapists still use similar ‘acting out’ techniques with their clients. As far as I know, they don’t call it witchcraft.

Main References:

Toward A Psychology of Being-A. H. Malsow, 1968

Motivation and Personality-A. H. Maslow, sec.ed. 1970

The Further Reaches of Human Nature-A. H. Maslow, 1971

On The Web:

ABRAHAM MASLOW

SELF ACTUALIZATION

Secondary Resources:

CLASSIC ADLERIAN PSYCHOLOGY. Adler’s personality theories had an influence on Maslow’s work.

WILLIAM JAMES-THE VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE The classic William James work.

WORKS OF GEORGE HERBERT MEAD. Links to Mead’s various writings on the psychology of religion.

THE MOO PROJECT-COLLEGE CASE STUDIES ON MASLOW. Four students’ personal evaluations. Nice little color treat included on this page, too.

Originally posted 2009-11-15 00:47:01.

I recently watched the movie Phenomenon and came away very disturbed.

In case you haven’t seen it, don’t read the next six paragraphs. We hate it when someone ruins a movie by telling us what happened.

John Travolta plays a nice average man, nothing special, who lives in the small town he was born in. On the night of his birthday party, he is apparently struck by a blinding light and knocked to the ground.

By the next morning, he is displaying extraordinary abilities. Suddenly there is nothing he cannot know or do.

The townspeople, with three exceptions, the woman he loves, a wise old country doctor, and his best friend, begin to fear him. They cannot accept what is happening without explanations. They feel there must be some catch and they begin desperately searching for it. They also begin ostracizing this gentle man.

Aliens, the great modern bogey men, are invoked. When, it is discovered that George is dying of brain cancer, they begin to distrust all the good he has done. They look for hoaxes, mundane explanations, and the blue smoke and mirrors.

The doctor magnificently played by Robert Duvall, blows up at this denigration. He tells them how petty, mean, and small they are being. He rips away their hypocrisy in an impassioned speech, exposing the herd mentality responsible for condemning his son of the heart.

In the end, even though our hero is dead, his legacy does live on. The townspeople meet a year later to celebrate his life on the anniversary of his birth.

Sounds great doesn’t it? So why am I so unhappy? The fact that the townspeople could not accept the miracle of George while he was alive.

I started thinking (a dangerous pastime). Why do people need to defame others to feel good about themselves? What does that say about modern society? Most importantly, how can I, personally, “stop the madness” within my own small sphere of influence?

I started watching people around me interact. I saw couples, who allegedly love each other, the art of the put down, all in “good fun”. I watched children cut each other to shreds verbally, and they were “best friends”. I noticed parents who claimed to love their children but constantly called them “stupid”, “idiot”, “dummy”.

I listened to myself, and was appalled. I too am a perpetrator/victim of this syndrome. I had fallen into the trap of cutting down other instead of building them up. Worst of all, I cut myself down before anyone else can.

It’s hard to remember day to day simply to thank people. It is harder still to genuinely compliment them for what they do, how they look, or a good idea they have had.

We are not thought how to compliment others, nor are we taught to accept praise from others. I often feel uncomfortable, afraid I will sound phony and insincere when I genuinely wish to thank them.

Another concern is that the person I am complimenting will suspect my motives, that I will be seen as a rah-rah person, that I appear to not really care, or that I am just pretending when I am sincere. In some cases I might be seen as a company stooge.

So, I made an affirmation for myself. I won’t let fear stop me from complimenting others. I won’t let my need to fit in allow me to cut down others. I will genuinely thank people when they help me. I will come to “praise Caesar” not to rip him a new ***hole. “If you can’t say anything nice…”

How about you?

Theresa

Stars light your path.

Originally posted 2009-11-11 18:32:29.

This is a rebuttal article to Mike Nichols: A WITCH BY ANY OTHER NAME, and it is intended to spark discussion.

Well, there have been many who have said at various times that Wicca equals Witchcraft. While I’m not going to argue semantics, and while I can and do acknowledge that Wicca in the original Anglo-Saxon roots means “witch”, I don’t agree that Witchcraft is the semantic equivalent of Wicca anymore.

Here we have a religion that has built itself up around the word Wicca, sold books, developed a complex spiritual substance, Deity figures (some that don’t even appear in ancient mythologies), has developed dogma and cant in which certain things are of the Wicca and others are not and even developed a moralistic code which adherents must ascribe to (or at least give lip service to if they don’t buy the whole thing).

Those characteristics are qualities of a religion, one that has the possibility of developing and continuing for some time. Just about every major religion out there started like this and worked their way into some of the monoliths we know today.

There are many who are trying to claim that Witchcraft is a religion. That Witchcraft itself has a dogma and a cant, that it has deity figures and so on. I’m sorry I simply don’t see it.

Certainly the religion of Wicca has those things, but the craft of the witches, the skill-set in magick, herbalism, healing, midwifery, hexes and curses and so on, is not dependant on the religious structure one places it in.

For instance, while it was a good bonus in the original days of Wicca to have knowledge of the folk magick of the area, there were many who didn’t have much knowledge of herbs or “The Cunning Craft” (my term for cunningmen and cunningwomen) and Gardner was actively recruiting those kinds of people to be in his new covens ⁽¹⁾. This means that it is possible to have knowledge and practice a magickal system without the baggage of a religion attached to it.

Just a few people who were religious but who had knowledge of magick that was independent of that religion:

Alister Crowley
Elphas Levi
King Solomon
Any Rosicrucian or Mason

And this is just a short sample. While each of these people may have been people of faith who attended church (of whatever expression they chose), they didn’t necessarily have to have the religion to practice their magick. Crowley in particular had very few references to god or extra planar beings in his writings, and while Solomon’s Keys have a number of references to those beings, no where in the texts of the Greater Key of Solomon or the Lesser Key of Solomon or other books that go in the set does it state that you have to believe in those creatures or deity forms. In fact, if you believe Phil Hine (a Chaos Magician), he did the rites directly out of the Key of Solomon without ever coming close to believing the whole thing ⁽²⁾.

That proves that it’s possible to have a religion and a magickal craft that are separate instead of linking to each other all the time, as other magickal paths like Judaism and the Kaballah do.

Would it be possible for a Wiccan to practice the craft of witchcraft without the religion of Wicca? Would it be possible to do so the other way, to practice Wicca without the skill-set of Witchcraft?

I believe they are both possible.

I have known amazing magickians who had no religion and would be offended if you asked them to summon a deity to their magickal rite, just as I have know amazing spiritual people that would never think of practicing magick.

It comes down to the dichotomy of spirituality vs. magick. They are not the same and have never been the same. They do not equate to each other although there are those who combine them into a very interesting practice (like Vodoun and Santeria), which I really respect. But they are not necessarily dependant on each other.

What does this have to do with Wicca? There have been some who have suggested that ALL Wiccans are witches and vice versa. Well, this witch is a Wiccan as well, but that’s not true of all out there. The recent trend toward just spirituality is one indicator of Wicca not equaling witchcraft. More and more there are those who practice Wicca, with all the forms and rituals attendant of that practice, without the magickal element.

I blame this on the books coming out. Most of the Wicca 101 books out there on the market now teach the spirituality and moral structure of Wicca without going too far into the magickal aspects or the psychic aspects. Thus those who read those books believe that Wicca is a religion without magick and they feel that magick is out of place.

This creates several problems, unfortunately.

First, Wicca is about magick. One cannot experience the Mysteries without experiencing magick first. The root principles in magick unlock the doors that the Mysteries are behind. Without the experience of what it is like to have an ecstatic trance, you can’t tell when you are having an epiphany, and if you do experience it, more than likely it will scare the socks off you. In fact, I have heard a story about a “priestess” who stopped doing rituals with one other priestess conducting the ritual. When cornered as to why she suddenly stopped, she said that during the last ritual that she attended she had “felt something” and it scared her. It was my understanding that “feeling something” was the point of the ritual.

Second, Healing is magick. Most of the basic books talk about healing as an ability like singing or sculpting. It is such an ability where you have to have an inborn aptitude to use it, but that is only half the story. Without the knowledge that magick brings to the table, healing will be out of reach of most of the new generation of Wiccans because the discipline and energy control as well as the ability to visualize all contribute to hone the skill of healing.

Third, most of the texts about magick are dull and dry. They are speaking to the experienced magickians more often than not, without caring that there is a generation of Wiccans who will miss out on half their practice. So supplementing their reading of the 101 books with magickal texts will only serve to confuse.

Now that I have argued for why Wicca IS about witchcraft, I want to argue the other side for a bit.

Ordinarily, a priestess teaches Magick to a student outside of common classes. In most traditions that I have been told about, there is an “Outer Court” which discusses the religion of Wicca, the history, the way to practice and so on. Once a student graduates from that, they are brought to the coven as a group and they go through a “dedicant’s ceremony” allowing them more access to the group and group members as well as enlarging upon their basic knowledge. As far as I know, from there, they are assigned a mentor who talks about the deeper aspects of Wicca, like the spells and how to do them. The mentor supervises any rituals the dedicant undertakes and gives suggestions and help.

The books are like the “Outer court” information. With this scenario there is no mentor to guide, teach and supervise. Which means that when the person who has read the books passes along their knowledge of only what they have read, meaning that they are passing along the “outer court” material as all that Wicca is.

But the point here is that the teachings about magick ARE taught separately and the Outer Court material and you can have a whole tradition based around only the outer court material. Granted, it’s a stunted tradition, one without the richness that the magick brings into it, but it is still possible. And it is possible to grow into the magickal aspects with time and patience.

Then there is the nature of the magick itself. There is herbalism, hexmastery, divination and tarot, ESP and other psychic powers, elemental energy channeling, weather witching, talking to plants and animals, and all the other parts of magick that are out there. Each of these is a skill that is learned and practiced and honed through use, which are independent of a religion. You have Wiccan herbwitches, Christian herbwitches, Voodoo herbwitches, agnostic herbwitches, atheist herbwitches, all of who have the same knowledge and skills, each of them calling upon different deities (or not calling on deities at all) to do what they do. And each is equally effective in their practice as any other. So this is a skill that is independent of the religion professed.

And any of the above named skills are like that. You don’t have to believe in the Golden Rule to read a tarot card, or pray to Buddha or Shiva to have a dream of what will come tomorrow, nor do you have to call upon Diana to pick an herb that will cure a cough. You may certainly do so if it is what you want to do, but you do not HAVE to. Which makes these skills independent of the religion of Wicca.

Therefore, this trend to reclaim the word “witch” for the Wiccans, and some Wiccans claiming that unless you are Wiccan you cannot call yourself a witch is patently false. It is likely that Wiccans can be witches, and many witches are Wiccan. If a group chooses to call themselves witches and they happen to be Wiccan it does not follow that only Wiccans can call themselves witches. It does not even mean that all Wiccans must call themselves witches or that all Wiccans are witches.

To follow this reasoning, one must also believe that all Christians are carpenters, since some Christians are carpenters, and the head of their religion (Jesus) was himself a carpenter. The ridiculousness of this statement should be obvious as there are many carpenters who are not Christian, and many, many Christians are not carpenters but other professions.

Witchcraft is a skill set, learned and refined and honed as a profession; the religion should never enter into it.

(1) According to Isaac Bonewits in his book “Wicca; A Concise History”  <back>

(2) Taken from the context of “Some Observations from The Goetia Project” where he never states he believed in Judaism, but in which he recited the rituals verbatim to the Lesser Key of Solomon. The text of this essay is available at http://www.beyondweird.com/occult/aoev1.html on page 25. <back>

Originally posted 2011-02-22 21:03:13.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

This is the first time I’ve reviewed a program, much less one about Tarot. When I joined the American Tarot Association, I decided to really try to get my tarot certification and to start an online and phone based reading business. For that I needed something that would be really easy to use, easy to interpret and easy to install.

I think I got all that in this program.

Don’t fool yourself; it will take some time to get used to the interface and the controls. So plan on spending at least two days (like I did) learning how to do everything before using it for clients. But once you are past that initial learning stage, the program is really easy.

Before I begin, I want to state this: I encourage you all to buy the registered version. You can download and install the program, but until it is registered, you will get a nag screen when the program is opened, and some things have limited functionality (like only being able to use three decks). I found that there were a few more options available to me once it was registered, but if I hadn’t the money I would have been satisfied with the free version.

That said, I paid for a Single Machine License. It was the most inexpensive option for me, and since I only use one computer, it was a good choice. I can upgrade that later to the one user license which will let me use it on up to three machines, but that’s a purchase for the future.

The interface of the program is clean and uncluttered. There is a deck of cards, a “docking square” for the undelt deck if you want to get it out of the way, and the background. By default this comes as just a solid color, but you can put a tiled image in there if you wish to so you can have a “tarot table cover” if you want. That’s it. All the commands are accessed by right-clicking on the deck, which gives you the program, card and reading commands.

You can have an unlimited number of decks in the program in the registered version, and if you are like me, I tend to have about five or six I rotate through depending on my needs. Currently I have the “Housewives Tarot”, “The Robin Wood Tarot”, “The Celtic Tarot”, a rune deck and the Pagan Tarot. Other users are constantly developing and uploading their own decks, and with just a few clicks you can access those decks and any spreads they have developed.

When you click on the spreads, you get three by default. You will have to make your own or download others. You get a three card spread, a six card star and the Celtic Cross. These are good beginning tarot spreads, but if you are like me and have several other spreads, it may be worth a look on their P2P network to download some spreads.

I did note that while the unregistered version only allows you three decks, the top three alphabetically in the Windows list, you can have as many spreads as you want. To my mind, this is a good move by them so that they can encourage you to use their program.

I designed and uploaded my two unique spreads, and downloaded about ten others. I modified a couple for my own use (mostly by moving cards around so I can see them) and uploaded those modified spreads as well. I found that it was possible to see the spreads before you download them, which is perfect since I hate cluttering my PC with useless data. You can also go in and delete old decks and spreads that you don’t want anymore.

You can save readings for further interpretation later, and for emailing to clients. There is a screen capture option and a place where you can note the picture, doing a reading and sending it directly from your program to your client. My one word for that feature? Bonus.

You can toggle through the decks you have so you can get different nuances from different decks. You can compare the pictures of various decks to see which would be best. You can deal single cards in the middle of the reading if you want, and you can shuffle the deck while you have a spread out. There’s even a feature that will let you zoom in on a card so you can see the nuances of the artwork while reading.

While this is an excellent program, there are some problems.

First off, if you dock the cards in the docking square, there’s no way to access the program commands unless you undock the cards, then right-click. It’s a two step process and when you have a client on the phone, it may be a bit more time than you want to take. Since everything is off the right-click menu, including all the decks and spreads and how to deal the cards, it can be a bit of a pain to get it.

The next thing that is irritating is that you may have to tweak the spreads/cards extensively so you can use it. You get pop-up windows to display the card position and the card description if you want it, but not a lot of the spreads or decks out there have the descriptions in them. They may have the positions mapped out, but there is no guarantee that the author described it while making it. I had that problem with almost every deck I downloaded and almost all the spreads.

There was one deck that I had to totally re-write, but when it’s a non-standard deck of runes, it can be forgiven.

I would wish the hotkeys for the spreads were easier to use. There’s a bunch of hotkeys for the program options, but I wish there was a “repeat” for laying out another spread on top of the spread that is out. Currently the program forces you to gather all the cards up, shuffle and then re-deal them.

Also, features for selecting a significator and/or a segment of cards from the deck are non-existent. I occasionally like to find the significator for the querent and look at the cards immediately around that card as another tool for them, but the program doesn’t allow for that. Similarly, you cannot look at the bottom card of the deck either. There also aren’t any options for “jump out” cards while shuffling.

It is possible to turn off all the reversals though, which I appreciate. The only problem is that if you turn it off for all decks, and have it turned on for one, then you toggle to another deck, that deck will have a lot of reversals in it. There’s no really easy way to change that.

Personally? I’m going to keep this program for some time. While it will never replace a face to face reading, it will do wonders for doing readings over the phone or over the Internet. I’m giving this program Four Stars out of Five, the best that I have seen yet.

Originally posted 2010-01-12 04:06:52.

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High and Low Magic

High magic refers to much of what the Ceremonial Magic traditions and orders, such as the Golden Dawn or the O.T.O., were doing at the time Gerald Gardner founded Wicca in the 1950′s.
Practices and traditions associated with high magic include the Kabbalah, Alchemy, some of Astrology, Enochian Magic, and the various practices of illuminism. Much of what Aleister Crowley did could be considered
high magic.
Today, Ceremonial Magic is alive and well. It is worth one’s while to at least read up on some of the various groups practicing it.
The terms “Left Hand Path” and “Right Hand Path” incidentally come from Ceremonial Magicians who borrowed the concepts from Indian Tantra. It is commonly thought that the
Left Hand Path refers to selfish or worldly magical practices whereas the Right Hand Path refers to enlightened or healing magical practices. Neither of these descriptions are correct, however.
Left and Right Hand refer simply to one’s focus in practice. Left is more inner-focused and self-oriented whereas Right is more world-oriented and other-focused. The practices of the movement known as Chaos Magic
utilizes elements of both.

Low Magic includes much that exists in folk, or sympathetic, magic such as spellcasting, incantations, herbalism, tarot-readings and scrying.
Many people assume that these practices make up the sum of Wicca, but it usually merges some high magic practices with low magic. Wicca itself is its own system of religious practice that utilizes certain magical techniques. Unless you plan on getting into serious occult magical studies and practices,
it is not necessary for you to use these terms, though it helps to know what they mean since Neo-Pagan writers still use them. Note that neither high or low versions of magic should be considered better than the other.



The Horned/Antlered God

The Horned God (or Antlered God) has ancient precedents such as the Hellenic Pan, or the Celtic Cernunnos, or even the English Herne the Hunter. However, the modern notion of
the Horned God being a supreme god of surviving pagan witch religions is purely the work of Margaret Murray. For starters there were no survivals of pagan witch religions from ancient times. Wicca and Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, or Neo-Pagan anything,
are modern religions. Secondly, among pre-Christian Pagans, some Gods were more revered than others but that was up to the individual adherent of that God’s local or particular cult. The synthesis of nature/woodland Gods into the modern Wiccan concept
of the Horned God took its final form in the latter 1950′s. But remember that the Horned God can also be seen as a Sun God, or as a Vegetation God. He is also seen as the ‘wild man.’



“The hunter and the hunted” best describes Him. Not only does He slay for others’ nourishment but He is slain Himself to provide that nourishment. In this is a stunning metaphor for the natural interrelationship of everything alive. He rules winter and the dark part of the year – when our ancestors had to hunt to survive.
He represents natural male sexuality, virility, and spontaneity. Sometimes He is thought of as the Lord of the Forest or Lord of the Wild. He is all that is untamed by humanity. In His Sun God aspect He is seen as a magician, or a wise man, with the powers of healing and intellect. This also makes Him an artist and, together with His
Horned aspects, a great shapeshifter with trickster elements. Interestingly, a very potent portrayal of His Lord of the Forest aspects occurs in the Japanese film “Princess Mononoke.”



It is still commonly asserted that because of the commonalities among horned gods across certain cultures, the Christians took the symbolism and perverted it to their idea of Satan. There is some merit to this line of reasoning, but
let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves at this point in time. The Horned God as Wiccans see Him today contains elements of some of the earlier pre-Christian ideas, but it is still a modern concept. This mostly modern provenance does not invalidate
the reverence and experience any Wiccans have with Him however. (It is perfectly fine to adhere to new or recent religious ideas. All ideas that are now considered old/ancient were new at some point.) Something’s newness or ancientness says nothing about its profundity.



Initiation

This is the formal acceptance into a group/coven or tradition of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. Many covens will not allow a person to participate or even attend rituals until initiation. Other groups may allow
a limited participation during a person’s dedicant phase (a type of ‘novice’ or ‘candidate’ phase). Upon initiation, one is usually given the title of Witch and Priest/ess. Initiation is thought of as a point of no return in terms of
commitment. Though in practice, at all times in one’s life, one is free to stop or to move on to other things. Because of this freedom and because many covens or groups usually look to find more steadfast people (when they are open to looking),
covens will have the candidate pass through the dedicant phase (“a year and one day”) first before initiating them.



Some traditions accept and recognize self-initiation as valid. Others, such as Reclaiming, place no emphasis on any sort of initiation at all, allowing new members to fully participate. (In the latter case, initiation can still take place, but it is usually at the request of the person wanting the ritual and subsequently it is highly personalized.) Writers will get hung up trying to argue over the validity of self-initiation or initiation itself.
The only hard and fast rule here is to do research, find, and study various traditions and/or whatever groups/covens you may get in touch with and see if you can practice with them. The point of initiation is that one has gone through, or is going through, profound spiritual change…a re-orientation of one’s life.

Invocation/Invoking

Invocation is the opposite of ‘banishing’ or, as some prefer, ‘devoking.’ Many people use ‘invoking’ as a noun. It usually means calling upon and inviting powers and elementals to the circle and/or inviting gods and goddesses to come within the circle.
Quarter calls are considered the most common form of invoking. But there are other forms such as the “Drawing Down the Moon” ritual.
Some Neo-Pagans tend to think of invoking as “calling from within” or “inviting to come in” with the idea that the god or goddess being invoked can then come inside
the one who invokes. But this is by no means the only way of approaching it.



Magic

All I have to say on this is that if you honestly believe that you should spell this word with a “k” and you are not referring to Crowley’s Thelema, you need to kick your own ass 23 times.
It should be very clear to anyone who reads whatever it is you have to write that your “magic” isn’t referring to the stage variety. I don’t know where the myth came from that misspelling
the word could differentiate it from the common stage illusion-craft. Perhaps it came from the fact the modern occult writers sometimes like to misspell English words to give their writings
an ancient feel. (You know “ancient” as in back in the days when no one knew how to spell English correctly).
See other entries for various aspects of magic related to, or intersecting with, Neo-Pagan Witchcraft such as spellcasting, sorcery, high and low magic, etc.



The Maiden, Mother, and Crone

Also known as the Triple Goddess or the Triple Aspected Goddess, as I like to call Her. The idea of the Goddess, or of any Goddess for that matter, having the three aspects of Maiden, Mother and Crone is a Wiccan concept. It was first hinted at by Margaret Murray and further developed by Robert Graves in his poetic fiction, The White Goddess.
But the idea has come into its fullest expression in Wicca. Some writers still make the mistake of assuming that because this Goddess is Triple-Aspected and many pre-Christian Pagan cultures had certain triple aspected goddesses then this means that the Wiccan Triple Goddess is really an ancient concept. A cursory study of any pre-Christian Pagan mythology
will dispel that notion however. There were triple aspected Goddesses, such as in Irish Celtic tradition, but nowhere is there anything comparable to the Maiden, Mother and Crone. That this fact of the concept’s modernity doesn’t detract in any way from its beauty or potency is clear to anyone familiar with Wicca.



Probably the most popular Goddess in Wicca is Diana, who is often seen through the Triple Aspects of Maiden, Protector, and Destroyer. Some people see Diana as the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess, with Selene (the moon Goddess) as the Mother and Hecate (old Goddess of Witchcraft) as the Crone. Some people say that these Goddesses are each aspects
of one another. Although ancient myths are inconclusive on this, there is nothing wrong with modern adaptations and outlooks. Both religious ideas and conceptions of deities do change throughout history with newer developments eventually becoming established as valid, no matter what some purists like to claim. Some people have criticized the mixing of Hellenic and Roman deities such as Wiccans do when thinking of
Diana, Selene, and Hecate together, but such things were normal in Classical Pagan times. Many polytheists in those times were avid followers of more than one deity-cult originating from more than one ethnic group. It was only natural that various mixings and mergers occurred. Such is the history of religions and spirituality, despite what some people would wish. On the other hand, I am NOT saying that blindly
mixing and matching from ANY pantheon is a good practice. Those ancient people and many modern Wiccans have actually bothered to get to know their deities and such. Some of us (collectively, but not me personally) see various deities as aspects of a greater whole, but each aspect must still be related to and dealt with on its own terms. So tread carefully.



The Maiden, Mother and Crone are said to correspond to the moon phases of waxing, full, and waning – with some Wiccans positing a fourth aspect “the Dark Goddess” for the dark (new) moon. Other Wiccans simply include the dark moon as part of the Crone aspect. This way of conceiving the Goddess is simply an approach and should never be dogmatically
insisted upon as being the ultimate truth. No Goddess can ever be quite fully stuffed into the conceptual categories of human beings. Many Wiccans will match up certain Goddesses with each aspect of the Triple Goddess, others will simply approach divinity simply from the basic Wiccan framework. Both of these are fine, so long as we remain aware.
The Triple Goddess is often represented by the three moon phases next to each other – waxing crescent as white, full as red, and waning crescent as black. Though some people may not use this fuller representation. The colors of white, red, and black together are mostly a modern convention, though they do exist together in some ancient Irish stories.

The Maiden corresponds to further aspects, some of which include: beginnings, innocence, childhood, virginity, youthful courage, spring, independence, invoking, gaiety and laughter. The Mother likewise includes: protection, fertility, sexuality, fruition, realization, growth and motherhood. The Crone includes: change, death, wisdom, letting go, rebirth, banishing, and old age.
One important thing to realize is that in this Triple Goddess concept, the full life cycle of women is viewed as worthy of respect. The Crone/Old Lady is seen as just as valid as the Maiden/Young Girl. Perhaps this underlies some of the reasons why Wicca became so popular among women.



Neo-Paganism, Neopaganism, Paganism, etc.

Neo-Paganism refers to the rise of revived or created modern Pagan religions, especially since the 1960′s, which mostly take inspiration from what are seen as the positive aspects
of pre-Christian Pagan practices and ideas. Neo-Pagan religions cannot be shown to have any direct descendents from the older pre-Christian religions but many of them do contain fragments of pagan-influenced practices that survived through the Christian period.
The most visible and popular Neo-Pagan tendency is Wicca and its derivatives. There are many other Neo-Pagan religions such as Heathenry, Druidism, Asatru (Norse Paganism), Hellenism, the Church of All Worlds, and Discordianism. Neo-Paganism can be said to have some broad commonalities throughout all of its religious denominations: experiential knowledge; openness to magical/occult practices; polytheism often
with some form of pantheism or “divine immanence”; blessed birth as opposed to original sin; sexuality and physical life being seen as sacred; no hard and fast separation between the spiritual and the material; tolerance for the co-existence of differing opinions and approaches to
the divine.



Neo-Paganism is the more precise term for what many Pagans call “Paganism.” Among ourselves we know what we are talking about. The problem is that outside of the Pagan community the word “Pagan,” like the word “Witch,” tends to mean different things to different people, and there is often a negative connotation.
Isaac Bonewits has solved this problem by coming up with prefixes so that writers and speakers can be precise if they choose. In addition to “Neo-Paganism,” we have “Meso-Paganism, which can refer to early Wicca and many of the magical orders from before. Meso-Paganism is simply ‘revived’ or created Paganism that was yet not
fully extricated from Judeo-Christian conceptions. “Paleo-Paganism” refers to the pre-Christian religions, and also those polytheistic faiths that survived among some peoples until the modern times. In light of these, Wicca can be considered Neo-Pagan.



Neo-Pagan Witchcraft

A more precise term covering Wicca and all of its derivative branches.
Isaac Bonewits is the one who coined this term, at least as far as I know.
See the definition of “Wicca” below for more. But you would really do well to read Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca.
Included in this term are traditions such as Feri, Reclaiming, some Feminist Goddess-worship groupings and other paths which can be shown to have either Wiccan antecedents or influences but yet could be considered
independent of Wicca in terms of practices and religious outlook. Despite this independence, some could argue that it would not be totally inaccurate to call such paths Wiccan. Obviously I disagree unless one is talking about origins, as paths like Feri are nowadays quite different from Wicca and could be accurately described
as their own religions entirely.



The New Age

Strictly or even generally speaking, this term is not a Wiccan or Neo-Pagan term at all. I only include it to clear up some misconceptions that newcomers and others may have.
Contrary to popular assumptions, Neo-Paganism – this includes various Wicca and Witchcraft strands – is not a New Age phenomena. Rather the proponents of the New Age ‘movement’ have merely tried
to appropriate Neo-Pagans as their own. Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, the first major tendency of Neo-Paganism, emerged fully fledged in the 1950′s. The New Age emerged in the latter 1970′s. So to say that Neo-Pagans are part of the New Age movement is wildly ignorant. Anyone familiar with Neo-Pagan religions and practices
can clearly see the marked differences between those and any of the New Age paths. The most fundamental difference is the Neo-Pagan emphasis on personal responsibility and individual sovereignty. Also, the New Age tends to abstract teachings from all religions and fit them into a universalist framework; whereas Neo-Pagans
respect the various differences among religions and tend to avoid making universal statements about any of them. All paths may be equally valid, but we aren’t rude enough to suggest that all religious practices are simply pointing to what we want them to be.



Another difference is in the guru-hood status accorded to some of the New Age teachers. Neo-Pagans tend not to abdicate their own spiritual lives to the will of another person, no matter how wise that person is. Then there is the Neo-Pagan joke which goes “What’s the difference between a New Age seminar and a Pagan class?”
The answer is “About two decimal places,” referring to the cost. I am opening up a huge can of worms here that would be too large for the scope of this present work. If you want to pursue this idea further, refer to the plethora of writings by Neo-Pagans about this very subject.



The Occult

The word occult simply means ‘hidden.’ It is a blanket term referring to all manner of magical knowledge, lore, and techniques that are largely
hidden from the society at large. Everything from astrology to tarot to kabbalah to the I Ching to spellcasting is included under the term.
Contrary to what many authors of popular Wicca books claim, not everyone who calls themselves a Witch – meaning a practitioner of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft – is interested in practicing
occult systems. A good majority of them do so however. Neo-Pagan religions are more open towards occult systems than most other religious groupings, and Witches are free to pursue any
system they are attracted to. A good many of them are encouraged to do so. But never assume that all other Neo-Pagans are interested in pursuing any occult systems. Some are just happy to
worship their gods and delve into the mysteries.



Some confusion comes from the fact that much of Wicca and its subsequent Neo-Pagan Witchcraft derivatives blend what could only be called magical practices with religious practices into a unique synthesis.
Given this, a more strict definition of ‘occult’ could very well include Wicca and some other Neo-Pagan religions. But not every practitioner sees
magic in the same way. Some would rather just raise energy and feel connected to the divine. Others explore magical knowledge and practice more deeply.
So make sure you know what you are referring to when you use this word. And never assume when you meet other ‘occultists’ that they are doing the same thing you are, or that they have the same system of ethics
you have. There are magical practitioners who have no allegiance to any religion. Likewise, there are people who do tarot readings or are psychics and call themselves witches. You should not assume that they
are Neo-Pagan Witches unless they tell you so.



The ‘Old Religion’ / The Murray Thesis

Gerald Gardner and his co-conspirators like Doreen Valiente believed in the idea that ‘revived’ Wicca or Pagan Witchcraft was simply a fragmented survival of a Europe-wide pre-Christian religion. Thus they and others called Wicca “the Old Religion.” This idea of a surviving paganism in the form of witchcraft came largely from the
work of Margaret Murray (most notably her work The Witch-Cult In Western Europe published in 1921). Writers before Murray such as Sir James Frazer, J.J. Bachofen, Karl Pearson and Charles Leland, did much to contribute to the idea, so that by the time Murray came on the scene her thesis seemed to be an accurate distillation of
what many were thinking. According to Murray’s thesis and most other versions of the “Old Religion” myth there was an organized Pagan religion that survived widespread throughout Europe, despite hundreds of years of Christianity. Once the Church got wind of this threat,
there was a vast persecution which wiped out most of these Pagans, driving the rest into hiding. Murray wrote about the Horned God of this witch cult being wrongly seen by the Christian Church as the Devil.
She also claimed that the witchcraft cult was a joyous fertility religion in which members met for the eight great festivals (sabbats) and during special times every month (esbats). Much of the Wiccan foundation of the Horned God has roots in Murray’s writings.

Many writers went further, claiming that modern Pagan Witchcraft was the direct lineal descendent of a religion, or set of spiritual practices, that stretched back to before Paleolithic times (some 9000 to 14,000 years ago). This religion was almost universal and had a god of the hunt and a goddess of fertility. Christianity’s advent did little to change anything for people in rural and wild areas and
for a long time Christianity as an institution was all too happy to simply and slowly co-opt the traditions and holidays of the “Old Religion.” Then, during a period of upheaval and threat to the Church, vast persecutions were launched against this surviving Old Religion, turning its god of the hunt into the Devil. Small groups and families hid the Old Religion and kept its practices
going in secret until 1951 when the Witchcraft Laws were repealed in England and people like Gerald Gardner announced its existence to the world.



The problem with the above myth is that it is not only wrong but it hopelessly simplifies pre-Christian Paganism, the processes of Christian expansion, and any local survivals of Pagan practices. Anyone familiar with either Classical Europe or the North Western Europe of the Celts and the Nordics knows that pre-Christian Paganism was a riot of complex and diverse religions, deity-cults, and practices. To say there was any massive organized Pagan religion anywhere is simply lying. Even the Celts, who can be shown to have had
a culture-wide commonality of religious practices, had a myriad of gods and goddesses worshipped nowhere else outside of their individual localities. The myth also gives no credit to the creative geniuses who founded Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. Many people today, both inside and outside of the Neo-Pagan subculture, are to some degree influenced by this myth, or something similar to it. Some people still believe that there
was an actual Pagan survival being destroyed by the Church. Today, thankfully most Neo-Pagan Witches no longer adhere to the “Old Religion” idea. As a metaphor describing
the ‘rebirth’ of Pagan religions in the West for the first time in hundreds of years, it can be an evocative term. But let’s leave it at that. Regardless of Neo-Paganism’s recent rebirth or creation, its inspiration is partly based on ancient ideas and practices. And even if some strain of pre-Christian Paganism had survived up till now, it would not be the same thing it was in the past. No religion ever is.



That Wicca originally came with such a myth as its history is unsurprising as any student or expert in the field of Comparative Religion knows. Most religions contain such pseudo-histories and myths of continuity from ancient or pre-historical times. There is not one religion around today that does not also contain fragments and ideas adapted from earlier times. Such things are common in the evolution and development of religion itself. It is a credit to the majority of Wiccans that they recognize this
and have contributed to more accurate accounts of the very (relatively speaking) short and modern history of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft.



Otherkin / Therians

Contrary to many people’s assumptions, otherkin and therians don’t necessarily have anything to do with Wicca. Wiccans are free to pursue otherkin studies and astral creatures to their heart’s content, but such a pursuit has nothing to do
with the practice of Wicca. A Wiccan, or any other Neo-Pagan, who pursues the otherkin idea is simply that. Someone who claims to be an otherkin, even if their claims turn out to be verifiable, is not necessarily a better or more authentic Wiccan. How many other ways would you have me state this?



Now the idea of otherkin is that certain humans feel themselves for whatever reason to be astrally different creatures of non-human origin. The vast majority of those claiming to be otherkin are, of course, lying to themselves and others. This lying is easy enough for magical adepts to spot. But it isn’t hard for
non-occultists to catch the lies either. Like everything else in this life, use your head when dealing with people’s claims. Just because you are Wiccan does not mean you have to put up with other people’s fantasizing.



Pantheism

Pantheism is the perspective on the divine that sees Divinity as the totality of existence. Thus we are not only all divine, but we are all part of Divinity.
This perspective can be finely interwoven with polytheism. Some monotheists are also pantheists in that they see everything as being God. Some older writings tend to conflate or confuse pantheism with
polytheism since the two concepts were often present among (Paleo)Pagan cultures. Some Neo-Pagans make a further distinction between pantheism and panentheism, since pantheism tends toward an immanent description of the divine, whereas panentheism
sees the divine as both immanent and transcendent simultaneously. Distinctions like these are only clear in writing however. In the practice and actual thoughts of Neo-Pagans, there is not much distinction.



Pentacle

This is really just a disk with a pentagram inscribed on it. Usually people have one of these on their altar. It is associated with the element of earth. I have heard some people also say that “pentacle” is
the correct term for the five-pointed star that Wiccans and other Pagans wear as amulets. I only tend to agree with this since I am used to thinking of pentagrams as what I draw in the air during rituals and other
operations. But when I hear others calling pentacle-amulets pentagrams, I really can’t say I care enough to point out the distinction. What matters to me is that they know what to do.



Pentagram

The five pointed star as traced or drawn. It represents the four elements plus spirit or ether. Balance among and between them is implied. Depending on the starting point, when drawn for ritual, the pentagram is either banishing or invoking. (In Alexandrian Wicca, which is more influenced by Ceremonial Magic than other traditions, all of the eight different pentagrams for banishing and invoking elementals are used.)
As a symbol to represent Wicca, it is most often drawn inside of a circle, which is commonly explained as the unity of all four elements plus spirit. Though in what I learned, the circle referred to our divinity within and without which unites us with our world. The circle can also refer to our
common ritual space. Just saying.



Polytheism

This term refers to a theological conception of divinity which sees multiple gods and goddesses. Neo-Pagan religions could be considered polytheistic, Wicca and its derivatives are no exception.
Some Neo-Pagans could be personally monotheists, worshipping or revering only one god or goddess. And this is fine, since polytheism can include monotheism, though the reverse can’t be said to be true.
Some Neo-Pagans are monotheist at times. Others are largely henotheistic, meaning that they focus on one of the gods or goddesses, but not excluding the existence of others.
Certain historical pagan cultures had distinct pantheons specific to them, though Roman culture also focused on Greek deities. The most popular pantheons or culture groupings of deities among Neo-Pagans are Greek, Roman, and Celtic, with some
Egyptian and Norse. Some Neo-Pagans are also exploring deities from Hindu mythology.



Since there really is no set or determined “pantheon” in Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, it really is up to each individual or coven to decide which gods and goddesses
to revere. Despite this freedom, one should never see any deity as interchangeable with any other. The mix and match approach is really a shallow way to approach one’s religion and could very well be insulting to many gods and goddesses.
Some gods and goddesses had or have religions or cults based on their reverence and worship. Choosing to align with and revere one of these deities does not necessarily mean you are an adherent of their particular cult or religion.
Likewise with cultural pantheons, if you feel you must revere deities from differing cultures, take extreme care. Each deity should be approached like you would anyone else you may love – that is with respect and care.
Deities are not simply accoutrements for you to use to mix and match and spice up your practice.



Some Wiccans choose deities from Classical (Greco-Roman) and Celtic ‘pantheons’ simultaneously, and though this can work, keep in mind that many Celtic deities are nothing like their Classical cousins.
Some Celtic deities may in fact be quite hostile towards Roman deities in particular. Though there is evidence that Roman and Celtic pantheons were mixed up a bit among the Gauls and the British Celts.
When in doubt, do some research. Fitting in Cernunnos with Diana seems a little better than, say, fitting in Macha with Jupiter. As pointed out above, you actually have to get to know your gods and goddesses.
It is okay to not call each one in every act of worship you do. And when you do invoke, try to keep it simple. There is no more power in invoking several gods then there is in invoking one of them.
It is always a good idea to meditate on your gods and seek ways to know them better. So sometimes be still and get to know your gods.



The Rede

The Rede is simply a phrase of advice/admonishment. It is a challenge and an injunction to act wisely. There are many ways it is expressed, usually in pseudo-archaic language, but it boils down to “Do what you want so long as it harms no one.” This does not mean one cannot defend oneself, or that one cannot ever harm if one is to be a good Wiccan.
What it does mean is that we should take responsibility for our actions and take care to see that we are not adding to the suffering in this world. For more of my spiel on this topic, see the article I wrote.

Many other Neo-Pagans, whether Witches or of other religions such as Druidism or Asatru, have made disparaging comments about Wicca based on a simple misunderstanding of what the Rede is supposed to mean. I should also add that many occultists, such as Chaos Magic practitioners, have likewise made similar statements. It would help those people to actually do some research into what Wicca really is
before they make such assumptions. Reading the works of the more fluffy authors or speaking with confused newbies or fluffies who call themselves Wiccan does not constitute accurate research.



Sabbats and Esbats

The word sabbat refers to the major festivals of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. In the beginning (the early 1950′s), the original sabbats were the old Celtic ‘cross quarter’ days of Halloween, February Eve, May Eve, and August Eve. As time passed and Gardner’s original system was refined and developed into its various branches, the solstices and equinoxes were added. Eventually other names for the cross quarter days were adopted so that today we have the basic
‘eight sabbats’ of what is now called the Wheel of the Year: Samhain (Halloween), Yule (Winter Solstice), Imbolc (Feb. Eve), Eostara (Spring Equinox), Beltane (May Eve), Litha (Midsummer, Summer Solstice), Lughnasadh/Lammas (August Eve), and Mabon (Autumn Equinox). The Celtic days are referred to as the major sabbats, the other four being minor sabbats.



The word esbat usually refers to the monthly meetings of small groups (covens) usually either on full moon nights, dark (new) moon nights, or both. Sometimes esbats are held at other times.
Because of the fact that the word sabbat comes from the writings of the Inquisition as an invention of hysteria, many Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans are discontinuing the use of both the word sabbat and its sister word esbat. I can understand the logic behind that, but then why do some of them still insist on calling themselves ‘Witches’?



There is a lot of false etymology about both terms. My two cents are: esbat was originally a misreading or a dialect version of sabbat. The latter probably comes from
the common English term “sabbath,” as in the seventh day for rest. Perhaps there is some truth that witch-hunters calling witch gatherings ‘sabbats’ reflected the general anti-semitism that has marked European cultures for centuries.

Next Page —>

Originally posted 2009-11-10 14:27:09.

(Note from Daven:  I place this here because, as a former member of the Army myself, I feel for those who are trying to perform their rituals in that too regimented atmosphere.  I would argue one point in this, however.  I too was at Fort Benjamin Harrison, but back in 1987-88 and I performed several pagan ceremonies there, just not openly with the blessings of the Officers.  Keep this triumph in mind when you are in the Military, and remember those soldiers down in Fort Hood, TX and all the problems they went through to get their Coven launched.  Use your head.)

A Military Witch

by Morgan Beard

Being a professional soldier in the U.S. Army is not a profession one tends to associate with the religion of Wicca. I was surprised when I first heard of Wiccans in the armed forces, and even more surprised a short time later to find myself in the Army—Reserves, that is. However, once the shock wore off, one of my immediate concerns was: How could I practice my religion while training?

I did not know very much about that Army at the time, or about how it deals with religion. With the help of a friend, I discovered that the Army fully recognizes Wicca and Paganism. I assumed though, that while Wicca is officially recognized as a religion, it would be unofficially discouraged. During basic training at Fort Jackson (SC), my schedule was too demanding to give me time to perform an rituals, as I would have liked to do. I did finally get a chance to speak to my Chaplain (a Lutheran, as it happened). He told me that he had dealt with Wiccans in basic training before, and I was given permission to use the barracks garden for meditation.

After basic training, I was shipped to Fort Ben Harrison (IN), for advanced training in my chosen specialty of finance. One of the first things I did upon arriving at Fort Harrison was to make an appointment with the Chaplain.

I think I baffled him when we met. Fort Harrison is a small post with relatively few students. The Chaplain had never had a Wiccan request to perform ritual before. He consulted his superior, the post Chaplain, and got permission for me to practice Wicca on post.

His next step was to inform my company commander and drill sergeant of what I was doing. There were only two constraints places on my rituals. I had to have a cadre member present, and I had to wear battle-dress-uniform (camouflage suit) for the ritual. Please keep in mind that these constraints were only because of my training status. Had I been out of training, I would not have had to obey them.

My drill sergeant and I discussed my practice, and although she had never heard of Wicca, she was very open-minded about it. She got me off duty on the nights in question, which later turned out to be a big help. With her and the Chaplain’s assistance, I was able to perform the first Wiccan/Pagan ritual ever at Fort Ben Harrison on 10 October 1992, and the second on Samhain. History had been made!

I would like to emphasize that at no time during basic or advanced training did I feel that I was being discriminated against or harassed by Army personnel. It was actually the opposite–everyone went out of there way to make sure I had what I needed.

This is important for people who are thinking of joining or for those already in the armed forces. realize that you do have the right to practice your religion. asserting yourself as I did has two advantages. One, it paves the way for future Wiccans who may follow in your footsteps. Two, it forces the Army and other services to recognize that Wicca is a living and growing religion whose members deserve consideration. If policy makers believe that only one in every 10,000 soldiers is a Wiccan or Pagan, they are less likely to pay attention to our needs than if that figure is one in 1,000 or even on in 100.

An added advantage is that you can network or make contact with other Wiccans or Pagans. For instance, there were two other Wiccans in my basic training company of 240 people. I never knew about them until I spoke to the Chaplain.

There’s a difference, though, between requesting permission to perform private or open rituals and running through the streets screaming “I’m a Wiccan!” As in the civilian world, in the military it’s not always a good idea to advertise that your Wiccan. While Army people are generally open-minded about religion, there are still a lot of devout Christian soldiers who simply can’t put away their prejudices and deal with the idea of working beside a “witch”.

I do know from experience that it’s too easy to feel lost or spiritually isolated, in the Army or elsewhere, to let anything come between you and the Lady and the Lord. Whether you’re worried about prejudice (a valid concern), or trying to cut through spools of red tape to be allowed to practice your beliefs freely, work calmly and patiently–but persistently.

I don’t believe I’ve done anything extraordinary. I simply opened up an intelligent dialogue with my Chaplains and chain of command, answering their questions, and made sure they understood there was nothing to worry about or be afraid of. Military or civilian, that’s usually all we can do; most often, it’s more than enough.

This file may be freely transmitted so long as none of the content is changed. If quoted or published be sure to give appropriate credit. (c) 1994 Morgan Beard

Originally posted 2009-11-14 21:44:50.

I know I’ve spoken at length about going out and finding the idiots in Paganism and Wicca, and exposing them for the idiots they are.  But now I want to talk about the other side of that for a while.

While I have been out of the hunting business for a while now, there are those I’m friends with who are still out there in the communities, looking and reporting on trends in the groups of the new seekers, and the responses that the older and more experienced generations are having toward them.

This is where the downside of the hunting comes in.  There is a HUGE temptation to slather ALL new people with the same “bunny brush”.  To label the sincere and genuine seeker with the “fluffbunny” title, which makes it impossible for them to thereafter find real help in their spiritual journey.

So I want to talk about this trap in this essay.

Always remember the golden rule of bunnyhunting:  “THE NEW ARE NOT ALL BUNNIES.”  Certainly the possibility is there for the new seeker, the person who found Wicca and Paganism last week to be a bunny.  The “One book and I’m a witch!” crowd is one that we always have to be on the look out for, since they can do so much damage if left without those who are concerned with keep facts out there.  They tend to be the worst when taking something they read out of context, and without subjective verification (through research in the case of facts, through meditation and experimentation in the case of non scientific items) and repeat it ad neausium to anyone who will hear.  I could go on for days on all of those, but the two most common I will give here as examples; “Wicca goes unbroken back to prehistoric mankind” and “All witches are Wiccan because they have to be.”

Anyone who has been around the block a few times just let out a huge groan of frustration, and believe me I feel your pain.  I have spent probably a year or so (if you put all the scattered bits together) of my life trying to purge only one of those from the collective Wiccan mind.

But does the repeating of one of these rotten chestnuts automatically warrant a sign of “FLUFFBUNNY” to be on the speaker?

I am telling you now, it does not.

Just having read that in one of the many MANY bad volumes of Wicca instructional manuals and classes does not mean the person in question is someone who is an idiot and fluff.  Remember, a fluffbunny has a very specific definition and set of behaviors.  It is someone who is unrepentantly ignorant, willfully turning aside from and denying anything that makes their little mental universe change.  When they (metaphorically) stick their fingers in their ears and begin making random noises to drown out your information, and go blithely out and teach this “fact”, which can be refuted about two dozen ways, to anyone who will listen, from the new student to the fundamentalist Christian, then it’s a pretty safe bet that they are a fluff.

But someone who is asking for references and help finding information, is, by that definition, NOT a fluffbunny.  They are someone who is asking for a starting place.

Yes, you may feel that it is your duty to follow in the steps of Elfwreck and try to drive them away from our faith, and that is your choice.  But don’t do it thinking that you are keeping a fluff from being created.  It is shutting down a seeker from finding a pathway, finding information.

I’ll admit that this is a judgment call.  It’s a hard call in most cases, trying to figure out if this is the first symptom of someone who just wants to fling poo all over Wicca and Paganism, or if this person is sincere in their quest for knowledge.  Thankfully it’s something you can take to your Gods, to your Teachers, to those who are allies and your own mind and conscience as to if you are going to help or not.

And, by all the Gods living and dead, it’s so tempting to to just ignore the request and go your merry way, but I want you to remember something…. you started out in the same place at one time.  You too were lost and overwhelmed with a lack of resources and a lot of people who were talking in circles around your understanding.  So, now that I reminded you about this, what would you tell yourself in that long ago time when you desperately wanted what you now have?

If you had the chance to go back in time, as you are now, what would you say to yourself back then to encourage them to investigate and what hints would you drop?

Why not do that now.  It doesn’t have to be blatantly obvious, but it shouldn’t be a Chinese Puzzle Box either.  Understand and sculpt the lesson to the student, give hints and give tools to find more.  Feed the hunger to know, instead of stomping on the embers.

Remember, the seeker now, will be the teacher of your grandchildren.

Okay, we have heard the pleas from others for Pagan Unity. We have heard the litany against that idea, mostly because it will take away our individuality. Nowhere can I find a list of why we should, other than the articles asking for that unity in tones like unto Oliver Twist asking for more food.

So, let me see if I can make a few points that are relevant but not the same old litany.

And understand something before replying and giving me an earful, I am against total Unity. I think that putting all Pagan and NeoPagan faiths into a blender and hitting “frappe” is the wrong thing to do. I think that if this were to happen that an essential part of Paganism would be lost, the ability to choose. Many of us came to NeoPaganism or Paganism or Reconstructionism or whatever because of the general sameness of the mainstream religions out there. The basic credos were the same; they only fiddled with the details (like whether or not a skirt should be worn by women or if pants were acceptable).

I have spent my time defending the “no Unity” side of things, but in an attempt to understand the OTHER side of the argument, I started thinking and playing Devil’s Advocate in my head. And I almost convinced myself that it’s important to have unity on some level. Which for me is astounding.

Okay, to list my reasons in favor of Unity:

Without Unity, it is very easy for other organizations and businesses and governments to discriminate against us.

This point, in my opinion, is actually the most dangerous. How many of you who are reading this have looked at the situation happening with the Pagan Headstone Campaign and the problems with Sgt. Patrick Stewart and getting the Pentacle on his memorial plaque? How many of you have heard about The Church of Iron Oak’s problem with worshiping out of their home and the resulting legal fight they were going through? How many of you when you read these went “that’s a damned shame”? What about the problems with Tempest Smith?

How about the unpublished casual discrimination of others? Surely you have faced this in your time. Kids running away from you because you are out in your community, eggs on your car, loss of a job, a campaign to drive you out of a job or home. It’s never about the religion, but it all started when you were outed as a witch or Pagan.

How about comments by those in the Government that Pagans don’t have any charity in them? Or that “witchcraft isn’t really a religion”? Or those who serve in the Armed Forces can’t worship their own gods (to the point of legislation being passed against that)?

Do you think that these would have occurred had Paganism been seen in the same light as the Christian Coalition? How about if we were as big as the Southern Baptist Convention? Or maybe the national Jewish organization? Or if we were as large a block of people as the Muslims?

Understand my point here; with numbers comes power. Anytime there is a group of people, normally the discrimination against people who are members of that organization disappears. That’s what makes Unions so strong, and can you honestly think of someone being blatantly discriminatory or even subtly discriminatory against someone who is a member of the NAACP? Can you picture an official of the government saying, “I don’t think black people deserve to have government help.” Why is this do you think?

It’s because those kinds of organizations and groups have power in sheer numbers of people. The individual who is a member of that group isn’t powerful on their own, but adding 20 million people to that one person, and pressure can be brought to bear that staggers the imagination. I’m not just talking political either. Legally everyone donating a dollar to that group can pay for several lawyers to sue the backsides off an official who said that. Heck, a bribe to that official’s boss would take care of the problem too.

Would a business try to pressure a black lady out of her job because she’s black? Would there be an attempt to sexually harass a woman in the same job? Why is this do you think?

Like the large warehouse chains, numbers bring benefits. Lots of people in a group, the more power they have if only because they are in that group together. Buying several palates of sausage gets a heck of a discount for that store, which means more profits. The 13-person coven won’t be much of a force to the local Police, but the Covenant of the Goddess might be.

Without Unity, we are looked upon as having no faith.

Unfortunately, part of the problem we face as Pagans and minority religions is that people don’t understand our beliefs. They will credit Hindus and Muslims with having faith in a deity they don’t understand, but when you say in court that you are Asatru, the court will dismiss that out of hand because of absolutely no understanding of what Asatru is. When it’s clarified that Asatru is a Pagan faith, generally you will get lumped in with the Atheists and the credit goes WAAAAY down at that point.

But, in the same situation, if you say, “I’m a member of the Christian Fellowship of the Gate of Heaven”, no matter how out there and minority that church is, the bare word of “Christian” automatically gives a respect that is hard to gain otherwise. Replace “Christian” with “Jewish” or “Hebrew” or “Muslim” or “Islam” or “Buddhist” and you get the same effect.

This is because these groups have LARGE groups that protect their interests. The general populace knows that even if they don’t understand the actual workings of those groups, they are religious groups that deserve respect. The Jews have been around for some time, so too have the Hindus and the Muslims, but the Nation of Islam is a recent organization. Did that stop people from thinking that Muhammad Ali was a man of no faith? Or that Malcolm X was not a servant of his deity?

The fact of the matter is that in our society the appearance of being a person of faith is more important than exactly WHAT faith or if it’s truly practiced. When being picked for Jury Duty, if you say that you don’t have any Church activities, you are more likely to be passed over than picked. Lack of faith = lack of morals in many people’s eyes. It doesn’t matter that humanism is a valid and true moral structure, it’s the appearance that is important.

Who are the ones yelling the loudest on topics like abortion, prayer in schools, gay marriage and many other hot topic issues recently? “People of faith”. Would America elect an Agnostic or an Atheist to a high office? Probably not. Why not? Because an Atheist has no morals. Just ask anyone. (That is only an example.)

Without Unity, any political credit we would have is lost.

To go along with the previous point I made, political clout is becoming more and more important.

Pagans as a group are some of the most politically active people I know, and that’s a very good thing. There are any number of issues that we need to sound out on, from headstones on graves to charity to Welfare and Social Security and abortion and gay rights. It’s wonderful when I see the local Wiccans getting together to raise money for the local candidate and to make their wishes known to those same Senators and Representatives once they are in office.

But I have heard this time and again: “How many votes can you bring me?”

No one stops to consider that all those single votes add up. The Democrat who is trying to displace the seated Republican will not stop to consider that the Wiccans and the Pagans who are supporting him number in the thousands in the state, they will just see that this coven donated $100 dollars for a group of 5. They will go “Five votes? That’s nothing.” and they dismiss the concerns that coven brings to his attention.

I have had this happen with me in my local races many times. I happen to be in Tennessee, where Senator Bill Frist is from. I don’t like him, I don’t care for his politics, I know he doesn’t pay attention to anything I say as a constituent. But if I were able to go to him with “I am a member of the Brotherhood of Pagan Faiths, and we represent 50,000 votes in the state of Tennessee and we have a concern…” he would sit up and listen to our concerns and us. But getting 50,000 individual letters, each representing a vote, even if they are on the same topic and each say something to the effect of “my vote is on the line depending on your behavior” means nothing. But to have an entire block of people saying with one voice that THIS is an item of concern, well, those are what lobbyists are for. That’s a Special Interest group, and they can have a lot of clout in the Beltway in Washington, even in local elections and state elections. And that means that the issues we hold dear can be aired and actually considered.

But this won’t happen without some sort of unity on some level.

Without Unity, the idiots that appear in the media are the only people that we will be associated with.

It doesn’t matter how many of us get up and say “Kevin Carolyn does not represent Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, Druidism or any other faith. He’s a nutter and an idiot.” no one is going to believe us. Why? Because invariably the person with the microphone is the one getting the attention, and the media pays attention to those with repeated press conferences.

It doesn’t matter that they treat him as an idiot and make fun of him, by the simple fact that he’s on TV and in the newspapers; he’s got some sort of clout with the populace at large. Fifty of us can get up and say he’s no kind of Priest, and more than likely not one of those letters or statements will be printed, and thus they will never get to the populace’s attention.

The net effect? Witchcraft becomes represented by those same nutters. The Media in general is after the attention of the populace, in the form of ratings and circulation. King Kevin sells papers. Our decrying his actions does not. That is, as long as each of us is speaking for themselves.

But, put the spokesman of the Brotherhood of Pagan Faiths up front at a microphone, and now we have a media showcase. Those press releases start carrying weight and the letter to the editor saying that this person is a dipshit and insane, well, those take on a whole new dimension of importance, if only because that represents another 1000 copies of their newspaper sold to members who do scrap booking.

With unity, we have the implied backing to be able to speak authoritatively as a representative of a large group of people and be believed. You don’t see Jerry Fallwell standing front and center and saying he’s the leader of all Christians in England or Europe because every Christian organization out there would be publishing letters saying that he’s a nut and that he does not represent anyone, most especially them, within minutes of him being quoted as saying that. Heck, the Pope could arguably claim that he is the head of all Christianity, but he won’t because of all those little groups who have power and members who would jump up and say “NOT US!!!”

Then there are interfaith relations. One thing that I have heard is that there was a distinct lack of response from the Pagans when Pope John Paul II apologized to the world for the crimes of the Catholic Church over the centuries. Everyone who has been injured by the Catholic Church sounded off, but not the Pagans, not the Witches, not the Wiccans. Why was that?

Who could the media contact for a quote? They could have contacted some of the Big Name Pagans, the ones who wrote books and such, and they did. But that only gets one person’s opinion. Much better to have a contact in a Pagan Group to get a quote and sound byte.

Individuals can get with Native American groups and try to foster interfaith unity, but those groups know very well that one person representing a coven and not a large group is not going to be very effective in promoting an association between them, because ultimately that one person has no power. They can’t negotiate with that High Priestess to have Native ceremonies and rituals (see cultural appropriation) removed from the liturgy of the Wiccans, since that High Priestess only represents herself and her coven. And this is ironic considering that the American Government went through this same problem attempting to negotiate with the Natives themselves.

So those who want to have that interfaith discourse will look in the papers to try to find someone who represents more than one or a handful of Pagans. And what are they likely to find? The “King of all Witches” standing there, with no letters or articles from the rest of us saying that he’s a nut. So now, King Kevin is the defacto representative for all of us, by default.

Without Unity, the truly dangerous members of our community will be free to do their damage in many places.

Does anyone remember that predator from about 10 years ago who said he would initiate any girl from 10 to 18 with a sexual rite and she could go on and initiate any others? Remember the fallout from that? There were all kinds of groups up in arms who were all working at cross-purposes to try to lure him out to help the police catch him.

Did he ever get caught?

Does anyone remember a man in Texas who was abusing his children by sticking 6 year olds out in the woods overnight with only a knife “to teach them survival skills”? Has anyone been able to stop Son_of_Art or Mark Ventimiglia?

Why not?

Frankly I would be surprised if those reading this were familiar with all these situations. One was local to the Southeast region of the United States, another was local to one metropolitan area, and two others are on the Internet. And I’m sure that every city could tell me stories of those who claimed to be Wiccan or a Witch, abused their power and their influence and hurt people severely and moved to another city, just to repeat the cycle over again.

How did this happen? Why didn’t those who were hurt do anything?

Frankly, who could they go to to tell their story of woe and abuse? There is no group who they can say, “this person hurt us and raped us (either literally or figuratively). They left when we drove him out, but this is who he is, this is how he operates and this is what he did. We got justice, but we don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” Even if such a thing was done, and the groups of the new city could be found, those same leaders wouldn’t listen to the information. Most of them would be going “That was there, this is here.” Some would simply wonder what axe the people warning have to grind and probably treat that information as nothing.

Occasionally there are calls for a “Council of Elders” to keep information like this, so that true predators can’t harm others, but invariably those get shot down with “how do we police it” and a litany of abuses. An organization that was nationwide would avoid a lot of that.

Please understand something with this article, I’m not saying we should unify and lose our individual identity in the Pan-Pagan group of ‘Love Trust and Peace’ like some ask. I have stated time and again that it is possible for there to be a limited group, brought into existence to do specific things, and I believe that in this case it is very possible and workable.

The problem is you. It is changing your mind and convincing you, the reader, that this is a good idea. I can say it is a good thing all my life. I can invest time and energy in setting this up, but until you decide that you will support this and will work to be a part of it, then nothing will happen. CoG started that way, the ADF started that way. There are groups out there who are more than just a few dozen people, and it can be done to take the next step WITHOUT losing our individual Ways.

All it takes is a lifetime of dedication and commitment.

I’m ready, are you?

It has come to my attention that this is simply a call for a Political Action Committee.  Well, if that’s it, then so be it.  I think this is a necessary step, and one that we desperately need to do in order to make sure that we are represented and that our voices are heard in the Government.  We may be a legal religion, but we are still ignored.

Originally posted 2009-11-11 22:25:45.