I have no problem with Wicca.
It's the Wiccans I can't stand!

The Internet's Most Censored: Critics of WiKKKa

In the interest of internet free speech and democracy, I have posted text from a few sites that have been attacked by WiKKKans. Please copy and distribute these suppressed thoughts widely. You can also post text in my forum.

Disclaimer: This is all my opinion... Blahblahblah... Suck it up. Why Wiccans Suck, the website, is way outdated, and while serving some purpose, needs to be rehashed in several ways. That being said, I wanted to rant and what better way to do so? I think Wicca is the only instance in which both religion itself and practitioners suck. Many people think that Wicca exceeds Ravenwolf and Starhawk. It doesn't, not by much anyway. Even the good ol' Gardnerian or Alexadrian is just as bad, just as dumb, and just as attention-whorey as Ravenwolf's Wicca. Actually, Gardnerian and Traditional Wicca was a cult. A mystery, initiate-only cult. It's extremely strict and one can only be Wiccan after being a Seeker, finding a coven that can trace itself back to Gardner AND THEN after being accepted you study for a year and a day before you are fully integrated into the coven. Hell, you don't even know what the f*ck it is you're worshipping until you're a 3rd degree. And this whole Lord and Lady business... Those are the public names. You can use them all you want, but only those initiated are allowed to access the secret names of the pantheon. Same with the rituals, but since bits of Thelema and Golden Dawn were added, you could probably get an idea that you'll be using high ceremonial magical rituals. Today, however, you have to be 18 just to be initiated. Why? Because they drink, they have sex, perform rituals nude, and do other things which minors aren't allowed to do. I've only addressed Gardnerian Wicca because it's a lot easier to comprehend than a bunch of loosely connected ideas about love and light that is Neo-Wicca. Comments, criticisms, bitching?

------- In a city made of steel
The concrete rage is all we feel
Posted on: http://www.golivewire.com/forums/topic.cgi?topic=215716

Keep Wicca Traditional
“Why are you doing this?
Frustration. Boredom. A belief that open “mindedness, when taken to extremes, can be just as bad as closed mindedness when it is taken to extremes. Call it a backlash. You're wimps, hiding behind a veil of anonymity. Yeah, well, lucky for us that is a Wiccan Tenet. It's not important who says this, or who starts the campaign. Only that is is said.

Why Keep Wicca Traditional?
What is Traditional Wicca? Well, if you claim to be Wiccan and you don't know what Traditional Wicca is, then you're part of the problem.

Wicca has gone from a definable set of practices, a secret society and a sacred Priesthood to a fluffy bunny, sugar and flowers hodge-podge of Pagan practices. Wicca has gone from a discipline to a feel-good opiate for people who skim over a book they get from Barnes and Noble and then declare themselves the heirs to a heritage they have taken no time to learn. Bring back the discipline to Wicca
Bring back the honor of the Priesthood
Bring back the "seeking" to the Seeker
Bring back the weight of the Oath
Bring back the Mysteries

If you agree with the campaign and want to let the Internet know that there are still those left in cyber space that value the old Traditions, that value the Craft as it was and still is, and are somewhat upset with the trend towards "Wicca is like, whatever I want it to be, ya know?" said by Lady Morgana Astarte Thunderbutt who parrots what Scott Cunningham told her, please snatch a banner, put it on your web site, link it here, and proclaim it to the world. You do not have to be an initiated Trad Wiccan to do this. You do not have to be an initiated Trad Wiccan to value the Traditions of Wicca.
If you are a fluffy bunny and are totally ticked off that someone had the audacity to stand up for the Old Ways and proclaim that what you are doing may just be supporting the dilution of the Wicca, by all means, email us and vent your anger.
• The "You People Bite" Email Page for Angry Bunnies
• Post a Rant, Post a Rave so all can see
• Read the Rants, Read the Raves

If you too are tired of the fluffy bunnies from the "Paramount Pictures Craft Tradition", you may enjoy the following link. For those who like to get their panties in a wad, no actual fluffy bunnies were harmed in the making of the Java Applet and we are not encouraging you to go whack an eclectic "Wiccan" with their Scott Cunningham book:
• Whack a Fluffy Bunny
Why are you doing this?
Frustration. Boredom. A belief that open mindedness, when taken to extremes, can be just as bad as closed mindedness when it is taken to extremes. Call it a backlash. What do you have against Scott Cunningham?
This page explains it better than we could. And, well, it's already been covered, so why bother restating the obvious?
You know, you people aren't very nice.
Yeah, well, being nice is a virtue. It is not, however, a Wiccan Tenet. You're thinking of "Love Thy Neighbor".
Well, why don't you tell us about Traditional Wicca?
You're a seeker. Try seeking.
You're wimps, hiding behind a veil of anonymity.
Yeah, well, lucky for us that is a Wiccan Tenet. It's not important who says this, or who starts the campaign. Only that is is said.

SOURCE: http://www.oocities.org/SoHo/Square/7290/

Comments:
To the idiots who claim 800 years of history in the craft: I can't say anything that will make you look more ignorant and stupid than anything you've already said. to "fluffy bunnies": You're right. You have the right to practice the craft however you want to. However, I also have the right to think you're a moron. And say what I think at any point. Freedom of sppech. If you have the right to protest loudly and wav crystals around in order to cleanse your chakras (both "truly" wiccan, I'm sure), then I have the right to say what a feebleminded idiot you are. In general: I find, in general, that almost all wiccans have seriously underthought their religious beliefs, or stolen them outright from non-pagan or non-wiccan/european religions. Karma is Hindu, not European. I really don't care what people believe, as long as they've thought it through, and honestly address the incongruencies. Most Wiccans I know are merely baking a Christian cake with pagan frosting: There is no change in the religious recipe, just in how it's presented. Personally, I'd rather have Co cannon than that cake any day. Aidan, a druid

SOURCE: http://www.oocities.org/SoHo/Square/7290/geobook.html

On Reactionary Wiccans
The Anti-Fluffy Bunny Movement in Wicca & Its Accomplishments No religion is perfect, and many are fortunate to have followers that do not accept the current state of their faith, but rather challenge ideas and practices and call for change. The cry for reformation is a powerful instrument for change in any religion, and is often the origin for new traditions, sects, and denominations. Therefore, it is not a surprise or undesirable that even a religion as young as Wicca would have members creating new movements for reformation. However, the large number of websites now criticizing Wicca's current direction begin to make me question the effectiveness of these campaigns.
The predominant Wiccan reformation campaign can be characterized as the "Anti-Fluffy Bunny Movement." Websites and supporters of this movement typically divide practitioners of Wicca into two groups: the "real" or serious Wiccans, and the "wanna-bes" or fluffy bunnies. The term Fluffy Bunny has many definitions, and some have even gone so far as to categorize different types of fluffy bunnies, but the general sentiment is the same: the Fluffy Bunny is a pretender who gives Wicca a bad name and ruins it for all the Real Wiccans who are actually following their religion. The features which are most commonly attributed to the prototypical fluffy bunny are:
an interest in Wicca because it is "trendy" or "cool" (not as a deepfelt spiritual practice, as many Wiccans feel it is)
knows little about Wicca, or predominantly knows inaccurate information (myths like The Burning Times, Wicca is the oldest religion, etc.)
an overemphasis on the "light" (unicorns, faeries, everything is love) or the "dark" (vampires, gothic subculture, "dark" goddesses like Hecate)
a lack of maturity, often because of a young age (teenagers)
an overemphasis on "performing" Wiccan activities so that everyone knows his/her beliefs (loudly saying "Thank Goddess!", telling everyone he/she is a witch, wearing lots of pentacle jewelry)
blind belief in everything written or said by one or a few popular authors (Silver Ravenwolf, Scott Cunningham, Starhawk)
silly names with long, meaningless titles (Grand High Poohbah Lady Morgan Pixieraven III, High Priestess of the Happy Crystal Unicorn Sunshine Coven)
rampant Christian-bashing ("They're all mean liars who stole our holidays!")
a victim mentality ("Everyone persecutes us poor Wiccans because they think we worship Satan!")
Real Wiccans are, of course, everything that Fluffy Bunnies aren't. They've done their homework, they've practiced Wicca for years, they wouldn't be caught dead wearing pentacle jewelry or reading Silver Ravenwolf, and their religion has nothing to do with unicorns. (This is called definition by contrast.) Of course, this begs the question: if Real Wiccans have been studying and practicing a religion that they are strongly dedicated to for a long time, how can some teen who read a book and likes faeries have any strong negative effect on them? How strong is your dedication if wannabes can make you change your mind?
That doesn't go to say that it's wrong to dislike wannabes and misinformation about Wicca, or even get upset or annoyed when you encounter them. To call for a change in Wicca and a more specific definition of what Wicca is and isn't, that isn't wrong either. But is reformation accomplished by long-winded rants and seeking out fluffy bunnies to "thwap" them? Somebody apparently thinks so, because look at the great lengths that they go to in order to prove their point. All of these websites focus on challenging common "fluffy bunny" theories in order to "fix the problem":
Wicca: For the Rest of Us
"Keep Wicca Traditional" Ribbon Campaign
Why Wiccans Suck
The Ranting Wiccans
The Obsidian Mirror
Pseudo history, Fluff bunnies and Wicca
Why I Don't Like Scott Cunningham

It's highly likely that these essays and websites are not the only ones out there. Some, like Wicca: For the Rest of Us and The Ranting Witches, also try to provide accurate information for those who want to learn more, but others like the famous Why Wiccans Suck are merely a long diatribe. All of these websites, however, are negative and insulting. The counterargument to the accusation of attacking fluffy bunnies is always, "They refuse to listen to reason. You have to speak like this to get them to even pay attention." But what do you get for catching their attention? Anger, offense, more ranting and raving. The only ones who agree with you are the ones who already dislike fluffy bunnies. You can call that "preaching to the choir."
What is the alternative? Well, how about creating a website that only features accurate information, without hurling insults at anyone? There is always going to be inaccurate information available, and people who believe in it; it's not a problem with Wicca or a certain publishing company, but one that every single religion faces. There are probably more "fluffy bunny" Christians who have false beliefs about Christianity than there are total practitioners of Wicca of any degree of sincerity. (I don't know a lot about the current state of various Christian groups, but I have heard there are calls and movements in some churches and organizations for better education, particularly of the clergy.) But if you provide accurate information and someone finds it after they had previously been exposed to inaccurate information, they have the chance to compare the two viewpoints for themselves. The more good stuff is out there, the better chance there is that people will be convinced. No, this won't work for every fluffy bunny. They may continue to believe in and talk about the "wrong" theories, or they may lost interest and move on to the next hip trend.
If I meet someone who claims that their spiritual journey was totally transformed by their discovery of a website like those mentioned above, then I will consider revising this position. However, until then, I haven't seen any good come of these websites beyond temporary amusement for those who enjoy to share their complaints about fluffy bunnies. Venting blows off steam; it doesn't convert people, regardless of how intelligent they are.

Posted by Sarasvati at March 28, 2005 07:56 PM
SOURCE: http://krista.rupture.net/wicca/essays/001039.html

PERSECUTION COMPLEX
One of the biggest problems I have with the neopagan movement is the incessant barrage of claiming persecution. I'm sick of seeing people gripe about how they're always being persecuted and made fun of and ignored and all that self-deprecating mumbo jumbo that's supposed to evoke pity. You want persecution? Fuck you. There. That's persecution.
You see, real persecution does go on. Denny's fired me the day after a couple of employees found out I was pagan (despite my best efforts to conceal that part of my identity), and started spreading rumours that I worship Satan. Well, their actual reason they claim for firing me is that I was terrible on the computer (which had a 98SE platform, just like the one I'm on now, and if I can't work on a computer, how'd I do this entire webpage by hand?), so that I couldn't retaliate with claims of religious discrimination. That's persecution. However, that's the only time I've ever been persecuted for my religious practices.
See, persecution implies a sort of injustice to whatever bad shit's being done to you. Most of what witchypoos call "persecution" is really just deferrence of blame. Yes, deferrence of blame. You got shit on because YOU ASKED FOR IT.
Let me share some personal experience here. The summer after I turned eighteen I "came out of the broom closet" (so to speak). This is what I call my flashy phase. Around my neck, I wore : two pentacles (one 2", the other bigger), a pendant of the rune Algiz, and a Chinese symbol meaning "fire". I would spend an hour every two or three days retouching my Sharpie "tattoo", which was an ornate design centered around a pentacle. I would wear tanktops to show it off, and a blue doo-rag to contrast my red hair. My car was acting up, so I was walking everywhere. One day, I ran into a group of Apostolic Lutherans near Burger King, and they started some shit. I got pushed around a bit, and I got called a devil worshipper, and I was threatened, and I was (of course) condemned to Hell. For a long time afterward, I held a bitter grudge against those assholes and the Appy church in general. Why? Because they'd persecuted me, that's why! WRONG. I was not persecuted. I was stupid. I was purposely behaving in such a way that would antagonize them, and I was dressing for the occasion should they decide to act upon their annoyance. I can't blame them for being pissed off. If I were minding my own business and a bunch of Jesuit monks in full attire started singing Gregorian chants right behind me, I'd be pretty pissed off too. By all rights, I was a stupid zealot and I was asking for it. I repeat: I wasn't persecuted. I was stupid. Chances are, you've been stupid too. Admit it. It's part of being human. See, our culture has these things called norms. These norms, for all you illiterate people, are the cultural standards of acceptance from which everyone's appearance, words and deeds are measured. The Amishman who still dresses in pre-Industrial-Revolution clothing can't expect to walk into Wal*Mart and not get stared at. Neither can the seven-foot-tall redneck with two teeth and a mullet longer than the OJ Simpson trial. Neither can the witchypoo who's all decked out in übergoth or superhippie attire. Why? Because their appearances deviate too far from the norm. They go beyond society's tolerance, or their ability to put up with your abnormal behaviour. There's an old adage that says, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." If today's "in" thing is to wear stonewashed jeans and a flannel, then dress accordingly. If preppy clothing is in, go buy an Eddie Bauer sweatshirt. I suggest these things because these improve your chances of remaining unnoticed, thus decreasing your chances of being shit on. I highly doubt the trend will drift towards acting like a complete ass in public.
Now, before I get ragged on for being an hypocrite, let me make clear that I do on occasion deck out in goth clothing: spiked collars, black makeup, fishnet stockings on my arms, fake blood, the whole nine yards. But I don't expect people to treat me like I'm an ordinary guy wearing Levi's and a tee. I know I look ridiculous compared to the norm, and I know people are going to react oddly (and half the time, negatively). I am well aware of the risk that I could get the shit kicked out of me for dressing so. But you know what? I do it because I want to. And when I do get harassed for dressing goth (i.e. "Fuckhead, Halloween ain't for another six months!"), I don't run around like a beheaded chicken crying in desperation because Asshole X decided to persecute me like all those poor witches in Salem. (Hehehe...there were no witches in Salem in the 1690s.)
So. Stop whining about being shit on. If you're out, get used to it. If you're not, then HIDE. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the fuckin' kitchen. 'Nuff said.

TOLERANCE ONE OF THE MOST ABUSED WORDS EVER
You know, I've come to realize how many of those who claim to represent tolerance don't have any tolerance for those who they deem intolerant! Oy vey! Now how do we deal with this problem?
Well, first of all, we take a look at the primary meaning of tolerance:
The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others. Leeway for variation from a standard.
The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a percent.
The capacity to endure hardship or pain.
Medicine.
Physiological resistance to a poison.
The capacity to absorb a drug continuously or in large doses without adverse effect; diminution
in the response to a drug after prolonged use.

Acceptance of a tissue graft or transplant without immunological rejection. Unresponsiveness to an antigen that normally produces an immunological reaction. The ability of an organism to resist or survive infection by a parasitic or pathogenic organism. Well now we base the idea of tolerance mostly on the first definition. Now what exactly does it mean? It's hard to really make a concrete statement about it, so the potential for misuse is enormous. Let me give you an example of abuse of the term:
Someone who fights for freedom of speech in a magazine, oh say like, Hustler. However, if someone speaks out against the magazine, they are labeled intolerant. Is it me or is this rather unfair? In my own experience, I was labeled intolerant because I don't agree with many factors of modern feminism, accussed by someone who said they believed in tolerance for everyone! However, these examples can be pretty cut and dry, unlike most everyday abuses of the term. Mainly because it can be a huge hardship to try to figure out what is tolerant or intolerant in some situations. Where do we draw the line? For one, we could say that the situation shows intolerance when it impedes on the freedom of another person. However, this is subject to abuse. Here's another example: A man beats his wife an daughter. This is not a tolerable situation because he is:
Hurting innocents
Impeding on their freedom.
The police are called in. The must impede the mans freeom (jail), in order to prevent him from hurting the wife/daughter or anyone else. So this arguement will not work.
We all have been guilty of intolerance, and have been victims of it. It's a fact of life. However, if you live in the US, you are born with the freedom to speak your mind. I will be honest with you, if the TBN station were to be shut down tommorrow, I'd probably throw a party. However, I realize that they have the right to have their channel, and to speak their views, no matter how I might find some of their views offensive. Pat Robertson has not strolled into my home, dragged me out, and burned me at the stake. So he can say whatever he bloody well wants to, as far as I'm concerned! On the flip side of the coin, I have every right to disagree with him, but I'm not going to try to take away his freedom of speech.
So that's that.
Personal Profit and the Fundamentally Loathsome
The pagan community has another problem that swiftly needs to be rectified: the idea that Wiccans must be wholly and utterly altruistic. This is a completely unrealistic expectation for anyone in the neopagan culture to attempt to realize.
First and foremost, we're not perfect. No one with any ego (read: with any sense of self-identity) whatsoever can be expected to be selfless. It's simply a contradiction of terms, an actual liability left over from those godforsaken Christian days of serving the enemy we all love to condemn and lament. *rolls eyes and snorts* Yes, this is probably remnant of an ingrown fingernail in your conscience which demands that you deny yourself in order to achieve greatness. This is a viewpoint which plagues both Western and Eastern religious framesets (condemnation and denial of impulses, respectively), and it seems that only sensible independent thinkers can penetrate this veil.
Secondly, I don't believe it's wrong to want a little something for yourself. Even if (Kevin forbid) you adhere to the Rede as a religious text, you're still not breaching it by getting a little something for yourself. You're not a Catholic priest bound to poverty, and you're not a monk in Kathmandu swearing off any and all things material. Chances are, if you're reading this site, you're a pagan in a Western country, which is either capitalist or socialist in nature. Profit is allowed under our systems of government. There's no law (not even a Gardnerian Ordain) that states that one must be completely altruistic at all times. Sometimes, also, the good of the one outweighs all (after all, self-preservation is the foremost instinct). I repeat, there is nothing wrong with self-gain.
Why, you may ask? Well, let's take an analogy here. Let's say Jimmy Silverback decides to give his entire paycheck to ten complete strangers every week. Let's also say that Jim makes $250 a week (for easy math's sake). This divides into portions of $25 apiece each week. Now, let's say Jim Silverback wants to dish out more money. How does he do this? He turns inward and improves himself, by getting a promotion or a better job. Let's say he gets a new job, and makes double what he did last time (which is damn good money: $500 a week). Now, he can give fifty bucks to ten complete strangers every week (or he can double the amount of recipients should he so choose). By gaining for himself a better job, he can even stick to his altruism. But let's say Jim Silverbck isn't quite the ape that his magical name paints him out to be, and he gets a better job. He can not only divide $250 among strangers, he can keep the other $250 for himself. Where's the moral conflict?
So in sum: Self-gain is okay. Self -gain isn't immoral. Self-gain is good, even if you want to be completely altruistic (good luck). Point made in under five kilobytes.
I apologise for the brevity and incoherent demeanour of this rant. It's 3:30 AM, I just got off of work a couple hours ago, have had a stressful evening and have a lot to do this week. However, this needed to be said and the Mirror badly needed updating. So there you have it. I will probably amend this essay as time and sanity allow. Cheers.
Mak Attack (Stupid Site awards)
I knew the Stupid Site Awards were going to piss off their recipients, but I didn't know it would get this ugly.

The recipient of my sixth award said the following things:
Okay....we had a visitor today. His name is David and he goes by the name Obsidian. You can check out the kind of guy he is by logging on to his website www.obsidianmirror.com He specializes in pointing out the flaws of others, making fun of them, and belittling them just so you won't notice his flaws. He loves to attack women...women that he is emasculated by...like.....oh say...like ME!! (I am Makani and Aquila on his website)...but....he keeps it under the guise of 'fluff-bunny', and since he doesn't hit Ana (or Q as his SO is sometimes goes by), then he's an great guy....quite a woman-lover in fact. And Ana, a woman who adores men who call her a cunt and a whore, just as by way of saying 'Hi' , who loves to trash women who are empowering themselves (I think this is because she has no idea how it is done and is frustrated) has no problem in aiding David's trashing of women.

Anyhoo.....I expect that since David is totally in awe of my 'superwomanlywitchypowers' he is prolly gonna show up again...or get others to...or get Ana to show up...or get Kristin to show up...or who ever....so whatever....had nothing to fear from you before and have nothing to fear from you now....

Just so everyone here knows....he is banned and, while I will not banned any of his girlfriend's, provided they keep within the rules of THIS game, I will ban them if their sole interest in join this forum is to trash me or any other woman here.

Grow up or go away
I now return you to your regularly scheduled program
Laurie
Makani
AND
Aquila
And as if that wasn't enough, she followed it by saying:
oh...to save you the trouble of going to his site... this is what he has to say about his visit here....He is quite deluded as it was always my forum...he just helped me with admin duties....and it was his privledges that were revoked....he wasn't banned...but it SOUNDS better to lie and say he was banned ;) ....

[quoted Stupid Site award]

like I said ...grow up or move on asshole ....
Now, did anyone other than me actually laugh at this? I found this to be quite hilarious, and I encourage everyone doubly to go to her site and see how else you can piss her off. Email me her responses and I'll post them here for everyone to laugh at.
See, the reason I'm doing this is to prove a point here that I don't believe has been addressed: There is a problem in the Wiccan™ community known as fundamentalism — yes, the same problem all those nasty evil Christians have *rolls eyes* — where you believe you're right and everyone else is wrong. Aquila is one of these people. I don't blame her for it; she lives right in the middle of the I-5 corridor and is just as generically liberal as the generic conservatives that live on the Eastern Seaboard. You can't blame someone for wanting to fit in, as the need to belong is critical for social function and as such is a natural human instinct.
I have been accused of being fundamentalist on this site, because when I think somebody is wrong, I tell them. I've been accused of being hateful, because some of the language I use is sarcastic, venomous and profane.
That being said, you will not find me bashing somebody (or even lower, their girlfriend) because I disagree with them and my story doesn't click with theirs. Why? Because that is stupid: I know I'm not the smartest person out there. I know I don't have all the answers. I know I'm only a human being, and a young one at that. I know I'm not 100% right, and I know what I say is going to have flaws. I'm only human, you know. Despite my apparently negative outlook and misanthropic dialogue, I still believe in the goodness of humanity and I still recognise the ultimate goodness in each person. I still believe that, deep down inside, every single one of us (with exceptions, of course) wants to better ourselves, our world, and our kinship with the Gods we worship. This is why I built this website: that I may help someone cross that ever-important bridge from their own stupidity and arrogance into the light of intelligent and sensible thinking. Of course, I have to do it in a crass and violent way because the most stupid of us refuse to be tapped lightly on the shoulder. But it's tough love, folks. I love humanity; if I didn't, I don't think I'd hate what we do so much.
Now that I'm done being all sappy and almost fluffy, it's time to address Aquila's claims: Yes, I have been banned. Thank you for fulfilling my prophecy. Anyone who really knows me or has any shred of intelligence knows that, judging from this site alone, I do not "trash women". Those who know me really well (Aquila included, sadly) know I actually have defended women from misogynists in the past. I don't trash women — I trash feminism, because while its intentions are good, its actions as an entity are barely falling short of deplorable. But that's a whole other rant altogether.
Anyone who really knows my fiancée (Q) or has any shred of intelligence knows that, judging from this site alone, she is a very respectable person. To Aquila directly: I know you're smarter than this. Come up with better insults. One more thing Aquila posted on her forum:
I guess it doesn't make me any better than that asshole...but this was a rant and I'm tired of people who can't look into the mirror and see their own shit...who constantly have to look at all their problems as being someone else'e fault.....'let's slam everyone else cuz I can't be better than they are, so if I slam them, then people are laughing at them and not laughing at me'....sorry...left that concept behind in grade school... ;)
Interesting choice of language there, don't you think? :)
(Oh yes. I slammed her first, by giving her the Stupid Site award, so by retaliating so cruelly, she's adopting the very tactic she claims to have abandoned in grammar school...hehe! Three cheers for hypocrisy!)
So that's that. I probably shouldn't have given this any attention whatsoever, but resolution through confrontation is my style. It will be quite amusing if she turns this into an all-out Witch War, although that would be very silly of her indeed to do. I'll leave you to judge me, my character and my site. Don't take it from me, and most certainly don't take it from this douchebag either. Read my site thoroughly, and use the intelligence and common sense you were given to make your own judgments for yourself. Better yet, use them all the time, to prevent bursting out in a foolish spew of hatred like Aquila did just then. Then maybe — just maybe — you'll inspire someone else to have faith in humanity. And when you do that, we all win.

Anger vs. Hatred
I've had a lot of people sign the guestbook, post on the message board, and send me emails saying how great of an impact this site had on their minds. I've reached a lot of people in the Mirror's first six months of existence — the counter out front right now says 4431 — and most of them have proven themselves to be, albeit a little fluffy around the edges, decent and intelligent human beings. This site's results have given me cause to reaffirm my faith in humanity, fame to the point where people I've never spoken with have heard of the Mirror by word of mouth, and proof that standing up for your beliefs and having the huevos to speak out loud when everyone else is whispering secrets really does pay off in the end.
However, there have been a few morons, douchebags, trolls and just plain old stupid people who seem to confuse this site for a hate site. In fact, just a couple days ago a wannabe Satanist emailed me telling me how I was blaspheming "Father Satan" by my previous article and I found it rather hilarious that to top it all off he called me cock boy, as though that's supposed to offend me or something. I've also had trolls: mailbomb me; threaten to attack me, my site and my host; defame my character on forums where Wicca is seldom discussed; and a couple other instances that don't fit one of these three categories. I won't get into specifics because, frankly, I'm too tired to do so at this time, but I will say this:
The Obsidian Mirror is not a hate speech site (see Dictionary.com's definition of hate speech). This site condemns no one who hasn't already condemned themselves. This site does not promote acts of terror against those the Mirror may slam. What this site is, is angry. I am fucking pissed off that authors are manipulating the minds of immature, insecure teenagers and slowly sucking away their money like ticks on the belly of a sleeping dog. I am fucking pissed off that almost every Llewellyn author I've come across is a narcissistic, vain asshole who pretends their every spoken word is Gospel from the Goddess Herself and that a broke-ass white-trash non-trad like myself knows next to diddly shit compared to them. I am fucking pissed off that kids react to these suggestions and stupidly await the next Silver Ravenwolf book the way they await the next Harry Potter book, the next Lord of the Rings installment in the cinema, or the release of the newest Pokémon cards. I am fucking pissed off that stupid people whom have (either inadvertently or consentually) allowed these con artists to swindle them out of their money, their time, their other resources, and most of all: their spiritual energy. I am fucking pissed off that the fact I speak out against this automatically renders me labelled a "hater", even though I hold no contempt towards Gardner's original tradition nor most derivatives thereof (although there are issues I have with certain trads, I'm not going to address them here for the continuity's sake). I am fucking pissed that the people whom I piss off (the ones who need my advice) are more interested in assassinating me than learning what needs to be learnt, whereas the praise I garner seems to come from elder people in the Craft. I am fucking pissed at the notion that Wicca™ or any traditional derivative thereof may become a mainstream religion within the next fifty years. At the present rate of decline regarding mean intellect, mean interpersonal skills, and mean mental capacities, Wicca will simply serve to replace Christianity or Islam or any of the other mainstream religions to take care of those who don't want to think for themselves. Sadly, I fear that we have already past the point of no return, and my cynical-sounding rants from four or five months ago have proven themselves time and time again to be valid and just assessments of the current situation in the Neopagan world.
There are many traditions splitting up for various reasons. I witnessed the death of Seax-Wica last month, when one of our authors (who has been an initiated Seax-Wican for a LONG fucking time, and I believe even held priestly duties at one point) got into a mix with Raymond Buckland's choice of successor for the order. His HATE SPEECH against homosexuals drove a huge, permanent wedge in the thinly sliced cheese that was Seax-Wica then. There may as well BE no Seax-Wica now...but the Mirror is still reflecting every face that looks into it. Let me address one final issue in this ramble before I go to bed (I've been up a wee over 36 hours at this point in time), and that is really the topic at hand: anger versus hatred. First, the semantic difference: see the Dictionary.com definitions of anger and hatred. Granted, the two words are related, but in my opinion anger is a primary emotion, and hatred is a secondary emotion. Anger is more akin to passion; hatred is more akin to ill will. The difference is clear when defined. An example would be such: I am angry at one particular company who hasn't shipped our herbs yet that we paid for over a month ago. This anger is direct and has a distinct purpose. On the other hand, I hate my lover's stepfather. I am angry as well for what he has done to her and for being such a cruel bastard as to hire a lawyer with enough clout to get him off, but I hate the fuck deep down inside. This hatred is based off of this anger, as well as her pain as she's shared it with me, but when I think about him I get this nauseated, loathing feeling deep in my digestive tract.
Now that we've gotten the definition out of the way, I'd like to address the issue of this site. First off, up front I make it very clear that my passion stems from anger and not of hatred. I only hate a handful of people, despite how many I am angry towards. This anger can, and more than likely will, in time be alleviated. I'll be lifted of this burden maybe by simply growing old. Perhaps it will come from the Mirror having such an impact in the Wiccan world that it sends tidal waves crashing down and destroying all the houses of cards within which so many Wiccans' spirits dwell. Perhaps it will be done by Wicca simply losing popularity among the above-average intelligencewise as they search for richer and more significant treasures which are to be found in the occult.
The truth is, folks, I really don't know what's going to happen, and really, I expected a couple of crackpots to tell me I'm a hater. I didn't expect this many, which goes to show that I've resurrected maybe a little too much faith in the human race. Please, dear reader, don't confuse anger and hatred. They are both very powerful weapons when mastered, and very poor masters when served. I and many others believe that I use my anger to my advantage when writing these essays, and that my anger does not use me. That's part of being mature, something that a lot of Neopagans really aren't — well, at least not mentally. But that's a whole 'nother rant altogether.
In conclusion, I would like to say thank you to those who understand the Mirror, our mission and our methods by which we achieve our goals, and I would like to extend my pity and a barrel of fucking monkeys laughing at the idiots who cannot comprehend a fucking word I say because they've donned a pair of blinders and refuse to turn their heads. By the way, the counter's up to 4438. ^_^

Crap Wicca
Yes you! Gardnerian rejects, this one is for you! So let's face it, you really aren't a Wiccan if you're not initiated into the Gardnerian sex ring....errrr cult. As stated in my "What is Wicca" page, Wicca is a very specific religion with very specific rules and beliefs. Either accept that or stop calling yourself Wiccan. Wicca is NOT "whatever you make it." Gerald Gardner would roll over in his grave (if his perpetual boner ever gave in) if he knew what people have done to his religion. Yes, SHAME on you! We can think Raymond Buckland (pbuh) and the Farrer's (and let's not forget "Lady Sheba") for bringing it into the light. The Farrer's, of course, were Alexandrians (the first wanna-be's, but close enough to still be rightfully called Wiccan), and their "witches bible" is still pretty far from the crap that's presented as Wicca these days. As for Raymond Buckland, he went off and warlocked woOoOoOo scary word there, eh Wicclets? Anyways, went off and warlocked and helped expose Wicca through his crappy-ass "Seax Wica" which he pulled from his ass, obviously. The funniest thing about Seax Wica is the Pictish "alphabet" Bucky presents in Buckland's Big Blue Book of Shit. Come on now, a little research would -SHOW- you that the Picts didn't have a written alphabet, and existed for a VERY short amount of time (too short to draw a tradition from especially). From then on, authors have jumped on Wicca like vultures to a carcuss and picked it clean of its tradition and core beliefs and practices. Don't like working nude? DON'T! The magicjkhkhkhkhkhkgkdkxcK (I think I missed a K somewhere) goddess doesn't care! Don't like taking orders? That's OK! We can change shit around, and add this, and take this out, and still call it Wicca, even though it is nothing like the real tradition!
So what am I getting at? Your roots can't be from China, but be a full-blooded American. You can't be a Christian and pray to Krishna, and you CAN'T be a Wiccan and follow some shit you pieced together yourself! The only reason you think you're Wiccan is to try and validate your meaningless lives. You think you need to have a title to BE someone, but guess what, you DON'T! I'm not saying that people who KNOW what REAL Wicca is, and still practice a similar religion are stupid, no, far from it, they're the only "Wiccan" friends I have. They obviously are drawn to the formality and beliefs of Wicca, and can, in my opinion, rightfully, but unofficially call themselves "Wiccan," because that's the religion they're closest too! All those books you see at Barnes & Noble, and BooksAMillion are crap! They're a waste of good trees, and I feel SO SORRY for the tree that was WASTED to print SHIT sold for $14.95! Don't read those books, spend your money on good books. They may be more difficult to find, but one day you'll thank yourself for waiting an extra week for a GOOD book, instead of buying a piece of garbage. I honestly do NOT see how ANYONE can take a book written by someone calling themself "Silver RavingCunt", or better yet, someone who uses her name as a registered trade mark and prances around a certain northern American city in a black robe looking for attention all day seriously! Are you MAD?! Your mother should be slapped for letting you buy that crap! Go join the Catholic church and be a part of something that has some real spiritual maturity.

Morons in the Craft: A Humble Observation
The Obsidian Mirror has existed now for just about forty-five weeks. During this time, my little three-rant excuse of a webpage has exploded into a nexus for the Neopagan counterculture. This essay is the thirty-fifth to reside here, and among the other essays by various colleagues of mine as well as my music, comic and message board, one can visit this site for nearly a week straight and never get bored. I've written some things that have really pissed some people off. My essay Wicca Should Be More Like Satanism had fluffies up in arms, as did We Need Some Rede-B-Gon, as did a few others. This site began basically began as a big fuck-you to the fluffy community in general, and also as a final fuck-you to mildly successful author A.J. Drew, whose pasty haggard face has been permanently stained brown from all the asses he's kissed to publish his mediocre books. He's the first "moron" I'd like to point out by name. He and his happy fluffy entourage, including author Patricia Telesco, have pretty much stirred the same stew over for years on end there at Pagan Nation, formerly Neopagan.com. They beat up nonfluffies who come in to try to reason with them in the same, unblinking, unremorseful manner that they deflect Christian zealots who are desperately trying to save their souls. That board reeks of doubletalk and political games, where if you're not a paid member you are nothing, and if you are a paid member, you have to play a cat-and-mouse game with the other paid members who centre their entire lives around this unproductive message board, as though it's the entire crux of the neopagan cybercommunity.
As you may already know, A.J. and his retinue have declared war on $ilver Ravenwolf. I don't mean to defend Pilfer Rabidfluff in any way, shape or form here, but doesn't this come across as a real sick case of kettlitis here? A.J.'s books (of which I owned two, and currently own one) insist that $RW is only corrupting the Wiccan youth with pipe dreams of pixie dust and magic wands and incessant bashing of Christianity (which is actually true, as my good friend Cassie Noble has attested to here), whilst at the same time he goes around slamming her in his literature and pissing and moaning on his message board about how his city (Columbus, Ohio, USA) is hampering his ability to get his self-righteous tirade out there. I must say, I'm on the city of Columbus' side here. Now, this may be personal vindiction talking — okay, it is — but he doesn't deserve to have his literature published, kind of like Mark Ventimiglia.
I used to think that Ravenwolf was a complete fucking moron. In fact, I have now come to the opinion that she is an extremely shrewd businesswoman and a very clever author. She has connived a series of books that include just enough mysticism to where complete idiots and newbies will believe her to be a (or in some cases, the) most credible source, and left out just enough actual truth to keep said idiots and newbies from actually achieving any sort of magical goal in reality, yet still maintain that feeling of success in their heads. It's absolutely genius. Now, I disagree with the ethics of it, but that's a personal thing. But I digress: while crafting this absolutely daft and clever literature, she's worked up enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life, and enough fame to where she's recognised everywhere she goes. Damn, what a life. And, she's even convinced the serious pagans that she's an absolute moron. Therefore, she is absolved from my list of idiots.
However, there are many who want to be like her. For example, Norm Vogel, who sports his ULC ordination everywhere he goes in order to make himself feel like a religious leader. This man is so hellbent on touting his fucked-up beliefs and opinions as the Gods' unadulterated truth that he's willing to slander everyone in his way. He's even tried to work glamouries on people, that they would find him intelligent and admirable. You can see for yourself what an embarrassment he's made of himself on our message board since he tried to magically attack my mentor. :) It's rather hilarious, if you ask me. He is an idiot in my book.
Another celebrity idiot I'd like to point out and make fun of is Fiona Horne, Australian whore d'oeuvres, whom after failing miserably at being a Gwen Stefani clone musician got into Playboy (and has hence tried to silence anyone who publishes any of her nude photos), and has actually become mildly successful at being a Neopagan author. She has several books published in Australia, and is actually trying to make a name for herself in the States by being on a Survivor-clone on the SciFi channel. Considering she lost, it's not really gonna help her much. She actually took her message board off of her website thanks to yours truly. Dumb bitch couldn't even fight her own battles; she just decided she was going to pawn her administrators (who were formerly my friends) into fighting me for her. Now, these battles (AJ and Fiona) are long since dead and buried, but they continue to try to pass themselves off as serious people, when in fact they're just in it for the money, just like $RW — they just lack the tact to actually pull it off without scratching each others' behinds.
Now that I'm done bitching about people, I'm going to get to the actual message of this essay. When I first began this site, I made hints toward a conspiracy, which I jokingly named the NWO (New Wiccan Orthodoxy), in which a group of authors have conspired to hijack the Wiccan faith and completely transform it from the slightly esoteric, misogynistic, homophobic ceremonial religion which masqueraded an orgy ring as a coven of witches, and transform it into a mass-produced palatable plastic religion that impressionable teens, insecure single mothers and D&D freaks devoid of social lives or sex lives. It sounds far-fetched when you think about it, but this entire "occult" theme that resurged about thirty years ago is really just a way to control people's lives. Why do you think people live their lives according to astrological readings you find in the comics section of your newspaper? Why do you think people hang hex signs on their garages and barns? Why do you think people buy expensive ritual items and obscure herbs as some particular author recommended?
See, there are people out there who try to pass themselves off as magical practitioners and serious pagans, when in fact they're just superstitious. This "NWO" has convinced thousands upon thousands of people that they hold the secrets to the occult, and in fact much of what they purport as occult truth stemmed off as such. But it's no longer what it used to be. Now, it's been watered down into a bunch of superstitions published as fact. There's even a book out there (and hell, maybe several) that have a spell for each day of the year. You're supposed to cast a spell every day, to achieve harmony. It's completely superstitious bullshit. Why do you need to work magic every day if you're a magical practitioner? Do you have to work on pipes every single day if you're a plumber? Why deplete your reserves as such, instead of saving up your potential energy for when you need it the most? Doesn't that seem folly to you?
It's a way to control you. The people I named above are the most obvious examples of what happens when you delude yourself into thinking that superstition equals magic. But the saddest examples are those 16-year-old slightly obese girls who sit alone in their room at night and wave their hands over a candle reading a citation out of an Edain McCoy book in order to make Joe Football Player or Jimmy Street Thug love them...
I'm deeply saddened that these people have come to power over so many Neopagans, and I'd like to go back to the Forties and convince ol' Gerry not to publish his book that started it all. But that's not going to happen; it wouldn't do any good anyway. If it wasn't Wicca, it would have been Hare Krishna or something. People are always looking to escape from reality and enter a fantasy world where everything goes their way and there's someone who knows everything, be it the Pope or AJ Drew or $RW or that one Moonie guy or Bob Dylan or Richard Gere...I heard he was a Buddhist?
As I said, this would be a rant and a tirade, not an actual essay with a crystal clear message and a thesis statement and the whole nine yards. This is formless rambling that, I think, is a little out of place in the blog, and doesn't really belong on the message board either. So blow right over this if you like, and disregard everything I said, and disregard me as some sort of lunatic cracker with a conspiracy theory up his ass. But they're out to control you. Do not believe everything that you read. Do not believe everything an author says. In fact, if an author says anything, IMMEDIATELY question it. Question whether yarrow is indeed a suitable substitute for rose (yes, Scott Cunningham actually said that!). Question whether the Gods will only love you if you have that crystal ball. Question whether your athamé absolutely positively has to have a black handle. Fuck, question whether you need an athamé at all. In fact, why don't you just question everything? It's a lot of hard work, but the moment you relax and give in to what anyone else tells you to do, you sacrifice your individuality, and you cease to be a pagan and instead become a pawn.
And once you become a pawn, in my book, you're a fucking moron. Thank you and goodnight. Wicca™ is Unfit for a Mainstream Following
Something has been on the back burner of the Mirror's collective mind for the past couple of years, and it's time to bring it up and address this once and for all. This position is bound to piss quite a few people off, but it's something that rings frighteningly true: Wicca™ is unfit for a mainstream following.
Wicca™ is growing by leaps and bounds. Even as recently as ten years ago, you had to rely on a few published books that you could only buy at a few stores. You had to travel great distances to buy a few books that barely even glazed over what you were supposed to go through, and you really had to KNOW someone in order to even glean a little look at what Neopaganism had to offer. Now, thanks to the Internet, any idiot with a computer can look up Wicca in Google and get a plethora of information that he can discuss with other idiots on any chat server. And, like any religion that grows by leaps and bounds, there are those few fringe fundamentalists whose rabid foaming at the mouth makes the rest of us look fucking stupid.
I've heard it postulated that we ought to just sit it out and wait for the fluffies and fundies to be culled by other mainstream religions and Wicca™ will stabilize as a legitimate mainstream religion. I disagree with this, and I say that we should NOT purport Wicca™ to be okay for the mainstream, because it's not. Call me an elitist, but as I have said earlier, Wicca™ is not for everyone, especially not the stupid droves that comprise the mainstream. Just as Tool will never be treated like U2, just as A Clockwork Orange will never be treated like Shrek, so Wicca™ should not be treated as some sort of rote where you get up every Sunday and sit in a church for a couple hours because society thinks you're supposed to, and you're a hairy toad if you don't.
Despite (or perhaps directly due to) the loss of its esoteric and mystical qualities, Wicca™ would fail miserably as a mainstream religion ANYWAY. In comparison to other religions, Wicca lacks a central nervous system (and the 13 Ways, Wiccan Rede, and the Threefold Rule do not suffice as a sort of bible, and since most Wiccans™ would be appalled, disgusted and abhorred by the misogynistic qualities of Gardner's Ardanes (you know, that one condition which makes it Wicca and not Wicca™), I doubt they would fly). It lacks a figurehead, such as a pope or synod council, it lacks a hierarchy in which people can feel like they fit in, it lacks a general mission, it lacks a method of advertisement such as proselytism, it lacks that "fear" element to keep the discontents in line, and it lacks any sort of control or discipline. The best that it has are spiritual chicken hawks like Fiona Horne and $ilver Ravenwolf who tell kids that if they buy their one hit book and buy their little teen witch kit or spell tee-shirts, that they will have it all figured out and if they draw a little pentacle on their ex-boyfriend's senior picture and sleep with it under their pillow that poor little Billy will be serenading outside her window that next morning before school and everything will be happily ever after. Wicca™ will never have a papacy, but if you include yourself in this trend towards Wicca™ becoming mainstream, you'll become nothing but a pawn for these authors who will have ascended (descended?) to being the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and Benny Hinn. Trust me, you don't want to be a pawn in someone else's game. Wicca™ should be happy to have its status as the most accessible (read: harmless) "alternative" religion save for Taoism, and it should be wary of growing too far too fast.
Wicca™'s accessibility is already getting on the nerves of Gardnerians and Alexandrians and other traditionalists, who feel that the bubblegum flavour of religious amalgamations is ruining the proud name of Wicca, and the further Wicca™ progresses toward mainstream access, the further it is going to alienate those purists who, despite their elitism, are the reason Wicca™ exists in the first place.
When I started the Mirror, I held an ideal that Wicca™ was worth saving, and by convincing a few key people to put their religious practices under the microscope of common sense that I could almost singlehandedly start a revolution and turn Wicca™ into a beautiful thing. As I pointed out in my previous essay, I've wasted my energy screaming at a fucking wall, and now I see Wicca™ as a sinking ship. My best advice now is to get out while you still can. Let the fluffies and fundies drown, except for the rare few that you will come across that are worth saving. Keep your eye out, because there are people worth saving, and I suggest you do so, because Wicca™ is dying, and it's not going to go down quietly. It's going to achieve near-mainstream status in about a decade or so, I think, and then it's going to fail miserably. And then, we who have liberated ourselves from drowning in our own stupidity will point and laugh at them like we do the losers on American Idol: those who have failed to become the pop icon they longed to be because their attempt was half-assed at best.

THE GREATEST NEOPAGAN CONCEIT
One thing that bothers me is the fact that Neo-Pagans, and those who call themselves Wiccan in particular, are virulently anti-Christian. Even the supposedly more moderate Neo-Pagan elders (who should know better) have made statements to the effect that Neo-Paganism is going to replace Christianity. (Not a very diplomatic expression. Not even an expression that shows any of Neo-Paganism's supposed open-mindedness.) I must confess that such an event, if not coerced, would be fine by me. But frankly, despite the wishful thinking of many people who have probably themselves escaped or left the Christianity of their parents, I find no evidence that Christianity is going to be replaced by anything closely resembling Neo-Paganism. Christianity is not even disappearing, though its influence on several Western European nations has waned considerably in the last hundred years. Within American society, Christianity is stronger now than it has ever been since the founding of the nation.
The New Age movement exhibits a larger degree of influence on American society than any version of Neo-Paganism. But that's only among those who are not strongly attached to Christianity. I hate to break it to some smug Neo-Pagans but Christianity is growing rapidly. It is the fastest growing religion in the world, despite the slow decline of some of the older denominations. Christianity is not going anywhere and we Neo-Pagans are simply going to have to learn to live with them. "What?" I can hear the gasps now. "LIVE with them?" Yes. Live with them. Unless Neo-Pagans are willing to form communities in which they are the majority faith tendency (unlikely even in the best of scenarios, but I'll get to that later), we are just simply going to have to live with them and exhibit some of the (but rarely present with regards to Christians) tolerance and understanding that we claim to hold dear.
Despite the evidence that abounds all around Neo-Pagans, many still adhere to the invalid conceit that theirs is the tendency of the future... "the mammals who are going to replace the dinosaurs," to use Isaac Bonewits' expression. The growing popularity of Wicca (mostly Wicca-lite) notwithstanding, I don't see any evidence that Neo-Paganism will ever become the majority religious tendency anywhere. I could be proven wrong in the future, but I really don't care. I didn't align myself with Neo-Paganism because I felt it to be the wave of the future, or because it was 'alternative,' or because I read some book on Witchcraft and thought "this is me." It took Christianity and Islam hundreds of years of fierce and violent evangelism and expansion to get to the positions of dominance that they now have over vast parts of the Earth. It could take Neo-Paganism at least a couple of generations to come to be even a socially recognized minority. And going around telling everyone, especially everyone who is Christian, that your religions are going to replace theirs is NOT the behavior of an open-minded people (even if by some fluke, it was true). Think about it.
I know this will piss off some of you fellow Neo-Pagans, but the fact is that without viable institutions and communities in the real world, Neo-Paganism could very well be just another fad. Have you ever thought about that? "Institutions?" I can hear you say. "But aren't those what's wrong with Christianity?" No. Flat out. No. Institutions are NOT the problem with any religion. Situations involving power and intolerance are what's wrong with some religions. And Neo-Pagans can be just as power hungry and as intolerant as the people they like to accuse of the same.
You still disagree? You still believe that Neo-Paganism is going to replace Christianity, despite the evidence to the contrary and despite the fact that that belief smacks of all the hatred and intolerance of the Inquisition? Just look at the recent television coverage of Pope John Paul's funeral and of the Roman Conclave to elect another Pope. What has Neo-Paganism in comparison? Every Halloween season, some of the local TV outlets grab a bunch of the local Wiccans to show that all witches aren't evil and aren't a bunch of old sea hags. That's it. Catholicism is treated as the serious business it really is (having over a billion members and more wealth than Bill Gates) while Wicca (and by extension, Neo-Paganism overall) is treated as a quaint 'alternative spirituality' joke. In this climate, how can anyone of you stand there and tell me that Neo-Paganism of any flavor is going to be the religion of the future that replaces Christianity?
And don't kid yourselves either. Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic version, has weathered hundreds of years of wars, social upheavals, revolutions, schisms, etc. Rome, as the center of the world's largest religious institution, has seen all this shit come and go before. They have seen Pagan revivals. They have seen secularism come and go. They have withstood monarchies and democracies. And they have adapted to the so-called modern Age of Science. Until we Neo-Pagans have been around long enough to get the same sort of experience, how can we even be stupid enough to say our religions will replace anything? How? Because we are a conceited and vain lot. I know we don't like to admit this, but in my experience of living with other Neo-Pagans, this is the truth. I have seen community potential absolutely wasted because of pathetic petty power struggles among people who claim to know better. I have seen little Witchcraft inquisitions break out. I have been witness to all sorts of the same behaviors we Neo-Pagans accuse the supposedly evil mono-theists of. I am sick of the bullshit. Frankly, cut the crap.
I practice Neo-Paganism and I don't really care about what the Christian neighbors think unless they come over to ask me what the hell I am doing and why I am doing it. I also really don't care about the whole "faddish get on the bandwagon" attitude I see exhibited by some of the rest of you. I didn't become Neo-Pagan to get on some bandwagon of alternative spirituality, and to be honest if you are truly Pagan and not just shopping around for the most marketable faith, neither did the rest of you.
I have seen Christians come along to fire celebrations and rock it up with the best of us, all the while giving praise to their Lord Jesus, while we gave our praises to our gaggle of Gods and spirits and it was ALL GOOD. In situations like these there is a vision of hope for the future. It is called heresy, the Greek word for "choice." If Neo-Paganism is to truly grow and become its 'own thing' it is time to stop trying to compete with or against Christianity. It is time we stop worrying about the other religions and their histories and to simply start doing 'our own thing.' It is time to stop being so bobdamned provincial-minded and exclusionary and learn to really respect other people's religious choices. It is time for us Pagans to practice what we preach and stop being so hate-filled to the point where we could actually conceive of having glee at the illusion that someone else's religion is disappearing. I can hear some of you Wicca-lite adherents start to sneer and say "But Christianity did all those horrible things to us." Yep. Uh-uh. Sure they did. When? You ever hear what you sound like when you go on like that? To start, let's identify the real problem many of you have with your Christian sisters and brothers: Intolerance. And (cue the pithy truism music here) this is a problem with all of us. I am sure that their God and all of our Gods would agree on this.
-Irreverend Hugh, KSC (April 18th, 2005)

OPEN MINDS ARE DANGEROUS
It has become my observation that completely open minds are just as dangerous, if not more so, than completely closed minds. We pagans are or know someone who is always pissing and moaning about Christians and how evil and closed-minded and oppressing they are. We're always bitching about how if they opened their minds and saw how wrong they are that they'd be better and probably become pagan.
I can't deny that I share this belief. But I also don't hold valid its antonym (which a lot of pagans do) that instead of closing yourself off to new ideas you must open yourself up to every one that you encounter. I know it's wrong to think there's only ONE right way, but is it then right that one should believe that EVERY way is the right way? I don't think so, bub. The problem with absolute tolerance is that you end up compromising morals.
Here are a few things I believe are DEAD WRONG and I will not tolerate:
The belief that there's only one right way to believe.
The belief that it's okay for adults to have sex with children.
The belief that it's right to bash Christians for the very things we are guilty of ourselves (So you bitch about Christians and their Bible? How many pagans do you know that DON'T have (or wish they had) a crapload of literature? I don't know ANY. And most of them RELY on their meta-book collection as their fucking spiritual spine. You don't see the hypocrisy in that?). The belief that Pagan converts are somehow better than the Christians they used to be, when these same pagans still sound and act like Christians with their entirely black-and-white views and limited capability to understand foreign concepts.
The list could go on and on. There are many tenets of others' beliefs that I have encountered that I feel are complete and utter bullshit. And while I don't go around burning them at the stake for their beliefs I feel are wrong, I do address them for myself. I don't think I'd be caught dead reading and loving Silver Ravenwolf's works anymore. I don't think I'd let myself join a mindless suicide cult. I wouldn't put up with being forced into any sort of religious practice at all. And I sure as fuck won't allow a flock of mindless fluffy vegetarian hippie Aquarian Wiccans to tell me that I need to tolerate their completely passivist-pacifist point of view and every other point of view that comes my way. If I won't put up with child molestors and I won't put up with Mormon cult freaks, and I won't listen to the First Baptist Church minister preaching at my doorstep (true story), then I sure as hell ain't gonna be putting up with anything else that I feel to be wrong. And you can call me a hypocrite, but you'd only be a hypocrite yourself if you did that. So. Have morals. Don't put up with bullshit. And you will singlehandedly make the world (at least infinitessimally) a better place.

FUCK META BOOKS
I've been doing this whole pagan thing for a few years now, and something has been coming to my attention time and again. I started out as a complete clueless newbie printing spells off Geoshitties pages. In college I began reading Ravenwolf and went on a complete fluffy bender. I wisened up after a couple of really hard falls and the wisdom of a good friend. I went through an anti-fluff phase where I was very choosy about the authors I subscribed to, which authors to pick fights with, etc. I have now reached a bit more of a moderate point. I haven't written an essay in a couple of months (to some people's dismay and others' elation) because I've been focused on learning a bit more about the world.
Throughout my late adolescence and early adulthood, I probably spent anywhere from $500 to $750 in metaphysical books alone. Ya know what? I realized they were saying the same four things over and over again. In retrospect, I didn't learn SHIT from books. I learned from experience, from trial and error, from common sense and reasoning, from the advice of my friends and mentors, and from my gut instinct. I gleaned very little wisdom from books; all I really got out of the deal was a slight grasp of the Egyptian language and a couple of group psychology ideas.
So why does the Neopagan community seem to be so bent around books? How come it is that Neopagan celebrities (Sully Erna aside) are all authors? Not TV personalities, rock stars, political figures, professional athletes, etc. AUTHORS. Creators of BOOKS that say nothing more than any other five fucking books out there do. Why is this? Because people will buy books. People want the easy way to do anything, and are willing to part with fifteen or twenty greenbacks to get it. Other people see this is an opportunity to make a profit. The progression of this really isn't that hard to deduce.

SKEPTICAL WITCHCRAFT IS NOT AN OXYMORON
I don't believe in ghosts. I don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in gnomes. I don't believe in spirits, demons, angels, elves, vampires, succubi or werewolves. Perhaps it comes from having an atheist father, a secular schooling and a scientific inclination. Perhaps it comes from the fact I've never seen a ghoulie. Perhaps it's even fallout from when I ceased to believe in Santa Claus. I don't know. But, for whatever reason, I do not feel that ghosties or fae or any other form of noncorporeal life form that used to be human can exist outside an electrical lattice. But I do believe in magic.
I get a lot of shit for not believing in otherkin, and there are a lot of people who would rather call me closed-minded than accept that I may just be a little too cynical and skeptical for my own good. I don't know. In fact, the reason that this bothers me so is that I don't know. I've never seen a fairy or a ghost; how can I say whether they exist or not? I've nothing to prove them true nor false, and I've chosen to "believe it when I see it".
In fact, my skepticism seems to fly in the face of everything Neopaganism stands for: the embrace of mythologies over dogmas, the use of the magical over the mundane, the celebration of the Earth we live on rather than a pipe dream of some paradise up above. I can even understand where their grievance is coming from. But how come a witch cannot be a skeptic in the average Neopagan's eyes? How come Neopagans can't accept that, yes, I can work metaphysical properties science cannot understand, but I don't believe in vampires or werewolves?
Look, folks. What makes me a witch is that I am skilled at working magic. No more, no less. I don't need to believe that the Mists of Avalon is nonfiction to function in everyday life with a little hint of magic. I'm of the opinion that, when I see a ghost or fairy or vampire, I'll change my mind. Just because I don't believe in something doesn't mean I deny any possibility of its existence. After all, my mom could be right and there could be a burning lake of sulphur and brimstone with my name written alllll over it. I cannot deny this - after all, I'm not dead and I haven't seen such lake - but by the same token, I can't believe in it either. I believe in magic because I have seen its effects, I have been the cause of such effects, and I am practiced enough to do what I need to do to survive, mundane or not, and experienced enough to know that I don't need to perform a ritual at every event of my life.
I know I'm not the only one out there who doesn't believe in ghosts or fae or other such beings. I'm still nice enough to nod my head when someone prattles on about how "omg my spirit guide came to me and told me i was gonna meet a new boyfriend" or text-messages me on the cell phone about how a ghost followed her all the way down to Detroit and she's scared to get out of the car. I'm still mature enough to accept that I might be wrong and such otherkin might exist and I just happen not to have seen one yet. But just the same, I don't believe in them, and that doesn't make me ANY less of a witch.
Maybe there's still a little punk left in me, but fuck this system. This isn't genuine. Llewellyn is not out there producing books to better the Neopagan community. They're producing books because preteens want to spend their parents' money on it. This isn't metaphysics they're exercising; it's economics! It's capitalism! Just take a look at the plethora of authors out there that don't have anything worthwhile to say, from Silver Ravenwolf to DJ Conway to AJ Drew to Konstantinos...and tell me they really have something worthwhile to say with every single production they have? Tell me they're not just writing because they can, because they're contracted to, because the authors want a little bit of that glory and the publishers want to make a little cash?
And then there's the "indie" publishers — the non-Llewellyn publishers i.e. Crossing Press, Spiral Publishing, etc. whom are either too small to promote well or too unoriginal to stand out. Or maybe there really is only so much that can be said before you're reiterating the same shit over and over again? I don't know. I don't have the answers to this question; I'm not an established author (although I did try) and I'm not a publisher. Maybe someone can help shed some light on this.
But all that being what it is, from my experience coupled with common sense, my advice is thus: Fuck books. You can learn a million times more from the trees themselves than from mass produced words printed on their murdered, processed flesh.

SOURCE: http://obsidianmirror.cjb.net/

PSEUDO HISTORY: FLUFF BUNNIES AND WICCA

The following was originally a post on our mailing list in September 2000. In the interests of allowing more people to see it, we are presenting it as an editorial on our web site. The following is long and a bit rambling. It is just some thoughts I have had going around in my head, and thought I would put down for personal clarity. These are just my opinions. I don't wish to imply that I have a unique and correct insight that others miss. This is simply the way I have seen things. I thought I would post this and give others the opportunity to comment one way or the other.
It is not really meant as a rant against fluff bunnies. Rather some observations of how and why things have gone the way they have in Wicca, and how I feel it effects me as an individual. I would really like to get some others' perspectives on the whole evolution of things, even from those non-Wiccans here.
I have been noticing a few things about Wicca and the changes it has been going through over the past decade or so. I first began to get involved with Wicca in 1982. I felt it would round out my spiritual practices, and it did.
I have to admit that one of the things that appealed to me about it were the mystery and the fact that it directly addressed some of the most primal aspects of human existence; life, death and sex.
At that time the more vocal debates about the origin of Wicca were just getting into swing. There had always been controversy I suppose, but up until then it was mostly debate within or between occult groups, and an occasional article in one of the few Pagan publications. So, for the most part, at that time people were still being taught the idea that Wicca was an ancient tradition that went back practically to Paleolithic times. That the form may have changed, but what we were doing was in direct decent of what our primitive (yet spiritually advanced it seems) ancestors did. I know that for me and the circle of individuals I associated with, this so called ancient link and sense of antiquity given to what we were doing lent a sense of awe when we entered a circle. It produced a certain mindset that opened us to the wondrous. Gardner may have reworked some stuff and supplemented it, but as far as we were concerned he was a Witch who's practices could be traced to the farthest reaches of human memory. He was in touch with something that modern man, living in modern society, had been mostly cut off from. We few who were following this path were trying to reconnect to something ancient, enlightening and yes, powerful.
There were some good books out. Even those of us lucky enough to find a coven supplemented our practice with stuff from these books. But these books were written by people like us, who felt we were dealing with something ancient and mysterious. They were not best sellers, and most bookstores did not carry them. Searching these books out lent a certain sense of adventure to the whole learning process.
Gardner had talked about life and death in plain terms. Death is still a subject that we avoid in most western societies, but here was a guy who explained that birth, death, and sex were all a part of the great cycle we, as animals on the Earth, were a part of. It was a philosophy that included both the base and the sublime. It dealt with the body and its functions, sweat, blood and the dirt under our feet. But also the spirit, the search for transcendence, the union with the higher forces of the universe.
We thought about things we otherwise would not have. We celebrated dirt, sex and death. There was joy in it, but also something dark. Not in an evil way, but in the sense that we were putting our minds to things our society labels as impolite conversation, morbid topics, and things better left unexamined.
As time progressed things changed. At first it seemed like a very good change to me. More books. Books actually geared to solitaires. Books suggesting self initiation is ok. And eventually books that dealt with the idea that the history we were being told about our links to the distant past, the numbers killed in the "Burning Times", the stories of who were witches secretly in the past and the things they had done, were not accurate. That some were outright lies. That Gardner made it all up.
I did not care, and neither did most of those I knew. So Gardner made it up? He would not be the first to create a false history to give validation to his creation. It did not change the fact that what he created answered a spiritual need for some of us. So what if some of the awe at the thought of the antiquity was gone? So what if some of the mystery was lost when numerous variations of our secret ceremonies were being published in books for anyone to read? At first it seemed that those who were learning on their own from just books and experimentation were doing well. They were just as dedicated, and often just as educated. They also tended to have a streak of creativity that was breathing new life into Wicca. They were making it more accessible and understandable. This was, to me, a good thing. If Wicca could help people searching for something missing in their spiritual lives then I was all for it. We were still part of something different. Something that may becoming available to more people. But due to its frank nature, and dealing with certain aspects of life that most preferred not incorporate in to their spiritual thinking, it was not going to be the path for very many despite this deluge of information being easily accessable.
But as the history was refuted and the secrecy was stripped away things started to change. There were those who felt that since Gardner made it up it was fair game to change the things they did not like. Fine to certain extent. I am all for people modifying to fit their needs, to a point. But in my opinion some of those things that have been changed are some of the things that make Wicca what it is. The first casualties were the Death and Sex. Birth was ok, and you can't get away from the death completely, but it was drastically reduced in importance and brushed under the rug.
Magic, in terms of spell work, started to take precedence over religion. I never understood this since you don't need the religion to do the spell work. But it seems many would be Witches and Magicians wanted to seize on the concept of "White Witchcraft" in a way that seemed less threatening to others or themselves.
The problem is that Gardner's Wicca was not not threatening (please forgive the double negative). It was, in fact, rather radical and dangerous in its own way. Not inherently dangerous to the individual practicing it, but dangerous in a societal sense because it provided a worldview that was significantly different from that of Western society as a whole. At lest that is how it seemed to me in my younger years. The changes being made were in order to make it more appealing as a possible spiritual path to a wider bunch of people, and more acceptable to society at large.
The books coming out were "lighter". Less Sex and Death. Not only were certain practices that were not appealing to a large number of people called unnecessary, old fashioned or optional: they were not mentioned at all.
I was recently reading a review of some Wicca books on amazon and found people criticizing Raymond Buckland's early books. Not criticizing his writing style or overly authoritarian tone. They were criticizing his use of bondage and scourging during initiation rites. His discussion of sexuality as sacred. His explanation of the Great Rite in fact, not symbolism. There were those calling him sick and perverted.
I was floored at this. All these things are part of the Wicca Gerald Gardner created. They have been a part since long before I was born. And here are people who have no clue of that. They call themselves Wiccan, but look upon some of the most basic concepts of Wicca as sick and perverted.
With the discarding of the Pseudo history Gardner created for Wicca there seems to have been a loss of understanding of why he did things the way he did. I have come to realize that the pseudo history contained a lot of the myth and symbolism that defined the message of Wicca. Joseph Campbell once said that the problem with Christianity is that it takes it's myths too literal. In doing so the symbolic message contained in those myths is lost to many. In the case of Wicca we have discarded the myth altogether, and with it the core of what it is all about. I try not to be judgmental, but I have a hard time seeing these "fluff bunnies" as Wiccan. Not because I am an elitist who thinks that every one who does not agree with my version of Wicca is a heretic. But these are people who don't even have a clue they are disagreeing with the original teachings of Wicca. Wicca is a religion of Death, Birth and Sex, yet these people are trying to remove these very things, or at lest trying to change the concepts to the point that Gardner himself would not recognize.
The books are teaching something very different than what I was taught. They are more about spells with a touch or religion thrown in. They are about casting circles and consecrating the pretty new wand you bought at the local occult shop. The dirt and blood and sweat are gone. The extremes of life, the pain and joy, celebrated and cherished in Wicca have been converted to more acceptable and palatable middle of the road point of view.
The few concepts that have survived because they were acceptable enough not to be changed or removed have been adhered to with such ferocity that their true meaning and purpose have been lost in rabid fundamentalism. Like most fundamentalists these Wiccans hold certain things about their religion as absolutes while brushing the aspects they are not comfortable with under the rug. The old "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" syndrome.
The mystery religion of Wicca is now Pop Culture. Wicca (in it's lightened form) is hip. It is on television. Or at lest the term Wicca is. Those who are supposed to be Wiccan on these shows bear even less resemblance to Gardner's concepts than the new crop of fluff Wiccans. We have become trendy and trite. The lightening up of Wicca has not really brought us in to the mainstream of religion in the U.S. We are just a fad to some, a joke to others, and just as evil to those who look for evil under every stone.
I am starting to feel that Wicca, as I have always thought of it, is dead. There is a new Wicca in town and it bears little resemblance. I am reluctant to use the term anymore for myself. I find that if I have to describe myself in terms of religion I fall on my roots and simply say Buddhist. At least that typically gets some respect. Or just call myself a general Pagan and leave it at that. I am not a strict traditionalist. I think change can be a good thing. But change something too much and it is no longer the same thing. It is fine for folks who don't feel comfortable skyclad to wear robes, but don't turn around and call the skyclad folks perverted. It is fine to forgo scourging in initiations, but don't assume that it was there just for kicks. Try to understand the reason it was there and replace it with something that achieves the same effect in a way more acceptable to you. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
This new, new religion of Wicca is not for me. The old, new religion of Wicca was more my cup of tea, but there is no place for it anymore it seems. What is a middle of the road Pagan/Buddhist to do? I don't fit in with the strict British Traditionalists who accept every word of Gardner as holy write, and I don't want to fit in with the fluff bunnies. I don't want to abandon this part of my spiritual life. My core is Buddhist, but my outlook is often very Pagan. Change can be grand, but change can also suck. It all depends on what way the wind is blowing I guess.

SOURCE: http://www.ecauldron.com/wiccarant.php

Why I Don't Like Scott Cunningham

Michael Kaufman writes:
Hmm.. I have two Llewellyn books, the aforementioned Celtic Magic and Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. While I would agree with you on Conway, I found Cunningham to be somewhat decent. Throughout the book, he kept repeating that what he laid out should be taken as the authority, or ‘the' way of doing something. And encouraged imagination and creativity in the rites. The book, on a whole, seemed very open minded which gives it at least one plus.
So, I guess what I'm saying, er, asking is: considering you allow for some ‘striking exceptions' [to the general rule that books published by Llewellyn are usually awful], would this count as one of them, in your opinion?
No. I agree with what Ian said -- by pushing the do-your-own-thing definition of Wicca, Cunningham contributed substantially to the dilution and degradation of Craft tradition. Right now, it seems like three quarters of the so-called Wiccans in America think that "Wicca" is simply a euphemism for "make up your own religion as you go along." That's not wholly due to Cunningham's work, but he was certainly a major contributor. I don't mind his books on magic and spellcraft, but whenever he attempted to deal with Wicca as a religion, he consistently seemed to miss the point.
His books present an extremely toned-down, Disneyfied version of the Craft which is completely lacking in any recognition of the dark side of nature, life, or the human psyche. He went so far overboard in trying to make the Craft respectable that he made it insipid, boring, and, in my opinion, dangerously unbalanced. Polarity is one of the key theological concepts in the Craft, if not the key. And the most crucial polarity is that between the life force and the death force, Eros and Thanatos if you will (one writer put it bluntly as "Witches worship sex and death"). In his incessant attempts to portray Wicca as a "life-affirming religion" he avoided or whitewashed any recognition of the other side of this very central polarity, and thereby ensured that the version of the Craft he presented had very little to offer anyone whose life hasn't been a bed of roses. The world we live in can be scary, dangerous, and depressing. A religion that offers no vision of the world except a bland, uniform niceness doesn't speak to the experience of those realities. Serious Craft training isn't easy, comfortable or painless. It involves facing down your own inner demons, your shadow side if you want to get Jungian about it, confronting dangerous realities, and learning how to live as a fully conscious, fully alive, fully aware individual -- which means being fully open to the pain and terror of the world, as well as to its beauty and joy. This is what I don't see in Cunningham's work -- his version of Craft might be appropriate in some idealized world, but not in this one. Just my opinion, of course, but hey -- you did ask. Now, as for what I do consider exceptions, the following come to mind: Freya Aswynn's Leaves of Yggdrasil. You've probably read a lot about this one here already. Chas Clifton's Witchcraft Today series. Like all anthologies, these are a mixed bag, but there's more than enough good stuff to make them quite worthwhile.
Aidan Kelly's Crafting the Art of Magic. The first book to make a detailed argument for Wicca being of 20th century origin. Kelly's arguments are certainly not flawless -- he frequently lets his passion for his topic overrule logic and common sense -- but it's well worth reading, albeit critically. (Note: I would also strongly recommend Don Frew's critique of Kelly, soon to be available on this site.)
Ellen Cannon Reed's The Witches' Qabala (two volumes). Alan Richardson's 20th Century Magic and the Old Religion, an edited collection of the magical diaries of Christine Hartley and Charles Seymour, plus the text of a previously unpublished magical lecture by Seymour. Hartley and Seymour were probably the most pagan-oriented of the early 20th century ceremonialists, and Aidan Kelly claims they may have been two of the founding members of Gerald Gardner's coven -- although after that initial claim, he proceeds to totally ignore the contributions they may have made due to his obsession with crucifying Gardner.
Valerie Worth's The Crone's Book of Words and The Crone's Book of Wisdom. Not about Wicca per se; it's more made-up folk magic, but she has a real knack for crafting rhymes and spells that really sound like they ought to have been passed on to you by some little old lady in a cottage in the deep dark woods... There's probably others, but these are the main ones that I can think of offhand. None of them are flawless, but all are, in my opinion, worth buying despite the Llewellyn name. Déithe duit,
Liath Cadhóit
(a.k.a Lynna Landstreet)

WICCAUK site Censors open debate about Christian Clergy Abuse.
A study in ongoing Wiccan ignorance?

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A response to dictatorial actions on WICCAUK forum

(As presented to PAN by pagan activist ‘PETJ’)

I recently opened the thread "Clergy Abuse" on the Wiccauk site in good faith as this matter is absolutely essential for all committed Wiccans and other occultist minorities to fully understand.

For years the Church has been seeking ridiculous cases of disproved Satanic or pagan ritual abuse of children. This has led to many innocent families having their kids taken into care it has also cost the UK taxpayer twenty million WASTED pounds.

My thread was presented in good faith to highlight the sad fact that is there now so much hypocrisy and double standards against our faith systems, whilst the blinkered authorities persistently allow the Church (all denominations included) to conveniently sweep their growing child abuse cases under the carpet.

Please understand that I am certainly NOT anti-Xtian in any way I just wanted to point out the way the authorities always seem to defend the Church yet defame us when it comes to the subject of paedophilic abuse.

I actually 'care' about the poor victims and have had much experience helping folk who were accused of SRA.
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For my troubles in freely accentuating this odious situation, which is also reported in the press nearly each week, I have incredibly had my thread BANNED by 'Janika', an events co-ordinator on this forum. Will she also make efforts to ban the National Press reporting this topic?
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My prime sympathy lies with innocent children and she should realise that her unfair actions against me will do them no more favours than those fostered by the Church authorities in question. For far too long this sham has been swept under the rug and for a member of this forum to attempt to do the same due to personal reasons is thoughtless and despicable.

I am very sorry indeed to hear about Janika's own earlier abuse but 'personal' problems and hurt are certainly NOT a good enough reason to take such undemocratic and dictatorial actions against another member on this forum who only wants to help others understand the ongoing situation. Taking things out on me will not help her in any way!

Ye Gods, what CAN we debate if not vital issues in the press today?

Is this an adult Wiccan site for serious and sensible debate or have we got to keep our mouths firmly 'shut' and pretend that the world outside is always nice and friendly?

I believe that Janika is being most unfair and un-thoughtful on this issue and her hasty actions simply bring the site and its moderation process into the realms of a laughing stock.

I did absolutely NOTHING to insult her yet this person (who sits in a position of power herein) sees fit to berate me out of hand just because she deplores the subject matter!. Surely it is she who is truly out of order?

I also wish to know if her censorship on my thread was taken after consultation with other mods or just as a one-side, knee-jerk reaction to her own emotional situation.

I believe that the latter is the case as logic would seem to prove that her strange and unwarranted anger against my efforts was based on a personal agenda!

I do not wish to be silenced by her into one-to-one debate (like she demanded in her response to my last, now banned, thread) as this is a matter of principle and freedom.

I 'sincerely' urge other mods etc, to review her unbelievably tyrannical actions, against me as a well-meaning fellow member, if this site is ever to be taken seriously.

Just banning a thread, point blank, out of personal reasons is Not the way to run a democratic forum!

Talk about "Shooting the Messenger." I reiterate that I am very 'sorry' to hear about her troubles (yet we all have them in some way) but she should not let this affect her judgement and ability to run a fair-minded site. Can she NOT see this?

If I can help her to overcome her past troubles then I would be most glad to do so yet insulting me without any good reason is just not helpful to anyone.

If mods take her side in this matter (which to me would be highly illogical and immature) then I politely suggest they present a long list of subjects that are to be totally censored on the site. Member need to know if serious debate is permitted!

A sincere 'apology' would not go amiss either from Janika as it is she would is clearly in the wrong on this matter!

I fully intend to forward this response to as many contacts, forums, human rights groups, etc as possible as this is such a weighty issue.

Wiccan censorship is deplorable and especially when it affects such matters as the protection of victims of abuse!

Thank you for your time.

Blessings to all for spring
-----------------------------------
PAN strongly suggests that WICCAUK and any other such sites that act like this with their own members should start acting in a much more adult fashion. They have a very serious responsibility to educate and enlighten the trusting people who come into their realm about essential social issues that really concern today's occultists.

Wiccans, like other occultists, have a firm duty to themselves and their pagan brothers and sisters in the Craft to teach themselves about the suppressive, fundamentalist forces that seek to defame their faiths on a daily basis.

Being ignorant of the basic issues that effect paganism has sadly led to more pagan families ending up with their children being placed on 'AT RISK' registers than any other single fact! Unfortunately, many of today's Wiccan forums prove that a great many occultists are totally naive and plenty have no knowledge at all of the fact that only a few years ago certain SRAM - promoting fundie MPs in the UK almost managed to outlaw witchcraft. Wiccans/pagans who control their own forums should be making new members fully aware of these essential facts for their own future benefit not pretending that the world is all milk and honey.

Groups like PAN and the SAFF have been doing the vital work for paganism for numerous years and it's high time that others now pulled their fingers out and helped out in the noble campaign of the protection of our beliefs.

SOURCE: http://www.patregan.freeuk.com/wiccauk.htm

Source: (http://www.whywiccanssuck.com/twessay.html)

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