posted August 11, 2004 01:01 PM         

How sad that a fresh thriving religion has grown into to an all out war against its own believers especially the newcomers. How sad that it's become divided, and people are screaming you're a Fluffy Bunny, no I'm not, you're a Fluffy Bunny! How sad is that? Well that is what happens when you call yourself a religion, things begin to break apart, and you head off into different branches. I'm NOT religious, I respect others who follow a religion, but I turn away from stupid politics such as this. I'm a young girl, who knows a lot about Astrology and Sprituality. I'm very well educated, and I believe that all religions lead to a dead end. Listen to the voice within. I'm afraid for the Wiccan "religion" I sense a downfall over petty differences!

When it comes to the dark side of life, and embracing the evil within us, I must agree to an extent. For instance, I believe that all of us should master some form of Martial Arts, we must not fear violence, because what we fear will come to us. When it comes to all forms of evil, well we all have the power to Spiritually protect ourselves.

I'm not religious, but it makes me want to pray. -Madonna

posted August 12, 2004 12:44 PM         

I truely enjoyed reading your post. I have felt this way about Wicca for years. Most wiccians that I know are solitary practionars of the Craft for the reasons that you have posted.

posted August 18, 2004 07:16 PM         

I'm a Pagan... dabbled in Wicca for a while. There's a book out there called To Ride the Silver Broomstick that I found a great place to start.

I'm a totally solitary (Neo)Pagan now... could change.. you never know. Seems I'm always evolving spiritually and changing as I learn.

I got out of the Wiccan circle because of all of the "my ism is better than your ism" BS. It's too much to deal with.

posted August 18, 2004 10:54 PM         

LibraSparkle, you must have seen The Craft, right? I know it was a fictional movie, but it certianly portrayed the kind of behaviour that I'm talking about. A good movie about how power can corrupt.

P.S. There was a website that condemned anything written by Silver Ravenwolf, because to them she was hurting the religion. What religion? It seems to me that everyone just does their own thing under the belief of God/dess.

posted August 23, 2004 05:54 PM         

I haven't heard of seen that website. Personally, I really enjoyed her book. She broke things down and gives a lot of excellent advice. The book isn't so good for someone who already has knowledge of the craft... but it's excellent for someone who is new to the whole idea of it.

posted September 01, 2004 01:29 PM         

I am a witch who follows the Reclaiming tradition. The authors of that site seem to take special pleasure in slandering my fellow witches.

posted September 01, 2004 03:57 PM         

i like witches ....very in touch with the sacred.

you follow the work of Starhawk, is that correct? i've read a little of her website and find her intriguing.

would you care to discuss what it is about her style that you like? is she wiccan or not? i think she sounds very good. i tried to order one of her books recently, but my credit card was too full. oops. i'll try again soon though.

please share!

posted September 01, 2004 07:41 PM         

_To Ride a Silver Broomstick_ was one of the first books on the craft that I read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so facinating that it spurred me to investigate the topic further. I found Starhawk's _Spiral Dance_ soon after and that resonated with me even more. When I flip through Ravenwolf's books now, they definetly strike me as alittle elementary but certainly a valuable book for beginners. I can see why she and others get this label as being 'fluffy bunnies' or whatever but I think that whole mentality is immature, counter-productive and divisive.

Talaith! It's soo good to hear from you.. it's been awhile. I hope you are well.

What is it that I like about Starhawk? hmm.. it's hard to remember exactly what it was that caught my attention in the first place about her. I liked the simplicity of the rituals in _The Spiral Dance_, it seemed more 'natural' somehow to me than some of the other books I read. I wasn't drawn much towards the heavy ritual of Gardenerians and the like. I soon discovered that Star was about more than just doing Witchcraft out in the woods or in the safety of a home. She's very politically active and takes the magic right out into the streets during protests. I fell in love with the Reclaiming tradition (of which Starhawk is simply one of the more vocal founding members-NOT the sole creator by any means.) because they not only see the earth as the living body of the Goddess but are willing to take solid action in defense of Her in the face of such callous destruction as is being wrought upon Her today. I also found it to be an incredibly eye-opening experience to read Star's other books that delve into the nature of power. (_Dreaming in the Dark_ and _Truth or Dare_)

What really endeared me to Starhawk though, was her accessiblity. She's not some remote author but instead is really involved in community and it's really easy to get to know her. I first met her as a student when I attended the Earth Activist Training in N.California to study magic, activism and permaculture. She co-teaches it with Penny Livingston-Stark and Erik Olsen and can't recommend the experience enough. It was life-changing for me. Since then I've attended other events where I've gotten to know her better. It's amazing what a bonding experience working magic in the midst of a police riot can be.

That is not to say that a person has to be willing to protest in the street to walk the Reclaiming path. There is a large segment of the community that does magical support from home and is really involved in the Witchcamp community- the spokes of which are scattered throughout the world.

posted September 02, 2004 11:25 PM         

and i hope to learn more about permaculture myself...

i think what interested me about Starhawk is her approach to the Goddess.

posted October 14, 2004 12:12 PM         

i'm waiting for spiral dance to arrive in the mail.

i'm looking for more mary summer rain books, so i'll try to find earth path when i next do a book ordering!