posted October 27, 2008 11:25 PM         

Also by the same author are "Before You Cast a Spell" and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism"; the former discusses the ethics of spell-casting, and McColman personally objects casting love spells, and I totally agree with him. According to him, despite the popularity of love spells, among other spells, such as healing spells, money spells, banishing spells- he thinks love spells, using magick to make the one you fall for fall in love with you, is manipulation for the other person's free will, and that already violates the Wiccan ethics, for the first phrase you'll encounter in Wicca is "If it harms none, do what you will"- sounds very simple, but it is a strict rule to follow- you need to take care not to hurt yourself, and others, either directly or indirectly, in order to exercise your free will. There are many considerations to be taken before casting any spell, and this book talks about what true magick is- love is the true magick. As for the latter book, it belongs to the "Complete Idiot's Guides" series and is for the layperson to take a glance at the main diversions of nature spirituality- Shamanism, Wicca and Druidism. It's a very well-written book for those who are interested in the pagan practices.

Wicca is a beautiful religion that originates from revived ancient European witchcraft; it focuses on Goddess-worship and is women-friendly. There are many traiditions of Wicca who view the Goddess, the Goddess and the God, the goddesses and gods differently, and that's how another pagan saying goes here: "Agree to disagree"- respect the beliefs of your fellow Wiccans/witches, or just other people, that are different from your own. Wicca also emphasizes "Perfect love and perfect trust"- love and trust being the mainstay of the Wiccan way of life.

If you feel at ease while in nature, feel wonderful, "at home", comfortable and can even sense some kind of vibrations or the presence of spirits of some feeling close to that, the chances are you are a natural witch/Wiccan, or pagan, for that matter. To my mind, The Goddess manifests herself as nature and all life there is in nature, the land, the soil, all the creation grown from the soil, the water such as lakes, rivers, creeks, and the ocean. The God is the son of the Goddess, and also the Goddess's lover, husband, mate; he manifests himself as the sun, the wind, the clouds, the rain, the thunder and the lightning. Together the Goddess and the God co-rule the universe, and their children are goddesses and gods as well.

Wiccans love nature, and many of whom participate in environmental, ecological activities as a way to honor the Goddess; the publications aims at destigmatization most of all. Although I am not a witch/Wiccan and I do not plan to become one, among all the religions I have come across with, Wicca wins my respect. In my view, joining a religious group should not be for seeking comfort, but for seeking the truth- the truth of humanity, the truth of existence, the truth of the universe. I find all the religions have their blindspots, fatal flaws and do not possess the truth of humankind, of the spiritual plane, of the origin of all life and existence, only some ideologies, here and there that are worth adopting; but Wicca, as far as I'm concerned, comes very close.

D

posted October 31, 2008 01:29 PM         

Just this morning, on my Spiritual New Year's for sake, there were Jehovas Witnesses prowling my neighborhood...well, they know better than to come to my house.

Not only do I lecture them on freedom of religion and beliefs, I educate them about tresspassing and the laws that protect homeowners in Texas...

Live and let live, and to have to explain, in written text someone else's beliefs is just plain sad.

posted November 01, 2008 12:03 AM         

For me, it is Samhain (pronounced ['sau-in] ; ['sau-ain]; [SOW-wen] or [sa-VEEN]) instead of Halloween. It is time to honor the dead, our loved ones who have passed on...

Your reply gave me a slightly different viewpoint on the matter of educating the public on Wicca/witchcraft and promoting Wicca. The number of the population with a monotheistic Christian background in the USA is massive, and it's astonishing; my local English language radio station (hosted by American expatriots), and the only English language radio station in Taiwan (where I grew up and live, but not my homeland. I am ethnic Japanese) have been celebrating Halloween. What really drove me up the wall is when I heard them having their special coverage for the holiday (for me, once again, it's Samhain), they said something like "When the witches and wizards come out and..."

But no! That's distortion! Both male and female Wiccans are called a witch. Worse still, yesterday ,while I was listening to the radio, the DJ asked:

"What is a woman who practices magick called?"

The news broadcaster replied: "Witch."

The DJ then asked "What is a male called who does the same thing, then?"

The news broadcaster replied, cheerfully: "Warlock!"

"Excellent!" said the DJ.

That was totally inaccurate. Wicca/witchcraft endures such stigma! Most educated Americans are completely ignorant on Wicca. So what can a witch/Wiccan do? Write a book answering popular questions, hoping those who are unimformed/misinformed would come across with a book like this

Have a good Samhain

D xxxxxxxxx

posted November 01, 2008 11:28 PM         

Samhain is the time for honoring the dead, our ancestors, our departed loved ones, and also marks the beginning of the Wiccan New Year, instead of January. In Wicca, witches/Wiccans celebrate the cycles of the sun and of the moon, the seasons of the year- basically, the rhythms of nature.

If you feel a strong connection to nature when you are enjoying the great outdoors, you might be a natural witch/Wiccan.

It is a pity that the majority of the US population, and Western population (not to mention that in Asia) for that matter, remain so uninformed and misled on witchcraft/Wicca to this day. Thus, looking at the bright side, we need a book like "When Someone You Love is Wiccan" to create opportunities for non-witches/non-Wiccans to be acquainted with this wonderful religion. Once again, both a male and a female who practice witchcraft/Wicca are called witch, and the terms "wizard", "warlock", "wizardry" are not only inaccurate, but even offensive.

Witches/Wiccans are not those stereotypes who present themselves as mysterious and malevolent individuals who makes a cauldron of poison, who rides a broomstick and flies, who turns a human being into a frog or anything ludicrous like that. Fairy tales/children's stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White both stigmatize witches and witchcraft. Hollywood films play a major part in such stigmatization. Also, many perceive witches/Wiccans as devil worshippers. That's untrue. Wiccans do not believe in devils, or "the devil", so, naturally, they are anything but devil worshippers. How can they be when they don't even believe in devils? They are not. They do not perform blood human or animal sacrifice, either; for the ultimate aim of witchcraft/Wicca is to heal, not to harm.

These preliminary books are very handy for those who are yet to be educated on witchcraft/Wicca, so I see this as a positive sign. I just hope more people will get a copy of one of these titles and read them- and get to know the Goddess, the Mother of all life, of all creation there is, including her son and her lover, the God.

Witches/Wiccans who follow The Wiccan Rede practice positive magick, and they believe if you practice negative magick, the energy you've sent out will return to you threefold. Witchcraft/Wicca aspires to heal, therefore many witches/Wiccans undergo training for becoming healers. They learn to work with herbs, essential oils, crystals, gems, metals, the human chakras, reiki and other forms of psychic healing and a whole lot more. Healing is one of the most vital goals for practicing witches/Wiccans.

The books I've recommended are for non-Wiccans who are of interest, or even beginners who intend to go further on their Wiccan path. Those books are easy-to-read, written with a good sense of humor and sound objectivity...once again, I highly recommend those books above. They must be eye-opening for many spiritual seekers.

posted November 05, 2008 04:11 PM         

IF they even bother to ask, they are already attuned to the Pagan energy and are quite accepting.

O, and, several years ago, a highly Aquarian male told me he thought I was a "witch, but a nautual one......not an ego witch."

How true!!!

blessings

posted November 06, 2008 09:14 PM         

"To know, to dare, to will, to keep silent"- typically, witches/Wiccans don't convert others, and most of them keep their beliefs/religious beliefs very low-profiled. Some of them choose to "come out of the broom closet", while the rest of them keep it secretive as a way to protect themselves from possible discrimination. Witches/Wiccans respect diverse beliefs of others, so, unlike Christians, they don't actively convert people. "Live an' let live" is among the couplets of The Wiccan Rede.

posted November 07, 2008 08:47 PM         

Happy reading!

posted November 08, 2008 11:49 PM         

While Christianity would ask us to "repent of our sins" and most of the Eastern mysticism would ask us to "learn to quench our desire", Wicca view sexual desire differently, and in a humane and refreshing way- sex is sacred, because sex is part of how the Goddess and the God express their love and affection for each other, and how they produce all creation in the universe. Hence sex and sexual desire, carried out ethically and responsibly, to witches/Wiccans, is a very good thing, not something we as human beings should dismiss.

P.S. I use the Internet at a med school library, and it will be closed to the public for the med school's mid-term exams preparations for a period of a little more than ten days. So don't be surprised the next time I post will be in about a fortnight, on a Friday night, ET.

posted November 21, 2008 11:48 PM         

Mmm, to be honest with you, I need further explanation to comprehend what you meant.

I don't know why the word worship makes you uneasy, but I tend to think that in most, if not all, religions (I have to repeat this: some witches don't perceive witchcraft as a religion, but instead, as a practice. Still, Wicca is recognized as a religion by the USA government), parishioners/followers would worship their either monotheisitic God, or polytheistic goddesses and gods, or the Goddess and the God as a unified Spirit, blending the feminine and the masculine, the yin and the yang. They would devote themselves to the deities they look up to and believe in.

I am not a witch/Wiccan, I cannot speak for witches/Wiccans, but I think witchcraft/the Wiccan path is beyond worship. It is a way of life, and the reverence for nature. It is based on individual, personal experience, not on dogma. Wicca is an open-minded, liberal religion which does not pose itself as "the only way"- as Wiccans/witches see it, Wicca/witchcraft is not for everyone, and they accept that, and respect different religious or spiritual views. Not all Wiccans/witches hold the same beliefs or opinions, and certainly not the same perceptions on the Goddess and the God, the goddesses and gods, and the mystery of the universe. When some witches regard their craft as the witchcraft rather than Wicca, they put far less emphasis on worship. Still, witches tend to be well-read upon, among other subjects, global mythology, and are familiar with the stories of various goddesses and gods, and different witches/Wiccans tend to work with their own chosen deities, and call on a certain goddess or god during some of their rituals for various purposes. Most Wiccans tend to perceive the many goddesses and gods as the profuse facets of the same unified Spirit of the Goddess and the God. As there is a Mother and a Father who are our co-creators, who gave birth to the universe and all life there is.

Unlike Christianity and Islam, Wicca/witchcraft is not based on dogma, but on personal experience.

Blessed be!

Star33

posted November 24, 2008 10:45 PM         

However, that is just my personal viewpoint. I do not speak for witches/Wiccans, or other Pagans, for that matter. Each of us have different experience, and we follow our own spiritual path according to our experience, not somebody else's, nor dogma.