49 replies to this topic

[Ectoplazzum]

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Y'know, due to the still unenlightened and dark undertones of preceived pagan practices, I can understand why a lot of books have been fluffy-bunnied downed and altho I agree that Silver Ravenwolf and that others have streamlined out a lot of the TRUE or real aspects of the religion, I'd still purchase some of them just because they DO offer a lot of good points and teachings. I don't think that I would have been as readily able to accept paganism if it weren't for the fact that those books were youth/novice friendly because I was very young and very Christian when I first started off, lol. Of course now that I'm older and (somewhat) more wiser, lol, I'm inclined to check out more 'heavy' books dealing with Witchcraft, but I don't knock what is already out there simply because IMO there are people that need to be gradually introduced to this oftentimes misunderstood religion. Of course I don't go for BLATANTLY silly or off the wall yammerings, lol, but I've always enjoyed Scott Cunningham's works and find his books to be very interesting and well worth the read. They also just make great reference books for when I'm researching for my next trashy romance novels too! ;D

The Llewellyn crew to watch out for are D.J. Conway, Amber K, Edain McCoy and Silver RavenWolf (fondly known to those who are "ON" to her as Mama $ilver and $ilver RavingWolf). These four authors have probably done more damage to Wicca and Witchcraft than anyone ever has.  It's not even a matter of dumbing down witchcraft and Wicca to make it understandable.  Mama $ilver is so very obviously in it for the money, she has incorporated parts of Christianity into her "Wiccan" rituals and teachings so that when parents look at the books their kids want to buy, they will agree to get the book because it's as far removed from witchcraft as you can get, even going so far as to make parents think that Wiccans worship the Christian God.  She has a "Teen Witch Kit" that she sells, that comes with a pentagram and all kinds of silly, fluffy information that isn't true, and the box opens up somehow to double as an altar.   :

Here are three links that explain what I am saying in great detail.  They don't just say what is wrong with what Mama $ilver says, they explain WHY it is wrong.

http://www.fortuneci...al/608/id57.htm

http://www.geocities...html#moresacred

http://wicca.timerif.../ravenwolf.html

Not ALL Llewellyn authors are this far off-base.  The late Scott Cunningham has some excellent books out for the beginner, and while it's not the ultimate herbal, his Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is a great resource for witches who want a good, BASIC knowledge of herbs, what they are used for, and how to use them.

Raymond Buckland's book "The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft" is a wonderful beginner book, if you keep in mind that what he is teaching is not oathbound Wicca, but good outer-court material that is useful to all witches.

Raven Grimassi is one of the few authors who write about Stregheria (Italian Witchcraft).  He tends toward the fluffy, but not as blatantly as the others, and since books on Stregheria are kind of hard to find, he's OK as a source.

Migene Gonzalez-Whippler is a Santerista and has a couple of good books out that touch on the practice of Santeria, however again, it's outer-court material.  So while it will give you more or less a good outlook on what's what with Santeria, again there's a lot missing when it comes to the things you only learn when you start progressing through your degrees.

I hope this (especially the links on SRW) more or less explain my disdain for Llewellyn and it's insistence on fluffiness, to the point of not caring about printing falsehoods, just so long as they sell books.

Elle

[anasuya]

You know... I have never found more inconsistency in historical fact than from D.J. Conway. Sad, but true.

I, also, like Grimassi, although his work is an Americanized version of Strega. But, you're right in that ANY books are the subject are extremely difficult to find, so you have to take the good with the bad.

Ana

[whispers_of_fire]

Okay...I do know of a few Wiccans that follow the One of the Christians-this is also true of the Brujas in Mexico and So. Cal, though the Brujas don't claim to be Wiccan even if the name means 'wise one' and usually they're referred to as Abuela<Grandmother>Now aside from the fact that they may not be going by Gardner's teachings or revere both a Lady and Lord are they considered Wiccan?

forgive me, I was under the impression that Wicca was compatible with any religion/Faith that emphasized tolerance, compassion and Love, no matter the name of the Entity :-/ Am I wrong?

[Vampchick21]

no, not wrong at all

You'd have to go back to Ecto's original explanitory post (I can't recall which thread it's in) which explains the differences.  I couldn't for the life of me repeat it

[Ectoplazzum]

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Okay...I do know of a few Wiccans that follow the One of the Christians-this is also true of the Brujas in Mexico and So. Cal, though the Brujas don't claim to be Wiccan even if the name means 'wise one' and usually they're referred to as Abuela<Grandmother>Now aside from the fact that they may not be going by Gardner's teachings or revere both a Lady and Lord are they considered Wiccan?

forgive me, I was under the impression that Wicca was compatible with any religion/Faith that emphasized tolerance, compassion and Love, no matter the name of the Entity :-/ Am I wrong?

The Wiccans that you know who believe in the Christian God are not Wiccan, but neo-Wiccan.  "True" (read initiated) Wiccans absolutely do not worship the Christian God.  

Neo-Wicca, as a result of heavy influxes of New Age-ism, emphasizes tolerance, compassion and love.  Gardnerian Wicca (or any other official offshoots thereof) do not.  

Again, this is the kind of misinformation that is being perpetuated by the authors of books on "Wicca" who have taken it upon themselves to broaden the scope of Wicca to mean that people can pretty much invent their own religion, do what they want to do, worship who they want to worship, and still call themselves Wiccans.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The gods and goddesses that initiated Wiccans worship, however, are not made known to anyone but initiates.  That's part of what is oathbound.  For an example of what is practiced in traditional Gardnerian Wicca (or as much of it as is going to be allowed to be "leaked" onto the internet, do a Google search for "The Dryghten".  Very interesting reading.  

Elle