I’m reading a cute book called The Love Almanac. It is full of poems, recipes, and stories about love. I was very surprised when I came across a bit of Wiccan “bad history.” Page 43 of this book there is a piece entitled “Love Spell Bottle.” It reads in part:

If you’re on the lookout for love, this love spell bottle might just do the trick. Spell bottles have been in use in America and Great Britain as part of the Wicca tradition since the 1600s.

Can you spot the “bad history”? Like I said to quanta, it would be correct if it read “since the 1960s.”

Perpetrating the idea of Wicca as an ancient religion is bad enough in Wiccan books, but when our bad history starts showing up in mainstream books these is a serious problem. I’m not sure what we can do about it, other then do our best to educate everyone about the correct history of Wicca.

Calling oneself a “Witch” does not make a Witch – but neither does the heredity itself, nor the collection of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.

(from the 1974 meeting of the Council of American Witches)

Wise words written by a group of pioneering pagans over twenty years ago. When they wrote the document that these words were taken from (read it here on my website) did they have any idea about how big the Wiccan movement would become? Did they imagine, even in their wildest dreams, the sort of wrangling that would take place around the idea that Wiccans and witches are separate groups that could cross-over, or maybe all Wiccans are witches, then again, maybe not.

Declaring one’s self a witch today seems to be the equivalent to being a hippy or a draft dodger or a Goth. It is something you do as a political statement, but also as a way to piss off your parents and society in general. But there is more to being a witch, or a Wiccan, than just saying you are one. You must live your practice. To do any less is to show an incredible amount of disrespect for those who actually live these paths daily.

As an aside, there are two interesting things to note about the Council of American Witches. First, it disbanded shortly after issuing its 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief. Second, the group was spearheaded by Carl “Llewellyn” Weschcke, the president of Llewellyn Publishing. Oddy, I suppose, but I think I am a little happier knowing that the president of Llewellyn helped to create these principles of belief. That fact actually increases my waning respect of Llewellyn (the publishing house).

Building off my entry from the other day, I am hoping to form a more homegrown and integrated from of spirituality for myself. A sort of kitchen-witchery, with spontaneous rituals and a personalized correspondence and symbol set. Essentially, I want to bring Wicca into my everyday life where I can learn spiritual lessons from everything and where I don’t need a formal Circle to worship.

This is an ideal that is mentioned in many books, but how to achieve this integration is glossed over or ignored. You are told you can worship without a Circle, and then you are told how to cast one anyway and, oh yeah, it is best to always cast one for protect. Protection from what, I want to know. If I am communing with the Lord and Lady, aren’t they capable of protecting me? I will grant that Circle casting is probably a wise idea when casting difficult magic or when working with distressing subjects, but hardly necessary for talking to the divine, in my opinion.

Wicca is a mystery religion, but it doesn’t have to be mysterious or set apart from the rest of our lives. The mystery of Wicca refers to our personal contact with the Lord and Lady, and it can not be explained with words, even to those who have had their own experiences. I feel that if we set it apart from our ordinary lives, we will never fully experience the mystery.

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Scrapbooking and Wicca have combined to bring you The Create-a-Grimoire(TM) system. Yes, apparently it has been trade marked.

Okay, maybe it isn’t so bad. I am overreacting a little bit, since I was planning on using a few scrapbooking techniques in my Book of Shadows. I think was has irked me is the shallow way it is presented. Simple stickers are given names like “Colours of Mabon” and “Family Trad Heritage Accents”, and papers are called “Love’s Magick” and “Path of the Alchemist”. The fancy names sort of cheapen it for me, since they are reminiscent of papers with mundane names that can be found in most craft stores.

A Book of Shadows is about a lot more than the papers and stickers that are put in it. It is about the information that you have carefully gathered and felt was important enough to save. I guess I’m lashing out because I see this as another way to make Wicca friendly and so very normal. Religions are about divine experiences, not scrapbooking.

Why yes, I am grouchy today? Why ever do you ask? 😛

This link, It’s a Mystery (Part I): Dysfunctional Behaviour and the Pagan Scene, made an appearance on one of the mailing lists I belong to. It is a really interesting look at why so many Pagan groups are dysfunctional, and reinforces all my reasons for being as solitary as I am.

This articles bring up a few thoughts. Firstly, I don’t think that only Pagan groups have these problems. I’m sure groups of like-minded dysfunctional folks exist in all religions. As they say, there is nothing like religion to bring people together. And, not to be cruel, but those snake handling churches seem pretty dysfunctional to me.

It also makes me wonder if maybe I should become more active in the Pagan community. I’m not saying I have it all together (I’m sure you all know that!), but maybe I do have something I can offer. Maybe, I don’t really know…

Being “green” is supposed to be a big part of being Wiccan, but sometimes I’m not really sure what is enough. I recycle nearly all of my paper, cans and plastic. I also try to not use too much power or water, but I am not overly conservative. (I also have no desire to go off the gird. But I wouldn’t mind using solar panels or a hybird car.) We also donate items to the Amity instead of justing throwing them away. And I only use public transit.

On the negative side, I don’t recycle my kitchen waste, mostly because it is not practical in an apartment without a balcony. I use commercial cleaning products, and watch TV regularly. And we probably throw out about one and a half bags of garbage a week, give or take a little bit.

So, I’m not the “greenest” witch in the world, but at least I try. And at least I am aware of the consequences of my actions and inactions. I would like to make some changes, like using more green cleaning products. If I had a house, or the ability, I would probably line-dry my laundry and recycle my kitchen waste in a compost pile. I think, though, that being a green Wiccan is as much about actions as it is about your thoughts. And a Wiccan’s respect for nature should make them intimately aware of how they affect the environment.