There’s comfort found within “thinking inside the box” philosophy.
I went to a very conservative Roman Catholic high school. I was coming from a very liberal, Jesuit parish that stressed social justice and religious scholarship over obedience to dogma and strict observation to Catholic teaching. It was quite different at my new school, which was more like a pre-Vatican 2 way of thinking.

Believe it or not,at first I really liked it. We were told exactly what to do and what to believe in order to be “good”. If I had a question, there was an answer. Mortal sins equated Hell, until you repented properly and went to Confession. Your penance was ten Hail Mary’s. You didn’t go to Communion unless you had been to Confession first, and things followed the letter of Catholic Canon. No questions.

I liked the throwback, first of all. I felt like a Catholic in a 50′s movie, with my “modest” plaid kilt and white blouse, with a priest that still gave Absolution in Latin, and where most still didn’t eat meat on Fridays. It felt safe. I didn’t have to question anything, the answers were all cut and dried.

But there was one problem; my brain doesn’t work that way. I had already had years of open-minded and “question everything” values placed into me from childhood; my mother had been a lapsed Catholic who embraced Yogic theory. She told me stories about the Ashrams, where there were images of various “Gods” or teachers, such as Jesus, Krishna, and the Buddha. One could choose to honor God in their own way by relating to the images they felt most comfortable with; all were seen as equals. One teaching of my Mother’s which sticks with me to this day is that “God isn’t some old man with a long white beard sitting on a throne;He is everywhere.”

The Catholic church I attended as a teenager, I was free to debate with the priest. In fact, he enjoyed it. We were told to “question everything, and when we get to the root, that is where our adult faith will be.”

I was led to Wicca at age nineteen through searching for the female face of God. I felt a strong call to Wicca and Paganism, it felt as if these were ways I’d followed before, and were meant to follow now. It was liberating from the dogmatic, fundamentalist ways I had come from in the Catholic Church, where even in my liberal parish, orders came from Rome and certain teachings were not to be questioned, if one wished to remain a Catholic.

So, imagine my surprise when, within this non-dogmatic and multi-faceted religion, I encountered fundamentalism and narrow-mindedness. Just like not every Christian lives by the teachings of Christ, I didn’t expect Wiccans to be perfect. But I also didn’t expect being told that certain ways of practicing Wicca were somehow “wrong” or “lesser than”. That is one didn’t practice according to Gardnerian or Alexandrian tradition, one was practicing “Neo-Wicca”, a phrase often used with disdain by very fundamentalist Wiccans, usually (to my experience), followed by the derogatory insult of “fluffy bunny”, or “newbie”.

I’ve been reflecting this recently after begrudgingly participating in a flame war on an online forum on Wicca. A querent had asked about whether or not online Wiccan classes are worthwhile. I informed that I certainly thought so and told them a little about my chosen tradition, the Sacred Mists, and provided this link for them to learn more. I then sat back and waited for the inevitable fall out.

Yep, it happened. GASP! Said the fundie-Witch. If one is to practice Wicca “properly”, online schools are of no use at all! The comments seemed to deteriorate from there, and I won’t add fuel to the proverbial bale-fire that followed.

I hadn’t said that my way was the only way, or that my chosen tradition was the answer for everyone. I simply told my experience, and stated that it was the right way FOR ME, and that if this person wished quality on-line training, that I recommended the Sacred Mists. I added that yes, I had had several years experience on and offline (not that it should matter one way or the other; the opinion of a new Wiccan and/or a seasoned one should count equally, I think.), and that this was honestly the best tradition and program that I had found out there.

I’m not at all perfect, and am the very first to admit that. But I REALLY don’t understand why people get so caught up on what is “acceptable” Wiccan practice and what isn’t. Squibbling about whether Mary Sue should use an athame or a wand to cast circle, or saying that Rob isn’t “really”Wiccan because he happens to like and read Silver Ravenwolf’s books (Really.That’s happened to me a few times. I, for one,really like Silver’s work and have gotten roasted for it several times.), and arguing that Sharon must be a “fluffy bunny” because she accidently walked deosil instead of widdershins or faced East when it should have been West (It happens…), to me is a waste of time, and the reverse of everything Wicca stands for. Wicca is supposed to be personal and empowering, and a religion where one is allowed to make choices about where and how they worship.

Now, I know what some might say to this. That there ARE central teachings to Wicca, and that those that call themselves Wiccan and practice contrary philosophies do Wicca harm, as they give the wrong impression to others, and that they should be corrected. Well, yeah. If Wanda Witch says that animal sacrifice and dancing naked under the moon in the city park are requirements to being Wiccan, that’s one thing. But if Walter Witch happens to read Silver Ravenwolf,practice online, and not subscribe to every single Gardnerian teaching, that is quite another.

Think of it this way; if we think all Wiccan teaching is garbage unless it came out of Gerald Gardner’s mouth, or that things have to be done just as our forefathers and mothers practiced them in order to be “authentic”..then we are truly limiting ourselves and pretty much guaranteeing that Wicca could go the way of the dodo for our future generations. The Catholic Church has members heading for the hills and great internal division due to its’ archaic teachings on abortion, birth control, and female clergy,among other things. If the masses refuse to accept someone as a Wiccan, or attack their practices because they are different, then we are basically pushing a stick into the spinning wheel of progress.

Wicca is progressive. It’s dynamic. It’s fluid. We DO owe thanks to our forebearers that blazed the trail for Wiccans today. But I honestly think that if Gardner was still around, he’d change a few things to suit the times. Wicca is open to interpretation and can be bent and shaped to how it relates to us personally.

Maybe the Gods are laughing at us for such trivialities. Maybe they point and say, “Look at those silly humans, arguing over what color the altar cloth should be. They’re missing the whole point. A glorious sunset, a mighty rainstorm, and a powerful wind just passed them by and they didn’t even notice..sigh.”

I think that we need to expand the circle a little wider. To realize that Wicca is kind of like ice cream; there are a zillion different flavours, brands, and colors, but in the end…we are all the same.

(originally written on Dec.1, 2008)

One of the things that disheartens me most about the Craft is the “Witch Wars” and nit-pickiness that seems to plague our numbers. I’m aware that this happens in every group, but I think that the Craft seems to, from my personal experience, have a special challenge in this regard.

Part of the reason is that we have no confirming, central hierarchy. For example, in Roman Catholicism (where there also is spirited debate), a well-versed RC can always check the official teachings of the Church, straight from the Pope, and while these can be debated, these are Catholic teachings according to dogma and tradition, so really these are the “final word” according to their faith. There is no “Wiccan Pope”, which I think is a good thing (can you imagine??), so therefore the teachings and traditions of Wicca, what makes a Wiccan Wiccan (can you say that ten times fast? ), are really and truly, open for discussion. The problem is that, some people cannot discuss this civilly, or get very hung up on the fact that their version of the Craft is the “right” version, and other people are deemed “fluffy bunnies” or just plain “wrong”. The conundrum is..in the Craft, unless someone is blatantly practicing against our rede and moral code and harming others or themselves, there really IS no “right version” by our very nature, that we are non-dogmatic. This leaves a lot of people scratching their heads and bickering, and admittedly, it puzzled me, too, on first entering the Craft. Especially as I came from a Roman Catholic environment, where it is clear what the teachings and beliefs of the Church are (although, individual mileage varies, as it does in any religion).

Generally, whether we are from a religious background or not, in mainstream North American society, our minds are trained to think in a somewhat linear, emperical fashion, no matter how liberal we may be in our thinking. We prove things through science. There is “hard evidence” for much of our reality. We have set societal norms and laws that are rooted in linear, patriarchal thought.

So, it is a big stretch for all of us (myself included) to wander out of that box and come to a way of thinking that is non-linear and encompassing that is the Craft. Trying to think of the Craft as another philosophy, in which there is a central confirming voice or example to compare everything by, is impossible, because it doesn’t work that way. It’s a practice and a religion that thinks differently. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, while drastically different in teaching and practice from one another, have a common thread..they are rooted in the same tradition. Ours is not. We are shamanic, dynamic, non-dogmatic (I sound like I’m breaking into the chorus of “Greased Lightening!” , but I promise, I’m getting somewhere with this.), and non-linear. We don’t have holy writ, scripture, or an emperical type religion. Our true teachers are nature, the earth, the spirits. This type of “knowledge” cannot be tested with a yardstick or studied under a Bunson Burner. Yes, we do have traditions of Wicca, some more rigid than others, but none of these are deemed “better” or “more Wiccan” than others, although some might think them to be, by our very roots and nature..our true teacher is ourselves, and therefore, this makes our beliefs relative.

The reason I’m contemplating this, not for the first time, is my forays into open Wiccan online communities recently. I am remembering why I retreated. The rudeness, nastiness, back-stabbing and arrogance seems to be prominent. I’m trying not to sound judgemental here, but really..I am opinionated. I spoke up when I disagreed on the forum (Wiccans Together, I can’t provide the link at work. But so far, it’s striking me more as “Wiccans Bicker”;with a free-for-all death cage match for the masses to watch.), but I don’t think I was rude or lofty, I made an effort to be polite. But it seems that some Wiccans or Pagans seem to feel that our “Do what thou wilt” code and independent spirit (both GOOD things) give absolute license to be rude and nasty to all and sundry, to brag about one’s own achievements (one person went on about how they “personally know” someone that knew Gerald Gardner, and therefore incinuated that they have the “straight goods” on his life. . Gasp! Well, color me impressed..I guess that MUST make them right then. Whoops. Here biographers have been arguing about this for fifty years, but Joe Schmoe on a website has all the information! Start the presses!!! Not only is this information next to impossible to confirm, but that doesn’t make his information or stance any more “right”. Because there is no “one true and right way” in Wicca. Gardner himself admitted to forming his Tradition from a variety of sources that went before him; The OTO, Crowley, Estoric texts, etc etc. And Gardner was a human. So was Alex Sanders, and Aleister Crowley, and so is Starhawk. All may have wisdom, but they are not the “Grand Pooh-Bahs” of Wicca or Paganism. Gardner might be the “Grandfather” of the modern Craft movement, but this doesn’t mean that he didn’t mess up. It doesn’t mean that some of his teachings don’t need to be scrapped and restarted, or can’t be. We’ve come a long way, baby, since the 1950′s. That doesn’t mean we should chuck out the proverbial baby with the proverbial bathwater, but insisting that Craft is only Craft when it is “Gardner stamped” is ridiculous, in my mind. Then the innumerable Wiccans and Pagans across the world that practice differently must all be wrong, and this religion is far more dogmatic than I thought.

Using this person’s “logic”, then the only Crafters that are getting it right are Gardnerians. And even then, this is going back fifty years. I doubt things stayed stagnant and marched on in an unswerving line for those fifty years. In fact, I know they didn’t, and history backs my claim. (although I don’t “personally know” anyone that knows Gardner, so I could be wrong…sorry.). Maybe my bickering here comes across as hypocritical in light of how I feel that Crafters are just too nasty and back stabbing in many cases, but this is a vent. This is only a vent. Had it been a real post and repsonse on a forum, I would and have been much more polite. . I need to blow off steam, and realize the pure irony of this post.

Then, always comes the question, “Well, what makes Wicca, Wicca, then, if it is so loosey-goosey and “do your own thing”"? This question was posed to me by my mother after I first became interested in the Craft, over ten years ago. It left me tongue-tied because, at the time, I couldn’t really answer it. She said it sounded odd that someone could just call themselves “Wiccan”, technically, yet really have a hodge-podge of whatever beliefs they wanted, because no one would confirm or deny them.

There are commonalities. Such as the Rede, The Threefold law, the observance of Sabbats and Esbats, etc. But these milages also very. A prominent HPS and teacher, Phyllis Curott, for example, does not believe in the Threefold law. Some Wiccans do not observe all the sabbats.

I think until we have the Church and Pope of Wicca (in which case, run for the hills, Ma Barker, because I can just imagine what that would look like!) We can speak to what our commonalities are as Wiccans (in general) and what Wicca is to us, but there will always be someone that disagrees. And by our very nature, this has to be okay, otherwise we’re going against the very grain of our foundations, which are non-dogmatic. I think that is largely what defines the Craft. We have no dogma. We have beliefs, but these are up for debate and discussion.

Unfortunately, it seems that many people have not yet learned to put on thier “listening ears” and “polite voice” on online forums. Or in person. I stopped going to many local public events because they felt more like gossip fares or Witch n’Bitches and ceased to be about the Goddess and God for me. I would leave feeling disgruntled and disoriented. That said, I have Wiccan and Pagan friends in the city I dearly love (and yes, you are the ones on my LJ!!!), and yep, sometimes we disagree with eachother. But I deeply respect their viewpoints . I may not practice or agree with them, but I respect them, and I try to show that. I have, on occasion, inserted my foot firmly into my mouth and said something deemed insulting, as we all have, but I try not to make that a regular practice.

Another stitchy-bitch…The rampant hatred of Christians that seems to be plaguing many Pagan and Wiccan communities. I was a moderator of a very popular and large Wiccan website ( Celtic Connection) in the mid-nineties. I often chuckled at how people on there complained about being persecuted and misunderstood by our Christian friends, then would have the audacity to completely trash and belittle the Christian religion. Sometimes, this came out of hurt..for example, many had come to the Pagan/Wiccan religion from having really bad and even abusive encounters with the Christian church. I “get” that. But painting the whole religion with one brush and feeding the Christians to the lions (metaphorically, I hope), they were doing the exact same thing that they were accusing others of doing to them! Or, the insistance that Wicca was somehow “better” than the Christian religion and calling Christians fools or idiots or “sheep” for what they believe. NO, NO, NO. Sure, there are some blind followers in Christianity..but there are also many in Paganism or Wicca. Christianity is every bit as valid and every bit as beautiful as Wicca is. The paths are just not for everybody. If people stay in that little dark corner of the “We hate Christians” club, they don’t make peace with others, or themselves, and are just propagating the myth that Wiccans are bad, nasty people that hate Christians. I know when I first encountered Wiccans online and was still clinging to a lot of my vestal Christianity (or , more properly, seeking the path for me.), I was appalled at the sheer nastiness towards Christians and it made me wonder if maybe all of the “preacher characters” I’d heard WERE right, that this path was evil because they seemed to hate Christ and Christians so much. Thankfully, I met other Wiccans that were nothing like this and set me straight, but it was very interesting to get that perspective straight off. Also, the belief that we Wiccans are somehow more “Speshal” or “Smrt” than other religions bugs the heck out of me. Some of the most brilliant minds in the world are/were Christian..CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, JRR Tolkein, for example. Christians aren’t all money-grubbing evangelists driving around in cadillacs, or backwoods hillbillies that “don’t know better”. I was raised in a Jesuit Catholic Church by some of the most intellectual elites I’ve ever met to date. You could disagree with a Jesuit (if you wanted a spirited arguement!) but you couldn’t call them “Stupid” or “Hicks” by a long shot. The same way we are not all “Wanda the Wacky Witch” stereotypes, waltzing about town in walking Witchy stereotype, nor are Christians. To get respect, you have to dish it out, too. This doesn’t mean I respect everyone that is a Christian. Far from it. I have serious issues with the likes of Falwell, Buchanan, or Hinn. But so do many Christians. What I’m saying is a generalized respect has to be there if we are ever going to get anywhere. This is how wars start. Intolerance, Rumors,Prejudice…think of the Witch hunts. Not really much different, at the base level.

This all brings me to a positive note. I am amazed, given all of the nastiness that often floats on online forums (Wiccan and non-Wiccan, sectarian and otherwise. Put a computer in front of people and it seems they think that that gives them the license to be as rude as they please, in many cases). , that my coven and tradiiton, which is primarily online, is so overwhelmingly positive. I’m not saying it’s “better” than anyone else’s, so no ruffled feathers, please. I’m just amazed that our flare-ups and arguements have been kept to a bare minimum. I see that as through the sheer effort of our High Priestess and Student Council to try to make our environment as positive as possible. And they do! That’s the amazing thing. It IS possible to have a friendly environment and to have people that have differences of opinion. We are an eclectic tradition, so we have many people from many different backgrounds and beliefs. Our community is also an online College, so not everyone is part of the tradition but may be there for the learning opportunity. And seriously…it is one of the most positive environments I’ve ever experienced. I’ve seen this in real life with my dear Wiccan friends, too. We often disagree, but can be civil about it. I’m not saying we all need to be passive, smiling drones who agree with one another (creepy…shades of Stepford), but we can learn to debate and have differences of opinion in a civilized manner.

I think that if there was to be a downfall of the Craft (and there won’t be, or at least, it is highly unlikely), it would likely be caused by..ourselves. Our own bickering and in fighting and back stabbing. It needs to stop. Wiccans and Witches are progressive and dynamic and different, and there is room on the Goddess’s lap for all kinds of children.

It’s time to wake up and get that. and that’s Priestess Yemaya’s sermon for the day.

(((dusts self off, steps down from soapbox..))