Thanks, Widdershins! For a seeker like myself, a paper like yours is a joy to find. After spending years culling through the self-help, positive thinking, New Age genre, stumbling onto paganism as an acceptable belief system has been a great enlightenment to me. A publication like yours can be a great asset to the pagan community and those who are still seeking the fulfillment to be found there.
I must take umbrage though when an objective view of the community becomes lost in the obviously subjective pettiness of the columnist. Specifically I am referring to the "Top Shopper" column in your Yule issue. It didn't take a rocket scientist to notice that only those shops who support your publication with large advertisements got good reviews. Furthermore, your berating of other shops was carried out in such a vicious and petty manner as to make it obvious even to the casual observer that the columnist has lost the objectivity required of an effective journalist.
Since my exposure to Wicca has been through Orion at Twilight, I was especially baffled by your remarks on this friendly, accommodating, and genuinely welcoming shop. I first visited Orion at Twilight in late October, intrigued by certain New Age ideals, but realizing that there was more I needed to learn. Orion was very helpful in pointing me to publications that addressed my questions in detail. Some days, she was simply available to talk and listen while I tried to fit pieces together. The discussion group on Wednesday evening has also been great for me.
It saddens me to see a well-organized, knowledgeable and welcoming business attacked in such a manner. I know the proprietors, and they are very dedicated to their Craft and their business; they definitely deserve another look. It is also alarming that a potentially beneficial publication such as yours should allow itself to be sacrificed on the altar of petty personal vendettas. I am sure that the community would agree that such factional attacks within are completely counterproductive and do not belong in a publication such as yours.
Kevin Walder
Dear editors,
In reading the recent review given by Sylvana SilverWitch of several area pagan/New Age stores, I am struck by how much this entire article belongs on the editorial page of your publication, if in fact it has a place anywhere in a piece of work that presents itself as a ethical publication by and for pagans. I must wonder at the saying I so often hear bantered about in the community about what you put out coming back to you. This being the case, can you folks all afford the karma this type of attack on people may bring?
I have had occasion to shop in both of the Everett stores mentioned, as well as Tenzing Momo. They each have their own ambiance, each fills a different need for me and I have never been treated rudely in any of these shops. Help has been offered in a timely manner by all the employees in each. Answers to my questions were either honestly given or I was directed to a different resource as was appropriate. With friendly and helpful people in each store, I cannot imagine what prompted the angry words put forth in the review of Orion at Twilight. I have had no experience in the other shops that were poorly reviewed, but my empathy is with these people as they find themselves under attack by a publication that uses them as an outlet for its paper. I would imagine they feel like the rabbit who invited the fox into its burrow.
The only defense I can even begin to see for this article is that the author tells us it is "subjective." My question would then be, could we please have a more useful "objective" and journalistically ethical article done on these small businesses? If you cannot maintain your journalistic integrity and objectivity then mayhaps you should first give pause to release any negativity you bear these folks.
In hopes that this is not a trend towards biased attacks on the little guy for personal reasons, I look forward to your next issue and some of the more informative pieces of the type I have seen from you in the past.
E.J. Broglio
Dear editors:
In your most recent issue of Widdershins, Sylvana SilverWitch offered readers a valuable guide and evaluation of local pagan/witchcraft-oriented stores. Although I found the article noteworthy, I must disagree with her critique of Everett's Orion at Twilight.
I am a frequent shopper at this store and am happy to say that I have been very pleased with the service and quality of items I have purchased there. Orion at Twilight provides valuable services to the Snohomish County pagan. They offer drumming circles and discussion groups in their store on a regular basis, providing a forum for local like-minds to come together. Their inventory regularly offers new items, and any item they do not have available, they will be happy to order for you. Open to many paths, they are equally friendly and helpful to all who walk through their door.
Perhaps it was my misconception, but it seemed that two of the reasons that S. SilverWitch did not approve of this store was because of the gay/lesbian material available, and Orion at Twilight's affiliation with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). I truly hope that this is only my misconception. Their affiliation with the SCA has brought the store new ideas and a variety of new products. And at least one store in the Everett area is willing to provide positive material relating to an alternative lifestyle.
If S. SilverWitch still does not like Orion at Twilight, please try back in another year or so. Remember, they're still babies, only having been in business a little over a year. As they grow and evolve, so will the store. Until then, I am glad I don't have to drive all the way to Seattle to visit a store that is warm and inviting to my path and beliefs.
Heather Cooper
P.S. I have never seen a channeling video there.
As I understand journalistic ethics, it is ethical to report things in an honest fashion. The three times I have dealt with Orion at Twilight, I have unfortunately had serious customer service problems. This is simply the truth no attack is involved in reporting it. If every other customer in the store has had a positive experience, great. I didn't, and my guess is I'm not the only one.
This being so, what would the letter writers have me do? Whitewash my experience? One of Widdershins' central aims is to be of service to our readers. It would not be doing them any service to pretend that Orion at Twilight had done well by me.
Furthermore, the article in question is a review. A review is an opinion piece it is not "objective" and does not set out to be. The whole point is that I tell readers what I think about the stores reviewed. However, so there won't be any confusion in the future, Widdershins will work to more clearly label our articles as opinion when they are such.
Letter writer Walder might note that Edge of the Circle Books, a major advertiser, did not get a particularly positive review. Chrysalis Books, which did get a positive review, does not advertise in our paper at all. Incidentally, I do not have a degree in rocket science.
Letter writer Broglio, in contrast, seems to feel that we should slant our reviews to support our distributors. If we did, that would be unethical, in my opinion.
Letter writer Cooper is concerned that I am prejudiced against gays or the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). This is not the case. There are a number of gays/lesbians and bisexuals in my coven, including myself, and though I am not an SCA fan, a lot of my friends participate in the group. What I was attempting to say is that Orion at Twilight is not "Craft" as I use the word. In my opinion, the store is presenting itself as something it is not.
In the review in question, I tried to be honest and fair. I gave my opinion as it truly is. I quite consciously tried not to attack anyone. I'm sorry if anyone perceived what I wrote as vicious; it was not meant to be.
I hope that my honesty in this piece does get me honesty three times in return, the honesty of these readers' letters included. I also hope that the owners of Orion at Twilight take my article not as an attack but as a wake-up call, that their customer service and stock are not in my opinion everything they could be.
We all have our own bias, as well as our taste. I suggest that my subjectivity and bias is necessary in forming an opinion, which is necessary in writing a review. I stated my opinion; the readers have stated theirs.
Sylvana
I was so pleased to read the article in the Yule issue on "Forgiveness: Overcoming the Hypnosis of Fear." I even picked up extra copies for friends not in the community.
This is something I've personally been working on for several months, and many others I've talked to in and out of the community, also. The exercise is similar to one of many that I've worked with and is excellent. I'd like to encourage anyone, especially those in pain, who haven't read this article to read it. And if you've read it, it may be worthwhile rereading it once again.
Also, to anyone doing this and other forgiveness exercises/work - it's a rough road. When the exercises bring up much anger and hurt, don't feel like you're failing and give up. As uncomfortable as it is, get through the anger to the underlying pain. Feel and release it. It's just a deeper layer. Eventually, there's peace to be found.
Tierra Sunti
I was interested in your review of the Cascadian Conference. Perhaps it is difficult to develop leaders in a movement that has so many rugged individualists. Often any attempt to coordinate several groups toward a common goal is misunderstood.
The Cascadian Leadership Conference was an attempt to gather people who had information to share into a forum that would allow/encourage sharing. As to the reason for including a workshop on "Going Public," it is difficult to help newcomers find teachers if the community has no "public" members. Being public also means answering questions from co-workers, people in bookstores and on the bus. It means risking being "out there" in order to change the perception of a witch as something to be feared or hated.
As our numbers, solitary, grove and coven, grow, we will be faced with situations that require action to protect ourselves and our children. Encouraging people to look at ways of dealing with work, school and family, as people who are proud of who and what we are, is part of leadership.
The first time a group tries to put on a conference together is always a learning experience. Perhaps some of our nonwhite fellow pagans will get in touch with Alex Kirby for the next one. I'm sure Alex and the rest of his team would be delighted to hear from people with leadership skills and the ability to teach them, of all traditions.
Merrie Gail Foerster, of Lorraine Covenant
Thank you for your input on the conference. Your point on the "rugged individualism" within the Craft isn't wasted, as it has been periodically a source of frustration for me, a person that has more of a "when in Rome" personality.
As far as the conference goes, I didn't get the impression that there was much presented to direct Craft members toward a "common goal." I feel that if a gathering is going to label itself a leadership conference, it should offer training on leadership, as opposed to just being an informative networking session.
However, I apologize for missing the purpose of the "Going Public" session that you facilitated. It was, in my opinion, one of the better-thought-out, well-structured classes that were offered. Thanks for your letter.
Lethe
I had to read the latest "Neophyte Notes" several times to make sure my brain was seeing what my eyes thought was said. I wonder if Inanna, Aphrodite, Kali, Isis, Hecate, Gaea, Hestia, Freya etc., as well as the legions of their devotees down the centuries, would be surprised to learn that Goddess worship is "hollow a political shell largely created by feminists to contain the vacuum left by Christianity"? Ouch, foot in mouth. While it is true that certain modern Craft/Wiccan traditions such as the Dianic developed in an atmosphere of feminist ideology, I doubt many Wiccans consider Goddess worship a hollow construct, or that such devotion would survive the test of time if it were merely a reactionary displacement against the loss or rejection of the Father.
There is a reason I have a "Too bad ignorance isn't painful" button nestled next to a pentagram on my rucksack: In general, it addresses the cowan world's limited vision of pagans, but now I realize it also addresses an unfortunate segment of the pagan community.
You have pointedly stated that you have no connection to even the idea of the Goddess and seem to be attracted to witchcraft for only the glitzy trappings of spells, esotericism, tools and such. How much of your Christian world-view has been examined on your search for what is magick in the world?
"Craft" is a major part of "Witchcraft"; it is enticing to the newcomer; it is beautiful and strong. It is something that identifies us, but what sets us apart from ceremonial magick and the like is a quality within us that strives beyond the formalism of spellwork, the physical appearances and tools: It is our heart and how we feel connected with the world. The "religious" (and I use that term lightly and with as much care as possible) witch has balance and has found their place in the natural world, without which all the magick trappings in the world will not open its doors. I don't accept empty formalism or dogmas and feel they are as dangerous as trying to practice magick without a heart. They can lead to the fossilization of pagan practice as sure as a dragonfly caught in amber: it's pretty, but it doesn't fly anymore.
I am someone who entered the Craft from a spiritual point of view, and perhaps if you had done some surveyance, you would certainly find others. I guess I'm lucky though; paganism is something I had the good fortune to grow with as a child, and so the Craft seemed to intuitively fit. Be it called God or Goddess, Wakan, medicine, ch'i, prana, faery, Tao, or magick, it is the mystery of our existence, the knowledge that the earth and everything in it is imbued with the sacred. This terrible beauty is something we as witches need to have at least some connection to, without which we have an empty practice.
As to the point of your article: Should Wicca become a mainstream religion? Well, nothing healthy stands still for long. Pagan religions in all their wonderful diversity exhibit all the qualities of a flourishing organism. Our mainstream, technical culture offers us strength and pain, but remember that we are part of it and need to use our strengths, skills and resources for a common goal of pagan community. We need the strength of our fellows, not the divisiveness of petty factionalism. We should have a healthy support structure and vision for our future and our children's future.
Granted, the thought of "commercialized Wicca" is inherently disgusting, but don't confuse this with legal mainstreaming. Shamefully, our country's laws and mores remain bound to its archaic Judeo-Christian background. "Bad press" and propaganda continues as do hate crimes against pagans and those of nonmainstream cultures of all types. Most Americans will agree that our Constitution affords us the right to worship as we believe, yet we witches remain subject to blatant disregard of this. It is sadly true that our children are taken from us, our jobs remain in jeopardy, and we are subjected to slander and attack by the right wing and sensationalist movie-makers. It was not until August 11, 1978, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act No. 1996, that it became legal for Native Americans to practice and believe their own religions. The full text reads: "On and after August 11, 1978, it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites." (United States Code Annotated, Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. 92 Stat. 469, pp. 315-316).
This act sets a very important legal precedent for us. While we are fortunate scores of our children have not been taken from us, stripped of our culture and forced into government schools in a way we remain subject to the delegitimizing, if not genocidal, effects practiced against our Native brothers and sisters. So, although it is a difficult road ahead of us to "mainstream and legitimize" our pagan ways, it is necessary that we are religions and assert that we have every moral and legal right to practice as we see fit, to raise our children, to have our holy days, keep our jobs, live free of slander and to wear a pentagram if we damn well choose.
If you refer to several pagan publications, including Circle Network News and Green Egg, you will find the fledgling starts of pagan cemeteries, health and retirement funds and organizations, learning centers and legal defense organizations (in particular the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League, the Wiccan Community Fund, The Lady Liberty League and Pagan Family Alliance), all signs of a healthy and maturing community.
Maren M. Ulberg
[Home Page | Other Articles in This Issue | FAQ | Local Resources]