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BOOK REVIEW - Spirit of the Witch

To: alt.religion.wicca
From: "Mike Gleason" 
Subject: Re: BOOK REVIEW - Spirit of the Witch
Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:29:52 -0500

This is almost an apology to those of you who take offense at the
Wicca/Streheria remarks I have made in some of my reviews.

I was trained Alexandrian in the "Old Days" (late '60s and early '70s), and
that makes me one of the "Old School".  When I  began my studies it was a
truism that Wicca = Witchcraft.  We used the word "Wicca" for a few reasons,
among them the following:

1)  We were trying to avoid the stigma associated with the perception that
Witchcraft was Devil worship.  We knew better, but didn't feel like spending
time trying to convince others that their "understanding" was wrong.

2)  "Wicca" sounded less threatening to most people.

3)  Nobody outside the group knew what it meants, so it made us more
mysterious.

There were other reasons, I am sure, and not everybody necessarily
subscribed to all of the above, but those were common reasons for the use of
the word.

To those of us who came up through the ranks at that time, there were
certain concepts that we accepted.  The equivalence of the two terms was one
of those concepts.  Consequently, I personally have never subscribed to the
split between the two words, as it is currently understood.  I know that
puts me in a minority nowadays, but that is the basis of my training, and
that is where I am coming from.  As I am sure most will acknowldge, we are
all entitled to our own opinions.

Please bear the above in mind when reading any of my reviews.

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