Now the problem with the internet is that most Web Sites you find have been constructed by Newbies who have read a book or two...the wrong books. The pages constructed by those "so called" elders aren't any better. They are just older people who have read a few more of the wrong books, and perhaps they have worked with a few people who have read a few of the wrong books. The point is that most of these people are Solitaries. They are not traditionally trained and seasoned magickians and they want you to accept their misguided opinions in regards as to what Magick, Wicca and Witchcraft are about. Most of the stuff has been a product of their own imaginations and prejudices.

So what about all of those organizations such as Wicca.net, pagan.org, pagan.net, and Celtic Connection just to name a few. They are pure CRAP!!! Most of those organizations are only websites that have been constructed by one single person. There is no organization! Maybe there are two or three people. All of whom read a book or two by the same authors who never did any research! And now these people want you to consider them as "experts"! The only thing they are experts of is a lie perpetrated by the New Age movement! O.k. so they are members of COG or CAW or have worked with Coven X. Big deal! It only means that they were rejected by the "true" traditional Covens because they didn't make the grade. The only thing that is required to be a member of COG, CAW, or even Pagan Unity is to fill out an application then fork out your cash for membership dues. They are no more knowledgeable about Wicca, Witchcraft, Magick or Sorcery than my Cat. And I'd say my Cat is smarter than they are!

There is a big difference between having a Celtic Ancestry, living in a Celtic country, being a Celtic Reconstructionalist, or worshipping Celtic deities as a Pagan. They can be incorporated if one wishes, but being a Celt or having a Celtic Ancestry does not require you to be Pagan or Wiccan. If you don't believe me take a trip to a Celtic country to find out just how many Celts are Xtian. You need not be a Celt to be Pagan and worship Celtic deities. However, you can't call yourself "Celtic Wiccan" because the Celts do not believe in or follow the Wiccan tenets of belief. If you are Wiccan and call on Celtic deities be aware that our Gods are "warrior" Gods/Goddesses and will not fit into the tenets of "harm none". In other words you will most likely be ignored by them.

Furthermore, being Pagan and having a Celtic ancestry does not require me or anyone else to write in Ogam script, dress like a Celt, speak Gaelic, Welsh or any other ancient Celtic language, or cook ancient Celtic recipes. Therefore, you will not find any of those things listed on these pages, because I am not a Celtic Reconstructionalist/Pagan. I do have some information on what the ancient Celts believed or what was part of the mythical lore, which is all that is necessary. If you are looking for more about the ancient Celts, there are Pagan/Celtic Reconstructionalists with webpages on the internet. Check my links section to find those websites.

Moreover, Celtic cooking goes against every healthy eating guideline established by the American Heart Association, The American Cancer Society, the National Diabetes Foundation, Cornel and Harvard University School of Medicine, Covert Bailey, Ph.D, and Weight Watchers to name a few. My Mom sayd "If I cooked like the ancient Celts I would need to make airline reservations for two and wouldn't be able to walk accross the room. Their diets were high in fat, cholesterol, and low in fiber. If you want to weigh 900 lbs., have clogged arteries and high blood pressure that's your business. I on the other hand, plan to live a long and healthy life."

You will hear a lot of other pagans talk about the wiccan reede. Most of the people who run forums, lists, and chats do not know what the reede, wicca, witchcraft or paganism really is. They don't even know their history!

Most of these people learned from books which do not give "all" of the information you need, some authors are prejudice against certain practices because they are ignorant themselves, and many deliberately hide necessary information because of the xtians who would persecute us or those that would hurt themselves if they knew how to use some of the powers. Others were raised xtian and have carried their xtian baggage with them, instead of leaving it outside the door.

Once again, these people are teaching others, and want to tell you they are experts! Now that's scarry!! What they are feeding you is full of myth, ignorance, bigotry, and practices that were never part of the wiccan, or pagan teachings but from the practices of the Hindus or Buddhists. I would rather trust someone who actually studied with an elder, was raised in a coven or at least mentored by an initiated elder than someone who just read a few books. And there are more of those "experts" who never did anything other than read a book than there are "trained initiated" elders.

OK, so what's the difference between Pagans and Wiccans? What's the difference between a Catholic and a Baptist, or an Orthodox and a Reformed Jew? There's a big difference! Even though the Catholic and the Baptist are both christians they both have different religious beliefs, you will never get them to agree that either one is correct. The same with the Orthodox and the Reformed Jew. To put it all in a nutshell, the Christians, Jews, Buddhists and the Pagans all have different "sects" within their belief structure. Within Paganism we have Asatru, Druidery, and Wicca. Although we do not believe in Satan the US Supreme Court recognizes the following religions which the xtians categorize as pagan: The Church of Goth, Satanism, and the Church of Vampirism. Just a note: there are two different categories within Goth and Vampirism. Most people do not make this a religious belief. To them it is a "lifestyle". However, there are Gothic and Vampire churches forming and they do believe in deity. I'm not an expert, but if you wish to learn more go over to darksites.com and do a page search. There are a lot of pages put up by weirdos and nut cases, but you will find some written by intelligent people who know what they are talking about.

Wicca is only a very small part of the Pagan religions. Even within Wicca there are different "sects". There are Alexandrians, Georgians, Gardnerians, Temple of Isis, and many more. We are not against the wiccans, no more than we are the xtians. We are only against those who prostelitize that their belief or their sect's belief is the only way, and everyone must follow what their sect believes, and in doing so deny our "freedom of choice". Many wiccans have become just like the xtians in their prostelizing of anti-choice".

A word about ecclectic practices: You can be Pagan or Wiccan and use different types of magickal practices or systems (magick not religion), there's nothing wrong with that. Just remember that terms such as Celtic, Dianic, etc. is a "cultural definition" not a separate religious practice. And although these different societies/cultures used different names for their Gods and Goddesses it still does not make them a different religion. You can be Alexandiran and use any deity you wish. Or you can practice Kaballah as part of a magickal ceremony without it deviating from your "religious" beliefs. So do not come back and say, "Well you say that we can't mix and match religions, but I'm eclectic so does that mean I can't use other sytems?" That's not what I said. What I said was you can't mix religions...you can't be xtian and Wiccan, or Wiccan and Druid or Asatru, or Wiccan and Jewish. But you can be Wiccan and use Odin or Cerridwen in a rite, you just can't mix and match religious beliefs. You CAN be a non-denomination Pagan if you wish to set your own "belief and worship" standards. Or you can use any type of magickal system "Kabbalah, Golden Dawn, Hoo-Doo, Folk Magick, etc. and be any one of the above mentioned religions. And if you still don't understand this, then you are either really dense or just plain stupid!

My parents are Pagan elders who have been active initiated members of both the Alexandrian tradition and the O.T.O. or Ordo Templi Orientis, a lodge of Ceremonial Magickians which was brought to the United States by Aliester Crowley. The OTO was originally a Masonic Order. My parents have been practicing Pagans in one form or another for over 30 years. They raised me as Pagan, and I understand all of the differences as well as my history. There are a lot of people who do not know the difference between Paganism, Witchcraft and Wicca. And they are out there trying to teach you as if they were experts! There are differences in beliefs.

Often you will hear adults argue about what is and isn't right. They should not be fighting. They should accept the beliefs and opinions of others in the Pagan community. They should stop fighting, come together as one in order to fight the fudamentalist threat aganst our freedom of religion, and to educate the public about who we are and what we believe. They need to stop hiding and come "out of their broom closets" to show that there a many more pagans than the xtians believe. If we let the people know we exist, then they won't be able to fight us so easily.

The reede, wicca and paganism is not against the use of poppets. Only those who never went beyond reading a few misguided books will lead you to believe that protection, binding and poppets are evil. It's no different than the xtians saying that "action figures" are evil or that cartoons are evil. Those that do not understand will always name the misunderstood as "evil". Evil is only what you think it. Something can only be evil if you intend to hurt someone for any reason. Binding an action or destructive force does not bind the person. And no, you should never stick pins in a poppet! Poppets are used in several traditions for healing, prosperity, luck, finding a job, and anything else you can burn a candle for. The difference is that the poppet is stuffed with the correct herbs and roots, along with the persons hair, nail clippings, something that they wore a lot, or a pice of paper with their handwriting. The person working the spell places a photo of them in front of the poppet to help visualize them and the help they need being accomplished.

Many of these "uneducated" wiccans will talk about "Karma" or greet you with terms like "namaste". Both of these terms come from the "Eastern mystic practices, beliefs or religions. They have no place in the craft. The term karma did not come to the US until the late 1960's. It was never part of our belief system. The pagan traiditons abide by the "law of three", so if you think it's ok to burn a red candle with the intention of hurting someone or causing them pain such as taking away their boyfriend or girlfriend, causing them trouble at school, or hurting your teacher, you had better think twice! The law of three means that whatever you do will come back to you 3 x 3. So if you are being nice that's what you get back. If you are hurting others, that's what you will get in return. If you are simply protecting yourself, then you will be o.k.

You should never do a love spell, because it's bendig someone's will and that isn't nice! Thinking nasty thoughts about others creates a magickal force which will create "thoughtform entity" that will hurt someone. You will have to pay for that too! And before you try using magick on someone, make sure that they are not an elder or someone who has been practicing a lot longer than you have. The experienced witch/pagan places a mirror shield around themselves every morning. So whatever you send out to them will bounce back to you if it's negative. You will get back what you sent out 3 x 3!

There are also some things you need to know about spell working and magick that the books do not tell you. When a spell calls for you to draw something in red ink, it really means blood - your own, not someone elses! The most potent magick is produced when you incorporate a few drops of your blood on the candle, on a magickal talisman (sigil), or in the incense you burn for your spell. But only do this if you are really in need of something. After all who wants to mutilate themselves of have cuts on their fingers! You can get an infection, or your school will think that your parents are abusing you or that you are taking drugs. No one needs that kind of trouble.

Witch bottles are buried on your property for protection. Most books will tell you to put pins, rusty nails, olive oil and red wine in the bottle, then seal and bury it. That's not going to be a very effective witch bottle if you don't include your own urine in that list of ingredients. Don't forget to dig up the bottle before you move away from home, or if your parents decide move. If you don't dig it up you will cause trouble for every new owner, tenant, or for your remaining family members if you just move out on your own. Because the bottle is meant for "your" protection, any new resident will be considered an intruder by the house and all of the spirits that inhabit that area. So please be kind, remember to dig up the witch bottle!

The Wiccan Principles of Belief

We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm
of life forces marked by the phases of the moon and the
seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.

We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique
responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in
harmony with nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment
to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than ordinary, it
is sometimes called "supernatural", but we see it as lying within
that which is naturally potential to all.

We conceive of the creative power in the universe as
manifesting through polarity- as masculine and feminine- and
that this same creative power lives in all people, and functions
through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We
value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive
of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol
and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies
used in magical practice and religious worship.

We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological
worlds-sometimes known as the spiritual world, the collective
unconscious, the inner planes, etc.- and we see in the
interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal
phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither
dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our
fulfillment.

We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor
those who teach, respect those who share their greater
knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have
courageously given of themselves in leadership.

We see religion, magick, and wisdom in living as being united
in the way one views the world and lives within it- a world
view and philosophy of life, which we identify as witchcraft
paganism, or wicca way.

Calling oneself "witch" does not make a witch- but neither
does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and
initiations. A witch seeks to control the forces within
him/herself that makes life possible in order to live wisely
and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with
nature.

We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of
life, in continuation of evolution and development of
consciousness, that gives meaning to the universe we know,
and to our personal role within it.

Our only animosity toward christianity, or toward any other
religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that it's
institutions have claimed to be "the one true right and only
way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and
suppress other ways of religious practices and belief.

As American witches, we are not threatened by debates on the
history of the craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy
of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned
with our present and our future.

We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil", nor do we
worship any entity known as "satan" or "the devil" as
defined by christian tradition. We do not seek power through
the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that
personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another.

We work within nature for that which is contributory to our
health and well-being.