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Letters
Wall Street Witches
Tarish, whose work has appeared in our pages (identified these days by her `T' sigil), sent me a copy of an article from the Wall St. Journal and her response to the editor. They are too lengthy to quote here, but you can find the article, titled "In Goddess Worship, There's Little Room For Old Patriarchy," in the June 7th issue. (I don't know at this point if they have printer her letter.)
In her letter, Tarish said: the "article makes witches (and there are many male witches/Wiccans) and other Worshipers of the Goddess, sound like a bunch of hysterical, militant feminists, ready to abolish the other half of our species entirely!" The Journal's article was a different (but predictable) addition to the misinformation about Pagans. It is nice to see an article about Witches in a respectable, mainstream publication like the Wall St. Journal. It is nice to see the Craft distinguished from Satanism. It is irritating to have it displayed as a kooky, faddish, maniacal, male-hating psuedo-religion.
It is also irritating that the article seems so objective. Its information seems accurate, but it is episodic, unrepresentative and out of context—classic dysinformation. Yet, it is still a positive step. If the WSJ prints Tarish's letter, the episode may well be very positive.
—S.R.
Dearth Day
There was no mention of Earth Day in the last March-April (vol.2, no.2) issue. It wasn't even listed on your "Magickal Events." Why not?
Z
Utica, NY
Oops. I didn't notice it listed on any of the calendars I checked when doing the "Magickal Events." Let's pretend that we joined the Earth First boycott of Earth Day that I heard about. As I recall, this was in response to `excessive commercialism.' I do support such a boycott, because the commercialism seems to trivialize critical issues. On the other hand, I strongly support Earth Day because it gets the word out. The commercialism and the boycott together help to popularize ecology and help people to take it seriously despite the packaging. I'll try to switch to the commercial side next year, and list Earth Day in 1991.
—S.R.
Smoking Witches
Does smoking interfere with raising power and is it compatible with the ideals of the Craft?
I don't think smoking directly relates to the Craft—at least not as typical smokers practice it. The Native American ritual offering of tobacco smoke is very close to the Craft. If one engaged in such practices, I feel casual smoking would compromise the offering. (But I also feel that using your Athame to peel potatoes would do the same, and not everyone agrees with me on that.) The obvious health problems reflect on the Craft in that this religion celebrates the interrelationship of life, including one's own. But I don't think that's a good reason to beat one's self up about it. There are enough good reasons to quit without looking for more. If you do want more, though, I hear that smoking "puts holes in your aura." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it's not good and it does compromise metaphysical work by affecting your energies. If you want to quit, the Crystal Man (in vol.2, no.1) suggested botswana agate, because it enhances one's ability to focus on a particular problem. In short: smoking interferes with your power at least somewhat and it does not compliment the Craft — but these problems are relatively insignificant. If you can smoke while knowing the health risk, I wouldn't worry about anything else.
—S.R.
Silencing the Voice of "Reason"
As a solitary, there have been times when, in the midst of a ritual, a small voice in the back of my mind says, "Pssst! Are you nuts? If only the office crew could see you now!" Is there a method of dealing with these situations of doubt or questioning if they arise? I've often envied Covens their mutual support and ability to assure one another it's not time for a wardrobe with sleeves that tie in the back.
Support is certainly helpful (though it doesn't put an end to the problem). For solitaries, there are still things like books and magazines to help convince them that they aren't necessarily ready for a rubber room. In the pamphlet, "How to Use Magick with a Straight Face," I quote a japanese saying I heard: People who eat fugu are stupid; people who do not eat fugu are also stupid. Fugu is a dish made from the toxic puffer fish. Every once in a while, a japanese epicure will die from it. Obviously there are good reasons not to eat it. On the other hand, why not? You can't totally avoid danger, so why not embrace it and enjoy it every once in a while.
The point (or my point, anyway) is that the two sides are equally valid. Similarly, the Craft is silly—from one point of view. But then, so is "the office crew." The question is, which point of view makes you happier? If you find one you like, stick with it and ignore the voice of the heard. You may certainly want to keep your view private—no sense in making things more difficult. But you needn't heed the opinions of others. And when that opinion expresses itself as a small voice in the back of your mind, don't try to suppress it, just go on about your business. It's a problem, but it will diminish as you get used to doing what you want. Outside of ritual, you can work on the tortuous justifications to help shut the voice up (as I did in "Morphogenetic Magick" in vol.2, nos.1&2). Inside ritual, act as though there were no voice and eventually there won't be.
—S.R.
Group Dynamics
Perhaps it would be possible to give some suggestions or "dos & don'ts" for those who may be interested in forming Circles or Pagan groups in their areas.
Great idea—I hope this inspires some response. Some things I suggest avoiding: Be very careful of charging money. It's OK to pay for party expenses and such things, when everyone agrees (and preferably pays) in advance. Avoid co-ownership; make sure it's clear who owns what. Avoid sex (right)—be exceedingly careful of intimate relationships, but don't be cold or distant. In our society, people are rarely mature enough to keep from fragmenting a group when there are many intimate relationships. Love and intimacy are great, but beware of promiscuity!
Things to do: Have regular meetings and do something appropriate at each one, even if it's just reading aloud. It seems that one meeting a week is a good frequency. It's tough to maintain interest with more or less than that. "Extra curricular" activities (movies, campouts, and dinners) are a good idea.
A group must have dedication to succeed. It needs at least a few members (probably the core group) that are willing to work hard just to keep things going. They must be willing to accept nothing for something. It is a major effort just to overcome entropy. Only if you have some that understand this and are willing to make the sacrifice can the group survive. In this sense, the group is like an ever-dependent child.
As to starting a group, every genesis I know has been a "study group" or class (a Coven was rarely, if ever, the stated purpose). This seems ideal. It's low pressure. It gives members the chance to get to know each other and do some serious weeding-out (an essential task). You needn't fool around too much with tedious democracy, a bane of nascent groups. You can more easily hide the nature of what you're doing from Fundie terrorists, et al.
Once you have things going, there are some things to beware. Democracy is almost as big a threat as autocracy. Everyone knows the threat of the latter. Democracy is a problem when it threatens the cohesiveness of the group. I once talked with a man who had a old list of "Alternative Communities" that he wanted to visit. Most were defunct by the time he went looking for them. Those that survived had strong leadership. The groups that died in the few years since the list's publication, had tended toward pure democracy. A Coven is not a government. It has no moral obligation to any particular system as long as everyone is free to come and go without cost.
A group's purpose is what the members choose. That purpose, | 
