References to Wicca during the 1980s &1990s.

From books on Wicca, and the media

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From books on Wicca and Witchcraft:

	Anthony Kemp, "Witchcraft and Paganism Today", Michael O'Mara Books (1993), P. 6: "It is essential to bear in mind that neither Paganism nor Witchcraft has anything in common with Satanism or devil-worship. Pagans do not accept the existence of the devil, regarding him as a Christian aberration, and thus cannot worship him. [Note: Satanists do not accept the existence of the Christian devil either; they do not worship Satan as a living entity.]
	Starhawk, "Truth of Date", Harper and Row (1987), P. 7: "Witchcraft is.....the old, pre-Christian tribal religion of Europe. Like other earth-based, tribal traditions, Witchcraft sees the earth as sacred.... in reality our tradition has nothing to do with Satanism, a peculiarly Christian heresy." [Note: Starhawk appears to believe that Satanism is an inverted form of Christianity, and that both Satanists and Christians recognize the existence of the devil. This is not accurate.]
	Starhawk, "Spiral Dance", Harper and Row (1989), P. 6: "Nobody registers Witches or keeps official statistics of Pagans, but some indication of this growth can be seen in the extended bibliography of books on the Goddess published since 1979... The Spiral dance has sold over 100,000 copies.... "
	Scott Cunningham, "Earth, Air, fire & Water", Llewellyn (1992), P. 211: "Wicca: A contemporary polytheistic religion with spiritual roots in the earliest expressions of reverence for nature as a manifestation of the divine. In other words, Wicca is a modern religion built around reverence for a Goddess and a God, which created all that exists, including the Earth. Wicca also embraces the practice of Magic as a tool of personal and global transformation, and usually teaches the doctrine of reincarnation. Many Wiccans identify with the word 'Witch'."

"Witch: Anciently, a European practitioner of the remnants of pre-Christian Natural Magic. One who practiced Witchcraft. This term's meaning was later deliberately altered to denote demented, dangerous supernatural beings who practiced destructive magic and who threatened Christianity......Though this negative meaning is still currently accepted by many non-Witches, it doesn't describe witches themselves, who simply practice non-threatening, loving, Natural Magic. The term Witch is also used by some members of Wicca to describe themselves."

	Robin Skelton, "The Practice of Witchcraft", Porcepic Books (1990), P. 26: "Do witches worship the Devil? The answer is 'No'. First, the Devil is a figure in Christian doctrine, and Wicca predates Christianity. Moreover, the figure of Satan, or the Devil, was almost entirely ignored by the Church until the 6th Century AD when it became politically wise to identify the horned consort of the Goddess as equivalent to the adversarial figure who is featured in Genesis and the Book of Job..."
	Margot Adler, "Drawing Down the Moon", Beacon Press (1979), P. 10 & P. 418: "Dictionaries define Witches as (primarily) women who are either seductive and charming (bewitching) or ugly and evil (wicked). In either case, the women are supposed to possess a variety of "supernatural" powers. The lexicographic definitions of witch are rather confusing and bear little relation to the definitions given by Witches themselves....Other estimates [of Neo-Pagans in the United States] have gone as high as 100,000.....There are at least one hundred Pagan periodicals."
	Arnold & Patricia Crowther, "The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft", Citadel Press (1974), P. 137: "[Witchcraft] is the original prehistoric religion of Western Europe."
	Vivianne Crowley, "Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age", Aquarian Press (1989), P. 51: "The word 'witch' is a difficult one, full of negative connotations....it is a word which might be tempting to discard. I think this would however be a mistake and an affront to those of our ancestors who died for their beliefs."
	Dr. Leo Louis Martello, "Witchcraft, The Old Religion", Citadel Press (Undated; probably 1973), P. 12 & P. 26: "Any book that states that Witches make pacts with the devils, have sex orgies or say the Lord's Prayer backwards is either blatantly deceptive or totally ignorant of the truth."

"For centuries, Witchcraft has been the garbage heap upon which all the moral refuse of other people has been dumped. The Old Religion has been vilified, perjured about, twisted, persecuted and prosecuted, not because of what it was (and is) but because of what the Church said it was."

Marcello Truzzi, "The Occult Revival", quoted by A. Lehmann & J. Myers in "Magic, Witchcraft and Religion", Mayfield Publishing Co. (1989), P. 408: "Satanism is basically a worship of the Judaeo-Christian Devil.... Practitioners in witchcraft do not usually view themselves as an heretical offshoot of Christianity....Most witches perceive witchcraft as an ancient, pre-Christian fertility religion that the Christian churches sought to suppress; primarily through the Catholic inquisitions and the Protestant witch trials.... Most of the presently vast literature on Satanism is quite unreliable." [This expresses the common but inaccurate belief that Satanists worship the Christian devil.]

Silver RavenWolf, "Ride a Silver Broomstick" Lewellyn (1993), P. 13: "Satanic Witch: One cannot be a satanic Witch because Witches do not believe in Satan." [Note: Neither do Satanists.]

From the media:

	Anon, "Witches in the U.S. Military Forces," Daily Oklahoman, (1987-NOV-27), P. 19 quoted by Nelson Price in "New Age, The Occult and Lion Country", Power Books (1989), P. 98: "According to Sergeant L A Johnson, founder of the Farwander Military Pagan Fellowship, these neopagans encompass such groups as the Wiccans, the Druids, the goddess worshipers, people who worship the Nordic-Celtic pantheons, the ancient Egyptian pantheons, and various native American beliefs. They parallel New Age philosophy in their belief in multiple deities as well as the oneness of all nature."
	Rev. Paul Newman, Division of World Outreach, United Church of Canada, "Male Witch Fights to Overturn Ruling Denying Access to Son" quoted in Toronto Star (1992-NOV-16): "I wish to testify that the Wiccan religion is an authentic, respectable religion that works for the health and well-being of its followers. It is not to be confused with Satanism which is a destructive, evil movement." [Note: This is apparently a misunderstanding of the nature of Satanism.]
	Canadian Press "Judge Gives Witch Right to See Son" Kingston Whig Standard (Kingston ON, Canada) (1992-NOV-17) P. 2: "Mr. [George] Gay admits he has been involved in Wicca, a religion involving worship of nature and pagan deities, for a year, but said there is no such thing as black magic witchcraft... Wicca is an ancient name for witchcraft.....Mr. Gay said the court decision shows misconceptions about the Wicca religion can be overcome. Mr. Gay said there is widespread ignorance of Wicca. 'There's no hocus-pocus involved. Wicca is about a bunch of caring people trying to make life more bearable.'"
	Canadian Press, "Woman Keeps Son from Father who she Maintains is a Witch" The Recorder and Times (Brockville ON, Canada) 1992-NOV-16, P. A8: "A Calgary man is going to court today to seek access to a son he has never seen, access the infant's mother has refused because he is a witch..... Describing it as the ancient native spirituality of Europe [Paul W] Newmann says Wiccans were persecuted and forced underground during the 16th and 17th centuries. As part of the neo-pagan movement, Wicca is enjoying renewed popularity."
	"Jen Silverhorse, whose family has practiced Wicca for generations, says the nature-based religion generally uses candles, salt, incense and some type of cup to hold water in its rituals. There is no place for animal sacrifices or sexual excesses. 'Wicca does not believe in a form of true evil. Satanism is a rebellion against Christianity.'......Wicca is as separte (sic) as Baha'i or Islam,' says Silverhorse, a Wiccan teacher who introduced [George] Gay to the craft.
	Mia Stainsby (Vancouver Sun), "The Truth about Witches", The Kingston Whig Standard (Kingston ON, Canada) 1994-FEB-2, P. 2 " is a nature religion, in which the deity, both god and goddess, is in all of nature and accessible to all, no intermediaries needed..... have the legal department at City Hall do some research into Wicca. The conclusion was that Wiccans were perfectly benign."
	"Dispelling witch myths: Wiccans don't perform sacrifices of any living thing. Wicca is sometimes confused with satanism. Wiccans do not believe in Satan or ascribe to the Christian mythos. Wiccans don't perform black masses; it's not their intent to belittle Christian ritual." [Note: more of the same.]

Latest update: 2004-SEP-05
Formatting changed: 2009-DEC-28

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