Book-It 'o9! Book #5
More of the Fifty Books Challenge! This was another one that took forever since it was read between several others. I'm beginning to think I can't read books any other way. This was a library request.
Title: Out of the Shadows: Myths and Truths of Modern Wicca by Lilith McLelland
Details: Copyright 2002, Citadel Press Books
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): Being a witch is trendy these days-- but Wicca is no fad. It's a legitimate religion with devoted practitioners the world over. This informative down-to-earth book will help you separate the truth from the myth and media hype. Whether you're new to Wicca and in search of reliable information, or have been practicing awhile and wish to deepen your understanding, you'll find the advice and answers you've been looking for. You'll learn
♦FIFTEEN THINGS THAT DEDICATED WICCANS DEFINITELY NEED TO KNOW
♦THE PRACTICAL DIFFERENCES AMONG WITCHES, WICCANS, AND PAGANS
♦WHY STEREOTYPES ABOUT WITCHES ARE SO PERSISTENT
♦THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEITIES, AND THE MAJOR PANTHEONS
♦IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN CHOOSING A TRAD OR COVEN
OUT OF THE SHADOWS delivers the inside scoop from a longtime practicing Wiccan priestess. Written in a friendly, no-nonsense style, this book tells you what to expect- and what to avoid- as you follow this spiritual path. You'll discover that Wicca is much more than mere magic- it's a Mystery religion that will inspire you to live a richer, more creative, and more meaningful life.
Why I Wanted to Read It: This book purported to be for both the neophyte and the experienced practitioner. I fall towards the latter after eight and a half years.
How I Liked It: There's nothing really here that can't be better found on The Witches' Voice. McLelland's almost aggressively folksy style (think Sarah Palin, something I'm sure would make the Dan Quaylette cringe given the context) can grate terribly and cost her message(s). When did "down-to-earth" become "completely unpolished"? Were it not for the grammar/spelling/punctuation in place no doubt by the publishing company, and the lack of *action stars*, these chapters could be in any of the thousands of personal websites or blogs.
Particularly obnoxious folksiness examples:
⊕[in the chapter "What Your Mama Didn't Teach You About Wicca" under the section of the same name]
Those were the days, you betcha. And now you've run into a bitchy old curmudgeon like me, who's about to tell you that it ain't all bright blessings and white light.
⊕[in the chapter "What Flavor are You?" under the section "A Witch? A Wiccan? A Pagan? What's the Difference?"]
Many Wiccans hate these shows [Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer]because the MTV-style "witches" with the perfect hair and make-up are able to do things like point their fingers and conjure stuff or throw energy fireballs at bad guys. Oh, come on... you know we wish we could do that stuff, just like we wish we'd gone to Hogwarts-- so don't even bother denying it.
Not to be all "Paganier Than Thou" but I actually converted to Paganism because of my views on deity, not because I really wished I could throw energy balls at bad guys. Or go to Hogwarts.
⊕[in the chapter "What Flavor are You?" under the section "Isobel Gowdie, Psycho and Witch", after a court confession from convicted 17th century Scottish witch Isobel Gowdie describing sex with whom McLelland calls "the Horndog of Hades himself, Satan"]
Obviously, hootchie-mama Isobel badly needed a guy-- or a vibrator. To the popular imagination, Isobel was the seventeenth century combination of Stephen King and Larry Flynt.
⊕[in the chapter "What Flavor are You?" under the section "Witch Trials in the United States"]
It's interesting that recent theories about the Salem trials have tried to excuse away the dismal behavior of the teenage accusers as having been brought about by ergot poisoning due to tainted wheat in bread. What this theory doesn't take into account are the facts that:
The fits seemed to come and go on a regular basis for a period of about nine months (anybody poisoned for that long on a day-to-day basis would have been in a bad way, but the girls were otherwise healthy-- that is, when they weren't screaming and whirling around like Britney Spears on a caffeine overload).
Okay, that isn't even a good cultural simile. Keeping in mind this is 2002 when the author's writing this (or a little over a month after the September 11th attacks, as she notes in the chapter titled "Dealing with Discrimination", "the bombing [sic] of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" (hey, cut her a break! It's not like anyone was talking about 9/11 at the time). So wouldn't a better dickish cultural reference be "when they weren't more delusional than Anne Heche walking down Fresno" or "when they weren't screaming and freaking out like Martin Lawrence on Venture Boulevard". There's so many ways this could have been an amusing dickish pop cultural reference rather than just a tedious dickish pop culture reference.
⊕[in the chapter "Coming Into Wicca" under the section of the same name]
Remember this: Being pissed off at your current religion is not a good reason to become a Wiccan.If it was, we'd probably have more members than Regis Philbin has wrinkles.
STUPID POP CULTURE REFERENCES FOR ALL!
⊕[in the chapter "Coming Into Wicca" under the section "Is Wicca a Cult?"]
Plus, Pagans would never be caught dead drinking Kool-Aid: They tend to prefer home-brewed mead, and the gods help anybody who tries to slip something into somebody's prized recipe.
⊕[in the chapter "The Image of Wicca" under the section "Frivolous Questions and Obviously Biased Interviews"]
If you find yourself being asked a lot of stupid questions in a patronizing manner, you'll just have to do the best you can or find a graceful way out. Getting mad and arguing, then storming off is strictly for Jerry Springer white-trash.
⊕[in the chapter "Three Things That Definitely Mark You as a Beginner" under the section "'I'm a Shaman!'"]
Plus, most of these instant shamans claim to be Native American-- in this country, anyway, because they're the only indigenous shamanic culture around. Of course, ripping off Native Americans is a time-honored custom among us white folks, but until the New Age began, at least we left their religion alone.
This isn't so much obnoxious folksiness as just obnoxious. Fun fact: not all Pagans, Wiccans, or Witches are white. Absolutely not. And speaking of someone of mixed ethnicity, I'd know. There are few things more obnoxious than what could be called "Caucasonormativity". Except for maybe inventing words like that.
⊕[in the chapter "Fifteen Things That Everybody Knows But You" under the section "Broomsticks and Flying Ointment"]
There were tales of witches who left the house at night to go frolic with the Devil, that satanic stud muffin, while fooling their husbands by leaving a broomstick on their side of the bed. Those must have been some anorexic babes.
Okay, aside from the goddawful folksiness, in the book entire... fanning some Witch Wars? Check. Spreading useless gossip around about the "Salem Pagan scene"? Check. Personal pet peeves stretched to look like societal fail? Check. I've heard much praise for this book's advice when talking to the media but again, there's really nothing here that isn't much better told in The Witches' Voice White Pages.
Notable: In Chapter Ten, "You'll Never Cast a Spell in This Town Again" under the section "Witch Wars, Scams, Secrets, and[sic] Lies, and Other Nasty Habits", McLelland "observes"
And frankly, Wiccans, Witches, and Pagans are often drama queens, the men as bad as the women. I've never met one who isn't, and I've met a whole lot of us, including the Big Name Pagans. That's not necessarily a bad thing: It's what makes us interesting.
I think I have a very different definition of drama queen from McLelland's. To me, a drama queen is a thoroughly histrionic individual constantly tripping over his or her self-perpetuated crisis, pretty much unaware of anyone else, or herself/himself for that matter. The drama queen is someone for whom 90% or more sentences begin with "I" or "My". This is not a mature or healthy individual, much less someone you'd want to be around. I've met drama queens. Sadly, I've lived with them and worked with them. None of them were Pagans.
I've met quite a few Pagans (although apparently not as many as this "Wiccan priestess and activist since 1986" and even a "Big Name" Pagan (why the fuck is that so important? Are they better than other Pagans because they're famous?). And the majority of the Pagans I've met are bookish, geeky, thoughtful individuals, with maybe half I've met that were quite shy. I've known some that were kind of obnoxious (like with any other kind of people) but I don't think any classified as a drama queen.
I can't say for sure, since I'm not NOT me and all, but I'm pretty sure I'm not a drama queen. I might be wrong, though. But if I was/am, I really don't think Paganism would have anything to do with it. I don't think a religious path that involves enormous amounts of self-study and effort would attract and keep many drama queens, actually. At least not, again, to my definition of drama queen.
The book wins a few points (but has them quickly eaten up by the massive amounts of FAIL I've described above) for referring to the Faery Tradition (the Tradition more than any other that I follow) as "the Mensa of the neo-Pagan world". Of course, you have to consider what Mensa actually is, but I'm pretty sure the author meant it as a compliment.
Title: Out of the Shadows: Myths and Truths of Modern Wicca by Lilith McLelland
Details: Copyright 2002, Citadel Press Books
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): Being a witch is trendy these days-- but Wicca is no fad. It's a legitimate religion with devoted practitioners the world over. This informative down-to-earth book will help you separate the truth from the myth and media hype. Whether you're new to Wicca and in search of reliable information, or have been practicing awhile and wish to deepen your understanding, you'll find the advice and answers you've been looking for. You'll learn
♦FIFTEEN THINGS THAT DEDICATED WICCANS DEFINITELY NEED TO KNOW
♦THE PRACTICAL DIFFERENCES AMONG WITCHES, WICCANS, AND PAGANS
♦WHY STEREOTYPES ABOUT WITCHES ARE SO PERSISTENT
♦THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEITIES, AND THE MAJOR PANTHEONS
♦IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN CHOOSING A TRAD OR COVEN
OUT OF THE SHADOWS delivers the inside scoop from a longtime practicing Wiccan priestess. Written in a friendly, no-nonsense style, this book tells you what to expect- and what to avoid- as you follow this spiritual path. You'll discover that Wicca is much more than mere magic- it's a Mystery religion that will inspire you to live a richer, more creative, and more meaningful life.
Why I Wanted to Read It: This book purported to be for both the neophyte and the experienced practitioner. I fall towards the latter after eight and a half years.
How I Liked It: There's nothing really here that can't be better found on The Witches' Voice. McLelland's almost aggressively folksy style (think Sarah Palin, something I'm sure would make the Dan Quaylette cringe given the context) can grate terribly and cost her message(s). When did "down-to-earth" become "completely unpolished"? Were it not for the grammar/spelling/punctuation in place no doubt by the publishing company, and the lack of *action stars*, these chapters could be in any of the thousands of personal websites or blogs.
Particularly obnoxious folksiness examples:
⊕[in the chapter "What Your Mama Didn't Teach You About Wicca" under the section of the same name]
Those were the days, you betcha. And now you've run into a bitchy old curmudgeon like me, who's about to tell you that it ain't all bright blessings and white light.
⊕[in the chapter "What Flavor are You?" under the section "A Witch? A Wiccan? A Pagan? What's the Difference?"]
Many Wiccans hate these shows [Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer]because the MTV-style "witches" with the perfect hair and make-up are able to do things like point their fingers and conjure stuff or throw energy fireballs at bad guys. Oh, come on... you know we wish we could do that stuff, just like we wish we'd gone to Hogwarts-- so don't even bother denying it.
Not to be all "Paganier Than Thou" but I actually converted to Paganism because of my views on deity, not because I really wished I could throw energy balls at bad guys. Or go to Hogwarts.
⊕[in the chapter "What Flavor are You?" under the section "Isobel Gowdie, Psycho and Witch", after a court confession from convicted 17th century Scottish witch Isobel Gowdie describing sex with whom McLelland calls "the Horndog of Hades himself, Satan"]
Obviously, hootchie-mama Isobel badly needed a guy-- or a vibrator. To the popular imagination, Isobel was the seventeenth century combination of Stephen King and Larry Flynt.
⊕[in the chapter "What Flavor are You?" under the section "Witch Trials in the United States"]
It's interesting that recent theories about the Salem trials have tried to excuse away the dismal behavior of the teenage accusers as having been brought about by ergot poisoning due to tainted wheat in bread. What this theory doesn't take into account are the facts that:
The fits seemed to come and go on a regular basis for a period of about nine months (anybody poisoned for that long on a day-to-day basis would have been in a bad way, but the girls were otherwise healthy-- that is, when they weren't screaming and whirling around like Britney Spears on a caffeine overload).
Okay, that isn't even a good cultural simile. Keeping in mind this is 2002 when the author's writing this (or a little over a month after the September 11th attacks, as she notes in the chapter titled "Dealing with Discrimination", "the bombing [sic] of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" (hey, cut her a break! It's not like anyone was talking about 9/11 at the time). So wouldn't a better dickish cultural reference be "when they weren't more delusional than Anne Heche walking down Fresno" or "when they weren't screaming and freaking out like Martin Lawrence on Venture Boulevard". There's so many ways this could have been an amusing dickish pop cultural reference rather than just a tedious dickish pop culture reference.
⊕[in the chapter "Coming Into Wicca" under the section of the same name]
Remember this: Being pissed off at your current religion is not a good reason to become a Wiccan.If it was, we'd probably have more members than Regis Philbin has wrinkles.
STUPID POP CULTURE REFERENCES FOR ALL!
⊕[in the chapter "Coming Into Wicca" under the section "Is Wicca a Cult?"]
Plus, Pagans would never be caught dead drinking Kool-Aid: They tend to prefer home-brewed mead, and the gods help anybody who tries to slip something into somebody's prized recipe.
⊕[in the chapter "The Image of Wicca" under the section "Frivolous Questions and Obviously Biased Interviews"]
If you find yourself being asked a lot of stupid questions in a patronizing manner, you'll just have to do the best you can or find a graceful way out. Getting mad and arguing, then storming off is strictly for Jerry Springer white-trash.
⊕[in the chapter "Three Things That Definitely Mark You as a Beginner" under the section "'I'm a Shaman!'"]
Plus, most of these instant shamans claim to be Native American-- in this country, anyway, because they're the only indigenous shamanic culture around. Of course, ripping off Native Americans is a time-honored custom among us white folks, but until the New Age began, at least we left their religion alone.
This isn't so much obnoxious folksiness as just obnoxious. Fun fact: not all Pagans, Wiccans, or Witches are white. Absolutely not. And speaking of someone of mixed ethnicity, I'd know. There are few things more obnoxious than what could be called "Caucasonormativity". Except for maybe inventing words like that.
⊕[in the chapter "Fifteen Things That Everybody Knows But You" under the section "Broomsticks and Flying Ointment"]
There were tales of witches who left the house at night to go frolic with the Devil, that satanic stud muffin, while fooling their husbands by leaving a broomstick on their side of the bed. Those must have been some anorexic babes.
Okay, aside from the goddawful folksiness, in the book entire... fanning some Witch Wars? Check. Spreading useless gossip around about the "Salem Pagan scene"? Check. Personal pet peeves stretched to look like societal fail? Check. I've heard much praise for this book's advice when talking to the media but again, there's really nothing here that isn't much better told in The Witches' Voice White Pages.
Notable: In Chapter Ten, "You'll Never Cast a Spell in This Town Again" under the section "Witch Wars, Scams, Secrets, and[sic] Lies, and Other Nasty Habits", McLelland "observes"
And frankly, Wiccans, Witches, and Pagans are often drama queens, the men as bad as the women. I've never met one who isn't, and I've met a whole lot of us, including the Big Name Pagans. That's not necessarily a bad thing: It's what makes us interesting.
I think I have a very different definition of drama queen from McLelland's. To me, a drama queen is a thoroughly histrionic individual constantly tripping over his or her self-perpetuated crisis, pretty much unaware of anyone else, or herself/himself for that matter. The drama queen is someone for whom 90% or more sentences begin with "I" or "My". This is not a mature or healthy individual, much less someone you'd want to be around. I've met drama queens. Sadly, I've lived with them and worked with them. None of them were Pagans.
I've met quite a few Pagans (although apparently not as many as this "Wiccan priestess and activist since 1986" and even a "Big Name" Pagan (why the fuck is that so important? Are they better than other Pagans because they're famous?). And the majority of the Pagans I've met are bookish, geeky, thoughtful individuals, with maybe half I've met that were quite shy. I've known some that were kind of obnoxious (like with any other kind of people) but I don't think any classified as a drama queen.
I can't say for sure, since I'm not NOT me and all, but I'm pretty sure I'm not a drama queen. I might be wrong, though. But if I was/am, I really don't think Paganism would have anything to do with it. I don't think a religious path that involves enormous amounts of self-study and effort would attract and keep many drama queens, actually. At least not, again, to my definition of drama queen.
The book wins a few points (but has them quickly eaten up by the massive amounts of FAIL I've described above) for referring to the Faery Tradition (the Tradition more than any other that I follow) as "the Mensa of the neo-Pagan world". Of course, you have to consider what Mensa actually is, but I'm pretty sure the author meant it as a compliment.