Yeah, see, I understand pseudonyms. I understand "true names."
I just think that...dunno, you'll attract more flies with honey than something that's really kinda funny and stereotype-reinforcing to most people. How's that for a goddamned metaphor?
What a curiously strange assortment. Each one has a specialty in a different area of expertise. If I was looking into well-written poetic eco-feminist ritual construction and thealogy I would turn to Starhawk. If I was looking into studying the Qabalah (in the Western Mystery School sense of the term), I'd maybe pick up a book by Butler. I might pick up Thorsson if I was studying rune-lore and Germanic magical practices, and I would pick up RavenWolf I wanted to study watered-down tripe that distorts Wicca.
Indeed, it's curious to see how various people responded to this.
My primary goal was to see how pseudonyms and true names can possibly drive people away from books that would ultimately be of interest to them. I chose an unrelated four just for that purpose.
I know that when I started these things, there were names I avoided simply because they made me giggle.
The issue of "magickal" or "true" names in the esoteric/Pagan communities is a complex one. I personally prefer using my given name instead of a more "creative" one. Then again, great writing will overcome an unusual name. Starhawk has been around so long and is so well known that I doubt most Pagans even think of calling her "Miriam Simos" at this point.
Indeed, I'd never use any name but my own to write anything on the subject, or nearly any subject, with one odd exception that I've only used once.
The Starhawk one is the most curious of all, too me, since as you say she's quite famous IN the circle, but outside? Any beginner that wasn't a doe-eyed "Ooh Magickal Wiccancrafts am cool!" might be turned off. Indeed, I know some who have been.
Still haven't gotten to reading her stuff, as it's not really my field...
Hee, my first run-in with an occulty book was Silver Ravenwolf. Gahd, it was silly. I can still feel the corn syrup dripping off it into my lap. ::shudder::
The books that followed it were by LaVey, Crowley, Dee, and King Solomon, because the name "Starhawk" didn't piss off the nuns enough, and there weren't enough pentagrams. And thank goodness too, because instead of learning how to get beat up for being a hippy, I learned: - That Satan is funny - That Crowley was a really good writer - That Enochian is a fun cypher - That normal pentagrams are pointless and boring - That you can scare anyone with a black mirror and the proper tone of voice; and - That there's no such thing as "too much free time".
I'm glad you mentioned Crowley- I was wondering why he wasn't on that list! Guess it makes sense now that I know what the poll was about- not neccessarily looking at content- just which name people found more reliable by the sound of it...Crowley is WAY too well known...
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I understand "true names."
I just think that...dunno, you'll attract more flies with honey than something that's really kinda funny and stereotype-reinforcing to most people. How's that for a goddamned metaphor?
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Still keeping my top player status, and I infected the team that's currently in first...
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That happened to me the first time I played, when I accidentally was in the 3pm to 3am timezone.
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NEWS DOG
~WITH~
THA NEWS
( ... )
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( ... )
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My primary goal was to see how pseudonyms and true names can possibly drive people away from books that would ultimately be of interest to them. I chose an unrelated four just for that purpose.
I know that when I started these things, there were names I avoided simply because they made me giggle.
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The Starhawk one is the most curious of all, too me, since as you say she's quite famous IN the circle, but outside? Any beginner that wasn't a doe-eyed "Ooh Magickal Wiccancrafts am cool!" might be turned off. Indeed, I know some who have been.
Still haven't gotten to reading her stuff, as it's not really my field...
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The books that followed it were by LaVey, Crowley, Dee, and King Solomon, because the name "Starhawk" didn't piss off the nuns enough, and there weren't enough pentagrams. And thank goodness too, because instead of learning how to get beat up for being a hippy, I learned:
- That Satan is funny
- That Crowley was a really good writer
- That Enochian is a fun cypher
- That normal pentagrams are pointless and boring
- That you can scare anyone with a black mirror and the proper tone of voice; and
- That there's no such thing as "too much free time".
Booyah.
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Guess it makes sense now that I know what the poll was about- not neccessarily looking at content- just which name people found more reliable by the sound of it...Crowley is WAY too well known...
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