New To WitchCraft. [Wanna Help Me?]

[Ritual at Dusk]

oOGarrettOo

Do NOT refer to Silver Ravenwolf as a source on ANYTHING. Especially not Wicca and/or witchcraft as she knows naught on either of these topics, effectually using them synonymously, which they are not. Considering that Wicca is a mystery religion, and Witchcraft is a practice, and both are completely different things, anyone who uses the terms synonymously can be easily dismissed, as they should be. Common sense.

Also, using a fictional story as a source for factualy information is a very, very large oxymoron. Fictional stories are fictional, and while there may be fact in them this fact is usually stretched to fit the story where need be.

In other words: fictional story =/= factual information.

Also spellsandmagic.com is a joke. I was laughing at page one.

First of all, Silver is a very good author and I am sure she knows WAY more about both Wicca and Witchcraft than you do.
Second, how can you make a judgement of spellsandmagic.com when you only visited one page. I agree that some pages are sort of jeuvenile, but that is partly because the site is for teens as well as adults.

Also, I agree that most fictional stories aren't a good source of refrence, that is why I specified the Sweep series and not ALL fictional storied. I have looked over this series and I know enough to tell that the series is very helpful. The real info is very accurate and should be very helpful to beginners in either wicca or witchcraft.  

[Amara Verdandi]

oOGarrettOo

Do NOT refer to Silver Ravenwolf as a source on ANYTHING. Especially not Wicca and/or witchcraft as she knows naught on either of these topics, effectually using them synonymously, which they are not. Considering that Wicca is a mystery religion, and Witchcraft is a practice, and both are completely different things, anyone who uses the terms synonymously can be easily dismissed, as they should be. Common sense.

Also, using a fictional story as a source for factualy information is a very, very large oxymoron. Fictional stories are fictional, and while there may be fact in them this fact is usually stretched to fit the story where need be.

In other words: fictional story =/= factual information.

Also spellsandmagic.com is a joke. I was laughing at page one.

I 100% agree. RavenWolf is just... I don't even want to go there, she has no idea what she's talking about. This about sums it up.

That site was hilarious. I was laughing as soon as I saw. "This site is not intended for children." I guess that's because it'll make them grow up ignorant as hell.  

[ncsweet]

Nightmare Apparition... There are a couple of threads in the Books forum, about why SRW is not all that good of a resource on Wicca. While she may have a few bits and pieces of good information, one has to wade through quite a bit of crap to get to them. When one is just starting out, trying to tell the good from the bad can be difficult at best, so it's really not a good place for them to start. Most of the good stuff can be found in much better books anyways.

As has already been said, if you really want to know more about something - a fictional book is not the place to look for good, solid information. Authors will stretch the facts anyway they can to make their stories better. Sticking to a well researched source book will always be the best choice.

The spellsandmagic site, again while their may be bits and pieces of valid info in there, I'd put it on par with SRW, unless one already knew what they were looking for/at, trying to find the good from the bad, is nearly impossible - especially when no sources are listed for any of his info. The disclaimer at the bottom of his main page, leads me to believe that most of it is just random submissions from users - so there is no telling how accurate any of it is.  

[oOGarrettOo]

Nightmare Apparition

First of all, Silver is a very good author and I am sure she knows WAY more about both Wicca and Witchcraft than you do.
Second, how can you make a judgement of spellsandmagic.com when you only visited one page. I agree that some pages are sort of jeuvenile, but that is partly because the site is for teens as well as adults.

Also, I agree that most fictional stories aren't a good source of refrence, that is why I specified the Sweep series and not ALL fictional storied. I have looked over this series and I know enough to tell that the series is very helpful. The real info is very accurate and should be very helpful to beginners in either wicca or witchcraft.

Coming from someone who has been "practicing" for nigh on two years, I shudder to think what you might determine as factual, knowledgeable information. And indeed I do know a great deal more on the subject than SRW, the first and foremost by acknowledging that she herself doesn't know the slightest on either topic. Considering she's somehow taken an Orthopraxic, mystery, fertility witch-cult and turned it into a sordid religion of rainbows and fairies, as well as insist that Witchcraft and Wicca are one in the same, when clearly they are not, one would be daft to look on her for reality, let alone intelligent, useful information.

And again, fictional stories =/= factual information.  

[Ritual at Dusk]

oOGarrettOo

Nightmare Apparition

First of all, Silver is a very good author and I am sure she knows WAY more about both Wicca and Witchcraft than you do.
Second, how can you make a judgement of spellsandmagic.com when you only visited one page. I agree that some pages are sort of jeuvenile, but that is partly because the site is for teens as well as adults.

Also, I agree that most fictional stories aren't a good source of refrence, that is why I specified the Sweep series and not ALL fictional storied. I have looked over this series and I know enough to tell that the series is very helpful. The real info is very accurate and should be very helpful to beginners in either wicca or witchcraft.

Coming from someone who has been "practicing" for nigh on two years, I shudder to think what you might determine as factual, knowledgeable information. And indeed I do know a great deal more on the subject than SRW, the first and foremost by acknowledging that she herself doesn't know the slightest on either topic. Considering she's somehow taken an Orthopraxic, mystery, fertility witch-cult and turned it into a sordid religion of rainbows and fairies, as well as insist that Witchcraft and Wicca are one in the same, when clearly they are not, one would be daft to look on her for reality, let alone intelligent, useful information.

And again, fictional stories =/= factual information.

oh just forget it, fighting is a lost cause  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Nightmare Apparition

First of all, Silver is a very good author and I am sure she knows WAY more about both Wicca and Witchcraft than you do.

Erm, no.
Here.
Let me show you the kind of garbage that $RW puts in her books.

Also, for someone recommending SRW as a "good" resource, you really don't have a foot to stand on, telling oOGarrettOo that SRW knows more about Wicca and witchcraft. Do you even know what kind of witchcraft experience(s) that oOGarrettOo has?
Back to your cupboard, kettle.

Quote:

Second, how can you make a judgement of spellsandmagic.com when you only visited one page. I agree that some pages are sort of jeuvenile, but that is partly because the site is for teens as well as adults.

I can't really comment on the site because I didn't go visit it. Because I don't give a rat's a**. Because if someone is casting a spell, they had damn well better written it by themselves. If you can't create your own spell you certainly have no business casting it.

Quote:

Also, I agree that most fictional stories aren't a good source of refrence, that is why I specified the Sweep series and not ALL fictional storied. I have looked over this series and I know enough to tell that the series is very helpful. The real info is very accurate and should be very helpful to beginners in either wicca or witchcraft.

I believe there is a thread in the library subforum about Sweep.
Again; at the beginning of your post you were recommending one of the worst Pagan authors as a "good" source - why should the recommendation of a fiction series be given any more consideration? And how is a beginner to know what is "the real info" in a work of fiction?  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Okay, fun fact about the "Sweep" series.

A few years ago, when the series was really big, those of us who knew more than SRW about witchcraft (that is, anything at all) were plagued on forums, chatrooms and more by REALLY REALLY ANNOYING teenagers who SWORE that they were "blood witches". Swore up and down! And every time, every DAMN TIME they'd start on about being soooo much more powerful and knowledgable and SPESHUL because they were oh-so-important blood witches and those of us who actually knew our arses from a hole in the ground obviously weren't worth listening to because we weren't blood witches.

Seriously, I will never forgive that author for making me kill all those teenagers. I kept running out of places to hide the bodies.  

[Ritual at Dusk]

Sanguina Cruenta

Okay, fun fact about the "Sweep" series.

A few years ago, when the series was really big, those of us who knew more than SRW about witchcraft (that is, anything at all) were plagued on forums, chatrooms and more by REALLY REALLY ANNOYING teenagers who SWORE that they were "blood witches". Swore up and down! And every time, every DAMN TIME they'd start on about being soooo much more powerful and knowledgable and SPESHUL because they were oh-so-important blood witches and those of us who actually knew our arses from a hole in the ground obviously weren't worth listening to because we weren't blood witches.

Seriously, I will never forgive that author for making me kill all those teenagers. I kept running out of places to hide the bodies.

That is going to happen with a lot of fiction books. Also, who cares what people who have NO idea what they are talking about say?  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Nightmare Apparition

That is going to happen with a lot of fiction books. Also, who cares what people who have NO idea what they are talking about say?

When they're spreading that misinformation around, I care. When they're casting aspersions on my craft, I care. But for the most part I just find it goddamn irritating.

All over now, of course. Instead, the "I's a vampire!" people have arisen. Voodoo zombies are the next fad. If we get in on it now, we can complain later that everyone else is copying us.  

[ncsweet]

Nightmare Apparition

That is going to happen with a lot of fiction books. Also, who cares what people who have NO idea what they are talking about say?

Because, quite often they go into forums, email lists, blogs, etc... thinking and/or pretending that they know everything there is to know about a subject, and spread misinformation. Then poor unsuspecting beginners, who really have no clue, take what this person says as fact, and they in turn start spreading it around to others as well and/or worse start basing their practices and beliefs around it. Which later can lead to serious heartbreak,when they find out that the person really didn't know diddly-squat about what they were talking about.

It is very harmful to others, to let that sort of thing go unchecked. Nothing worse than finding out your beliefs/practices are built on a bunch of lies/misinformation.  

[x Guenhwyvar x]

Sanguina Cruenta

x Guenhwyvar x

I don't know the first thing about any of this, but when anyone says Wicca or Witchcraft, something in my heart flips around, and I can't help but feel like that is where I should be..

Wicca and witchcraft are actually two very different places. In fact they're not even the same type of place wink

I never said they were the same (sorry if i made it seem that way! v.v). I just meant that they are both part of a world I feel most comfortable in.. does that make any sense..?  

[x Guenhwyvar x]

All I really meant to say is that Wicca feels.. I don't know how to say it.. Like it's right for me. I wish to learn Wicca as well as practice the Craft. However, there is so much to learn, and I am completely ignorant of it all.  

[ncsweet]

The first 2 questions to ask yourself are...

What about Wicca feels right to you?

What about Witchcraft feels right to you?  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Sorry Guen, my mistake ^^

Those are good questions, Sweet <3  

[Brass Bell Doll]

Would someone be willing to explain why Silver Ravenwolf isn't a good source on witchcraft? I understand why she is not a good source on Wicca by the standards here, and why some of her books and the things she suggests in them may be unethical, but what about her books on things like protection magic and prosperity magic?