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So my college campus has its own little Pagan/wiccan circle and the leader has gone on a power trip. She has made the circle entirely Wiccan-Based and anyone who has any Pagan suggestions is ignored. Beltane was recently, and I did not go (I originally was going to) because it was poorly organized...at 12 in the freakin morning. I got the lo down from my roomie (also a pagan) and she told me that not only did they not have anything prepared as prayer wise, but they were just going to cancel it because two people forgot to show. They eventually did continue on with it but here's what happened: The leader had no set prayers so she was going to jump right to cakes and ale, where she brought chicken and stuff as well as made a fire. She left the circle many times without breaking it, and her reasoning was it wasn't an official circle anyway. In addition, they did a rushed meditation and for the rest of the evening stared at chicken while it was cooking, without the leader ever breaking the circle. All of the members (save one) of the circle are tired of this crap and I stopped going to meetings because the leader was so dead set on structure. My roommate feels a little guilty for trying to get this leader off of the circle but I don't think she should, as the leader is being biased. Any opinions?

I agree! So does everyone else in the club (except of course the token brown noser). We're going to vote for a new leader for next year even though it was this leader's idea. If we don't get a new leader, nobody is going to join and the club will fold. Thanks for your input, I'll definitely pass this along to my roomie and see if she'll have any more regret now.

For someone who is trying to everything "wiccan-based", she's missing a really important aspect of it...the whole "correct practice" bit. Even if it is just a pagan group, anytime someone is planning a group ritual, it should be planned out in advance (there's a nifty little worksheet somewhere in the Library) to make sure that you've covered everything. Not only that, but if someone is leading a group, they should be well versed in ritual structure, that even if they had to wing it, they could still come up with something meaningful. Truthfully, I would simply form a new group. If there is such bad feelings within the currently one, you'd be better off starting fresh, than carrying on with the negative energy that is attached to it. If you can find a copy of Amber K's CovenCraft, it has some good tips for forming your own group.

I can't say it doesn't happen though. I had a similar thing happen back in January at a Full Moon ritual that I went to. Though the reasoning was more that the person leading it was running late, and I think she simply forget a few things, more than anything else.

...pitching myself for leads in other people's dreams.