I am a Wiccan. While there are some amongst us who have been raised in the Craft, the vast majority of Wiccans were raised in other faiths, and came to Wicca later in life. This can lead to a variety of issues stemming from past involvement in other faiths, including concepts and ideals that sometimes directly conflict with the faith that we have come to know and love.

This can be a thorny issue, because there is no absolute central authority in Wicca. In fact, this decided lack of dogma is one thng many like about the Craft, allowing people to build an individual religion suited to their unique needs and outlook. However, even the most flexible system has some basic tenents that are important to be mindful of, or else the uniqueness of that path can be lost. People come to Wicca (and even general Paganism) for a reason, and it's important to make sure that any that that reason isn't undone by being unable to shed old concepts and ideas.

Most people in the Craft come from a Christian background. This is unsuprising, because the vast majority of our nation is at least ostensably Christian. While there are a variety of reasons that people leave the faith of their families to walk the path of the Wicca, many have difficulty shedding all of their old concepts and ideas once they enter the Craft.

This process is quick with some, achingly slow with others, and some never seem to quite achieve it. And yet achieve this we should, especially if one wishes to (or is called to) teach and pass on the Craft to another. Making the transition can be difficult enough on it's own without having someone else's baggage being passed on as well.

Here are a few brief areas that I have seen people have trouble with:

Dualism

Dualism is a pet peeve of mine, and one that I think has had disasterous effects on our whole society. It especially has no place in Wicca, for a few reasons.

Popular Christian dualism is familiar to most of us...the idea that there's absolute truth and absolute error, absolute good and equally pure evil (the evil usually being personified in the person of Satan), etc. Wicca, on the other hand, doesn't live in this black and white world where all good is from our God and all bad comes from some medieval boogeyman. We view the good and bad in our lives as bieng from the Gods, to teach us lessons that we sometimes can't figure out at the times, but we're confident that some day we'll understand.

Likewise, no-one has the exclusive contract on truth...we are a wildly diverse species, we humans, and one person'e truth may not be so for another. Sure, we as a society have agreed that certain things are not OK...needless murder, rape, etc, but these are simply ways to insure a peaceful and safe environment for all of us. Consider these things a self-preservation thing. Likewise, our country takes certain things to be basic values, like not torturing people, that help define our culture and group values. As anyone who's read my stuff before knows, I'm not averse to limits that help us live a healthy, spiritual life.

However, some aspects of dualism have infiltrated our culture to the point of being insidious. Take, for example, "black and white" thinking. This comes from the belief in absolute good and absolute evil, of people being either "saved" or "damned". We have only one choice between "A" and "B", and no other options. The current (false) debate between "staying the course" and "cutting and running" in Iraq is a prime example of this kind of thinking.

Another example is talk of "black" and "white" magick. Anyone who calls themselves a "white" Witch is still a prisioner of dualistic thinking. Even people who think that they're being "reasonable by saying that "the world is not black and white, it's merely shades of grey", are still prisioners of "either or" thinking, because grey is just the combination of the two original extremes!

Wiccans view the world through the eyes of nature, and the natural world is not black and white. It's brown, red, blue, yellow, orange, purple...all the colours and combinations of the rainbow. Likewise, our choices are almost never "either or", but "either or, or, or, or", and so on. This is true of our magick and our lives.

Besides being overtly simplistic, this "black vs. white" distinction also smacks of subtle racisim. Why must all good things be "white" and all bad-nasty-evil things be "black"? I did a talk about Wicca at a job I once held and talked about this semantic racisim, and an African-American co-worker thanked me for pointing this out. He said seeing newspaper accounts of "black magic rituals" drove him nuts, because it reinforced the stereotype about black negativity. I don't care if people don't intend to make this equation, it's there nonetheless. If one means "bad nasty evil", then say "bad-nasty-evil". Simplfying things for the simple-minded doesn't really do much to help them get a clue.

Another remnant of dualism is trying to make a distinction between "ggod" and "evil" sprits. Any experienced Witch will tell you that spirits, especially spirits of the dead, are neither good nor evil. They may be friendly or unfriendly to you, but an unfriendly spirit is no more "evil" than the unfriendly person who cuts you off in traffic. Wiccans don't believe that anything or anyone is completely good or bad, and our perceptions of such are dependent on how it effects on personally.

Another thing that drives me crazy is people holding on to superstitos concepts of things, like Ouija boards, being "bad news". While I don't think that Ouija boards should be sold in toy departments, they're just a tool, and they're as good or bad as the people using them. Again, nothing is intrinicly good or evil, it depends on the intentions on the person using it.

Sexuality

Nothing has been more wrapped up in religious rules and taboos in our culture than sex. While the religious source of some of these things is plain, some have become so wrapped up in our overall culture that their origin gets lost. However, leaving one religious paradigm and entering another makes it important to examine a great many assumptions, and the motivations behind them.

Being a nature-oriented religion, Wicca doesn't have the whole host of regulations and taboos regarding sex that a great many other religions have. Sex is a part of the natural order, and the sex drive is one that is chemically programmed to kick in at a certain point of human development. Once the hormone machine turns on at puberty, it doesn't take much for people to get extremely interested in getting closer to the opposite (or same, if that's how nautre made you) sex.

Since sex is natural, and the natural is sacred, then sex is sacred as well. It's not something dirty and perverted, and nor is it something that's only ok with the Divine if it's safely tucked away in marrage. People are not to be solely the sexual plaything of another...a little self-respect is important, too. However, when and with whom to have sex is something up to the individual and their consenting partner...and no one else.

However, I still see some newbies to the Pagan scene looking askance at the polyamorous (many-lovers) types, as well as the pre-marital fun and games that can happen at Pagan festivals. All I can say to those folks is, get over it. Keeping oneself celebate isn't going to win you any brownie points with people in the Pagan scene, and looking down your nose at people living their own lives with the people who choose to do so with them is only going to isolate you. Sexually active people in our scene aren't "sluts" or "studs", they're people, all living their lives as they see fit. After all, does not the Goddess say (through the charge) that "all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals"?

Blurring The Lines

One of the places that many newbies to the Craft have the most difficult time in letting go of their old Christian baggage is in trying to blend the two paths. Now, I've already spoken as to why Wicca and Christianity aren't compatible in another diary I did called The Trouble With "Christian" Wicca, so I really don't need to re-state it all here. (Though I will quote a brief part:)

All too often, I see those who attempt to mix Christianity with Wicca because they are unsure of leaving their old path. They have been raised Christian, are attracted to Wicca, and yet have a hard time shaking either their attatchment to the familiar or their fear of eternal damnation...

...if they really believe in the Christian concept of damnation, then they should also realise that meddling with anything magickal or mystical will also lead to damnation in the church's eyes. Even leaving the church behind, the bible also condemns most of what Wicca stands for. Just using Jesus and Mary as the God and Goddess won't save you from the fires of hell...if you believe in such a thing.

Those who try to blend the two (like using Jesus and Mary as God and Goddess figures) are not only needlessly clinging to the past, they risk pissing off both Christians and Witches!

Now, I have no problems with using decorated trees at Yule, or holly, mistletoe, and yule logs at the same time of year. And if one wishes to adorn one's abode with bunnies, ducks, and eggs in the spring, then go right ahead! All of these are Pagan symbols that bled into Christian tradition through the ages, and it's just fine to re-claim them. I'm not that fond of Paganizing Christmas carols (i.e. "Silent Night, Solstice Night"), mainly because Christian reactionaries have accused Pagans of being closet Satanists who seek to copy and pervert Christian traditions, and we really don't need to reinforce that stereotype. (Besides, most of the filks are dreadful, if you ask me)

There's a great many different Pagan paths to choose from, and this allows one great latitude in customizing one's path. However, there are a great many things about Christianity and Wicca that don't mix, and those who try aren't doing one (or either) of them very well. If you wish to walk the path of the Old Ones, then do so, and don't look back! Your future awaits.

I could go on, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. This will probably take more dairies, or maybe a book. Just remember, to get the most out of anything, it's important to embrace it fully. Faint-hearted or half-assed won't do, unless you never want to be more than a dabbler.

Blessed Be,
Taliesin

Anubis was the guardian of the dead, who greeted the souls in the Underworld and protected them on their journey. It was he who deemed the deceased worthy of becoming a star. Ancient Egyptian texts say that Anubis silently walked through the shadows of life and death and lurked in dark places. He was watchful by day as well as by night. He also weighed the heart of the dead against the feather symbol of Ma'at, the goddess of truth. One of the reasons that the ancient Egyptians took such care to preserve their dead with sweet-smelling herbs was that it was believed Anubis would check each person with his keen canine nose. Only if they smelled pure would he allow them to enter the Kingdom of the Dead.

Anubis was portrayed as a jackal-headed man, or as a jackal wearing ribbons and holding a flagellum, a symbol of protection, in the crook of its arm. Some think that he was not pictured as a jackal but as a dog, fox, wolf, or hybrid instead. Very rarely is he ever shown fully human. Anubis was always shown as a black jackal or dog, even though real jackals are typically tan or a light brown. To the Egyptians black was the color of regeneration, death, and the night. It was also the color that the body turned during mummification.

The reason for Anubis' animal being canine is based on what the ancient Egyptians themselves observed of the creature - dogs and jackals often haunted the edges of the desert, especially near the cemeteries where the dead were buried. In fact, it is thought that the Egyptians began the practice of making elaborate graves and tombs to protect the dead from desecration by jackals. A statue of Anubis, jackal-form, was found in Tutankhamen's tomb. When pet dogs died, they were mummified and buried in temples dedicated to Anubis.

Working With Anubis
Anubis is often more than willing to be a guide through the underworld, though the visions he offers tend to be powerful and life-changing. To invoke his help it's good to burn visionary incenses such as Frakincense or Dragon's Blood.

One thing that the Wiccan/Pagan world is not lacking is books.

There may be a lot of problems in our religious movement, but a lack of literature is not one of them.  And yet, for all of the books published on Wicca, Witchcraft and general Paganism every year there is one serious deficit in our literary endeavours.

Most of the books published in the Wiccan/Pagan scene fall into two categories: "how to" books and "who are these Wiccans/Pagans, anyway?" books.  The first kind are definitely the most common.  Look under the "Wicca" in most bookstores, and 90% of the titles will be of the "how to" variety.  Most are very general, while some are specific along ethnic lines (Celtic, Norse, etc.).

The second kind, the "who are these people" kind, are a little less common (though popular titles include Margot Adler's infamous "Drawing Down The Moon" and "The Pagan Path" by Janet & Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone).  There are a few history books (though not nearly enough), but these too fall into the "who are they" category.

What do these two kinds of books have in common?  Their usefulness is limited to those new to the path.  Once one has a good handle on how to practice Wicca, and has a basic education on both the history of as well as the styles and variety of Pagan paths, then the selection of useful books gets slim...almost nonexistent.

I started thinking about this the other day when I was looking through some of my old Wiccan books.  I started thinking about just how long it had been since I had bought a new book on Wicca, and then realized just how long it had been since reading one that was really, truly useful to me.  I had glanced at a few along the way, but found them to be re-hashings of things I had read about years ago.

This bewildered me.  After all, Wiccans are a very well read lot of people.  The vast majority of us came to our faith through books, and even those who stumbled across the path by other means (the internet, public gatherings, etc.) learned the ropes by reading. To be left high and dry after mastering the basics seems like a tragic situation to me.

The real shortcoming in the Wiccan publishing world is one almost unknown in other religious faiths, and that is one of reflection.  A devotee of almost any other religious path in this culture has a wide range of titles to choose from that pose serious questions about issues, ideas, and the future of their own particular faith.  Beyond mere discussion boards online, these books are the places where new ideas are spread to their particular communities, with a depth and detail unavailable online.

The reasons for this lack of deep thought in the Wiccan publishing world are hard to pin down.  One possible reason is an ingrained nervousness towards commenting on the community at large.  Many in the Wiccan/Pagan community are hesitant on the possibility of "stepping on someone else's path", and avoid commenting on trends and fashions in the larger community to avoid doing just this.  Well, that's a thin reason, in my opinion.

The biggest reason, I suspect, are publishing companies...they have made a lot of money from these beginners books, and continue to put out what sells.  They really can't be blamed for doing a good business, but the sheer amount of re-hashed information being put out under new titles is maddening for those who have read it all before.

The irony is, there really is a market for social commentary in the Wiccan world.  The biggest evidence for this is a website called The Witches' Voice. On there, they have an essay section where both teen Pagans and adults regularly write about their lives, experiences, and opinions about the Wiccan/Pagan world at large.  They tackle difficult issues, and do so in a way that provokes thought and challenges ideas.  Most of all, they do so in a way that's respectful.

This tells me that there's a definite market for this sort of writing out there, because the essay section of WitchVox is very well traveled.  People have questions, and they like to see that others are asking similar, if not the same, questions.  Nobody has all of the answers, of course, but they do have ideas, and ideas are a great place to start.

Why is this just found online, while the bookshelves are the domain of the beginner?  Mainly, I think that Wiccans and Pagans must show the publishers that we will buy books that make us think, as opposed to just teaching us how to cast a circle for the umpteenth time.  We have to show a demand, and the supply will come.  These publishers are into what sells, period.  Show them that we've moved beyond the flavour of them month, and they will follow.

Blessed Be,

Taliesin 

The following was inspired by Tori Amos' song "Winter".
___________________________________________________

Outside, the snow fell softly.

"Daddy..." The little girl cried out. Rats! Thought Di, stuck again! "Daadee...".

If only the snow wasn't so high, she thought. If only I could get my hands up under me...

It was no use. She was stuck tight on the snowy ground. Where was he?

Then she heard footsteps behind her. "Come on, punkin." her father said. "Up you go!"

She felt his strong hands reach under her arms and lift her up. When her feet touched the ground again, they lingered,
making sure she had her footing.

Di brushed the snow off her jacket as her dad looked down at her. He pretended to be mad, but Di knew that he was just
making fun.

"How many times have I told you to take it easy out here?" he asked. "How many times do I have to pick you up before you. learn to stay on your feet?"

Di looked up at him. Gosh, she thought, he's so big. She had a slight pout and stared with what her Mama called her
"puppy eyes". She saw a grin crack her dad's stern visage before he broke out into a huge smile. Di started giggling, and pretty soon they were both laughing.

"Come on, munchkin..." he said. "Give me your hand and we'll go inside and fix some coco. Sound good?"

Di nodded enthusiastically and they mad their way to the house.

"Will you tell me the story about the white horses too?" she asked.

"Sure."

"You know," he said when they were almost at the door, "someday you're going to fall down and I won't be able to be there to pick you up..."

********************

The tiny girl ran a few steps before tripping over a particularly large snow drift. Struggling to get back up, a man in a heavy wollen coat came up behind her and helped her to her feet. The little girl put her mittened hand in his gloved one and went on, a bit more slowly this time.

From inside, Diane watched the entire scene. Hugging herself, she chuckled softly at it, thinking that some things never change.

"Hey Daddy," she said. "Remember how we used to play in the snow like that?"

No sound answered her except the steady hiss of the machinery. Diane turned away from the window to look at the
silent form of her father in the hospital-style bed. She knew that the hallway outside was bustling, but it was quiet in the room.

She was so glad that Jerry had been able to afford this place. Lord knows she wouldn't have been able to. Of course, her brother was a Wall Street lawyer, so he could afford the best.

She walked over to the side of the bed and looked at her father. His eyes were closed...he would have looked as if he were sleeping if it wasn't for the plastic tubes that seemed to sprout from his body. The heart monitor'sbeeps were just slightly off rhythm with the repirstor, and together theirsoft sounds seemed to give the room a heartbeat of it's own.

Five years ago she wouldn't have come. Five years ago, she was still so angry.

She had wondered for years where it had gone so wrong....why she had stayed away. She had blamed him for most
of the time, telling people about her stubbourn-willed father, and how he could never admit when he was wrong.

I am my Father's daughter, she thought ironically.

***********************

"Where do you think you're going?"

Diane ignored her father's question as she gathered up her coat and small purse. Checking to make sure she had her keys, she made her way past him towards the door.

"I'm waiting," he said cooly.

Her answer was short but betrayed none of the anger welling up inside of her. "Out." she said simply.

"Out where?" They stood there looking at each other as his question hung in the air. "You're going to see that Chapman guy, aren't you?"

"So?"

"So, I told you that I don't want you seeing him."

Diane stepped closer to her father. "And I told you on my eighteenth birthday that you wern't going to control who my
friends were."

They stood there, sizing each other up.

"Di," he said, "He's just no good."

She stared at him with fierce determination. "Of course not. He's a man and he's not you...that automatically makes him scum, right?"

Her father searched for the words. "Look, he has no job, he has no money..."

She threw her hands up in mock dispair. "Oh, that's right, " she said. "It always comes down to money with you, doesn't it?"

"...he's just taking random classes at the City College," he continued. "and yes, I DO worry about money. You've never had to live on a real tight budget, but if you keep up with his type, you'll never own anything again. You'll always be a borrower or a renter!"

Her hands were at her hips and her head cocked to one side...her standard "holding her ground" pose...and she said "Well have you ever thought for ONE second that some of us don't measure a person's worth by the size of his bank account?"

"Look, young lady," he said, his voice growing firm, "so long as you live under MY roof, I still have a say in your affairs."

"If I have to move out to get my own life, fine." she answered, her voice softening. "But if I move out of here for that reason, it will be a long time before I come back."

"Di, listen..."

"And stop calling me that!" she snapped. "I'm not your little "princess" any more."

With that, she left, slamming the door behind her.

***************************

She had left not long after that fight. She moved in with Bill (that "Chapman guy") and eventually married him.

"You were right on one thing daddy." she said, her finger tracing along the side of the bed rail. "It was real hard at times. But we're doing good. Bill's getting known as a painter now, and then there's the shop that Jan and I opened..."

She had just opened an artist's supply store with her best friend Jan, and things were doing well. Of course, all of the contacts that Bill had built up in the last few years didn't hurt business any.

She smiled. "We just paid off our first loan!" She wondered if her father could hear her. "The kids threw us a party."

Well, she thought, as much of a party as a 5, 9, and 14 year old could throw.

She thought of her children. She had called home with the news when she found out she was pregnant with the first one,
Elizabeth. She had hoped that her father would be hapy to be a grandfather, but all he asked her was if she planned on getting married. She wasn't worried about that yet, and wound up slamming the phone down yet again.

Then had come Ian, and then little Diane. She had fought against naming her third child after herself, but Bill wanted it.

Maybe she was afraid that the name would give Bill trouble down the road.

"You should see the kids, dad." She stroked the snow white hair around his temple. "Little Diane is growing so fast, pretty soon we won't be able to call her 'little'. And Ian," her voice trailed off as she noticed something for the first time. She spoke again, this time just above a whisper. "Ian has your eyes."

She didn't bother bringing the kids. They had never met their grand-father, and she didn't want their only memory of him being this. Bill had asked her if she wanted him there right when Jerry had first called and told her about his stroke. No, she had told him, I need to do this alone.

"Bill and I have had our problems, but we're doing good now." She put her hand over his. It was warm but listless to her touch. "He's a good daddy," she continued, "he's a real good daddy." Her voice trialed off. "If only I could love myself as much as he does...as much as you did once..."

She felt his hand squeeze hers just slightly. It was faint, then gone.

Her heart jumped into her throat, and she looked at his still form forany other sign of life. "Daddy?" she said. "Daddy........."

She knew she was going to be there for a long time.

Outside, the snow fell softly.

I decided to write on this subject after reading Laura's latest blog entry on the perilous nature of the Akron, Ohio-area Pagan scene (where dealing with Pagans isn't so much like herding cats, but more like tap-dancing through a minefield). Having been involved in this area's Pagan/Wiccan community since the early 90's, I found myself empathising with where she's coming from, having my fair share with local "Bitchcraft" (thank you for the phrase, Leo Martello). One paragraph really struck me:

"I'll tell you the truth about why I think there are so many problems. This might offend a lot of people, but having been a long-time student of psychology and a person who values honesty I must say this. I think many people who are attracted to witchcraft are weak and insecure people. There, I said it. Many of you will say "duh." Think about it. What more could an insecure person want than to be a Witch in control of the 4 elements of nature, having them do your bidding. Not coincidentally, we also get a lot of severe control freaks around here."

This shouldn't offend anyone. Our entire culture is filled with weak and insecure people! The entire basis of most corporate structures, institutions, and social organizations is control, as opposed to empowerment, so of course a great many people are weak and insecure. That's what attracts people to magickal religions in the first place...a sence of regaining control over their lives. So, in a sense, we're a magnet for the weak and insecure.

The problem comes when the weak and insecure interact with others. Some, flush with enthusiasm from finding something so near and dear to their hearts, come out into community with an open heart and unsuspecting nature. They're not the problem...they tend to become the victims of another group, who I will call the trolls.

Trolls are people who suffer from what I like to call the "Not Popular Enough in High School" syndrome. These people attempt to gain a spurious revenge on past tormentors by victimizing others as soon as they get the chance. It's sort of a "I was ostrasized by others in my youth, and as soon as I gain control of ANY situation it's MY turn to be the one doing the excluding!"-type situation. Or like in history, where an oppressed people gain power and, instead of making a kinder and more just society, sieze the opportunity to oppress their past oppressors in a way far more vicious than anything done to them.

Trolls are people who seem to be looking for trouble...people who instigate vicious flame wars in place of well-reasoned debate. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing on issues...actually, I think we could use more debate within the Pagan and Wiccan communities. But trolls are people who, instead of defending their own positions, instead seek to make personal attacks against those whom they disagree with. Trolls don't just say "I disagree with your ideas", they say "Your ideas are wrong, and you're an idiot/dogmatist/bad person for thinking them".

Trolls come in many guises. There are those who post extreme views, just waiting for someone to disagree with them so that they can attack. There are also "concern trolls", who attempt to shut someone's voice down, but try to hide their attempts behind the idea that it's for "the greater good" of the community ("I don't think you should be bringing this up, it could offend people or cause a disturbance"). In any sense, trolls seem to exist for the sole purpose of showing how much better than you they are (or how evil you are to everyone else...which, of course, makes them look "better" because they "alerted" the community to the evil presence within...at least in their own, warped minds).

I have often envisioned some of the verbal asassins on the net, sitting alone (for obvious reasons) in their darkened room, grinning smugly as they rip some unsuspecting newbie a new one for some minor infraction or too-common of a question, thinking "See how smart and superior I am? Those creeps in High School and all those who turned me down for dates shoulda known I was smart and hip and superior, and now I'm gonna show it by cutting this one off at the knees!" Of course, their past tormentors never get the chance to see their "moment of glory" because they're probably on a fantasy football page or People magazine online (if they're even online), and have no idea that the magickal underworld even exists. But the troll gets their vicarious "revenge".

Or perhaps they've just found this great, new thing (some particular variety of Wicca, some other sort of Paganism, etc), and cling desparately on to it. Being raised in a culture that values "One True Way"-ism, they get an idealized picture of just how things "are" in that path, and if anyone comes along and shows other visions for the path (or one like it), they feel threatened and lash out. I, myself have been on the receiving end of this sort of attack on more than one occaision, mainly because of my outspoken views on Wicca and limitations. I never ceased to be amazed by those who call me a "dogmatist", and yet never stop to think that it's them who are attempting to shut down discussion and limit debate when it doesn't agree with them! Sounds pretty dogmatic, to me...

What Can Be Done

Again, back to Blue's Post:

All of the major players have enemies. Hell, even I have enemies and I don't even want them (some do, because having enemies just adds to your mystique). You can have mine, really.

It's so very odd...go around some circles (ADF, the Starwood crowd, a large part of the Kent community, most chunks of the Cleveland community, etc) and I have an incredibly good reputation. Go around areas of the Akron community, however, and you'd think I was some kind of Pagan antichrist. The telling point in this dichotomy is that most of the people in the first group know me personally, while most people in the Akron area who say nasty things about me don't really know me at all. Some have never met me, while others have only chatted superficially with me in general social situations...very few have gotten the chance (or taken the time) to get to know me personally. They have, instead, chosen to listen to people who I've tangled with in the past, and to form opinions about me based on what others say, not their own experience (I mentioned this to Ian Corrigan, chief liturgist of the ADF, recently, and he just said "join the effin' club, Tal!").

So long as we, as a community, allow our opinions to be formed by others instead of by our own perceptions, then we will forever be at the mercy of those with a personal agenda. We must resolve, each and every one of us, to reserve judgement on others in the community until we can gain a personal understanding of each individual. I'm not saying to not be cautious...hell, I'm cautious (but courteous) around everyone when I first meet them. But I refuse to allow another to determine my relationship with a third party.

We also have to be willing to call BS when we see it. If someone's engaging in personal attacks instead of addressing a particular issue, then we need to step up and call them on it. Yes, that does put you in their sights as well, but come on...if the shoe was on the other foot, and you were the one being targeted, wouldn't you want someone to come out and call the troll on their behaviour??? We cannot allow bullies to get away with their garbage because we're afraid...it only allows the abuser to continue abusing others!!! All it often takes in for one person to come out and say what's on the minds of others to start a tidal wave of condemnation of trollish behaviour.

We have to grow up, have some courage, and call a spade a bloody spade. These are only first steps, but they're needed if we're to truly make the Pagan/Wiccan community a growing, vibrant place.

Blessed Be,
Taliesin