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Title: Seeking 10,000 Teachers of Witchcraft And Wicca Needed To Supply Global Shortage
Source: www.paranormalpalace.com
URL Source: http://www.paranormalpalace.com/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=14
Published: Jun 19, 2006
Author: paranormalpalace
Post Date: 2006-06-22 01:32:16 by Mind_Virus
Keywords: None
Views: 792
Comments: 55

Seeking 10,000 Teachers of Witchcraft And Wicca Needed To Supply Global Shortage

2006-06-19

Have you ever considered learning Wicca and the Art of Witchcraft? Well, stand in line because there is a global shortage of teachers and the demand continues to grow. By next decade it is very likely that Wicca will be the third largest religion in America, and there is simply not enough teachers.

Hoopeston, IL (PRWEB) June 19, 2006 -- Wicca is America's Fastest Growing religion and is anticipated by religious experts to be the third largest religion in the United States early in the 21st century behind only Christianity and Islam. Such a rapid spiritual revelation is occurring that the need for thousands of Wiccan teachers over the course of the next decade is required to meet the demand for basic teachings. People want to understand and embrace the Wican Rede and allow themselves to awaken their inner abilities. Wicca's liberating beliefs and useful skills are in such demand that they need ten thousand teachers in the next few years.

America is on the brink of awakening and discovering it's inner magic and it is changing the world. How we change depends on what we believe, and more people are looking at Paganism and Wicca than ever. If Pagans are right, then we have contact with a whole other dimension to our already rich existence. It is a another vision of life where magic occurs alongside the daily workplace, among science and technology, among people and filling in all those different places with a sense of awe and wonder. It is about Soul freedom. It is about being aware of how much freedom we truly have.

People becoming Wiccans today have a desire to teach and share their faith in ways never previously before conceived. Fearful of the dangers of remaining in the closet, and yet knowing how discriminatory American culture can be, Wiccans desire to build their community in a free and open manner, legally protected under Constitutional law. We benefit from the freedoms we have fought for and served for, and that our forefathers and mothers strived to maintain for us and we will pass these freedoms onto our children. This freedom is opening this sacred community to the deepest thinking and development of their sacred arts in history and allowing Wiccan to show the world how useful these skills will be in the future that races toward us all.

And discovering Wicca has never been easier and more public. If you ever thought about Wicca and asking what it is, you can take a free Wicca Course at http://WitchSchool.com. Witch School is the leading distance education system in Wiccan studies worldwide, and has now helped tens of thousands of people learn about Wicca and their own inner abilities.Maybe you will be one of those new teachers and not even aware of it yet. But even if you never practice, the study of Wicca is a fascinating subject and part of our great American experience.

Source EmediaWire

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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 42.

#7. To: Mind_Virus (#0)

Wow... In Hoopeston Illinois no less. Talk about podunk America.

The idea of Wicca taking over the United States, is about as attractive as me having to learn Spanish.

Give me a break. Are there that many women who simply don't want to shave their legs? How about all the dorks who don't want to bathe.

Now I've met a couple people on this forum who don't fit that stereotype, but there's a reason WHY it's a stereotype. Soon, you'll have a lot of dorks claiming they have powers, flashing curses and other nonsense, and the next thing you know, we'll have 4 additional holidays that the state employees will get.

If it's a religion found in a book, and you have to pay money for it, chances are, it's bullshit. If they have a "For Dummies" book for your religion, chances are, your religion is a crock.

I'm going to start my own religion based on the idea of self reliance and common sense, and nobody will have to pay a dime to learn it. It would be the ONLY religion in history that was altruistic in its agenda.

TommyTheMadArtist  posted on  2006-06-22   8:14:49 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I'm going to start my own religion based on the idea of self reliance and common sense, and nobody will have to pay a dime to learn it. It would be the ONLY religion in history that was altruistic in its agenda.

I think Ayn Rand has already beaten you to it. Maybe you could write "Objectivist Ethics for Dummies", however.

peteatomic  posted on  2006-06-22   8:43:29 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Nah... Then I'd be just like the other tards who are putting out false faith and nonsense.

It's pretty simple to live on Planet Earth. The problem is that people need to complicate things because they're just a pain in the ass.

Wicca I'm sure has a lot of rules, just like everything else.

I like the idea of having a VERY small rule book. About a paragraph, and that's all.

Don't kill people, don't be stealing, don't be lazy, and don't be a prick or bitch. Be kind to others, treat animals nicely, don't get your pants in a twist, and if you can't kick someone's ass who deserves it, don't worry, there's always traffic.

Seriously, this whole life thing could be condensed down to one sentence.

If you're going through life being an asshole, you're going to die lonely and unloved.

And after all, who the hell wants to die unloved?

TommyTheMadArtist  posted on  2006-06-22   9:19:27 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Wicca is very simple, elegantly so. There are no curses, and our manner of wishing change in things is done as a positive force and is no more insidious then Christian prayer - it is much the same thing.

Our traditions and beliefs though Wicca is only around 50 years old and are very old and come from several of the old religions. Ours is fertility, Earth- based and nature oriented; we recognize and worship during the change of the seasons and the full and new moons. We worshiped at the day's close yesterday in fact and had groups in Eugene who had a wonderful time and got allot out of the ceremonies.

My religion is unique in that it has no dogmas, doctrines or set of rules. This often is confusing for new practitioners, because Wiccan practices are derived from within, are personal and individual and are not mandated by any one person, hierarchy, or "Bible".

The Wiccan Rede frames what we believe well, and here it is in a short, nutshell form:

These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

Ferret Mike  posted on  2006-06-22   9:34:17 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

The difference between the Bible and religions like Wicca is that the Bible is actually a blueprint for how to run a successful community over the course of generations. THat's what all the laws and rules, etc, are actually about, and that it works is proved by the Jews who have lasted for 5000 years believing and practicing the rules therein. When they stop practicing what their Bible teaches, they die out and become absorbed by the larger group. Wicca being based on individualism, is not a religion (I predict) that will ever be successful for community building or continuation of the tribe/group.

I'm a great believer in the community as that's ultimately how individuals survive.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-22   11:38:14 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I disagree. When Goddess based religions were common in the world, before the demonetization of it by religions like Christianity who murdered many leaders and destroyed as much of those religion's structure as possible, it was a rich part of th tapestry of a community and the mere fact the we, a young but in many ways one of the oldest religions in existence endure us we represent the human spirit in an excellent fashion.

Ferret Mike  posted on  2006-06-22   12:31:04 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Oh, I have to totally disagree with that. I don't know if there ever actually WAS a time when Goddess based religions were in the majority. I think that's a myth or fantasy propagated by new agers. There were pantheons with male and female gods, of course, and many of those cultures practiced behaviors that are now abhorrent to us such as infanticide or human sacrifice.

I have nothing against Wicca personally, but I don't think there's any glorious past associated with it. Wicca was invented by English eccentrics about 50-60 years ago. It has no real history.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-22   12:58:13 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

"Oh, I have to totally disagree with that. I don't know if there ever actually WAS a time when Goddess based religions were in the majority. I think that's a myth or fantasy propagated by new agers."

Actually the suppression and overt destruction of this sort of religion is very well documented and so is the fact many died in the process.

It was even talked about in the historically well researched book The De Vinci Code. I take it you haven't even read that book as well as not looked at historical fact?

Ferret Mike  posted on  2006-06-22   20:30:58 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

It was even talked about in the historically well researched book The De Vinci Code. I take it you haven't even read that book as well as not looked at historical fact?

Okay, Mike, you just blew all the fuses. I personally don't care what religion people practice as long as they don't do animal or human sacrifices. Other than that, pretty much be my guest.

But when you start touting a complete piece of drivel like the Da Vinci code as "history" it proves that you don't know what the bleep you are talking about. There is no "history" in the Da Vinci Code - or precious little of it. In fact, the author plagiarized a couple of books to even create this one (and I've seen the proof - he literally lifted things page by page from one book in particular). It's egregious.

First off, there is no proof of any kind whatsover, suppressed or not, that Jesus was ever married or had kids. This information simply does not exist. It just doesn't. Anyone who says it does, is a liar. Now to me, it doesn't matter if Jesus was married or not - I don't care. It's a matter of historical fact to the extent that we can piece it together and there IS NO EVIDENCE OF THIS AT ALL.

All of this stuff about Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail is totally invented. There is no proof of it at all. Nothing. No original documents. Nothing. It's a fabrication.

Secondly, Da Vinci, did paint little jokes and things into this pictures, This is well known to art scholars. But the things that Brown claims are in Da Vinci's pictures, simply ARE NOT THERE. It's UNTRUE. The Last Supper for example. That is not a woman - it's the apostle John. That is the standard depiction of the apostle John during that era of art. He was depicted as an effeminate young man - a scholar/student type they called it. And Leonardo was gay, so he may have picked someone even more effeminate than usual. There's no mystery about it.

If you're quoting the Da Vinci code as your basis for information, you need to find some new sources. It's been totally discredited on many levels.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-23   11:02:48 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

"All of this stuff about Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail is totally invented. There is no proof of it at all. Nothing. No original documents. Nothing. It's a fabrication."

Heh, I wasn't talking about that,I was talking about the relatively minor sidebar mention he made to the suppression of Goddess based religions in comparison to the core material of the book. ;-)

The De Vinci Code is correct in one thing beyond refutation; which is precious little is known about human history before Johannes Gutenberg invented the Printing Press.

"...While "the Goddess" has long been in hiding in such coded symbols, today She is, as it were, coming out of the closet, appearing in everything from feminine God(dess) language to "priestess training programs" in both Israel and the United States. Folklorist Taya Shere, a co-leader of one such program, says that she is merely recapturing an ancient, lost and more balanced Jewish religion. "Judaism came from somewhere, and it is comforting for me to be aware of its roots," she said. "Even the challah loaves come from the holy cakes baked for Astarte."

Today's ritual innovators may seem quite distant from the rural women described in Dever's volume. But as Dever notes, images of the Divine Feminine persist because they speak to deep human needs. Rational, philosophical monotheism, he says, "is in some ways less sophisticated — that is, less comprehensive, less flexible, less natural" than its more mythic antecedents. One is reminded how much more nuanced is the Zohar's dynamic, embodied human psychology than the linear rationalism of Maimonides, which posits one human faculty as supreme above all others..."

More in: The Jewish Goddess, Past and Present

My point is I don't trust Christian history either. Every bit as much as you don't trust accounts of non-Christian history.

Ferret Mike  posted on  2006-06-23   11:28:08 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Look, you're the one who pointed to the Da Vinci code as your basis for historical "proof" of your claims. The Da Vinci code is a plagiarized piece of crap - in terms of factual information. This casts suspicion on any other source you name because your first source is such an egregious pile of steaming manure.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-23   11:31:17 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

This was more of the sort of facts I had in mind in terms of what Dan Brown mentioned in regards to suppression of the Divine feminine:

THE BURNING TIMES: The time line: the Dark Ages to now

The Witch hunt timeline Prior to the 9th century CE: There was a widespread popular belief that evil Witches existed. They were seen as evil persons, primarily women, who devoted their lives to harming and killing others through black magic and evil sorcery. The Catholic church at the time officially taught that such Witches did not exist. It was a heresy to say that they were real. "For example, the 5th century Synod of St. Patrick ruled that 'A Christian who believes that there is a vampire in the world, that is to say, a witch, is to be anathematized; whoever lays that reputation upon a living being shall not be received into the Church until he revokes with his own voice the crime that he has committed.' A capitulary from Saxony (775-790 CE) blamed these stereotypes on pagan belief systems: 'If anyone, deceived by the Devil, believes after the manner of the Pagans that any man or woman is a witch and eats men, and if on this account he burns [the alleged witch]... he shall be punished by capital sentence." 1

906 CE: Regino of Prum, the Abbot of Treves, wote the Canon Episcopi. It reinforced the church's teaching that Witches did not exist. It admitted that some confused and deluded women thought that they flew through the air with the Pagan Goddess Diana. But this did not happen in reality; it was explained away as some form of hallucination.

Circa 975 CE: Penalties for Witchcraft and the use of healing magic were relatively mild. The English Confessional of Egbert said, in part: "If a woman works witchcraft and enchantment and [uses] magical philters, she shall fast for twelve months...If she kills anyone by her philters, she shall fast for seven years." Fasting, in this case, involved consuming only bread and water.

circa 1140: Gratian, an Italian monk, incorporated the Canon Episcopi into canon law.

circa 1203: The Cathar movement, a Gnostic Christian group, had become popular in the Orleans area of France and in Italy. They were declared heretics. Pope Innocent III approved a war of genocide against the Cathars. The last known Cathar was burned at the stake in 1321 CE. The faith has seen a rebirth in recent years.

1227: Pope Gregory IX established the Inquisitional Courts to arrest, try, convict and execute heretics.

1252: Pope Innocent III authorized the use of torture during inquisitional trials. This greatly increased the conviction rate.

1258: Pope Alexander IV instructed the Inquisition to confine their investigations to cases of heresy. They were to not investigate charges of divination or sorcery unless heresy was also involved.

1265: Pope Clement IV reaffirms the use of torture.

1326: The Church authorized the Inquisition to investigate Witchcraft and to develop "demonology," the theory of the diabolic origin of Witchcraft.

1330: The popular concept of Witches as evil sorcerers is expanded to include belief that they swore allegiance to Satan, had sexual relations with the Devil, kidnapped and ate children, etc.

1347 to 1349: The Black Death epidemic killed a sizeable part of the European population. Conspiracy theories spread. Lepers, Jews, Muslims and Witches were accused of poisoning wells and spreading disease.

1430's: Christian theologians started to write articles and books which "proved" the existence of Witches. 2

1436-7: Johannes (John) Nider wrote a book called Formicarius, which describe the prosecution of a man for Witchcraft. Copies of this book were often added to the Malleus Maleficarum in later years. Some sources say that the author Thomas of Brabant; this is apparently an error.

1450: The first major witch hunts began in many western European countries. The Roman Catholic Church created an imaginary evil religion, using stereotypes that had circulated since pre-Christian times. They said that Pagans who worshiped Diana and other Gods and Goddesses were evil Witches who kidnapped babies, killed and ate their victims, sold their soul to Satan, were in league with demons, flew through the air, met in the middle of the night, caused male impotence and infertility, caused male genitals to disappear, etc. Historians have speculated that this religiously inspired genocide was motivated by a desire by the Church to attain a complete religious monopoly, or was "a tool of repression, a form of reining-in deviant behavior, a backlash against women, or a tool of the common people to name scapegoats for spoiled crops, dead livestock or the death of babies and children." Walter Stephens, a professor of Italian studies at Johns Hopkins University, proposes a new theory: "I think Witches were a scapegoat for God." 3 Religious leaders felt that they had to retain the concepts of both an omnipotent and an all-loving deity. Thus, they had to invent Witches and demons in order to explain the existence of evil in the world. This debate, about how an all-good and all-powerful God can coexist in the world with evil is now called Theodicy. Debate continues to the present day.

1450: Johann Gutenberg invented moveable type which made mass printing possible. This enabled the wide distribution of Papal bulls and books on Witch persecution; the witch hunt was greatly facilitated.

1484: Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull "Summis desiderantes" on DEC-5 which promoted the tracking down, torturing and executing of Satan worshipers.

1486-1487: Institoris (Heinrich Kraemer) and Jacob Sprenger published the Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches' Hammer). It is a fascinating study of the authors' misogyny and sexual frustration. It describes the activities of Witches, the methods of extracting confessions. It was later abandoned by the Church, but became the "bible" of those secular courts which tried Witches.

1500: During the 14th century, there had been known 38 trials against Witches and sorcerers in England, 95 in France and 80 in Germany. 4 The witch hunts accelerated. "By choosing to give their souls over to the devil witches had committed crimes against man and against God. The gravity of this double crime classified witchcraft as crimen exceptum, and allowed for the suspension of normal rules of evidence in order to punish the guilty." 7 Children's testimony was accepted. Essentially unlimited torture was applied to obtain confessions. The flimsiest circumstantial evidence was accepted as proof of guilt.

1517: Martin Luther is commonly believed to have nailed his 95 theses on the cathedral door at Wittenburg, Germany. Apparently it never happened; he published his arguments in a less dramatic way. This triggered the Protestant Reformation. In Roman Catholic countries, the courts continue to burn witches. In Protestant lands, they were mainly hung. Some Protestant countries did not allow torture. In England, this lack of torture led to a low conviction rate of only 19%. 4

Circa 1550 to 1650 CE: Trials and executions reached a peak during these ten decades, which are often referred to as the "burning times." They were mostly concentrated in eastern France, Germany and Switzerland. Witch persecutions often occurred in areas where Catholics and Protestants were fighting. Contrary to public opinion, suspected witches -- particularly those involved in evil sorcery -- were mainly tried by secular courts. A minority were charged by church authorities; these were often cases involving the use of healing magic or midwifery.

(More to the timeline in above link)

Ferret Mike  posted on  2006-06-23   11:52:10 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

You're full of crap, Mike. You start off pushing the Da Vinci Code as the fount of truth and knowledge and then you pedal away from that when I demonstrate what a lying, deceitful pile of crap it really is. Now you're blathering about witchcraft trials. I don't even understand what your point is anymore. That people do bad things in the name of religion? Well, let's take a look at all those Incan and Mayan human sacrifices that they used to do in the thousands for their gods. They'd torture people and then rip their hearts out while they were still alive.

Or how about the practices of some of the Northern people who used to burn people alive in giant wicker baskets. Or the practices of the Phoenicians who used to burn children in a giant furnace within a metal statue of the god Moloch (which is where the word immolate comes from).

Of course all of these other people were just celebrating cultural diversity and the only truly evil people in the world are white Christians.

We can smell what you're cooking, Mike, and it ain't barbecue.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-23   11:58:02 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

That people do bad things in the name of religion? Well, let's take a look at all those Incan and Mayan human sacrifices that they used to do in the thousands for their gods. They'd torture people and then rip their hearts out while they were still alive.

Or how about the practices of some of the Northern people who used to burn people alive in giant wicker baskets. Or the practices of the Phoenicians who used to burn children in a giant furnace within a metal statue of the god Moloch (which is where the word immolate comes from).

I have to agree with you on the level that modern pagan beliefs gloss over these facts, or do not practice them, even though they are authentic rituals.

peteatomic  posted on  2006-06-23   21:42:44 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

What I find so truly obnoxious about Mike and others of his ilk, is that they have such an apparent hatred of and guilt toward Western civlization. They demonize it, and make it seem that only white Christians have done any evil in the world. The fact is that all people are capable of doing evil and of using religion to excuse it. This has happened in all times and places among many different people.

The other thing that really angers me is when I see fake history being created to give more legitimacy or weight to something like Wicca. If people want to practice Wicca, that is fine with me. New religions come about all the time, and they stand on their own merits. But fake histories and mythologies do not need to be created to add substance to a new religion. It stands (or falls) on its own merits. I do not approve of revisionist history, whether in religion, politics, art, or elsewhere.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-23   23:04:31 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

What I find so truly obnoxious about Mike and others of his ilk, is that they have such an apparent hatred of and guilt toward Western civlization. They demonize it, and make it seem that only white Christians have done any evil in the world. The fact is that all people are capable of doing evil and of using religion to excuse it. This has happened in all times and places among many different people.

The other thing that really angers me is when I see fake history being created to give more legitimacy or weight to something like Wicca. If people want to practice Wicca, that is fine with me. New religions come about all the time, and they stand on their own merits. But fake histories and mythologies do not need to be created to add substance to a new religion. It stands (or falls) on its own merits. I do not approve of revisionist history, whether in religion, politics, art, or elsewhere.

Well, yes-- the use of fake history, as a someone like myself who has a degree in history, and has studied for many years in various fields of history, and with some very highly intelligent people who study history-- it's terribly annoying.

For me, I'm not necessarily annoyed with Wiccans or pagans-- these people have a freedom to religion, and may exercise it. However, the revisionism of Wiccan/pagan belief of what pre-Christians believed as almost some kind of warm & fuzzy worldview is absolute nonsense.

The modern interpretations by followers of paganism is a view of ancient religion in very romantic terms-- it isn't authentic or realistic to how ancient pagans understood their religion, however-- to people who have been turned off by Christianity for various reasons, the utopian understanding of a pre-Christian religion 'untouched' is highly attractive-- and is also a sign of ignorance to historical fact.

If we could somehow put a group of historical pagans together with a group of modern pagans together in the same room, than I would bet that at the end of the day, most of the modern pagans wouldn't want to be pagan, anymore.

It's looking at ancient religion in the most rosy-colored of glasses, out of context to the world the ancients were living in.

peteatomic  posted on  2006-06-24   0:09:15 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

#45. To: peteatomic (#42)

If we could somehow put a group of historical pagans together with a group of modern pagans together in the same room, than I would bet that at the end of the day, most of the modern pagans wouldn't want to be pagan, anymore.

one would probably feel safer and more at ease with a group of athenian pagans than one would with a group of fundamentalist christian freepers.

you seem to feel that modern groups must slavishly follow the practices of ancient societies. this isn't so. first of all, these practices arn't well documented. secondly, many have little validity for modern people.

i think Wiccan Circles honor the core beliefs of other cultures as they feel there are many paths to the divine. from what i have seen of the world's religions, the core morality is almost always the same. only the ritual and outer trappings differ. the interest in ancient ritual and beliefs is simply one way to explore the many paths to the divine. they believe that each must find his or her own path.

most i have met don't actually believe there is a horned God and a Goddess observing them from some unexplained dimension. they believe there is a divine force that is probably beyond their compreshension that has both a male and a female aspect - as distinguished from the one sided male aspect of modern chritianity. the God and Goddess are simply representations of this whole aspect, not necessarily the divine being incarnate. Something to help the person focus, similar to the statues in a church.

they don't proseletize as they believe there are many valid paths. Becaue there are many valid paths, there is no compelling reason the rest of the world to follow their path. In addition, an over zealous member could actually divert another person from a valid path that was working for them. perhaps to a wiccan path that did not serve their needs as well as the original path that he overzealous wiccan diverted them from. proseletizing could in fact be a dangerous practice. if the infinite and all powerful God and Goddess wanted the person to be a Wiccan, they would be a Wiccan. the proseletizer is simply butting into something that is not his or her business.

they are similar to quakers in that there is very little dogma. they feel that any God worth his salt has no need for a Pat Robertson to speak on the God's behalf. In fact, a basic tennet that I have heard is that anyone who claims to speak for the divine does not speak for the divine.

Morgana le Fay  posted on  2006-06-24 01:01:55 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

For me, I'm not necessarily annoyed with Wiccans or pagans-- these people have a freedom to religion, and may exercise it. However, the revisionism of Wiccan/pagan belief of what pre-Christians believed as almost some kind of warm & fuzzy worldview is absolute nonsense.

Excellent post! Thank you. Yes, that's what I object to - the demonization of Christianity, and the romanticizing of pagan religions. They have this idea of a pre-Christian paradise where everyone lived in peace and happiness under a matriarchal system, which as far as I can tell, never existed. I can understand that people reject Christianity or want to adopt a nature religion, but I don't like this wholesale invention of a utopian past. Pagans had their own problems, and many of them had pretty bloody practices. They may not have achieved the scale that we have through our advanced technology and ability to travel, but they did what they could in their own spheres of influence.

mehitable  posted on  2006-06-24 11:52:25 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

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