Info Pleze
Besides the usual stuff in Google does anyone have any info about Uairebhuidhe.

:{)

Current Mood: curious

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Looking for a few good Pagan writers!
 

I am the Acquisitions Editor for GroundMark Press – a small Pagan publisher. 

GroundMark is interested in the smaller 'niche' books that fall through the cracks at the larger Pagan publishers. 
If your manuscript has been rejected because it “won’t appeal to a general Pagan audience,” I want to hear from you!

 We print our books through Lulu.com, so we use their fee structure, exactly as it is published 
on their Website, and take no extra fee.  We don’t make royalties on the sale of your book for basic 
publication services (but see below regarding professional services you might choose to purchase)—
however, Lulu does make royalties. 

We do charge additional fees when you need help from us in editing, formatting, designing a cover, marketing and so forth. These are charges for professional services, which you can choose to utilize or not.

To be honest, there is no enormous benefit you'll see to submitting your work through us rather than directly to Lulu… that is, unless your manuscript needs professional attention, or unless you would benefit with help in designing your cover, marketing your book and so forth.

 For more information about what we offer and what we're looking for, I invite you to go to:

http://www.groundmarkpress.com/

 Although GroundMark cannot make an acceptance decision on anything but a completed manuscript, 
I am open to seeing a cover letter describing your book in the body of an email, and a detailed 
outline and the first two or three chapters as attachments.

 If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at gmacquisitions@yahoo.com. 
I hope to hear from you soon!

Cross-posted like mad. My apologies if you get this more than once J

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Has anyone heard of this?
Last night my twice-monthly Pagan meetup at the local bookstore was a little slow, so I was perusing the latest issue of Pentacle Magazine and this classified caught my eye:

A Stag of Seven Tines
An intensive academic correspondence course looking at ancient British history, mythology, and aspects of modern Druidry. May suit Wiccans and others wit an interest in Celtic myth and legend. For further information please contact (name) the Grove of the Isle of Glass, (street address) Glastonbury (phone number).

Anyone know anything about this? It piqued my interest. And my apologies if you see this posted elsewhere, like other relevant communites on LJ and on A&J.

Thanks much!  

Current Mood: curious

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Fred Lamond
I have a question about Fred Lamond and his book, "Fifty Years of Wicca." What do Wiccans think about Fred Lamond and his book? Is he respected and considered a reliable source or not? The reason for this is that I have a chance to pick his book up for a very reasonable price and wanted to know if it is worth it.

Current Mood: curious

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Announcement: July 4 Religious Rights Rally in DC
Celebrate Our Historic Victory with the Veterans’ Pentacle Quest!

Advocate a Pagan Chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces!
Keep the focus on the VA to recognize Thor’s Hammer of the Asatruar and the Druids’ Awen symbol!

Meet us in front of The White House for a Pagan Religious Rights Rally and Ritual!

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007
Lafayette Square Park
Outside the White House and the Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington, DC
Set-up between 10am and Noon
Speakers begin at Noon
Ritual begins at 2pm and transitions to
Spirit Drum Circle until 5pm
Breakdown begins at 4pm
Event ends at 5pm

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monogomous Pagans
I'd like to find some information or books for heterosexual monogomous Pagan couples.

In my initial searches for "relationships" and "pagan" as keywords, I find items about polygamy and polyamoury, but this is not what I am interested in.

Can anyone recommend any sources for heterosexual, monogomous relationship guidance for Pagan couples?

Thanks in advance.

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Pagan Pentacle Progress!!!
Americans United: Bush Administration Agrees To Approve Wiccan Pentacle For Veteran Memorials.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Settlement In Americans United Lawsuit Comes After Discovery Of A Pattern Of Bias Against Minority Faith

The Bush administration has conceded that Wiccans are entitled to have the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, inscribed on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced today.

The settlement agreement, filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, brings to a successful conclusion a lawsuit Americans United brought against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in November.

The litigation charged that denying a pentacle to deceased Wiccan service personnel, while granting religious symbols to those of other traditions, violated the U.S. Constitution.

“This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation’s veterans,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “It is a proud day for religious freedom in the United States.”

Continued Lynn, “Sadly, the refusal of the federal government to recognize the Wiccan pentacle seems to have been built on inexcusable bias, a foundation that has crumbled under the press of this litigation.”

In the lawsuit, Americans United represented Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2005; Karen DePolito, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a veteran of the Korean War who died last year; Circle Sanctuary, a prominent Wiccan congregation; Jill Medicine Heart Combs, whose husband is severely ill; and the Isis Invicta Military Mission, a Wiccan and Pagan congregation serving military personnel.

The litigation was coordinated by Richard B. Katskee, AU assistant legal director with oversight by Ayesha N. Khan, AU legal director. They were assisted by other attorneys in the office, including Aram Schvey, AU litigation counsel.

Americans United’s attorneys uncovered evidence that the VA’s refusal to recognize the Pentacle was motivated by bias toward the Wiccan faith. President George W. Bush, when he was governor of Texas, had opposed the right of Wiccans to meet at a military base in that state. Bush’s opinion of Wiccans was taken into consideration when making decisions on whether to approve the Pentacle.

“Many people have asked me why the federal government was so stubborn about recognizing the Wiccan symbol,” said AU’s Lynn. “I did not want to believe that bias toward Wiccans was the reason, but that appears to have been the case. That’s discouraging, but I’m pleased we were able to put a stop to it.”

AU’s Khan welcomed the settlement.

“It is rank hypocrisy for this administration to claim publicly that it cares about religious freedom and equality but then to quietly and deliberately discriminate against a minority faith like Wicca,” she said. “Until now, this administration’s view has been that Wiccans are good enough to fight for their country, but not good enough to be acknowledged with a proper headstone.”

Under the terms of the Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson settlement, the federal government will recognize the right of Wiccans to have the pentacle made available as an emblem of belief for inscription on headstones, grave markers and memorial plaques. The VA will add the symbol to its list of available emblems of belief.

In addition, the VA will make markers bearing the pentacle — an encircled, intertwined five-pointed star — available to the families of Stewart, Birnbaum and others who request them.

AU noted that the VA’s list of 38 approved symbols for government gravestones, markers and plaques includes emblems for Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Humanists and members of the Eckankar, Serbian Orthodox and United Moravian faiths.

A Wiccan group first petitioned the VA for approval of the pentacle years ago. Officials at the agency dragged their feet on the request but in the interim approved the symbols of six other religions and belief systems. Among them was a Sikh emblem, which the VA approved in just a few weeks.

Wicca is a nature-based religion grounded in pre-Christian beliefs. Circle Sanctuary says the Wiccan religion honors the Divine as both Mother and Father, encompasses love and respect of Nature, celebrates the cycles of Sun and Moon, and encourages adherents to live in harmony with other humans and the greater Circle of Life.

----

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

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yarn, cords, threads
just so i am clear about this.. this is a sale announcement of a sort, even though i am not making any profit on it. 

hopefully this is of value to some folks, and i apologize for troubling anyone!

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Vetting a Possible Student...
My partner and I are meeting with a possible student/future coven member. We've had bad experiences in the past with choosing students who turned out to be rather flaky, or not very committed to study. I've gotten a confusing result from divination... but the impression I have of the person is positive. So my intuition is not telling me much-- not helped by some family distractions.

Does anyone have, and care to share, questions or the like that they use in "vetting" prospective students?

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PPPP
I've been reading a lot on a BTW email list. One thing they have referred to several times (and I think I've seen on this community, too) is a "proper person, properly prepared". I have a couple questions about this phrase.

First off, where can I go to start doing my homework on this (books, websites, etc)? How does one tell if one is a proper person or know when one is properly prepared?

Second, what does this mean to you? I'm sure there must be varying opinions. :)

Thanks in advance for any input or thoughts!

Current Mood: curious

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Traditions?
I do not know if this is allowed, so I thought I would ask. Is it allowable to ask members of this community what they think of particular traditions? I am not asking about oathbound material, but what they think in general about a tradition.


EDIT: I think I will withdraw this question.

Current Mood: curious

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1734 Tradition
Is the 1734 tradition considered BTW? Or is it considered a related by different form of witchcraft?

Current Mood: curious

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Intro and my first questions
Blessed be all! My name is Linda and I am an Adept and Ordained in my Tradition - a fairly new Eclectic Trad. I have recently hived and am finding my way on my own.

Something that is really drawing me right now is the older texts - Gardner's and Valiente's writings in specific - and I have always found great value in the Farrar's works.

I am looking for more information about Alexandrian and Gardnerian Traditions (nothing oathbound, of course!) so that I can a) expand my knowledge and understanding of where Wicca really comes from and b) possibly seek to begin my training again in a more Traditional setting. Most especially, book recommendations are very much appreciated (I've got my dog-eared copy of "A Witches Bible Compleat", Gardner's Witchcraft Today, & Valiente's ABC of Witchcraft so far).

Some other questions - what are the pluses and minuses (as you see them) of Traditional Wicca vs Eclectic Wicca? Where does one start researching (besides the published material) Traditional groups that may not be as open and public as the more diverse Pagan groups?

Thanks is advance!

Current Mood: curious

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intro and question

I've been lurking for a few months now, and I have a question.

After 15 years and a great deal of growing up on my part, I'm exploring the possibility of returning to my BTW training. The road back to this point has been disappointing at best and abusive at worst.

However, in that 15 years, my life has changed a great deal. For one thing, I am now the parent of a toddler.

I know that specific groups will handle this question very differently, but, in general, how child-friendly is BTW?

The Alexandrian group I initiated with back in the late '80's had some pre-teens and teenagers who didn't participate. I am unclear if that was the parents' choice or the kids'. All holidays and moon rituals were clothed, though.

As I said, I am still in the considering stage. For one thing, there's not much we can do to actively pursue this until we are out of rural New Mexico. By rural, I mean that Albuquerque/Santa Fe is 4-5 *hours* drive from us, Amarillo Tx and Lubbock Tx are both 2+ hours drive from us, and Roswell is 90 minutes away.

Thanks for your time :)

xposted to alexandrians

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Introduction
It's about time I welcomed everybody to the community.

I'm a Garderian living in Toronto, Canada. I imagine I'm a minority here, since I expect many of you came in from alexandrians. Not to mention being Canadian.

I've been an initiate for about 13 years, but I was on hiatus for the last couple of years. I've recently started feeling the "push" to become active again.

I've been reading some of the pagan communities for a while, but I decided I wanted something a little more focused. So I set up this community as a place where people could discuss issues relevent to BTW.

Feel free to introduce yourselves!

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You found me!

As you can see, I haven't yet started promoting this community, so it's very quiet for now. I need to think about how I want to do that - of course suggestions are always welcome.

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