Friday, August 6, 2010

High Priestess Is Not A Dress Up Game!

One of the great privileges I have had as a Pagan writer is meeting interesting people who are shaping the community. Eridanah Crow is a Wiccan activist. She has spoken her mind and given her perspective with what is sometimes a brutal honesty. Whatever might be said about Eridanah, she will not back off from her convictions.

Her work is a call to action, a challenge to all Wiccans to take up the responsibility for the future of the path. According to Eridanah, the reaction has been tremendous. Many people are outraged by her candor, but a good many more applauded her new voice.

In the middle of my research for a book on Nehallenic Wicca, I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon with Eridanah. We took some time to talk about the issues raised in her essay.

Daneb Rose: How did you first come into Wicca?

Eridanah Crow: I think by the easiest possible way. My parents were and are Wiccan and my siblings and I were all raised with a thorough understanding of the Wiccan path. We were exposed to all of the world's faiths, really. While Wicca was in the house, my parents wanted us to eventually choose the right path for each of us, whether it was Wicca or not. Well, two of us took to Wicca. We attended circles and gatherings with our parents. The rest of the time my parents taught us the essence of Wicca in the world around us. I was seventeen when I first made a formal dedication to a coven, which is the same coven my parents had been in and is the same coven I'm in today.

Rose: You began a formal training at a young age. Do you think this affects you in your later attitudes towards young people in Wicca?

Crow: Most definitely. I remember that the people in the coven were ready to respect me and treat me like an intelligent individual. We had the belief that reincarnation renders chronological age obsolete. I still feel that way. I want to give the respect I was given to young Wiccans. One other thing about this is that the young are Wicca's future. It's up to us to nurture that future.

Rose: I've been reading about the great interest in Wicca among teenagers. Is this a new challenge in Wicca?

Crow: I see it this way. Information about Wicca is more readily available today than ever. But that also means the potential for confusion is greater. If Source X says one thing but Source Y says something else, how is the student of Wicca to determine which is correct for themselves? This is one of the reasons I believe that experienced Wiccans like myself have a real obligation to help young people out, help them in their decisions and understand the reason why behind those decisions.

Rose: What is the solution?

Crow: The solution is for Wiccans to realize their charge to share the treasure of their knowledge. Why criticize someone for a lack of knowledge when giving an explanation is so much more productive for everyone involved?

Rose: Do you find yourself meeting with much opposition?

Crow: Honestly yes. I've had many people tell me that I should stop trying to dictate what Wiccans should do; that Wicca doesn't have a Pope or whatever. That's not how I see what I'm doing at all. I believe I'm trying to bring to the forefront a spirit of sharing knowledge that - at least in my experience - is a central part of Wicca in the first place.

Rose: I have to say that doesn't make much sense to me. Why do you think people would oppose you?

Crow: Greed and ego? Is it more fun to keep the information shut away and secret and make seekers beg for a glimpse? Maybe people aren't secure enough in their own knowledge. Maybe people just don't want to be bothered.

Rose: What is the one thing that you wish everyone understood about Wicca?

Crow: I wish people understood that even though we have an umbrella term like "Wicca," each of us is really walking their own path. No one can walk a path that isn't theirs. No one can walk another's path.

Rose: What are your plans for the immediate future, say late summer into fall?

Crow: Well, I'm still teaching several introductory classes. Not online - that doesn't seem to work out. Our current effort in my group to write a book about our tradition, the Nehallenic, is moving ahead at a good pace. For the most part I'm trying to stick myself in and spread the notion of sharing knowledge to as many people as I can.

Rose: You have mentioned that you went through several years of training experience.

Crow: Right. My Dedication year, First Degree, Second Degree, and Third Degree.

Rose: But do you think people would be willing to devote four years of their lives to training?

Crow: No, and what's more, I don't think I'm any more a Wiccan than someone who suddenly draws the moon into herself on a random night. The structured education was right for me personally, but I know it isn't for everyone. Wicca, however, should not simply be reserved for those who can train. That's a human way of thinking. As it has been said, there is only one Initiator.