It all started with what seemed like an innocent question: "Will a Valley Affect Wicca?" I clicked the link hoping to shed some light on the concept that Wicca is a religion and that valleys and hills have no effect on Wicca whatsoever.
But that's where the drama started. Innocently answering that Tarot has nothing in herently to do with Wicca, and that Wicca is a religion focusing on the worship of Gods, somehow the asker felt it was "too mean" an answer. I'm puzzled as to how I would have answered this in a more polite manner.
The asker then goes on to target two other regulars (both of whom have an accumulated 40 years combined experience in teaching and practice) and claims their initial answers were also "mean".
I've been around for a while and I've encountered my fair share of "mean" answers to questions. But the answers from users "Kristen" and "Mackenzie" were far from "mean". Of course, that's not to say that the conversation didn't get heated after repeated attempts at clarification, but the OP wanted none of it.
But the point of this is that its sparked in me topic ideas. So, despite being the "big meanie" that I am, I'm going to use this negative opportunity, and turn it into something positive.
I'm sure the asker won't mind (rolls eyes) but I'll use his/her questions for the basis of my post.
The originating question that started it all:
To go on, s/he continues to compare Wicca to Tarot, in which s/he believes that tarot is somehow affected by location, and is ineffective in valley areas (not to mention that apparently tarot has a time limit as to it's "future-predicting abilities"). Tarot is also not affected by geographical location. It's based on user intuition, not landscape.
S/he then goes on to try to "educate" the rest of us on what Wicca is (because apparently the combined 55 years of knowledge from the three of us is incorrect), but I'll clarify all of this in perhaps another post.
Once the user was through with this posting, s/he went on to ask another question:
--No. I'm not "mean" to those new to the craft. I may sometimes come off crass to some people depending on the day I've had, but one shouldn't take responses they get so personally. I AM however, mean to trolls. They get what they give. Like I say, Karma's a bitch, and so am I.
And apparently, correcting misinformation with reputable FACTS is considered "mean". I won't go further with this one.
The next question in this menagre:
--Apparently my response to this next benign question was also unacceptable. As you can see if you click the above link, before the updates, "Anon" failed to mention that s/he wanted opinions on some links s/he had provided, therefore I responded quizzically. I DID attempt to edit my response, but in the childish manner that befits a Y!A troll, s/he blocked me so I could not, so I merely commented on my own post.
Do I think it's acceptable for a Wiccan to ask for funds if they want to teach Wicca? There's a difference between accepting money to teach Wiccan fundamentals, and accepting money for crafting services. Teaching requires more than casting a spell. A spell can be cast with nothing more than the person themselves so to ask for money really makes no sense, especially if you're not using anything. Teaching a class requires books for students to read, as well as notes to pass out, and therefore one needs to obtain paper, ink for the photocopier OR change to use a public photocopier, rent a space if their own home is too small, fuel to get to said space AND to obtain necessary materials, etc. Teaching costs money, and in order to learn, you may need to pay.
Naturally, though, like everyone else in the world there are those who are generous enough to teach without asking for payment, and that's perfectly fine. But it would be common courtesy to offer a donation. Seems kind of greedy to take without giving.
And even if you were to try to take the easy route and teach online, even that can cost money. Depending on if you want to do it professionally, you may need to obtain a server or host site such as "Moodle" to form classes on. You would need to find extra teachers to teach other aspects of Wicca and any associated activities. You would need to pay for electricity for computer/internet use, internet services, and the teacher's time. It's unrealistic for a student to expect to be taught for free (though there are some free classes online, you get what you pay for).
Not paying for classes is like not paying for books to learn. Would you expect to get books from Chapters or Barnes and Noble to learn Wicca and expect not to pay for them??
But the original question seems to imply that one is not an "authentic" Witch if they choose to charge for teaching. What makes someone "authentic"? It's not their choice in charging a fee for teaching or not. An authentic Witch is someone who has dedicatedly spent their time (usually years) to study and apply their study in practice. I wouldn't consider someone with 2 years experience "authentic" when compared to someone who has 25 years experience.
Now, after all of this was said and done (this "Anon" who I have the sneaking suspicion is also another user) other questions were asked in response to this sense of hostility:
"Kristen" asked (in a nutshell, because her "question" is rather lengthy) why a novice would show this much hostility towards corrected information.
Well, for one, it's becoming painfully clear this person is a troll. Genuine seekers wouldn't react this way to correction. In the next question I will post below, "Kristen" goes on to say that when she was a seeker, she sucked up all the information and corrected information she could. She didn't go off on a tangent when someone questioned her knowledge. She accepted the correction and moved on.
Similarly with me. Even today I am corrected on a number of misinformation I had held for the past 15 years. Do I go to the person correcting me "You're a big meanie! You're lying and you don't know what you're talking about!"? No. I verify what they've said and stand corrected. That, to me, would be the basis of someone GENUINELY wanting to learn. Markers for someone looking to validate their misinformation would plug their ears crying "Meanie!" "Persecution!"
"Mackenzie's" question is a bit shorter:
My opinion is that it's not really "newbies", but $RW devotees who don't really want to learn Wicca, but what to learn "pseudo-Wicca" where $RW tells you its all about love spells and spells to get back at your tormentors.
Genuine newbies, like I said above, search in earnest for the best information, and that includes reading reputable books, talking to experienced practitioners (and by experienced practitioners, I mean people who have practiced and studied for at LEAST 10+ years), even teachers, and learn all they can, and when confronted with some misinformation and are corrected, they accept it graciously. I mean, who wants to practice something incorrectly? If you want to be taken seriously as a serious, dedicated Wiccan, why WOULDN"T you want the best, most correct information you can find? The only reason I can surmise as to why someone would become so hostile when confronted with facts is that they're not really looking for "Wicca" and are looking for "pseudo-Wicca".
The bottom line here is...if you're looking to become something, ANYTHING...not just Wiccan, do your research. Learn from reputable sources and accept corrections and criticisms not as a personal attack on you and your education, but as an attempt at helping you do things right. If you're really serious in pursuing your dreams, you'd welcome correction and helpful criticism without the ego-bruised persecution complex.
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