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Why is it that people in the Pagan Community feel such
an overwhelming need to "pad their résumés", so to speak? This seems to
be especially true of certain authors, notably those connected with a
rather large, well-known publishing firm noted for its "fluff-bunny"
approach to Wicca.
I was surfing various sites the other day, and decided
to look at sites of people that I personally know. One of them, one of
the afore-referenced authors, claims to have been running a coven at a
time that I personally know they were not even an initiate. How do I
know this? At the time in question, they had recently been a student in
our coven, and had just begun studies with another coven in the same
area. Another author, previously published by the same firm, claimed to
have been a member of our coven -- and they had never been affiliated
with us at all.
Another Pagan author, early in their career, made what
could be construed as claims to British nobility, although that claim
has been been dropped.
"Pat" Patterson, one of the founders of the Georgian
Tradition (of which I am a member), claimed to have been initiated into
a Celtic Coven in the Boston area prior to World War II. Now,
admittedly, this is possible, but frankly, unlikely.
Gerald B. Gardner claimed a PhD for which no
documentation has ever been located; although there is a strong
possibility that it may have been an honorary degree conferred for his
book The Keris and Other Malay Weapons. I won't go into
the argument of whether or not he was ever initiated into a coven in the
New Forest, as others, more capable than I, have discussed that both pro
and con.
For the record, I don't have any academic degrees other
than a high school diploma. I've dropped out of college several times,
but have (or at least had) academic standing of my Junior year; my major
was Religious Studies, with minor in Business and Public Administration
the first two times I attended, and later changed my minor to Child
Development. I was first initiated in 1973 into the Georgian Tradition,
but have generally worked since 1975 in the tradition known as
NECTW. In addition, I am a 1st degree initiate in the Gardnerian
Tradition, and a White Cord in NROOGD. I was one of 50-70 folk who got
together in a house in Oakland in 1975 to help found Covenant of the
Goddess, and have twice served on its national board of directors. My
primary claim to fame is that I've been happily married for the past 25
years to one beautiful woman and we have three beautiful daughters, in
all of whom I have much pride.
And you know, anything more than that is just frosting
on the cake. Which I can't eat anyway because of my diabetes!
Moondancer
2001-10, edited 2007-04-17 (updated marriage length) |
