Way back in November of 1999 a fellow who used to be quite active in the Pagan community called Reese Mack wrote an article entitled 'The Rich Witch'. Some agreed with what he had to say in the article and others disagreed. I happened to fall in the agreed camp and took some flac for it from others but that's all water under the bridge. I'll post a copy of the article at the end of this entry for those who are unfamiliar with it as I have it and a whole lot of other stuff in my archives from years past.
Anyway, I just wanted to babble my thoughts for a moment and as promised here is a blast from the past out of my archives.
The Rich Witch by Reese Mack
Merrily Met.
Warning: the following treatise contains a number of generalized
statements which may not be applicable to your situation. Take all
comments in the spirit in which they are offered.
I write today hoping, especially, to address those among us who are new
to the Path. I wish to discuss the topic of Prosperity.
Today's Paganism, in all its forms, carries with it an undercurrent of
distrust towards materialistic society. We look askance at what is
viewed as material excess and conspicuous consumption. Oftentimes this
worldview is completely justifiable, as excessive consumption tends to
put additional strain on our Earth's already strained natural resources.
The Earth is, after all, our home and we - Wiccans, Pagans, all who
have chosen to honor Her - share the great burden of not only actively
participating in Eco-stewardship, but also of a need to lead by example,
thereby showing the rest of the world the benefits of treading lightly.
One byproduct of the rejection of conspicuous consumption is often a
rejection of the material underpinnings of that consumption: the
accumulation of wealth.
Paganism (and those tied to Pagan-friendly thought) has a long history
of embodying this type of thinking. From the Spiritualist-led communes
of the 1800s to the communes and "family" farms of the 1960s, right up
to today; the rejection of things material has been an honored tradition
as a means of attuning oneself with the rhythms of the World. The
rejection of material obsessions is, by no means, limited to Paganism.
From the solitary, "mad" monks of the early Christian faith, to Buddha,
to Gandhi, all Faiths have come to know that unchaining yourself from
Earthly possessions will, indeed, bring one closer to The Source.
Today within Wicca, and Paganism as a whole, just as we look askance as
those who practice conspicuous consumption, we look askance at those who
are willing -- and who are able -- to accumulate wealth.
We love book X by author Y, but after she's published her third tome we
begin to whisper that she's "sold out." We look at the doctors, lawyers
and other professional-types among us - as few as they may be - as
something of an anathema. We elevate the struggling Poets, Bards,
Artists and Craftspeople among us as we congratulate them on their
decision to remove themselves from monetary circulation, as it were.
We, as a Community, tend to strive toward this idealized, albeit
wealth-poor, view of society.
Hear me now: I take no exception to this Path, and I honor those who
walk its rocky way.
But what Wicca - and Paganism - needs today is a Rich Witch. And not
just one or two, we need many. We need to begin striping away the myth
that the accumulation of wealth results in excessive consumption. We
need to tear down the barriers - spoken and unspoken - that lead away
from ambition. We need to blow up the idea that to be a success, one
must first sell out.
Think of the good we could do with OUR version of "conspicuous
consumption." Right now, all across the United States, groups of Pagans
are banded together in efforts to purchase land. Right now, all across
the Earth, Pagans are banded together in efforts to protect Sacred
Sites. Right now, less than five miles from my chair, a Pagan Community
Center is struggling to survive.
We need to protect ancient growth timbers. We need land on which to
meet and Circle. We must defend the Traditional sites from encroaching
Man. We need to be able to support our Community Centers. We need to
build schools; we need colleges to teach our Theologies and Thealogies.
Who am I kidding? We even need more than two people per local
Community to have a working means of transportation to ferry people to
events!
What would be my dream for those of you who are just entering the Path
and who are too young yet to know that sometimes when you stretch, you
fail? My dream would be for you to never learn this lesson or, if you
do, to know instead that you must stretch again despite the risk of
ruin. My dream would be for you to live YOUR dream, and to benefit our
Community by doing so.
Do you have a dream? Live it. Stay in school; study your work as
obsessively as you study the latest Witchy find from the bargain bin at
the local bookstore. Scratch and claw your way into college - any
college - even if it means Pell Grants, macaroni and cheese dinners and
enough post-graduation debt to choke Donald Trump (hey, I've been
there), and never let anyone talk you into believing that your Path is
wrong. Know that school, especially the so-called "higher" education,
is not there to torment you. Teachers, even the best college
professors, can sometimes seem like idiots, especially when we already
know it all. No, it's not there to torment you, it's there to impart a
lesson - whatever lesson you choose to take away. When it's all said
and done, you will be well equipped to work within society towards your
own ends which, to the rest of the world, might seem down right
anti-social. One day you will be in a position to buy a hundred acres
of your own land, to care for in a responsible manner. One day you will
be able to offer support to your Community - to build upon the
groundwork laid by those who passed before us. One day you will be able
to ensure that your children grow up in a world that has been changed -
even if only slightly - by your actions and through the lessons imparted
within Earth-based Spirituality. One day you will be able to make an
impact, to make a difference, in the way others see the World.
And how you will smile when that day comes.
Certainly, though, if we can "grow" a generation of the Rich Witch we
will be able to affect positive change. Years from now society at-large
might wake up to a world in which we have the means to purchase
endangered land, to socially-responsible and socially-responsive
companies, to schools, colleges and community centers populated with
knowledgeable practitioners, to media exposures that begin to tell the
truth about our Beliefs.
And how we will ALL smile when that day comes.
I hope you will see through this to something beyond an apologetic of my
own Path. It is, truly, my sincere wish for Wicca, for Paganism, for
our Community. You may not agree with me, my methodology or with the
points I hope I have made herein. I do hope, however, that you can see
a glimmer of Truth in our need for the means by which to make our Will
corporeal.
In my opinion, our first, best hope lies within the Rich Witch.
Brightest Blessings.
reese mack
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