I felt a bit bored today and decided to spend some time reading some books ,so I stumbled upon an online book called "The Wicca Handbook" by Eilleen Holland.So far so good, but just in chapter one I got already very confused.She mentioned that she is Wiccan Priestess that is solitary.I am not sure if you can be Wiccan priestess, without a coven to begin with.Second I am pretty much sure I remember people mentioning that they gained the title after many years training, and as being part of organisation (can not remember the name of it) only after they have demonstrated that they do have certain level of knowledge.I am fully aware that there are different types of Wicca ,but I am not a Wiccan, so I am not well versed in this religion.My knowledge on the subject comes from other books and what elders here have mentioned to me previously.Then the author goes on as follows :
"I do not follow any particular type Wiccan tradition.I am an eclectic ,which means I honor and work with gods and goddesses from different cultures and pantheons. Erzulie's flag ,a pentacle wreath ,and the Green Man all preside over my altar ,which is cluttered with pyramids , obelisks,scarabs and ankhs."
I would have assumed she mistakes witchcraft with Wicca as religion ,if I have not read those few sentences just a bit above the previous statement , already.She stated :
"All Wiccans are witches ,but not all witches are Wiccans. Wicca is a religion,a distinct spiritual path.I am a Wiccan priestess ,so this book is about the Wiccan way."
Is it just me or there is some logical contradiction between those two statements ?I thought witches can be eclectic and can study Wicca as one of the paths they can pick elements from ,but she states that she is Eclectic Wiccan priestess that does not fallow Wiccan tradition ,however in same time she teaches the Wiccan way.How is this even possible? I thought as religion Wicca has at least some canonical believes that need to be followed strictly ,despite it has branched out a bit in few separate traditions.No, God and Goddess mentioned so far,but Erzulie is loa in Vodou. Green Man sounds to me more as concept of Druidry ,but some people might relate him with the Horned God I guess.Maybe she is one of those people.Obelisks ,ankhs and pyramids sounds to me more related to Kemetism. I am so confused !
I would like to hear what is the opinion of the Wiccan Elders here on all this,like Lark and Brysing. Again ,I am no expert in the field and I do not claim any level of expertise ,so I might be wrong in my logical conclusions due not not sufficient data and experience in this path.Which is why I would like us to have open discussion,because I am rather baffled by all this.
I would like also to plead to forum readers to not answer to this thread if they are not 100 percent sure what they are talking about. If you have been a Wiccan for some time and are well versed in this path,please share your insight with us.