Why does Brigid's Haven exist?
Brigid's Haven was created when I (Brigid) decided that I'd had enough with having to pick through the web every time I needed something pertaining to magick or having to sneak upstairs and unearth my pagan books secretly within my christian household. In response to this, I decided I would create a big resource page which I could use and others could use without having to go all over the place to find things. I realize that I can never cover everything but I'm trying very hard to hit the high points of paganism and wicca which is why the page is always growing.
Is wicca/paganism (etc.) evil? Do you worship the devil?
Nope, and not me. Religions aren't evil- people are evil (depending on personal interpretation, of course.) As I mention later in the page, information is a powerful thing and it's an individual choice what you do with it. In my personal opinion, magick isn't meant to harm anyone or anything. It's meant to help them. Outside of that, wicca is simply a nature based, pantheonic religion that takes many many forms and is pretty much indefinable since there is no strict doctrine to it. It's very much based in connecting to the earth and one's self- God(s) is/are only part of it. Wicca and paganism can't be shoved under an umbrella definition or classification because there are simply too many practitioners that all believe different things. And no, most of us don't worship the devil, let alone even believe in him. ;)
Why do you write on the things you do?
Once of the best pieces of advice to a fledgling writer is simply this: write what you know. In order of have Brigid's Haven be a proper resource page the information has to be correct. Therefore, I choose to write articles on things I know intimately and where I feel I have all the correct information I can possibly have instead of trying to write on something I don't understand, doing someone a great disservice by way of misinformation. As you see articles appear that are written by myself, you'll know that I've done the largest amount of research I can, the article contains the most correct information I can find, the information is as unbiased as I can be (to my personal standards- biases are impossible to erase) and that the new topic is something I've recently spent time studying in order to provide information for you. If you see that I've linked a site or provided an article by another author instead, please know that I feel it is an important topic but that I don't feel the topic is something I can provide the best information on as it isn't one of my fields of study. That said, sometimes I provide both simply because I sometimes find that others can say things in ways that I cannot and be much more clear and correct than I can.
Why have you not included any spells or rituals?
I have chosen not to include or lay out any specific spells or rituals for several reasons:
1. My site does not cater to a specific path or mindset and therefore cannot be tailored enough to the individual to even try to lay out a spell or ritual for them.
2. Doing so, in my opinion, inhibits creativity and personal experience. It is much more effective and personal to create your own spell or ritual than to act out something someone else has laid out.
3. Creating a spell or ritual for yourself is a good way to learn. I've laid out a lot of correspondences on this site in the hopes that you will read them and use them in your own way. When you create your own, you must learn about your purpose, what fits with it and the ritual elements that work best with your own energy and path. Magick is very much about understanding yourself and through this, you are given the chance to explore and understand yourself better.
4. It is simply a hassle. From personal experience, providing some spells proves to create a lot of requests. I don't have the time nor the energy to create a personalized spell for everyone when they can simply do it themselves. Half the time, I also don't agree with the kind of spell they want to do and why. It is much simpler if spellwork is your own prerogative and I don't get involved.
Why is there no left-hand path/black magic/dark/whatever magic information on your site?
Information is a powerful thing and can be used in many ways. One many look at a list of correspondences and have their mind filled with ways to help the world. Another may look at the same list and have their mind fill with ways to hurt it. Perspective is everything. I choose not to incorporate anything specific about it because honestly, I know very little about it as it isn't my chosen path. As well, I do believe that good and evil are subjective rather than objective as everyone one has a different opinion on where the line between light and dark lies.
Disclaimer: With this statement, I am not saying that left hand path magick (by any name) is evil. I know that it's a personal experience and everyone chooses what the will to do with it. Therefore, please do not e-mail me in hopes of setting me straight about your chosen path. It's your path and I have no right nor any desire to pass judgment upon it.
Where can I get some great information on wicca, paganism and the like?
Well, outside of here (hey, gotta plug your own site every so often), I'd recommend you check out these sites for some beginners information and more:
Witchvox: This site is touted to be the "voice of paganism" on the web. It represents a lot of different paths and has some awesome articles within it.
Pagan Federation Canada: I love these folks. Not only are they Canadian, they have a great site with ample info.
AvatarSearch: This is a great pagan search engine. Whatever you need, you'll find it here.
Covenant of the Goddess: Visit the lovely ladies at the Covenant of the Goddess to find out what goddess worship is all about. They're one of the oldest organizations for witchcraft, one of the biggest and one of the most respected.
Wicca: World Pagan News Portal: Everything you want to know and more. Sometimes scary. Also lovely for new age topic news.
Pagan Path: Classic pagan info site that's been around forever. I don't agree with everything they say (not that I ever agree with anyone on everything) but they certainly are respected within the pagan community.
The Encyclopedia Mythica: I doubt there is a bigger mythology site anywhere on the net. It's insane how much information they have. If you need anything on a God or Goddess, this is the site to visit.
And the list go on... If the above don't work for what you're looking for, I'm going to recommend a good search engine like Ask Jeeves or Google, and some perseverance. For some things, the typical .com sites suck and the personal, hosted pages are the way to go. I encourage you to check out lesser known sites and see what you can find. It may take some time but there are some incredible pages out there just waiting to be discovered. Who knows, you may run across some of the pages for some of the prominent figures of the pagan world if you look hard enough (check out Francesca DeGrandis or Starhawk) Most of all, never forget books. Books (whether bought, borrowed or from the library) are a wealth of information and will never go out of style.
Where can I meet other pagans/wiccans/whatever?
There's so many ways:
-Personal pages (contact the author)
-IRC (check out Dalnet)
-Online groups (check out Yahoo Groups)
-Search online for groups in your area
-Check out a local magick store and make conversation with whoever is there
-Watch the paper and news for advertisements of pagan groups or events
-AvatarSearch (listed above) has online personals
Can I contact you?
Always. Here's how.
Can I interview you for a piece of media I'm writing?
Yes! I usually try and give as much time as I can to those who have questions to ask, whether they be from the media or the general public. Please refer to the question above to find out how to contact me. I would also recommend you check out The Centre for Faith and the Media as it's a wonderful resource for those who wish to write about religion.
Will you teach me?
Sorry, but probably not. I don't currently have the means. However, if you wish, contact me and we'll talk.
How do you feel about right clicking inside your site?
You?ll notice that I haven't inhibited any right clicking within the bounds of my site. I have done this because I believe information is free and needs to be shared. I also trust that my patrons have enough respect to abide by my wishes as stipulated by my decisions on copyrights cited below. Plus, I am also aware of the many ways to get around such java based inhibitors and therefore find it rather pointless.
What are your copyright stipulations?
My terms on copyrights are as follows:
-If you wish to take a piece of text for your own personal use or for your own personal website, please do.
-If you are going to take such a piece of text I ask that you give credit where credit is due and carry on the copyrights I have stated for each article, whether it is to me or to someone else.
-I would ask that you not take my images. Most of my images (unless otherwise stipulated) are my own creations and are personal to my site and my site design.
-As per to other images that are not my own, you will have to contact the artist of the piece.
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