Introduction

I was raised, as many of my fellow Pagans and Wiccans, in a strict Catholic family. My entire childhood I would sit in Sunday Mass and wonder “What it this all about?” The more questions I asked the more penance I received. Until I finally decided to keep my mouth shut.

When I was 15 my best friend’s mother told me a secret that would change my life forever. You see, these were fellow Catholic’s and they did the same things I did every Sunday, went to confession, did their penance, went to mass, took communion, and tried to behave their selves for the next 6 days. One day while I was spending the afternoon with my best friend I noticed several things around the house that I was curious about. There were candles, incense, stars (which I later learned were Pentagrams) and lots of crystals and herbs. Being the nosy teen that I was I started asking questions, and was told these were all items that were used in their Wiccan ceremonies. She explained that she was in fact not Catholic but a Pagan Wiccan. I am sure that my eyes must have bulged out of my head, because she quickly assured me that there was nothing wrong with her path and she was quite happy doing what she did.

Well the more she talked about the Wiccan path, the Goddess, and the celebrations the more hooked I became. The thought that there was a religion that allowed women to not only participate but also be in charge was amazing to me. I started my training off with a small book she gave me, I was told to take the book home and read it and if I was still interested in knowing more she would start teaching me everything I wanted to know.

I read the book in a few hours; I was entranced with the newfound way of life. I immediately called her and told her I wanted to know everything, and so my training began. Probably the hardest part of all of it was not being able to discuss it with my family. I saw how crazy they got when my brother went to a Baptist service with a friend. You would have thought he danced with Satan himself.

Nonetheless, I prevailed and continued with my studies. The more I learned the more I saw myself change. I was no longer afraid to stand up for myself; I took over my own life and started to focus on making me happy. This is a huge deal for someone who is 15 to decide that happiness in life only comes from you.

The older I got and the more I delved into Wicca and Paganism in general I found that it was really hard to find a very basic book for beginners. I would talk to friends and they were interested in the subject but you hand them a book that is 300 pages and they turn away. This continued on through out my life, anytime I would talk to someone new about Wicca and try to recommend a book to him or her it was hard to decide what he or she should read. To me they are all good, but to someone who has never heard of Wicca or does not know anything about it they just want the basics. Just a taste to see if they are interested.

In 2002 I started teaching a basic Wicca class here in town. I needed to have information to present to those attending the class and the only way I knew to get it was to create it myself. So I started writing Wiccan Wisdom 101. I was stunned at the response to the book, people who attended the class would email me weeks later asking if they could have a copy for a friend. They all said the same thing, “It was so easy to read and yet informative.”

And so this book was written out of part necessity and my passion for the path I have chosen in life. As you read this book I hope you will too decide to further your own path and discover the wonders of Wicca and Paganism.