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13 Principles of Belief, Retort
by Aldous Tyler

I sympathise with you, for, sometime not so long ago, I too was under a number of misconceptions about what it meant to be "pagan" or a "witch". So, in only the interest of your further education, I will point out the inaccuracies in the Council of American Witches only surviving document:

We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.

We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

On the second point, there are those of us who are not terribly environmentalist in our day to day lives or attitudes. I've seen plenty of purely Wiccan events where styrofoam plates and cups were used and tossed into the landfill-bound recepticles at the end. Are these folks not true Wiccans? Of course they are. They just don't happen to be in compliance with this concept.

This, of course, says nothing about the fact that personally, I feel that our intelligence gives us the unique responsibility to not take anything as holy writ, such as these "rules". Let's face it, we won't hurt nature if we wipe ourselves and every other living thing off this planet. It will begin again, quite happy to be rid of us. It started without life, it can start again if we eliminate it. In fact, I don't believe that any harsh conditions we might impose on this planet, such as radiation, chemical poisoning or the like, will keep it from forming new life. By all accounts, the conditions under which the first life formed the first time around were very harsh and unprotected. It might take our planet up to a hundred thousand years or more to get around to creating new life, but in the lifespan of a planet, that's the blink of an eye. No, I do not buy into the "save the Earth" concept at all. The Earth will be fine. It US we might want to save.

We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called "supernatural," but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.

We conceive of the Creative Power of the Universe as manifesting through polarity--as masculine and feminine--and that this same creative Power lives in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.

We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds-- sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc.--and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it--a world view and philosophy of life, which we identify as Witchcraft or the Wiccan Way.

Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch--but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.

We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within it.

Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy-of-life is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practices and belief.

As Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future.

We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil," nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil" as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another.

The two ironic things about this passage is that

A) Laveyan Satanists are a kind of Witch (note, I did not say "a form of WICCAN"), so the passages about "absolute evil" and "Satan" are ill-applied, and

B) In making this list of rules, the writers are engaging in the concept of personal benefits being derived by denial to another. Rules are as rules do, and that includes setting boundaries that define one thing as better or truer than another.

We work within Nature for that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

I hope this helps illuminate why many Wiccans, witches of other kinds and pagans find this list of rules to ahve been flawed from the beginning and not applicable to them. I am personally sorry to see that it was authored here in Minneapolis, but that does give me one unique perspective on it- no one I know around here would sign a document like this today.

Sincerely,
Aldous Tyler