School Update

We are pleased to announce that last week we signed up the 40-thousandth student of the School. It has been a long road that started in early 1969. In blazing that entirely new trail we made many decisions. The chief one, that seems to have frustrated many students, is that we were not in the instant-gratification business. To complete the course in Basic Witchcraft requires persistence and the use of the the good old U.S. Postal Service--what has come to be called snail-mail. We thought long and hard about going electronic and decided against it. The completion of most of the course's lectures required the reading of outside books and we felt that a slow and steady progress was better so that people could obtain a more thorough understanding of Wicca. The ideas in the basic course are radically different from (a) the Christian matrix in which most westerners have been brought up and from (b) the gossamer-wings thinking and the blue balls of fire that the alternative community apparently expected from us.
        This month the School chartered its 17th church: Mystic Moon Church of Wicca near Jacksonville, Florida.

Again the policy of the Church was diametrically contrasted with that of many organizations in the Community. We did not wish to build a pyramid of churches reporting to a central authority; that's been done. So all charters issued by the Church of Wicca bear an explicit expiration date that allowed them time to get their own independent charters and federal recognition.

As the popularity of Wicca has grown, and the amount of information on the internet and in books has logarithmically increased, so the number of enrollments in the School has decreased; and with the decrease the number of staff has also diminished. Hence currently we are back almost at the beginning with Gavin and Yvonne handling most of the mail, printing, and the rest. With the multitude of courses now offered through the School, this is a complex task. We are pleased to note that the mail still flows through rapidly; but certain things, such as the website, are in need of updating. We apologize for that. We will get to it eventually. Meantime, have no doubt that the School will continue serving those who want an in-depth study of Wicca as a religion and as a spiritual path.

Blessed be all seekers.