Sacred Texts Index Previous Next
Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
A RESPONSE TO "CRAFT ETHICS OF THE COVENANT OF THE DOVES"
It has always been my view that the Earth Traditions, both in the
Wiccan (European Shamanic) and Neo-Native Shamanic senses, are seeing
their rebirth out of a true need to heal this wounded Mother of ours,
and to stay Her hand, for Her anger is growing. It is quite possible
that without this renewed spirit of reverence and worship of Earth and
Sky and the True Source of All that Is, humanity as a species would be
made as extinct as the Passenger Pigeon and the Dodo Bird.
Therefore,as a Pagan and asa follower of theWays of the Chiri-
cahua Teneh Nation, I cringe whenever I see restrictions and require-
ments that are, for all intents and purposes, useless today, and only
hamper the mission we have of encouraging others to walk in a more
sacred way on the Body of Our Mother. I see the power trips, the "I'm
the High Priest(ess), that's why" crap and the games driving more and
more Pagans solitary, when we should be uniting. And I was extremely
angered when I read the published "ethics" of one organization, the
Covenant of the Doves, now known as the United Wiccan Church.
I have listed the salient points that disturb me the most, and
will respond to them one by one.
> No woman shall be a Maiden who has not been in her courses.
MK-H: I guess that's fair enough. But whether or not a woman is
currently menstruating is none of the Coven's business.
> No woman shall be ordained unless she has passed her 17th year,
> nor shall she have her ordination recognized until that time.
MK-H: No coven has any business ordaining a person, woman or man,
before the legal Age of Consent, unless the minor is legally eman-
cipated, and can produce their emancipation papers. To do otherwise
is a wonderful excuse for prosecution if the persecution that File 18
and other Fundie hate articles I have been compiling in my XIANHATE
series of files seem to augur comes to pass.
> No womanshall have herordination recognized unless sheis in
> her courses, has ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, two ears, a
> nose. Her generative organs andbreasts must becomplete. The
> honorable loss of limbs or the effects of torture following
> ordination shall not invalidate the ordination.
MK-H: So you would deny ordination to a woman who is handicapped, or
blind, or deaf, or has suffered the effects of cancer and may have had
a hysterectomy, a mastectomy or even the less-invasive "lumpectomy"
done on her to save her life? That is bigoted and totally without
reason in this day and age. And what if she is past Menopause? Would
you deny ordination to a woman who may be past her fertile years?
That's wholly disrespectful to the Elders who hold so much wisdom that
could be an asset to a Circle.
> No woman shall be a Nymph who has not coupled.
MK-H: Again, this is none of the Coven's business whether or not a
woman has had sex.
1217
> No woman shall be a Crone who has not given birth.
MK-H: Some have chosen NOT to bear children, out of either financial
necessity, or conviction that this society is not the place to raise
kids in. And some have recognized that they simply do not have the
temperment for child-rearing (myself included in that category.)
Some are infertile, through no fault of their own. And some, through
either psychological or physical drives, prefer other women. There
are a great deal of Lesbians in the Wiccan movement. Would you write
them off as nonexistant?
> No man shall be a Magician who has not healed.
MK-H: Healing is not necessarily the only talent the God and Goddess
give to people. Therefore, if a person does not have that talent,
that does not mean that they aren't useful to the Circle in other
capacities. And why is this criterion only applied to MALE postul-
ants? Some of the best healers I know are female.
> Noman shall beordained unless he haspassed his 33rdyear, nor
> shall he have his ordination recognized until that time.
MK-H: Why a double standard on when a man should be ordained? 18 is
just fine for an eligability date.
> No man shall have his ordination recognized unless he is the
> father ofa living child, has ten fingers andten toes, two
> eyes, two ears and a nose and generative organs complete. The
> honorable loss of limbs or the effects of torture following
> ordination shall not invalidate the ordination.
MK-H: Again I voice my objections about the anti-Physically Chall-
enged bias that this requirement implies. And I suspect that the re-
quirement of being "the father of a living child" is there for only
one reason--that it is a legally permissable way of stating "No Poo-
ftahs". Just as the childbearing requirement is discriminatory to
Lesbians, the fatherhood requirement is discriminatory to Gays.
So what would I myself ask of postulants wishing initiation? In my
theoretical Circle, I would ask them to attest, under pain of dis-
fellowship, that they are not law enforcement officers joining the
Circle for espionage purposes, nor are they there for sabotage or in-
filtration purposes under religious grounds. Furthermore, they should
affirm their allegience to The Earth Mother, The Sky Father, and Their
Ultimate Source, forswearing allegiance to other deities. (primarily
to weed out Christian or "satanist" infiltrators) They should have
completed their Vision Quest, and have contacted their Lower Self in
the form of their Power Animal(s), and their Higher Self in the form
of the Shaman or Teacher Within. They also should not show outward or
inward signs of being mentally unbalanced (something that would
require a lot of trusting one's gut, although a psychologically-based
questionnaire might be a good way of confirming it) or overly con-
cerned with "finding power". They must also, for legal reasons, be
either over 18 or legally Emancipated.
Furthermore, there will be only ONE degree in my Circle--that of
Kin. Anyone who is initiated is theoretically ready to act as cerem-
onial facilitator, and that duty will be rotated to them as the
rotation goes around the Circle. Decisions should be made by consen-
sus, with one person having only one vote.
1218
I ask you, James...does notthe Mother and the Father decreethat we
should all be free and equal to one another? Is that not why you opt
to have your Coven be naked in their rite? (Due to the fact that the
Chiricahua Teneh never performed ceremonials in the nude, I would
myself opt for robed work, even to the point of people working in
comfortable street clothes.) So why all this bloody RESTRICTION? Why
all these trivial, and sometimes even discriminatory rules and regul-
ations? Your ancestor Aleister once said "The word for Sin is Rest-
riction." It's a good rule of thumb.
Respectfully,
Michelle Chihacou White Puma Klein-Hass
1219