"In (Witchcraft), talk is cheap, but deeds are dear. Wise Ones learn to avoid people who claim to be Witches, but expend their precious energy by needlessly, baselessly bashing others. For all their black clothes and boasting about their own magickal prowess, such ilk are nowhere to be found when the rest of us are battling on the front lines to defend our -- and their -- religious freedoms.

"Look to the source, for that's how you'll know them. If they say they are a Priest/ess, who initiated them? Into what Tradition? If they say they are a teacher, then who taught them? It bodes most ill if you find out that their own parent coven has (banished) them.

"Please understand that we alert all in this public medium with natural reluctance. We do so only from a protective stance towards the Craft, and with the desire to warn others about the harm such people leave in their wake."

...Oldenwilde Traditional Wiccan Coven at http://members.aol.com/oldenwilde/

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WHO ARE THE CHARLATANS AND WHO ARE THE SEEKERS WHICH FALL FOR THEIR SCAMS?

Unfortunately, there are a large number of seekers who fall under the category of SUCKER.  Most of you probably know who they are: 

Suggestible Sue.  Tell her anything.  She will believe it.  Especially if you slander and defame people you don't like.  They are now her enemies because she is too lazy to investigate whether you are telling the truth or not.  Sue looks everywhere for approval and will actually embellish on any story she hears.  If she hears that so and so abused a student, Sue becomes that student but the abuse turns into a Rape.   Sue sometimes gets into trouble because she doesn't really know the person she is accusing.  Sue might meet the person she is accusing.  let's hope Sue never does.

Priestess Paulette.   Paulette has never been initiated.  But boy would she like to be, as long as no one ever found out about it.  She has already told everyone she has been initiated by her grandfather who brought her into a ancient family tradition of (fill in the blanks).  Paulette is a hedge Witch, but is too young to know that Hedge Witch is a recent term dreamed up by an author to sell books.  Paulette is not a Witch.  Paulette is a pseudo-pagan what wants to be a Witch, but would never consider asking for training, it might blow her story.  But tell Paulette a good enough line which sounds better than hers, and she will follow you anywhere.

Fluffy Bunny.  Bunny is a sweet naive pagan who loves to go to Gatherings and Festivals and Workshops and is dying to meet a real live Witch priest (or priestess) who can "float her boat."   Everybody knows Bunny, because everybody has had Bunny.  Bunny is looking in all the wrong places, and doing all the wrong people.  Someone needs to enlighten Bunny so she can survive to enlighten herself.

There are also several types of Charlatans, "so called" leaders (actually Pseudo-leaders) who take advantage of the above types.

Defamation Betsy. Betsy is a piece of work.  Betsy is a sociopath and a very disturbed person. She should actually be in a mental hospital for some of the terrible things she has done.  Betsy is heavily into drugs.  If Betsy cannot have her way, she will slander and defame the person who is in her way, until she has destroyed them.  Her ego is so fragile, and she is so paranoid, that she suspects people who are close to her (and rightly so) of giving her enemies information about her.  She will listen to any negative story about anyone and then figure how she can use the story to her advantage.  She is a terrible person who needs the mental health professionals in worst way.  Watch out for her because she can tell a lie and make it so plausible you just have to believe it.   She loves Fluffy Bunny and Suggestible Sue.

Ceremonial Charlie.   Charlie knew Aliester Crowley and obtained all his secrets.  He is the most powerful (magician, wizard, warlock, Witch High Priest Elder of the Purple) that anyone could ever imagine.  Charlie knows just enough to fool the gullible.  He will initiate anyone for money, or sex, or etc.   Priestess Paulette will give it to him because she wants that valid initiation.

Finally we have Hereditary Harry (or Harriette).  Harry will almost fool you.  He is the seventh son of the seventh son and was initiated by his grandmother who learned directly from the famous witch of the Brecken woods in Southern England.  Hereditary Harry has a story to tell and will tell it artfully.  He will tell you that all real Witches are hereditary except in a very few special cases.  Of course he is referring to Fluffy Bunny, Priestess Paulette, or Suggestible Sue.  He will demand sex, money or whatever and after he has scammed quite a few suckers he will go elsewhere to do it again.

Finally we have the really dangerous Charlatans.  These are the "innocent" pagans who usually just want to be left alone.  But they have friends they consider "important" because they have the ear of a "Long Nose Pagan":

Innocent Irene.  Irene just does not get into trouble, but if Defamation Betsy tells her something, she just "knows" its true.  So she will make a point of spreading lies and slander and defamation to all corners of the World because the story just HAS to be true? Right?   Right?  WRONG.  But everyone believes innocent Irene because you know she would never say anything that wasn't true, would she?  Would She?  But at some point when she has been proved wrong enough times, she turns into:

Suspicious Sally.   Sally still has a lot of the same characteristics as Irene.  She just wants to be sure that the lies and slander and defamation cannot be disproven.  So she asks more questions of Betsy and makes sure the lies cannot be traced back to her.  Then she spreads the hate which she is convinced is the truth.  And finally we have:

Donald Delusion.  This person is worst of all.  He or she plays roll games where they think they are Barons or Kings or Queens or Warriors.  But they long to be REAL Warriors so they get involved in Reality games where they try to destroy their opponents with scores.   They send their enemies e-mail address to every porno site they know and do everything they know to make their enemies life hellish.  And who are their enemies?   Anyone that Defamation Betsy says.  Because although it is known that Defamation Betsy is somewhat of a sociopath, she wouldn't publicly say those things if they weren't true, would she?  WRONG.