Not All Witches Are Wiccans
How many times have your heard the phrase ‘all Wiccans are Witches, but not all witches are Wiccan’? A lot right? But how many times have you read a news article that fully illustrates that difference and how it can cause conflicts? Peter Rowe profiles two occult stores that exist on the same block in San Diego. One, Botanica Mama Roots, is a shop that caters to adherents of Santeria, while Superstitious caters to a solidly Wiccan clientele.
“Mama Roots and Superstitious are neighbors but not friends. They’re on the 3500 block of Adams Avenue, ringed in by bungalows, apartment houses, auto repair yards, taco shops and an impressive concentration of Irish bars and used book stores. Adams is the heart of Normal Heights, a ‘hood that probably wouldn’t object to the term “funky.” Here, a couple of witchcraft shops might be greeted with a raised eyebrow or two, but few on the avenue will raise a fuss.”
The owner and some customers of Superstitious go out of their way to bad-mouth the Santerian establishment.
“They are only a few doors apart, but between the two shops is a netherworld of difference. Leite’s inventory does not include curses. “If you are a true witch,” he said, ‘you cannot do harm’…He insists that true witchcraft focuses on helping people use their innate spiritual powers for good ? and that true witchcraft shops should give off an upbeat, cheerful aura. ‘We found this place by accident,’ said Rebekah Brooks, a psychic, priestess and former Mama Roots customer. ‘You don’t feel you are going to die if you come in here. You feel like you are going to die when you walk in there.’ ‘We have a different view of life,’ Leite said. ‘We love life’. ‘They,’ Brooks said, ‘make everything feel so evil over there.’”
I find it somewhat funny that Kyle Leite, the 22-year-old “veteran” of Paganism who owns Superstitious, doesn’t have a better analysis of why his store is different from the botanica down the block. Bad-mouthing the magic of Santeria (a magic that has far more adherents than Wicca does) to make Wicca look good, accomplishes nothing except to make us look petty. In my opinion, adherents of Santeria/Lukumi should be seen as natural allies in our struggles for acceptance and rights. Framing non-Wiccan forms of witchcraft as “evil” helps no-one. I think Alexandra Lyons, an employee at Mama Roots emerges as the voice of reason here.
“You’ve got to have both sides of the board. It’s each person’s decision what magic they are doing.”
If “modern Paganism” means anything, it means room enough to encompass a wide variety of religious and magical ethical systems.
Addendum: Both Alexandra Lyons and Kyle Leite have left comments clarifying what they see as distortions by the reporter Peter Rowe. I have e-mailed Rowe and will write a new post incorporating comments from all three.
2 responses so far
Reprinted from the Haloscan comments for posterity: Clarifications from representatives of both stores.
Brightest Of Blessings,
I would like to comment that yes while Botanica Mama Roots does offer merchandise to the Saterian community, we also serve the wiccan and pagan community as well.
I as a wiccan high priestess abhor that there is ever any negativity with in our ranks. For we must show a sold front that while perhaps we have different belief structures, disagree or have differing practices, we are as one people, or should be.
I must say that the reporter while interviewing me went out of his way to try to get negative comments to fuel an imagined rivalry, between our shops.(which he did but not ever from our shop)..But there is no such rivalry as far as I am concerned for we are worlds apart in what we offer to the community,,,which is what the community at large needs.
I would also like to say that frankly I am disappointed that there is such bad mouthing of any shops such as ours period. As for Ms Rebekah Brooks commentary about feeling nothing but death and evilness with in our shop I say this is an out and out right blatant bullshit statement, but hey to each their own.
Your will is your way, as is the will of our clients and if some one has a need to do magic we are here to try to help facilitate them achieve their goal by offering a wide variety of magical tools and supplies.
Finally I would like to say I stand by my comments in the paper as I stand by my commentary here. I would like to express my thanks for having an open format to do so…
Have a wonderful Yule.
In Love and Light
Alexandra Lyons
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Greetings to Jason and all:
This post is in answer to an e-mail I received from Jason, and I hope it goes so far as to clear up some misconceptions that have been posted here.
To begin with, Ms Lyons is correct in stating that the “rivalry” between our shops was grossly over-exaggerated. While it is true that we have a differing opinion on the type of products we chose to sell and how we help people, we are simply two different shops catering to the same community. Peter Rowe, the journalist that interviewed me, gave me the impression that the story he was writing was about two magical shops that were located in the same general area and what each of our plans were for Halloween, or Samhain. What the story turned into, however, was obviously something different. No questions were asked of me about Mama Roots, nor any of I-Star’s employees, namely Ms. Lyons. He had a basic set of questions that most anyone would ask, to include hexes and curses. I am staunchly against causing harm. Is that to say that I can’t? Of course not…I know that the power to heal and the power to harm are very much the same. If I am found at fault for not emphasizing that fact, then so be it-I would much rather be known for my healing ability than an ability to curse, hex, or what have you. It is not my prerogative to spread fear, nor is it to contribute to many people’s misconception that witches are evil or devil-worshipers. I took an oath to harm none. I see it as my responsibility as a business owner and Elder in the Craft to make sure that I recommend options for solving problems in a positive manner that also harms none, and this is what my customers have come to appreciate. I hand make every single product in my store, and to make some of the candles mentioned in the article, like “evil to those so named” will never be in my inventory. You, Jason, and anyone else may disagree with me in this matter, but then it’s my shop and my choice to decide what I will and will not hold, for the same reason that I won’t tell you what to write on your website. I stand by my quote “I do not participate in doom, do not participate in curses.” This comment was NOT made in direct reference to any product being sold at Mama Roots. Their “destructora,” “evil to those so named,” and “opening the doors of hell” candles are wholly unknown to me, as are the rest of their products. I never made any quote that “destructora” angers me, only that I do not participate in doom and curses. As somewhat a journalist yourself, you should be able to decipher what are quotes made by people and what filler is made by the journalist writing the article. Furthermore, in our tradition, witches do not and cannot do harm- if they do, they are no longer considered a witch in our tradition. Cannot, however, isn’t used in the sense that it is impossible for me or my students to do so; it is an oath that we take not to do so and therefore we “cannot.” You’re right though, not all people who practice witchcraft follow the “harm none” law. Unfortunately, however, Peter Rowe didn’t have a few days to sit with me so that I could go over every Pagan belief structure. He’s writing an article in a newspaper, not a novel. To include everything about everything is ridiculous, and you should know this. He was asking me about MY beliefs, not someone else’s, and so I answered his questions according to my beliefs. The quote about loving life was made in reference to our respect for the gift the the Gods have bestowed upon us. We are taught to love life- not to live in fear of making mistakes. To explain to you why some witches out here do not like me goes far beyond your need to understand this. As I understand it, from your posting, you are not even from California, and for you to understand the comment, you would have a lot to learn about and I do not have the time to explain. To make a long story short, I have customers who come to me because others-within our own community-will take people’s wedding rings as payment for help. This is going to far- I am against preying on people who are in desperate need for help. Are some of the things I offer expensive? Yes. Are they worth someone’s wedding ring? Absolutely not. I will find another way to work with people than strip them of something like that. THIS is the kind of thing that I deal with. I deal with a lot of people coming to me because someone has “cursed” them, and I have to undo the negative magic that is floating around this area. Do I blame Mama Roots for this? Absolutely not. It IS the customers decision what type of magic they do, as Ms. Lyons said in the article. I simply choose not to help customers who want to bring negativity or harm to others.
Finally, I was never questioned about Santerian beliefs. I was questioned about mine. You make quite a sweeping statement yourself by saying that I was mocking the Santerian establishment, which is an enormously wrong inference on your part. I am sure that we all wish the article was written in a more positive light, though what is done is done. My goal for my shop is to help people of all walks of life. We are a witchcraft store, though we cater to all people of all religions and do our best to help those in need. True, I may only be in my early twenties, but ask my customers what they think of me, and you may understand why they call me a “veteran” of the witchcraft trade. Until you and I can meet in person and discuss this further, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions that have been raised from the article. If ANYONE has any questions that they would like me to address, please visit my website at http://www.firewolfsmagic.com and you can contact me via e-mail or phone.
Blessed be.
Rev. Kyle Leite W.E., C.C., C.C.T.
I have e-mailed the reporter and will be following up on this.
I think that this whole thing is silly both shops have stuff I like to buy and stuff I don’t wanna buy so I just buy the stuff I like to no big deal.