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TWPT: What
was it that led up to your self initiation as a Witch
back in 1981 and what was the most appealing aspect
of Witchcraft that convinced you that this path was
for you?
EM: I first learned about Witchcraft
as a teen from a book called “The Grimoire of Lady Sheba.”
At the time I wasn’t interested inn pursuing this
further because I recognized the Craft as a religion,
and at that time I was exploring a variety of religious
paths trying to determine which was right for me.
When I was about twenty I found a book by the late
Sybil Leek and began to seriously get interested in
Witchcraft. What I found most appealing at that time
was the emphasis on the Goddess. As I uncovered
Christianity’s roots and found Judaism, I was moved
to uncover Judaism’s roots to find the old Pagan faiths
of the Middle East and deities such as Isis and Inanna.
I wanted to worship in a setting where the feminine
aspect of divinity was not relegated to a lesser role.
If we truly believe we are created in their image,
then we must accept that it takes both male and female
to spark creation. One aspect should be seen as
lesser than the other.
TWPT:
As you started out were you pretty much a Solitary
or were you actively looking for involvement in a Coven
or group setting? Where does one go looking to make
this kind of contact?
EM: In the beginning I worked
and studied with my best friend. I suppose you
could say we were a coven of two, but at the time we
weren’t experienced enough to recognize it as such.
We wanted to find a coven and teachers, but in
the early 1980s groups and written resources were just
beginning to emerge.It was my friend who finally found
a roundabout link to a large coven just west of the
city.
As to how one goes about making these contacts? That
question can fill a book. In fact, it did. I
get asked about covens so often that I wrote “Inside
A Witches’ Coven” in 1997 to answer all those questions.
The two best things to do are: 1) network with your
local occult bookstore or look for notices of open circles
in alternative newspapers or on the web, and 2) keep
your eyes and ears open for clues to what’s going on
around you. There’s no substitute for leg work.
This is one religion that will not come after
you; you have to go after it.
TWPT:
1981 was a few years before the advent of the
internet as a major facet of making contact with others
of like mind, what kinds of resources did you have available
to you at that time for reading about what was going
on within the Pagan community?
EM: As I mentioned, resources
were scarce in the early 1980’s. There was a New
Age bookstore in San Antonio that had a bullitun board
for networking, but it did not carry much in the way
of Paganism. Austin had a store that was Pagan
friendly, but wasn’t much into networking.
We ended up running our own ads in the available
resources and just came out and asked for anyone interested
in a study group with coven-possibilieies to contact
us. This is often the best course of action to
take--start your own circle.
TWPT:
Has your BA in history allowed you to approach
writing about Witchcraft with a different perspective
than you might have had otherwise?
EM: My degree was not in ancient
history, so I can’t say it’s been any help in my study
of the Craft other than it taught me how to make the
mosts use of any library. It was by working backwords
through modern religions to find their Pagan roots that
most impacted my study of the Old Religion.
TWPT:
When did writing become an important aspect of
your life and what were some of the first topics that
you tackled when you began to put your ideas down on
paper?
EM: I’ve been writing since 1980.
That was the year I first got paid by a magazine
for a small article on kitchen tips. If you knew
how little I cook, and how much I hate kitchen work, you’d
realize how funny this was. But that’s how I got
my start writing professionally.
TWPT:
Did you immediately recognize that writing was
going to be a major aspect of your vocational
life?
EM: Writing has always been an
important part of my life. For a while I was even
able to support myself freelancing with various magazines.
I always knew I wanted to write books, but I knew
the odss against making a living writing were against
me. I have a stockbroker’s and financial advisor’s license
and, until recently, worked as a broker during the day
while writing nights and weekends. Unfortunately, something
else had to go to make room for all this work, and I
ended up sacrificing sleep. The stress eventually lead to some long
term health
problems that I will be battling for a long time to
come.
TWPT:
What are some of the prime characteristics that
an author should possess if they hope to succeed with
their writing?
EM: You have to want it bad.
As I said, I worked in the hectic atmosphere of
a Wall Street brokerage firm, then came home and turned
on my computer to write--not just about Witchcraft--but
about any topic I thought I could write about that would
sell.
A writer has to be willing to dig out resources,
accept that what they write is not going to be perfect,
that you will have your detractors, and that you will
make mistakes in either your research or execution of
how you present that research. I look back on
some of my early work and cringe. I proud of most
of my later works.
TWPT:
What was the first book that you had published
whose topic was that of Witchcraft or Paganism? What
was it that prompted you to begin writing about your
spiritual path? If you are an author is that a natural
step to write about your spirituality?
EM: The first book I published
was “Witta: An Irish Pagan Tradition,” with Llewellyn
in 1993. That’s the book that makes me cringe
the most. I see places where I didn’t explain
things well, or where I hadn’t thought through faulty
research. It’s like getting whacked in the head
as suddenly you think, “I can’t believe I put that in
print.”
A writer lives and learns just like one does in any
profession. As a stockbroker I made errors. No
body likes them, but you learn from them and, hopefully,
grow wiser from having made them.
The only reason I chose to write about Witta is because
it is a small tradition, one I was afraid would die
out if it wasn’t put down on paper. I began writing
what would eventually be “Witta” for myself. I’m hoping
to have a chance to revise that book in the near future
and make some additions and corrections.
TWPT:
How did you initially make contact with Llewellyn
when you were looking to publish Witta and how did they
help you achieve your goals of becoming a published
author?
EM: I approached Llewellyn
as any writer would approach a publisher. I read
through Writer’s Market, select publishers, then prioritize
them by who most publishes work like mine and by who
I felt carried the most prestige.
Most non-writers have no idea how hard it can be
to break into publishing anywhere at any level. Writers
are asking a publisher to take a huge financial risk,
hence they get the lion’s share of the proceeds. A
writer has to know the market and know who to approach
and how to approach them. Much of this information
is in book on writing and in the annual Writer’s Market
publication. Writers who don’t do their homework
do not succeed in any genre.
Most non-writers also are unaware that when a publisher
is willing to take a risk on your work they control
what they would like to see rewritten and they control
all cover copy and packaging. Llewellyn is very
savvy about creating appealing covers and I’ve been
happy with all of them.
I got very lucky in that Llewellyn was my first choice.
Carl Llewellyn Wecshcke is from the old school. Bottom
line still counts, but he truly thinks of his business
as being a tea, that goes from him through his staff,
to his authors, right on down to the readers. He’s
a joy to work with--his whole staff is.
TWPT:
Tell me about the process that takes place between
your publisher and yourself when you have an idea for
a new book that you would like to write?
EM: When an author gets an idea,
he or she “pitches” it to an editor. The editor
will have a better idea than you if the product is marketable.
If it’s not, he or she may suggest some changes
in the concept. When the overall theme is hammered
out, then the author writes the manuscript. When
the manuscript goes to the publisher it’s sent to a
reader who fills out a form on what they liked and didn’t
like and what changes they would like to see.
Rewriting is no fun, but it’s the name of the game
in publishing. Many popular fiction writers go
through eight or more drafts before the final one goes
to press. The most I’ve had to endure is four.
TWPT:
Once you have finished a new manuscript and sent
it off to your publisher what kinds of discussions do
you have as to what form the book will finally take?
Do these discussions include content as well?
EM: Llewellyn tries to send copies
of cover art to its authors for input, but ultimately
they make the call, just like any other publisher. It’s
their money that’s at risk.
Once my manuscript is accepted, I don’t see it again
for about a year. In that time cover art, endorsements,
and marketing blurbs are generated. It gets line
edited and its basic format is set into proof pages.
At this point I get a call or letter from my editor
with the production schedule. That means letting
me know when she’ll need back answers to any questions
that arise during the editing process, when I will get
the proof pages so I can add my corrections, and then
it must be back to her for one last line edit before
it goes to print. About three months later the
book is on the bookstore shelves.
TWPT:
Over the years you have had several books published
on Wicca and Witchcraft, when you send a new book out
to readers all over the country what is is that you
are hoping to accomplish with your words?
EM: Every authors hopes their
words will change someone’s life, but I’m happy if I
just gave someone something new to think about. I
believe the best educated Witches are well read and
combine that reading with what their hear discussed
among others or are told by teachers. I still read many
Wicca 101 books because I can always find something
new in each of them.
TWPT:
Your latest book, Spellworking for Covens, is
the second book that you have published on the subject
of Covens the other being Inside a Witches Coven. Tell
me about some of your own experiences in covens and
how those experiences helped you in writing Spellworking.
EM: I think my experience with
group work is typical; I’ve had the bad, the good, and
the ugly. Right now I’m a solitary, and have been
for more years than I expected I would be. But
I’m enjoying that. I used to think I had to have
a coven to be a "real” Witch, which, of course, is not
true.
I drew on lots of personal experience when writing
both of my coven books. The first one, on how
to form or find one’s own, was inspired by the huge
amount of mail I receive from people who have no idea
that it takes lots of effort ad legwork to get a coven
started, even more so to find one willing to take newcomers.
TWPT:
Why is magick such a strong foundational piece
to a coven?
EM: I don’t think magick is a
strong foundation piece to a coven. I think there’s
a lot of other work to be done, first in ritual and
secondly in just getting to know and merge with each
other’s energies with the goal of making them one.
Any newcomers also need to be reminded that a coven
doesn’t exist for the purpose of making magick, but
to worship the deities at the turning points of the
year which is represented by the seasonal wheel.
We all know magick is hard work, and lots of variables
can upset it or propel it to success.
Magick should be the last thing a coven worries about,
but if a coven can do it successfully and everyone’s
happy with the outcome, then you have a wonderful, exceptional
coven. I just hate to see any group putting magick
ahead of other studies.
TWPT:
How effective is the written word in communicating
the concepts of magick and spirituality to your
readers?
EM: I think that depends on the
individual. Some are motivated by music or oral
teachings, others like to know all the mythology they
can, others are moved by words. I hope my books
can be springboards into other areas of study for any
Witch. I want to share my thoughts and ideas that
I’ve culled from more than twenty years experience,
but I don’t pretend to have all the answers. After
all, none of us ever learn it all, much less master
it.
TWPT:
If someone were to pick up a copy of your
book, Spellworking, and take it home what benefits
would they derive from it in relation to their current
coven or group work?
EM: I wrote SPELLWORKING
FOR COVENS because I often find groups are experts
at working with ritual energy, but which seem
to fall apart when trying to work magick together. I
hope I can give coven leaders a tool for measuring if
their group is ready for magick. Experienced leaders
can usually sense weak links and know when the time
is right.
If the time is not right, I hope to offer practical
exercises for their group to prepare themselves for
magick.
I also hope that leader can use the spell “blueprints”
section to make the spells in the Grimoire section of
the book, into powerful spells that benefit their groups.
TWPT:
Tell me about the Witta tradition and why it is
that you chose that tradition to become involved with?
What is it about the tradition that you find appealing?
EM: I fell into Witta by accident.
I was interested in Irish-based traditions, but
couldn’t find anyone near me who shared that interest.
If I had, I’d probably have found a tradition
steeped in hierarchies and degree work. The Celts
has a highly stratified society, perhaps rigid is a
better word, so most Celtic covens operate this way,
and it’s not a way I can live.
Then I met my mentor and teacher, Mollie, at a ceilidh,
or Irish dance gathering in Houston, Texas. She’d been
taught by someone in her native Massachusetts. That
group claimed to have spun off some Wittan covens in
Ohio and Virginia, but they didn’t know where it came
from originally.
Like all “ancient traditions,” Witta as a defined
spiritual path does not predate the mid-twentieth century,
even though many of its concepts, beliefs, and practices
have ancient threads running through them.
What attracted me the most was that this tradition
did not operate on a degree system. Instead it
emphasized everyone’s personal relationship with a patron
deity. My birth religion emphasized the same thing,
so it was not a hard leap to make.
I was lucky to find Mollie, my teacher, because she
fiercely backed the egalitarian spirit of what was to
be our coven of twelve. She never allowed anyone
to think they couldn’t do shouldn’t do something in
a leadership role after their initial year and a day
was complete.
TWPT:
Earlier you mentioned writing about Witta because
you were afraid that it would die out if you did not
put it down on paper, do you think that there are other
traditions out there that might suffer a similar fate?
What would you suggest to those who might be involved
in traditions that are slowly fading away?
EM: Religions must always change
and grow to meet the changes and growth of humanity.
If they don’t, then they cease to be a source
of solace, and the religion dies out.
Witta and many other small traditions may vanish,
but I see within them the cycles of nature, and they
will come back again, but changed. Their names
may be different, and their precise lineage forgotten,
but that will not lessen the impact of the faith on
the lives of its adherents.
Witta made me glad to be a Witch. Through it
I developed a strong connection to deity and to the
earth. That’s something other covens and study
groups did not do for me. There was noting wrong
with those others, they just weren’t right for me.
If you feel a tradition you followed seems to be
falling apart, someone should record its history and
practices. This is true even if it just consisted
of a one or two covens involved. Having it written
out will allow others to adopt or adapt the practice.
Some thread of it will live on and, perhaps, move
someone else closer to the creative spirit, just as
it did for you.
TWPT:
What are some of the main misconceptions that
those who follow this path have about what can and can
not be accomplished by the use of magick?
EM: I don’t think this question
can be answered in terms of a tradition. We all
know magick works. Period. And we all know that
anything that flies in the face of the natural laws
of universe is unrealistic magick. I like to use
the example of flying. No spell will cause you
to sprout wings and take to the skies, but it can help
you learn and control astral projection or get you good
seats on a safe plane.
TWPT:
Tell me about some of the differences in working
magick as a solitary and working magick within a coven?
What are some of the advantages and some of the disadvantages
of both types of working?
EM: Coven magick has to be done
in consensus with the rest of the coven. This
can be hard to do when pulling together each tiny component.
Someone is going to be a dissenter at some point
and the whole group will have to make changes. This
is especially true if the spell is to benefit only one
member of the group.
This difficulty in getting a spell ready to enact
can be worth it though. The full magickal intent
of many minds focused on the same desire can give your
spell a superb boost, even if they only enact it one
time. On the down side, if you have even one person
in a large coven who is not convinced this spell is
a good one for the coven to perform, even though he
does not step out, his feelings can negatively impact
the spell.
A solitary can plan his or her own spell, do their
own divination to make sure it will harm none, use words
of power that may make sense only to the practitioner,
and can choose a variety of visualizations. Many
times a solitary will do the same spell many times over
to keep feeding it energy.
This is the equivalent of one coven spell. If
the solitary keep his work to himself, then their
is no one around who can send defeatist energy to it.
TWPT:
As an author how would you evaluate your journey
thus far? Are you happy with what you have been able
to accomplish with your words and what would you change
about yourself as an author if you could?
EM: I started writing around
1980, but didn’t sell anything for pay for a couple
years. I earned my first $25 selling a list of
kitchen tips to a women’s magazine. That's very
funny since I hate to cook and avoid the kitchen as
if their were monsters in the cabinets.
I see writing as something I have to do as a Pagan.
Some Pagans ar compelled to express their feelings
and thoughts in poetry, others in song, others in ritual,
etc. I write. I always have, and nothing
feels more natural to me than writing about Witchcraft
and similar esoteric subjects. What I write may
not resonate with everyone, but it resonates with enough
people that I feel I’ve made some positive contributions
to the lives of other Witches.
Would I change things if I could? Yes. Any
writer would. You learn to express yourself
better, and your beliefs grow and change at the
same time. The urge to go back and rewrite everything
is an obsession at times, not one which is possible.
When that venerable Druid leader, Isaac Bonewitz,
was asked to do a revised edition of his “Real Magic”
he prefaced the book with a similar viewpoint. I
think it was something about his growth that had this
old material following him like a lost puppy.
I write many things, but nothing as satisfying as
the subject of Witchcraft.
TWPT:
Do you do any public appearances at festivals
or conferences as a workshop leader or a speaker in
general? What does this face to face meeting with your
audience/readers do for you as an author?
EM: I rarely do public appearances.
I spent the last ten years working as a stockbroker
and financial advisor. This was a high stress
job that often necessitated working evenings, early
mornings, and even overnight when needed. Between
that I tried to keep writing. At one point I even
had a second part-time job, and still did two
and a half books that year.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that an opportunistic
disease leaped at the chance to kick me when I was down.
I’ve been unable to get out of bed some days.
When I do get up, sometimes it takes all the energy
I have just to go sit in the living room and stare at
the walls. This illness has cut into my social
life, hurt my relationships, slowed my writing, and,
at one point, almost killed me. Since then I’ve
learned to say no.... and I hate to. But my health
has to come first, so I keep things low key and will
not go back to do anything highly demanding until I
know it won’t cause a set back.
What I miss most is meeting a wide variety of people
on various Craft paths. I love to chat with everyone
because each Witch is both teacher and student, and
I always hear something insightful or new to think about.
The vast majority of Pagans I’ve met are bright,
curious, and the kind of people I’d want to merge my
energies with in a group setting.
The only drawback to public appearances is the “celebrity
syndrome.” Writers are by nature solitary
creatures. When I do appear in public I hate it
when someone treats me like some spoiled starlet. I
mean I really hate it. I try to turn the conversation
so that this person will know that I want to hear his
opinion and that his beliefs are just as important as
my own. Usually this works, when it doesn't I just feel
awful. There are no stars in the Craft other than
those in the sky above us.
TWPT:
With quite a few books to your credit already
I can only assume that you are hard at work on a new
book even as we speak. What should we be looking for
next from Edain McCoy as far as a new book is concerned?
EM: I’ve recently completed two
manuscripts; one tentatively titled Advanced Witchcraft
and another tentatively called If You Want To Be a Witch.
My current project is a book for Llewellyn’s “Special
Topics in Tarot” series.
I’ve sent in three other proposals, and have the
go-ahead on two of them, and a cautious interest in
the other.
TWPT:
Finally, do you have any suggestions for covens
or groups who want to do spellworking in a meaningful
way but not to let it become the whole basis for meeting
together?
EM: Covens have to remember two
things: 1) Their purpose for being, which is to worship
and serve the deities, and, 2) That no ritual or spell
is worth destroying a good coven. If that can
be kept in mind at all times, then spellworking with
all it’s niggling little aspects cannot cause a rift
in your group.
I think the coven that wants to start practicing
magick together should already have a strong working
ritual history. Every member of the coven should
be allowed his input. The coven should create
the spell together, discuss the divination of the outcome
together, be open about any reservations about the spell
based on ethics, and everyone should have a role in
the process. This not only allows everyone to
feel good about what you’re doing, but it allows everyone
to give their magickal all to the task at hand. If
you don’t get full mental and emotional cooperation,
then doing the spell as a group is probably not going
to be useful.
If a spell issue is threatening to split your group,
give up the spell. It’s not worth it if you have
an otherwise strong coven.
TWPT: I'm
glad that we finally connected for an interview and
I do wish you continued success with your writing career
and anything else that you set your mind to. Thanks
for taking the time to talk to me and the through me
the readers of TWPT.
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