Heretic in Greek
means Free Thinker

Merry Meet~

Welcome to my Little Book of Shadows~

Six years ago, when I began the journey to come out of the broom closet, I will admit that I was timid. The pagan community over the past 20 years has shown me repeatedly that it has little tolerance for posers. Anyone with a superstitious grandmother can call oneself a hereditary witch. So to take my first steps out of the closet I wanted to blur the lines where my Family Tradition met Wicca. In that time, I've proved to myself that I can be more specific about those things in my tradition that differs from Wicca. So, I plan to do some revisions to my website.

I have been on my spiritual/magickal journey for only 40 years, so I am by no means an expert. But I have learned a few things that you may not have learned from others on our path. Mine has been a three-fold commitment, a quest for self knowledge/self improvement, for magickal study/wisdom, and for spiritual enlightenment/exploration. If you are not familiar with paganism and witchcraft (magick), this site will give you some insights. If you are familiar with paganism and witchcraft (magick), you will find familiar subjects here. However, I step off the path often. This site is content heavy because I come from an oral tradition and I am the first of my line to try and write it all down which is formidable since I come from a long line of storytellers and writers. So, don't be surprised that you can't get through this site in one sitting. But don't be dissuaded from book-marking the site and taking it a bit at a time. Magick, like life and love and music, art, philosophy, children and every other thing that is worthwhile - takes time. I predict that the investment will be worth your time.

You will not find the standard Wiccan FAQ texts here. I am not Wiccan, even as I honor Wicca as the parent of modern witchcraft and neopaganism. Here, you will neither find Doreen Valiente’s beautiful Charge of the Goddess nor her complete or abbreviated Wiccan Rede. Neither will you find Scott Cunningham’s ubiquitous 13 Goals of the Witch nor Isaac Bonewits’ excellent Laws of Magick, all of which can be found cut and pasted on countless Wiccan/Pagan sites. (It is wisdom that you should pursue however, and my links will help you there.) My goal is to share new insights or new views on some old insights.) I am also not New Age or Hindu. You will not get lessons on balancing your nameless energies or cleansing your chakras or texturizing your auras. (I’m in a “say something argyle” mood!)

The joy of life is the ever-present knowledge that you are
a child of nature. An intricate facet of the whole,
necessary to its function. When you loose this knowledge,
you learn detachment, self-protection, mistrust and subjugation.
from The Book of Gen

Wicca has not so much influenced my path, as that which influenced Wicca’s path, has influenced my path. The parent of my pagan path was my mother, as the parent of her path was hers. I claim no lineage beyond these two women and I claim no purity of any kind, but I know their extensive knowledge was not grown in a vacuum. I built this site to honor my ancestors and their teachings and to add some alternative seasoning to the philosophical stew.

Love is its principle and Joy is its theme

That was the philosophy behind my mother’s magickal tradition. Mother called her path, The Science. And like nature, it was an evolving version of The Craft that her mother taught her. It was a spiritual philosophy, an intellectual pursuit and a magickal way of life that celebrated the balance and connectivity of all things, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. An initiatory tradition that I can trace back to the late 1800s, it combines both mystery and fertility traditions. It is both the celebration of nature and the study of nature’s nature. I took an oath when I was 13 to pursue certain goals for self-improvement and the wellbeing of my family, my immediate environment, and if I got good enough, for everyone else. I also took an oath of secrecy that, to one degree, I broke with this site - because - I was told I'd know when it was time. And I thought it was time.

In the past six years, you've told me that I was correct in doing so. And I thank you for that.

Rules of the Site

If what I say resonates with you, it is merely
because we are both branches on the same tree.
- W. B . Yeats

Other internet authors employ electronic safeguards to protect their copyrights. You will not find them on this site. I am employing you to safeguard my copyrights. Take anything you want, post it anywhere you like, or keep it for yourself - just add my byline: Ardriana Cahill. If you like, add my link. This site is growing again and I have much to give away. Please share, but don’t steal from me – partner with me. If your ego needs to claim my words as if they were your own, I will simply say, They Will Not Serve You.

Should you find something on this site incorrectly attributed or not attributed that should be, contact me and I will immediately remove it or correct it as necessary.

© 2004-2011 Ardriana Cahill ~ Content, unless otherwise attributed, is the intellectual property of Ardriana Cahill and cannot be reproduced without attribution. Web design by Ardriana Cahill. All Artwork and decorative design is used with permission and is the intellectual property of fine artist, Danny Roberts. It cannot be duplicated or used without his permission, obtained through his website at Damned Ink Studios.

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