A few questions

[Anonymous]

I have been reading quite a bit in my study of Wicca and have come across a couple questions.  The books I have read seem to take different stands on them so I thought I would ask for everyone's opinion here.
First, I read that Isis is thought to be the prototype for the Great Goddess.  Is this a general accepted belief, or just from one book?
Second, one book that I read said that no ritual work or magic should be done until one has been initiated, whether self-initiated or through a coven and another one said that practice is necessary to really gain a connection with the deities.  What is your opinion on that?  
 
I am still working my way through authors that I want to read, and the many suggestions here have been very helpful, but I just can't seem to resolve the above questions for myself yet.
I know that there does not seem to be a high opinion of Ravenwolf or Grimassi here.  Are there any others that you feel do not deserve much attention?  I am serious about my study and not looking for the quick Wicca 101, get down to spellwork stuff.  There are so many books out there, it is sometimes hard to decipher them all, and I do appreciate all the recommendations. I have quite a list working already from all the book threads.
Thanks so much for your time with this one.

[Lark]

Let me offer my opinions here....

First of all, on authors that I do not recommend...
Silver Ravenwolf
Raven Grimassi
Ann Moura
Kisma Stepanich
Edain McCoy
D.J. Conway
Fiona Horne
I'm inclined to think there are some others, but my brain isn't coming up with names right now.

As for Isis being the prototype for the Great Goddess ... well, not in my opinion.  Certainly in ancient times she had a widespread following even outside of Egypt.  But there was never a question in the minds of her followers that she was but one Goddess amongst many.  The idea of some Great Goddess of which all others are but simple facets is a modern one and I think it has it's roots in some of the monotheistic belief systems that use it is a gentle step into polytheism.

As for not doing ritual or work or magical work until one is initiated...well that one is bull.  There are plenty of people out there who are not and who never will be initiated but who are quite happily practicing their path without those initiations.  Heck, I worked as a solitary for a year before I found a group to train with..and I certainly did rituals during that year...and no cosmic thunderbolt struck me down for my impudence either!

As an aside, the term 'self-initiation' is a misnomer.  One cannot initiate oneself.  The correct term would be a 'dedication' where one can perform a ritual to dedicate oneself to your particular path.

As for the last question..yes, I believe that we do grow closer to the Gods through our practice.  For instance..I have specific Gods that are my patrons and with whom I have established a special relationship.  That means that I offer them prayers and offerings daily.  I tell them about myself and my needs...and when I have need of something, they are there to aid me.  Look at it this way...if a child needs something and tugs on the coat of an adult, who is more apt to respond..the stranger they don't know, or the parent who knows they are its child?

Umm, could I ask which books you're reading right now?  Perhaps we need to steer you to something better.

Hope this helped,

-Lark-

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your response, and I do appreciate you correcting me on my use of verbage in regards to the initiation question.
The one about Isis came from the book A History of Pagan Europe, not sure of the author right now.  I have read Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practioner by Cunningham
Wicca: Beliefs and Practices by Gary Cantrell
Maiden Moon by Simon Craft (this one I got online for free, so I thought I would check it out)
Currently reading Living Wicca by Cunningham. Not to far into it as I just bought it last night.  
I appreciate your thoughts on this! Thanks so much!

[Lark]

Cunningham isn't a bad place to start.  Here's some that I would recommend as good books to introduce you to Wicca correctly...

"A Witch Alone" by Marian Green
"21st Century Wicca" by Jennifer Hunter
"The Elements of Ritual" by Deborah Lipp
"Spiral Dance" by Starhawk
"Before You Cast a Spell" by Carl McColman
"The Witches' God" and "The Witches' Goddess" by Janet and Stewart Farrar
"Witchcrafting" by Phyllis Curott
"The Heart of Wicca" by Ellen Cannon Reed

Blessings,

-Lark-

[Gryphon]

I'd add a new book to Lark's list. However, it is written by multiple authors, not all of whom are recommended.

Exploring The Pagan Path has chapters with a wide variety of view points. I am reading it for a book review and I like it so far for a beginner.

To read about new books I have reviewed, head over to Magickware (link at the top of the page).

[Anonymous]

I agree with what Lark said. In addition:

First, I read that Isis is thought to be the prototype for the Great Goddess.

Do you mean the Goddess of Wicca? If you do, then I don't have an answer for you, but if you mean the Great Goddess in general.... Then no. In ancient Sumer (located in modern day Iraq, and begun before ancient Egypt), there was already a complex pantheon of deities, so Egypt could not have influenced their goddess image. The Sumerian "Lady of Heaven" (Innana) and "She of the Foothills" (Ninhursanga) could both be considered the "Great Goddess", but for different reasons.

[Zenon]

goddess prototype?  I don't agree with that personally, I agree with Lark's point of it being a more modern way of looking at it.  

[Anonymous]

This is the quote from the book, just so that it is a bit more specific. I am not sure if i worded it correctly so here it is verbatim:
"Isis seems likely to be a prototype of the modern Pagan's Great Goddess, who is known by many names (likewise a goddess for a syncretistic, multinational world.)" From A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence E Jones and Nigel Pennick
Thank you for the book recommendations, I have made a list and will be hitting my bookstore come payday!  
Jennifer

[Lark]

"Isis seems likely to be a prototype of the modern Pagan's Great Goddess, who is known by many names (likewise a goddess for a syncretistic, multinational world.)"

Ah!  OK, in those terms I would say that the statement is correct.  Isis was looked upon as a Mother Goddess and was worshipped throughout the Mediterranean world.  So I can see where they are coming from.

That's not a bad book by the way.

-Lark-

[Anonymous]

Ok, if I can ask one more thing on authors, and sorry if this just sounds silly, but since I personally have not read enough nor do I know enough about authors in this subject  to discern why some authors are better than others in this subject, why is that list not recommended?  Thanks!
Jennifer

[Lark]

Sure, I'll be happy to share the issues I have with these particular authors.

Kisma Stepanich - her books were found to be plagarized from another author and the publisher was forced to pull them from bookstores.  But you'll still find copies out there.

Silver Ravenwolf: Encourages kids to lie to their parents about what they are doing, teaches curses and hexes, has a pretty strong anti-Christian bias.  But for a good summary of the problems with her, take a look at this essay. http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.html

Fiona Horne - Got into this for the publicity.  She admits that she isn't even a Pagan.  Again, here's an essay on this author.  http://wicca.timerift.net/horne.html

Raven Grimassi -  I have known Raven on-line since back in the old Compuserve BBS days.  Back then he was claiming to be Strega and looking down on all us Wiccan types because we didn't have long histories.  Then the Strega came along and pretty well forced him to stop using a title he hadn't earned..hence his writings are now called Italian Witchcraft instead of Strega.  Now he has set himself up as an authority on Wicca but is buying into the myths of the 'ancient' religion and the Burning Times.

Ann Moura -  Tried to rewrite history to prove that Wicca is an ancient religion again!  And she has a clearly anti-Christian bias in her books that bothers me.

D.J. Conway -  Basically all her books are the same with the names changed to protect the guilty.  Her books are full of inaccuracies, such as her book on Celtic Magic which discusses Karma and the Celts.  Karma is an eastern concept and was not one that the Celts ever used.  She also buys into the Great Potato Fallacy, claiming that the ancient Celts worshipped the potato as a symbol of the Goddess.  The fact that the potato is a New World veggie and didn't get to Ireland until nearly 1600 (long after Ireland was thoroughly Christianized) never seemed to cross her mind.

Edain McCoy - Also a purveyor of the Great Potato Fallacy.  She is the inventor of 'Witta' which she tried to claim was the ancient Irish form of Wicca.  It isn't.  The name she called this tradition by is one that would not have been found in any Celtic language.  It is simply Wicca given a made up name.  The one book of hers that I thought was worth much at all is "Inside a Wiccan Coven" where she is writing about her own experiences and not about anything that took a bit of scholarship.

I suppose one can learn something from almost any book, but the works of these particular authors require so much unlearning later because of the errors they contain that it is probably better just to spend your money on better books and save the time later to learn it right.

Hope this helps,

-Lark-

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much, it does help a lot.  I am so glad that I found this board and those that are here.  It is very difficult to sort through the mountains of information that is out there when trying to do serious study.   I appreciate your input and feedback.
Thanks again.
Jennifer