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FEBRUARY 27, 2001 - This update is long overdue. The campaign will be continuing indefinitely, but I would like to say that it has to date been more successful than I'd hoped. Carl Weshcke of Llewellyn Publications finally entered into a civil correspondence with me, which I suppose is as close to an apology as I can expect. As for Raymond Buckland, well, looks like the bruja isn't worth his time (pendejo). On the local scene, I've convinced bookstore owners and managers not to carry noted books from Llewellyn misusing the term Brujeria. Living where I do, demonstrating the inequation that Brujeria is not Wicca isn't too difficult. I also want to extend my thanks to the members of the Pagan community who have reached out with their enthusiastic support--truly THESE are the Wise Ones. I'm now listed as a practicing bruja at the Witches' Voice and on Pagan Profiles, and my group, Los Brujos del Cuervo, also has a listing on the Witches' Voice--we're making our presence known and trying to raise awareness. But the biggest accomplishment of all is, I think, the influx of mail I'm getting from curious seekers simply asking, "What is Brujeria?" The opportunity to educate means more to me than anything. Thank you, and always bear in mind that one determined person really can make a difference!
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WHO AM I?
You may call me Juana Bruja if you promise not to mangle it with an English
translation. I have been involved in witchcraft and the occult arts for all
of my life, and now I am comfortably at home with the practice we call
Brujeria (more on that to follow). Consequently, I do a lot of reading to
compliment the continuous education offered me by life and the universe. I
have read a good number of titles from Llewellyn Publications, and I feel
adequately familiar with the style and quality of the publishing house to draw
some fair conclusions.
WHAT IS LLEWELLYN PUBLICATIONS?
If you want the entire historical lore, I suggest you visit the Llewellyn Web Site. My version is more
practical. Llewellyn is a publishing company in St. Paul, Minnesota, that
caters to the New Age/occultnik crowd. To the best of my knowledge, it is the
largest and most profitable publisher in said field in the world.
FROM WHENCE THIS COMPLAINT?
For years I'd been choosing to turn a blind eye to the many faults I've found
in Llewellyn texts. Often I asked myself if the company even ran the material
past an editor at all. At other times it seemed to me like Llewellyn would
publish ANYTHING regardless of accuracy so long as it would sell. I know I'm
not the first or the only person to have thought these things.
Then something came to my attention that I couldn't ignore. As I said, I
practice Brujeria. I practice in a close group we call Los Brujos del Cuervo
("el brujo" is a male, "la bruja" is a female, and a mixed group uses the
masculine plural, "los brujos"--just in case you didn't know). One night a
few of us were together browsing online bookstores. We came upon books on
Brujeria, or with Brujeria in the title, published by Llewellyn in Spanish.
We couldn't believe it! Someone had actually written about us?
On closer inspection, we were at first disappointed and then angry. You see,
what Llewellyn seemed to be portraying as "Brujeria" wasn't our Brujeria but
rather the Wiccan religion simply borrowing a literal translation of brujeria,
witchcraft. But Brujeria is NOT Wicca, and that was a point I wanted to make
with the company.
BRUJERIA?
My original message to Llewellyn involved my own spiritual practice, Brujeria. Simply put, Llewellyn likes to equate Brujeria with the Wiccan religion when translating books into Spanish. This is wrong, and I know it to be wrong. I sought to bring this error to Llewellyn's attention, and found myself in a pissing contest instead.
But then, what is Brujeria?
- "Brujeria" is the word English speakers will find when looking for the translation of witch, sorcerer, wizzard, whatever into Spanish. This version of brujeria is very basic and not idiomatic, and does not denote any kind of magical religion like, for instance, Wicca.
- Brujeria is New World craft, mingling Spanish and Spanish-derived
magical religion with Native American practices (that is, Aztec, Mayan, etc.). Brujeria has a definite dark stripe
to it. We are not "white lighters" as I've heard it said, pushing a "Harm none" code. Brujeria is rich with the passions
of Panamerica wherever those passions may lead.
- It is rumored that Brujeria is also the magical practice used by some Mexican drug dealers in order to inspire fear in
religious locals.
- Brujeria is a death metal band with Spanish lyrics that adds a touch of
humor and parody through their deliberately grandiose approach.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
The
circumstances which have made me seek public action against Llewellyn at this
particular time are explained in detail.
However, I would like to cite part of my Conclusion--the three factors evident in the e-mail exchange with Ray Buckland and Carl Weshcke which point to civil rights violations and a possible case.
- RACISM - Was Buckland being derogatory with his "stick to Brujeria" remark? Was it a remark like, "Oh, she's
involved with Hispanic craft, what could she possibly understand about US?"
- SEXISM - Well, I am a woman, and Ray Buckland (who's been noted as a bit of a sexist before) and Carl
Weshcke are, as I said, aging white males. Could they possibly be viewing themselves as somehow superior to me,
assuming I'm just some little chicana from nowhere?
- RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION - I have been using an e-mail account I have through a Satanic mail service.
This fact is posted in the footer of outgoing messages. So, am I being dismissed out of hand because I associate with
Satanism, a Satanism based in Nietzsche and Humanism, not in reversed
Christianity? Anybody who's bothered to read some of Anton LaVey's work knows
what I mean.
THE GOOD OLD BOY NETWORK OF THE
OCCULT?
Can such a mindset be possible in "the Craft of the wise"? Can a company like Llewellyn, which makes such a grandiose deal of the New Age and human potential and general understanding, be just another "Good Old Boy" corporation like so many others?
I get a flick-of-the-wrist copy of a chummy-chummy e-mail between Ray Buckland and Carl Weshcke in which I am discussed and dismissed, but never am I addressed directly as the thinking human being I am. Buckland says I should just stick to
Brujeria; Weshcke calls me a smart ass. Neither ever bother to address what I had actually written. Now, I know from a bit of research that both Buckland and
Weshcke are white men a good bit past their middle years. I would even say they are WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Pagans) except that I do not know for certain about the Anglo-Saxon part, and I won't make the same mistake I'm accusing the two men of making.
So here I come along under the name Juana Bruja, representing Brujeria. Who am I next to these giants? I'm just some little nothing with a bee in her bonnet.
I don't deserve answers to my messages, I don't deserve intellectual respect.
Keep laughing at the mercuric chicana (or is she a chicana?) until your aging pride is sated. Yeah, you just keep laughing, you old farts. You've heard of karma? You may have just walked right into the slingshot of the universe.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
It's true. You can fight City Hall. You can also affect a corporation the size
of Llewellyn.
"Boycott" is nice and vague, but let me give you more.
- Do not purchase materials from Llewellyn--books, tapes, Tarot decks, etc.
- Keep in mind that every dollar you spend on Llewellyn merchandise goes into the coffers of a company who cares less about spirit than about the almighty dollar.
- Llewellyn does not respect your intelligence. The publishing company releases tome after tome of essentially the same material, expecting that you will buy
so long as it's packaged differently.
- There are many other alternative presses out there that might deserve your business.
- Llewellyn churns out a lot of titles, but the classics--Drawing Down The Moon, Real Magic, The Spiral Dance, Postive Magic, When God Was A Woman, and
works by the Farrars, Doreen Valiente, Alex Sanders, Patricia Crowther, and of course Gerald Gardiner--were not published by Llewellyn.
- Anyone serious about the study of magic and witchcraft should pass over the diluted material published by Llewellyn and challenge themselves with intellectual stimulants and even original sources.
- Take away the Llewellyn books. What are you left with? Plenty!
- Read, read, read. Read books about world cultures, world religions, world languages.
- The universe is always available as your teacher.
Will you be a sheep, or will you be a wolf?
The choice is yours. Choose wisely.
AND SO...
As I stated in my report to the American Civil Liberties Union, all I am
personally seeking is a nice and public apology from Carl Weshcke and Ray
Buckland for their crass treatment of me. But even should I get my apology
(I'll probably grow old waiting, I suspect) there are still the problems I
have seen in the books published. Additionally, if I was the victim of a slur
or two, who else has been? Is Llewellyn open and tolerant on the outside but
rotten and bigoted on the inside? I've had a window to that inside. I looked
in, and indeed it looked rotten to me.
If you'd like to help me out, I have three suggestions. First, tell everyone
you know about this page and about the issues herein. Getting the word out
would be a tremendous help. If you're particularly angered by my tale (not at
me, thanks, but by how I've been treated), why not send a love note right to
the people involved? You can reach Llewellyn at [email protected], president Carl
Weschke at [email protected], and
author Ray Buckland at [email protected]. I learned the
hard way not to expect anything from written contact, however. These people
seem to either react negatively to criticism, or they fail to react at all.
Finally, do you have a Web page? Would you be willing to place one of the
following banners somewhere convenient for you?
Please link these back to http://members.fortunecity.com/vivalabruja.
Thank you for taking the time to read what might be total and utter madness.
Should you find yourself in a similar situation, I urge you to stand up and
raise a little hell. Remember the old addage about the squeaky wheel.
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Yes, I did used to have a portal to a message board in this space. However, I've decided to take the advice of some trusted individuals and nix the board. Why? Well, mainly I'm not trying to engage anyone in any kind of discussion over this page. These are my opinions and are not up for debate as far as I'm concerned. Those who TRULY want to risk taking me to task can do so by clicking on the VIVA LA BRUJA button and sending me e-mail. But for the love of whatever power is driving the universe at this time, PLEASE keep in mind that these are only my opinions and no one and nothing is forcing you to agree with me. That's not too hard to grasp now, is it?
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Yes. This document may have typos.
The last time I checked, I was still only human.
