Juana Bruja and Llewellyn Publications

Dear Reader:

Attend me. This site was not founded out of hate, nor am I a rejected author. I will explain why I have written this and why I intend to encourage others to boycott Llewellyn texts in favor of topical works from other publishing houses.

My tale begins with this e-mail I sent to Llewellyn.

"To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 17:26:37
Subject: "Brujeria"?

I find it hard to believe that the publishing company that's put so much effort into correcting popular misconceptions of Wicca would blunder so badly with what is also an independent tradition, Brujeria. Ostensibly, "brujeria" is the Spanish equivalent of "witchcraft", but as anyone in the know could tell you, Brujeria is so much more.

As you may have guessed, I am a bruja and my art is Brujeria. My experiences in Brujeria are quite different from other traditions, such as Wicca. For one thing, Brujeria is New World craft, mingling Spanish and Spanish-derived magical religion with Native American practices (that is, Aztec, Mayan, etc.). For another, 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.

Brujeria is NOT Wicca! To say so is like saying Christianity and Islam are one in the same. Yet Llewellyn, in spite of having an entire department dedicated to Spanish translations, has blindly taken Brujeria as witchcraft/Wicca and warped it to these purposes. One case in point is La Brujeria by the late Scott Cunningham, which I assume is a translation of The Truth About Witchcraft Today. Brujeria is not the witchcraft Cunningham had in mind--Brujeria is NOT Wicca. There are also Que es la Wicca? Brujeria de Hoy by Cunningham (again drawing an equation between Brujeria and Wicca) and Wicca: Practicas y Principias de la Brujeria by Rayomd Buckland, which also would make one think that Wicca and Brujeria are the same right from the title.

Speaking for the brujo population which I represent, Llewellyn has insulted us with its carelessness. Brujeria is ours. We do not embrace Wicca, and I doubt Wiccans would embrace us. Wicca follows a set of concepts alien to Brujeria. The eight spoked Wheel of the Year? Of what good is such a thing in lands where it is almost always summertime! I am a bruja born and raised, but I have read many Llewellyn books, including books on the Wiccan religion. While I know about Wicca, I also know that it clearly is not the same religion as my Brujeria.

I don't expect that Llewellyn will bother to make any changes, nor would I expect Llewellyn to be interested in a book about the real Brujeria (it's not for the squeamish). All the same, I felt it necessary to bring this to your attention. For a good book that has an excellent grasp of the true Brujeria, I recommend Magia y Brujeria en Mexico by Lilian Scheffler. At least Scheffler has bothered to reason out that Western European Wicca and Panamerican Brujeria were born of different lands and different people, and on that basis alone are not the same religion."

As of January 13, I have not yet heard from Llewellyn on THIS e-mail. However, the plot thickens...

Enter the Romani/Romany/Roma/Rom. At the request of my Rom friends, I again wrote to Llewellyn.

"Lately I wrote you regarding Llewellyn's bastardization of my magical spirituality, Brujeria. Now I write to you about another mistake made by Llewellyn Publications which has made a special group of people quite annoyed.

I do not know just how much you understand about the term "Gypsy", but I suspect that if you did know anyone from this group, you would be made more than well-aware of its pejorative connotations. In my neighborhood, I am close friends with a couple of Rom descent. Sometimes it is also called Romany. Either term referes to a group of dark Caucasoid people who came out of India and migrated into Europe during the 14th-15th centuries. The couple has been abundantly clear on the word "Gypsy". To call a Rom a Gypsy, they tell me, is akin to calling an African American a nigger. They aren't the only people of Rom blood who have made this parallel.

Enter Llewellyn author Raymond Buckland, great founder of XYZ Wicca and other magical marvels from the British Isles. On the back of his Complete Book of Witchcraft, we are told that Buckland (maybe the least Rom-sounding family name I've ever heard) is investigating his Gypsy heritage. One slip might be forgiveable to me (but not to the Rom, believe me), but Buckland and Llewellyn went hand in hand in creating more works using the term Gypsy: Gypsy Fortune Telling Tarot Deck, Secrets of Gypsy Fortune Telling, Secrets of Gypsy Love Magick, Gypsy Witchcraft and Magic, Gypsy Dream Dictionary, and perhaps even more I haven't uncovered.

Now we see where Buckland/Llewellyn have perhaps caught themselves. The latest work forthcoming from Buckland is the Romani Tarot Kit. It took this many years for author and publisher to wake up and realize they were brutally offending and insulting an entire group of humanity?

I suppose there's no crying over last year's snowfall, but it would be nice to see a cultural group/a people accurately and sensitively represented in a Llewellyn book. I understand there was a similar outcry over the book Witta, which claimed to be about an Irish Pagan tradition but is actually straight from the imagination of the author. Will Llewellyn get on the ball and be more careful in the future?"

All right, so now Brujeria had been brushed aside and I was writing with what knowledge I have about the Rom from Rom themselves. This is when Carl Weshcke, president of Llewellyn, and Raymond Buckland decided to have a go at me.

This is the e-mail I received from Raymond Buckland's mail account. I say this because neither he nor Carl Weschke would stoop to directly address a lowly serf like myself.

"1/10/01 4:53:04 PM Dear Carl. Thanks for forwarding that. I somehow doubt this person has any knowledge of the Rom/Gypsies in England! There the word Gypsy is used just as much - in fact I'd say more - by the Gypsies themselves. Also, if she cares to do a little investigating, she'll find a lot of Buckland Gypsies, with photos of them in such books as Denis Harvey's "The Gypsies - Waggon Time and After" mention of them in Leland's "Gypsy Sorcery & Fortune Telling", and "The English Gypsies and Their Language",Brian esey-Fitzgerald's "Gypsies of Britain" and other such classics (note "Gypsies" in those titles). The International Romani Union, headed by Prof Ian Hancock, Romani representative at the U.N., uses the term "Gypsy" freely in all his literature. Perhaps this person should stick to Brujeria! "kushti bok" - Ray-B, "far from Lord of the Rom"

Original message from: Carl Weschcke
Dear Ray,
This kind of relates to our discussion of Gypsy versus Romany. Otherwise, the person is kind of a smart-ass.
Carl

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, President
LLEWELLYN WORLDWIDE, LTD.
84 So. Wabasha St., P. O. Box 64383
St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, USA
Direct Dial phone 651-312-8302; Fax 651-291-1908
E-mail to [email protected]"

Well, at least Buckland didn't try claiming any Buckland brujos!

Yes, I am a firebrand. I don't give up and I don't lose, not when I believe I'm in the right. I am not in the least intimidated by names (they fuck, shit, sleep, eat, and die just like the rest of us). Hence, my reply.

"Yes, I am the ignorant troublemaker who knows so little about English Gypsies--although I'm quite positive I know far more about the religion of Brujeria than anyone at Llewellyn Publications. Hey, at least I know Brujeria and Wicca are two different practices; that's a pretty simple concept.

But we're not talking about Brujeria now, we're discussing the Rom. At least that's what my Rom information base informs me is the correct term. I did run your "English Gypsy" spiel past my panel of Rom experts, who were all pretty much disgusted. Since they have nothing to gain but accurate representation while you are exploiting this as a profession, I would have to give their information validity over yours.

Indeed we all know (yes, even me, though I am not Rom) that the Rom spread through all of Western Europe, including England. Are you trying to say that these Rom who chose England are synonymous with your English Gypsies? As I understand, accepting the title "English" nulls the former title "Rom". But let's get to a sore point--your very use of the word "Gypsy". Do you go up to African Americans and call them niggers? Now isn't that a wonderfully blind idea for a book--you could bastardize African magical traditions and call it "Nigger Magic". Am I being extreme? I'm quoting actual Rom folk verbatim.

Raymond Buckland, Carl Weschcke, what of you? Names do not impress me. Wisdom and knowledge impress me. Neither of you seem to have enough insight and sensitivity to see you're being insulting. What can two white aging men know about cultural practices on the ground level? What can a publishing company president in St. Paul, Minnesota really understand about living and thriving traditions elsewhere in the country, elsewhere in the world? What's more, just what integrity does Llewellyn really have? "Witta" was a fake, "Celtic Magic" and "Norse Magic" are the same book with different droppings, Wicca and witchcraft are not synonymous, the occult is not all white light and saccharine goodness, Brujeria is not Wicca, there are Rom who object to the use of the pejorative--none of these are indicative of quality publishing.

But that's the trick, isn't it? The wisdom won't be found in a book. It can only be found within, the only teacher the universe itself. But hey, let that cat out of the bag and your careers are screwed. So, continue to write and publish fiction garbed as fact to people who need it. That's an exploitation even worse than offending the Rom."

Then I looked over Buckland's e-mail once again, and something new struck me. This time I wrote to both Buckland and Weschcke.

" First of all, I have to applaud both of you for having enough strength in your own knowledge and convictions to write directly to ME.

Perhaps this person should stick to Brujeria!

Is this so? Now let me think. Brujeria is a largely Latin American tradition. One could even call it Hispanic or Chicano. This could be taken as a bit of an ethnic slur, a racist remark. Being female, I'm also an easy target for sexism, too.

I don't know what kind of a weak-willed idiot you think I am, but I assure you I'm no stranger to ideological battle and I'm well aware of the avenues of action open to me. I suppose I'll start with a call to my lawyer, and then maybe ring up the ACLU."

I've been as good as my word.

In the end, yes, it seems I have a case on three counts.

1) 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?"

2) 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?

3) 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?

I created this site as a result of my recent unpleasant experiences with Llewellyn, but I know that problems with the publisher are much broader. If Llewellyn would rather be a business than a center of learning, so be it. We the consumers have a right to air and share our complaints.

VIVA LA BRUJA