Green for Green, Brown for Brown-Ethicality in Spiritual Supplies

Okay, the Yule article that Azzerac wrote for Witchvox has received a bit of mail, only one negative, but it was from someone that seems bound and determined to be offended by everything.

Someone asked me awhile ago why I do what I do, as far as the shop goes. I want to get one thing straight, for the record. I don't hate Wiccans. Never have, never will.
The reason Azzerac and I started Lodestone & Lady's Mantle was as a direct response against the vast majority of metaphysical stores. They all stock the same Made-In-China, by child slave labor, plastic statues, diluted essential oils, fragrance (fake) oils marked as essential, inaccurately reproduced formulas, and stones that are unethically mined.

The height of New Age hypocrysy is blowing up the side of a mountain so that you can have a Power Crystal to "heal yourself" and "heal the Earth".

Not to mention the herbs. Old, overpriced, and the common practice of brown-for-brown, green-for-green among many spiritual suppliers. A green herb is substituted and sold in place of a more expensive green herb, etc. A lot of dragon's blood I've seen on the market is dyed frankincense or copal, depending on whats cheaper during a given season. Many shops justify this by saying that it is the belief of the practitioner that does the work, not the herb. If that were the case, why should anyone go to the trouble of purchasing herbs at all?

We started the shop out of respect to magical practitioners, because we, as magical practitioners, were sick of the same Azure Green junk. Instead of the same, rehashed (and frequently plagiarized) information, we write original, in depth, born from experience, not Llewellyn.
Formulas are researched, tested, refined, and tested again before they ever reach our shelves. Herbs are organic, fresh, and exactly what they say they are.
Stones are gathered ethically, with no harm to enviroment, or humanity.
Ritual tools are as unique as the practitioner who uses them.

Wiccans and Occultists are creative people. How many people in your community make beautiful magical crafts, whether its dipping candles, making soap, sewing their own robes, or forging gorgeous knives and jewelry?

The person offended by the article didn't want his worldview of Paganism shaken. He has written to us, twice, to scold us for not writing happy "feel-good" articles (yes, he actually said that). While some may want to believe that the status quo is acceptable, that everything is perfect, happy and shiny, and will bite anyone that tells them otherwise, I think its an insult to the intelligence of my spiritual family.

It's honestly disheartening to see people behave this way. But if we wrote the pandering, simpering, feel-good articles, it would be like handing candy out to shut up a screaming kid.

I know advanced practitioners are sick of this kind of behavior within the community. Thats one reason why so many experienced practitioners have retreated from the community, because nearly every event becomes a political "I'm more damaged than you" fest.

In short, I love you guys :)

Plagiarism is NOT the sincerest form of flattery

Thief and Plagiarizer: Kat Ravensword

I logged into Witchvox last night, only to discover that a company called "Keeper of the Cauldron" had not only stolen our "Call to Artisans" Notice word for word, but had the audacity to post it on the same page. The only thing that was changed was the commission percentage, from 10% to 15%. Yup, that's right. Not only steal someone else's work, but charge more for doing it.
Digging into the website a little deeper, I noticed that she had also stolen our format, and the basic outline of our company. There was nothing on the site; it was all vapor-ware. No product, only theft. Lie number 2: The shop profile claimed it as a brick-and-mortar store.
After a little detective work, I found the owners Myspace page, her personal Witchvox account, education and work history.

The owner of "Keeper of the Cauldron" is a high school dropout and former Walmart employee, currently working on the loading docks for Brooks Brothers in Denver. She lives in Byers, Colorado, and goes by various names in the magical community, including Kat Warsword, Ravensword, and L.K Penn, and apparently has never had an original idea in her life.

Needless to say, I am furious. That someone claiming to be Wiccan, and claiming to follow the Wiccan Rede would turn around and stab a member of the community in the back, or attempt to, is appalling. Azzerac and I created The Craftsman's Corner to celebrate the talented members of our community, give them an inexpensive way to show and sell their wares, and provide some much needed relief from the plethora of Azure Green plastic Made-In-China crap that tends to plague metaphysical stores.

Thankfully, Witchvox deleted both the notice and her shop account after I contacted them. But the point is, why do people think that this behavior is okay? That changing two lines in a poem is enough to call it their own? That altering the color in a painting is enough to tag it with their creative license? And moreover, WHY IS PLAGIARISM SO RAMPANT IN THE OCCULT COMMUNITY?

I mean, Helena Blavatsky is well known for stealing whole chapters from other scholars for her work. I have encountered thousands of websites that quote Scott Cunningham's "Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs" word for word without the slightest citation, kudos, or mention of source material. What is even worse is that all of it is taken as holy writ. Most practitioners don't even bother to work with the oil/herb/stone or do personal experiments.
Jeananne Rose, a wonderful and groundbreaking herbalist and aromatherapist, has mentioned frequently that companies and authors have stolen her published recipies, again without citation of source, or even a thank you. I know, as she does, that spending years taking notes, doing experiments, and refining a formula only to have it stolen and reproduced in a half-assed manner is enough to make even the most mild-mannered alchemist throw her alembic. Preferably against someone's face.

I urge you to be so damn original that it hurts!

-Carmin

'Allo allo!

Having decided to step into this technological revolution called "blogging" at 2 am yesterday, I failed to introduce myself, or post any content. In fact, I was so sleep deprived at that point that I may have stolen the technological revolution's underpants and worn them on my head!
The details are fuzzy, but welcome to the tea party!

My name is Carmin; I am the co-owner and co-founder of an all natural and organic occult store
( Lodestone & Lady's Mantle) and along with my dearest love and business partner, Azzerac, will be shouting sweet nothings and everything's across the web. Trust a witch to have a great set of lungs and an opinion :)

My passion has always been for putting the Earth back into Earth worship.
The shop began, as many things do, over a cup of coffee at the now defunct (and sorely missed) Java Buddha.
I think that I was yet again bemoaning the 'sameness' of every metaphysical store. That they all buy their products from Azure Green, that the statuary is made by child slave labor in China
( how is that for "harm none"?), that most everything is plastic, acrylic, and the very antithesis of natural magic. That there are so many talented crafts people in the Wiccan, Pagan, and Magical community, but their work wasn't getting seen, except at the occasional craft fair, farmer's market, or Renaissance Fest. Even then, the booth fees were exorbitant, especially for a hobby crafter.
Azzerac, in a sublime example of Occam's Razor, began everything with a phrase that fell like farmhouse in Oz: "So why don't we start it?"
We have made a home for talented artists to show and sell their work, a place to get everything that we as serious occultists always wanted, natural, organic, handmade ritual tools, and moreover, a hearth and home for the community.

Oh, and I should warn you, I'm a rabid fan of Doctor Who and Terry Pratchett.

I hope that you will stop by often; take some scones for the road!