Over at The Wild Hunt they're talking about a witch who is being ridiculed because of her Wiccan practice. There are the comments you would expect: religious persecution, that sort of thing.
Here's the thing though. I have been involved in heathen religion for several years now (though not so much anymore) and have run into equal shares of serious practitioners and utter whackos.
So, the witch on the stand? Her name is (wait for it)...
Vanilla-Clove Moonstone.
Really? You walk into a court of law and expect to be taken seriously with a name like that? I understand all about craft names, and as a general concept I like the idea. But dammit, don't you people read any of the lore from the actual era (if there was one) when your practice was current? I mean, most pagan practices today are reconstructions. I'd get a lot of flack for that if anybody read this blog...
Anyway, craft names are just that. They are used for the craft. They are not public names. Names have power. Tossing them around dilutes that power, and more importantly, lays it out there for anybody to use.
Wise up, witches. You can call yourself Unicorn Horn Peridot around the coven all you want, but in public you are Tom Smith. If you are taken seriously by the world, who knows, they may take some of the woo-woo stuff you do seriously too.
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