Need advice on daughter's interest in Wicca..

[Brett's Honey]

My 13-year old step-daughter, along with her cousins and some of her friends, watches "Charmed" and has developed a lot of interest in Wicca and witchcraft. My husband and I aren't really freaking out, but we don't care for it either. I'm 99% sure it is a phase, considering her age and the TV show that got her interested. We hesitate to make too much of a big deal about it, since sometimes that just makes kids more determined to do whatever you tell them not to! So far we have just kind of rolled our eyes and let her know that we do not believe that her, or anyone she knows are real witches or have any special powers. So far it hasn't had enough influence on her to affect anything like her grades, changing friends, or stopping any other activities, she's not obsessed with it every minute of the day.
I would appreciate and consider any advice anyone would like to offer on this subject.....thanks!

[Undertoad]

I went through a similar phase when I was 13, except that my focus was Christianity. It didn't affect my grades, friends, or other activities. It was just something I thought about. After a while I got over it. Good luck

[Troubleshooter]

Lady Sidhe bought this book to help with Little Sidhe down the road. As a non-theist I'm inclined to dissuade her from any religion but pagan orthodoxy seems to be the least intolerant overall.

Raising Witches

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...67911?v=glance

"Editorial Reviews
Product Description:
More and more Wiccan families are looking for specific advice about raising their children in the faith. Here is the first book to give parents the means to teach Wicca in a more formal fashion than just "chatting with the kids" around the kitchen table. Featuring a Wiccan curriculum for each of the five age groups, Raising Witches offers a variety of sample lessons and both a structure and a prototype for readers who want to develop "Sun Day School" or "Moon School" classes. There's also the material you would expect-This book includes charms, spells, songs, and guided meditations in addition to practical ideas for educational activities. It includes a glossary and a recommended reading list as well. Featuring detailed discussions of how children grow and learn so that Wiccan parents can teach their Tradition effectively, Raising Witches finally gives parents the means to communicate the rudiments of their faith to their children."

About.com review: http://paganwiccan.about.com/cs/book...ingwitches.htm

"Guide Review - Raising Witches
Though the book is subtitled "Teaching the Wiccan faith to children", the material in the book would be appropriate for pretty much any Pagan path. It's not so much about teaching specifics, as it is about raising your children in a spiritual environment and making them conscious of the Divine in the world around them. The tone of the book is helping your child to develop their own strong identities and to have a healthy relationship with their parents. There are good parenting ideas here that are not religion related at all. Many of the structured lesson ideas are geared towards teaching a group of children, but most could be adapted for use with a single child."

[Brett's Honey]

Mine was too, at 13. The biggest difference I'm seeing with Wicca is that I didn't suddenly start believing that I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead that was very sensitive, and that I had special powers to move objects and make people do things unwillingly. Maybe helping these kids discover what Wicca truly is about may be a good thing, because I don't think they really know. (I would learn much more about it myself at the same time.)

[Happy Monkey]

Try setting up some good double blind tests on the spells.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Try setting up some good double blind tests on the spells.

[lookout123]

this is a really touchy one. i think the most prudent course of action at this point would be to gather the whole family together and invite a local pastor to join you. gang up on her, place your hands upon her body while screaming for the unclean spirits to leave this girl alone. this is to be immediately followed by beating her upon the forehead with the heaviest Bible you can find, until an imprint of the cross appears upon said forehead.


oooor, you could let her know that an inquisitive mind is a good thing and agree that if she really is interested then she has to learn the real facts of the belief system. and because you do want her to be well-rounded and see multiple points of view she must also study 2 or 3 other belief systems of her choosing.

ooor, you could turn the channel and let her know that she can be a witch just like the girls on tv, but only after she becomes a former fighter pilot/lawyer/general do gooder like the guy on JAG.

[Clodfobble]

My experience in high school was that the kids who got into the whole witchcraft thing were feeling socially helpless, and were specifically looking for a way to make other people do things. They got totally wrapped up in the "spells" to make people love them, or cause people pain, etc., and had no real interest in the rest of it.

Of course, if your daughter has lots of friends who are into it too, it may just be a way to fit in socially in and of itself. But you might talk to your daughter about what she thinks other people would think about it--might reveal whether it's purely a personal interest, or if it's more in reaction to the people around her, either positively or negatively.

[Troubleshooter]

You may also want to check and see if any of the local covens have been on a recruiting drive in the school. No wait...

Sorry about that, flashbacks.

Seriously though, you may want to see if there are any groups in your area. Growing up eclectic would probably be a bit difficult and/or disorienting.

[Brett's Honey]

I'm going with this!!
[quote][quote=Happy Monkey: Try setting up some good double blind tests on the spells. [/QUOTE]

[jaguar]

i have a lot of female friends who watched The Craft and went though the same thing, they all seemed to come out of it just fine.

[dar512]

You could tell her that if she really wants to pursue it she'll have to practice 30 minutes daily and show her achievements from time to time. Nearly guaranteed that she'll lose interest quickly.

[wolf]

Well, my witchly indignation is sure as Hel rising ...

Would you guys be cracking jokes about this if the young lady were asking for copies of the Jesus book ... oh, wait, you would. Okay, so that's fair at least ...

Wicca is a religion, with a growing number of adherents. Some of them are even sensible people. I have met a few. It is one of a variety of pagan paths that are gaining (some say regaining) popularity.

What the girls on Charmed are doing isn't Wicca. Neither was The Craft, although both lifted convenient and theatric looking elements from the religion.

Spells are prayers ... so there isn't much differnce between praying to God that so-and-so notice me and take me to the dance and going through a lot more dance steps to make the same request of multiple Gods/Goddesses. What's important is that your daughter learn that this is a religious path, rather than a source of power and control.

Most reputable teachers will not take a student under the age of 18 ... that's a long-established tradition, mostly to avoid any freaking out parental issues ... or in some cases charges of statutory rape.

There are sexualized elements of the religion, and there are some unscrupulous bastards (and bitches) out there that use sex as a means of power and control.

There is a lot of information available on line, much of it repetitious ... so are many of the books available, incidentally. Everyone has their favorites. I usually suggest two of Scott Cunningham's books ... Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and The Truth About Witchcraft Today. The second book I think would be particularly useful for you to read.

Kids being kids, the more you restrict her from learning about something, the more interesting it might become to her.

[lookout123]

Would you guys be cracking jokes about this if the young lady were asking for copies of the Jesus book ... oh, wait, you would. Okay, so that's fair at least ...

wolf - i think my post was more in line with making fun of christians (and remember, i am one.) more than pagans. the second part of the post was serious though. if she is going to start learning about religions, she needs to look at more than just one. just like shoe shopping, you need to make sure you get the one that fits.

[wolf]

I thought I phrased it to indicate that I was cool with what was being said ...