I have been around Pagans, Wiccans and witches a long, long time; both on the Internet (since 1994) and in real life.  I have been part of a coven, (a coven I founded and ran, as a matter of fact), but mostly I've been solitary. I've been to large pagan gatherings, (Stones Rising, Caduceus Fests, etc) and to small, local pagans-night-out type gatherings....

I've been a Pagan since I first discovered there was such a thing, back in the 1970's. I've been reading about, learning about, and practicing magic since the late 1970's as well. (Thank you, Isaac Bonewitz and others). But first and foremost, even before becoming aware of "Wicca", I have believed in the Goddess; at least since I was a young teenager. (1969-70)  

It was through Feminism, only a couple of years after, that I learned about "Wicca", "Goddess Reclaiming" and other pagan paths that acknowledged and revered the Feminine Divine.  Wicca was Gerald Gardner's label to describe a spiritual witchcraft path and his  "Gardnerian" tradition. The Gardnerian trad was a blending of a few witchcraft traditions Gardner had been exposed to though friends and acquaintances, initiated into, or researched. 

But back then, the term "Wicca" itself was widely used  - in the USA - to differentiate between witches who followed a Euro-pagan spiritual path that incorporated witchcraft; and witches who practiced "The Craft" without any spiritual or religious affiliations. So when someone said, "I'm a Wiccan" it was understood - at least by other Pagans and Wiccans - that they;

1. honored Goddess(es) and/or God(s),  

2. celebrated the Sabbats (Wheel of the Year),

3. Esbat devotions for the Goddess, (make note of this one) 

4. revered Nature, and

5. followed the Wiccan Rede.  

Dianic wicca was always acknowleged as a "Wiccan tradition" regardless of their variation on gender preference for the 'gods' that were honored and/or invoked. You have to  look long and hard to find any websites, articles or books that do NOT refer to the tradition as "Dianic Wicca."  For every 1 you do find, you will find 15 others that say it's Wicca.  

Call me old fashioned, call me stubborn, but I still, to this day, stick to that basic definition of "Wiccan" -- as simply a label to distinguish witches of the Craft, from witches who follow a spiritual path in conjunction with various Euro-North American witchcraft traditions. Neither is better than the other, they are just different. 

This is where the phrase "All wiccans are witches; but not all witches are wiccans" came from.  A phrase repeated over and over and over again by all sorts of Witchcraft teachers and students, Wiccan students and teachers, coven leaders, etc.  If you haven't heard that one, you just haven't been paying attention.  

But anyway-  I realize Wicca has undergone numerous popularity peaks and valleys over the years, but while new folks came into Wicca with the idea that "traditions"  and "lineage" and "degrees" didn't mean a whole bunch in the grand scheme of things - (and that's fine!)  they simultaneously started to carve and whittle down the basic criteria and practices that would be considered truly "Wiccan".  

This is where the Dianic Wiccan tradition got tossed out with the bath water!   Suddenly, to honor only the Goddess (or various Goddesses) was totally UN-Wiccan and UN-PC.  Dianic wicca was now labeled "unbalanced", monotheistic -- "just like Christianity", unacceptable, too Feminist!, too lesbian!, and, my all time favorite put-down: "insulting to the Male Gods".  (I wonder if Paganism in general is "insulting" to the Christian god, or to the Islamic God, and should that make Pagans nervous??)  

Oh yes, my friends, the Politically Correct Wiccan Police were out in force back in the mid-90s and waaaay into the new millennium!  Yeeehaaah!   Pull out your Real Wiccan pedigrees everyone, or move to the back and the cheap seats!  

While it is fine to be an "eclectic wiccan"-- you know, practicing a mish-mosh of Native American-Stregherian-Santarian-Celtic beliefs and invoking the Norse pantheon in ritual, it is completly CRAZY to think Wiccans could honor ONLY female Goddesses. 

Damn, what are those Dianic bitches thinking!?     

I was astounded to learn of the new Wiccan "trend" several years ago;  Solitaries, open (public) groups and covens started taking the esbats (full moon rites) and turning them into "gender balanced rituals" that included the male god(s).  Again, so as not to "offend" the Gods and to make the male ritual participants feel 'included'.  :: rolls eyes until they ache::: 

Now not even full moon rites belong to The Goddess any longer!  Lovely.  What Progress!  

And here we are today; 2008 is winding down, yet just within the last few days I found myself once again explaining the Dianic Wiccan perspective to newbie know-it-alls and even a few (supposedly) "old timers" in the Wiccan community.  I had to explain that the Wiccan core-beliefs are: the reverence for nature, Divinity, the Sabbats, the Rede, etc, and no hard and fast rules about WHICH GODS OR GODDESSES to honor at any particular time.

As for the "balance" these pagundies are so fond of squealing about; I explained how balance IS included in the honoring of all the DIFFERENT ASPECTS of the Goddess!  The light, the dark, the mother, the warrior, the maiden, the crone, the hunter, the gatherer... see? All balanced out nice and neat.
Male - Female is merely a human representation of ONE sort of balance. There are other ways to achieve balance without the limitation of human gender roles defining it for us.       Get it now?  

But I got nowhere, really.  Once again I was told that because I was Dianic I was not a "real wiccan".  I was not following the Rede. I was insulting the male gods and holy cow- I would be "sorry" for that...  (say what??)  

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Intolerance and Pagundies are everywhere.  Kind of makes me very happy to be a solitary. Kind of makes me sad to know people are still negative, narrow minded and arrogant... well some people are, anyway.

Well I've been back in school- officially - one full year as of March 25th. I've been through two math classes, which were killer... but my GPA stands at 3.70 right now.

I am finally into my core classes, (psychology) and I'm enjoying them so far. Lots more hard work to come, no doubt about that! Pretty sure I'm not going to stop with an Associates degree, I will go on for the Bachelor's degree.

I may even go for a Master's degree. :-)

As soon as I get my degrees I will be incorporating "Life Coach Counseling" into my Reiki practice. I'm hoping this will help "legitimize" Reiki in the eyes of the average client who may now see Reiki as more of a "woo woo" kind of new -agey spiritual practice. I would really like to focus on working with women and teen girls. I won't refuse male clients, but I have a feeling women will make up the vast majority of people looking for Reiki and/or counseling, anyway. Many men are usually very resistant to any sort of counseling, etc.

Within the next 6-8 months I hope to have an in-home "Reiki/Counseling" room completed, which will be relaxing and inviting to clients. I have a professional Reiki table, already, and with just a few more tweaks, (fresh paint, meditation music, proper mood lighting) I will be ready to roll. I will not count out the possibility of working in a storefront somewhere, if an established health-food store, bookshop, or pagan supply shop would rent me space. We'll see what comes 'round....

  Yes!  I'm 5 weeks into my first 9 week course at the University of Phoenix Distance Learning Program.  (in other words; online college) 

  At the end of this session I'll be switching into the degree program for Psychology.  Eventually, I hope to get my degree and then incorporate what I've learned into a small, private counseling & Reiki practice, geared toward women, girls and women's issues. 

  So far things are going very well.  My average after 5 weeks is a strong 98%. It sure is an interesting experience!  I don't know why anyone would choose to go to the "brick and mortar" college anymore...  this on line stuff is so convenient!   I can do school work and assignments whenever it suits me, as long as they are posted on the day they are due.

  It's a cool system they have set up.  The only thing missing is the face-to-face social aspect of a real classroom, but at my age, I can live without that.  Who wants to be best friends with an "ol' lady" like me, right?   I am so glad I qualified for Federal student aid, too.  Just like any college, these courses and books are pretty expensive!