As a member of the calling of the Goddess and a practitioner of Wicca, I was thrilled to be asked to write the introduction to this issue of our newsletter. New and exciting markets are opening everywhere for pagan and like-minded writers. In the UK we find such publications as Silver Wheel, The Dragon Chronicle and Wood and Water. In North America, Circle, Faces of the Goddess, Fagan, We'Moon, Waxing and Waning, and Llewellyn's fine publications are but a few markets that have opened doors for us.
Marion Zimmer Bradley created a new acceptance of Pagan writing with her novel The Mists of Avalon. The old myths are being retold in new and exciting ways, as in Eileen Kernaghan's new book The Snow Queen, and in the mystical, incantatory poetry of Clelie Rich, Rhea Rose and Mary Choo. Some of us have taken on new publication ventures, as I did when I became co- editor of HICKS (Hags in the Country and Kin) and a New Goddess poetry anthology She of All Directions."
Witchcraft is now being explored in a positive, life-affirming way. We are reclaiming our faith, forging out of the darkness.
Everyone weaves a little magic. Say a prayer and you are summoning powers beyond yourself. Throw salt over your shoulder and you are performing a spell. Mutter a curse and you will be struck with bad luck, returned by the "three fold law." Chant to Ashphaltia, and you will get that next parking spot. There is a little witch in all of us, waiting to come out of the broom closet. For the Lonely Cry, witching is a way of weaving words and telling tales. Come, share the magic with us.
-- Nancy Bennett
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