Comments on: Paulo Coelho's Pagan Past (and Future)

By: Apuleius Platonicus

Apuleius Platonicus — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Cheryl, first of all your historical facts are all wrong. The Roman Catholic Church is not 2000 years old, and neither scholars nor Hindus themselves agree on how old “Hinduism”, as we know it today, is. Most Hindus, in fact, actually belong to sub-branches of that tradition that are at most only several centuries old. Just as modern Wicca is a sub-branch of ancient Paganism.

Second of all, these kinds of arguments could just as well be used to “prove” that Reform Jews are not really Jews, or that Methodists are not really Christians.

Third of all, all religious traditions practiced by people alive today are “modern”. Obviously. It is only by changing and adapting to current conditions that religious traditions survive from one generation to the next. But in doing so, these traditions not only adapt to the present, but also, in the best of cases, preserve what is most important from the past. Wicca has been shown to do just that, as Ronald Hutton has demonstrated at some length in his writings demonstrating that the spiritual “lineage” of modern Wicca goes back (at least) two millennia (see for example Chapters 4 & 5 in his “Witches, Druids and King Arthur”).

By: Cheryl Keit Ang

Cheryl Keit Ang — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:32:00 +0000

I am a practicing Pagan and

By: SoulFire

SoulFire — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:17:05 +0000

P.S. Just ask Ray Buckland. He knew Sybil, and he has known Christine for YEARS. This "Brida" person is pulling the wool over your eyes.

By: SoulFire

SoulFire — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:11:04 +0000

It did not happen. Christine was her personal nurse and closest friend as well as her last initiate. "Brida's" claims are HOGWASH.

By: SoulFire

SoulFire — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:45:00 +0000

I happen to know Sybil’s last student and initiate, Christine Jones. Chris was also Sybil’s personal nurse during her last weeks on earth. She is also a friend of Buckland, so I know Chris to be the real deal.Sybil did not practice “Witta”–that is utter hogwash. Nowhere in Sybil’s writings does she ever claim to practice “Witta”. It is a recent invention and “cannot be pronounced in Gaelic. It is a combination of letters that are virtually never seen together in that language (an equivalent combination of letters in English might be ‘xyqueph’).”–Joanna Hautin-Mayer, “When is a Celt Not a Celt”, cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Library/whenIsACeltNotACelt.htmAlso read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witta_(Wicca)B*B,SoulFire

By: maurício

maurício — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:54:00 +0000

Hello!I also loved this book! Do you know Paulo is launching this experiment where he is inviting his readers to adapt the book to the screen?Check it out : http://paulocoelhoblog.com/experimental-witch/Have a great dayAart

By: abbadie

abbadie — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:47:00 +0000

Sorry, I should have mentioned, most of my info on Coelho and the Order of Ram comes from the book “Preguntale a… Paulo Coelho” (Ask… Paulo Coelho), an old interview in Spanish magazine Año/Cero, and his frequent lectures in the International Books’ Fair here in my city. Also, the young man who corresponded with him, who contacted me years ago, and long debates with several of Brida’s students.