Liber ab Arma (Book of Arms)^251
standing right beside her, her husband. Now maybe, just maybe, there was a time in
which men needed to be in charge. I have noted that patriarchal communities tend to
develop where life is hard. Maybe, just maybe, the time in which that book of theirs was
written when such matters were life preserving. Even so, that time is not now. Yet,
there it is in that book of theirs, that god is the head of every man and that man is the
head of every woman.
I saw that same preacher protesting with a gas mask on the sidelines of the gay
pride parade. His sign read “Homosexuality is Satanism.” Again, I thought about taunting
him, but I couldn’t. It was about a hundred degrees and he was wearing a rubber suit
and gas mask so he wouldn’t contract AIDS from the gay and lesbian folk in the pa-
rade. To be perfectly honest, I can’t say for sure that it was the same person. But I have
seen that same person with a similar sign so often that I have come to expect to see him
at Red Lobster with a sign that reads “Seafood is Satanism.” You see, that book of his
forbids that as well.
That is why we do not write down a set of 10 (or any other number) of command-
ments. Although Wicca is modeled on some truly ancient religions, we have the benefit
of observing how other religions have failed. Should we write these things down, we
become just like those failed religions that now threaten global peace.On Crone and Sage
You will note that I equate the taking up of arms to the Crone and Sage state of our
Lady and Lord. As such, I believe this to be the core knowledge of the third degree of
Wicca: Now that you have knowledge of the first and second degree, it is time you do
something with it. In the degree system more akin to Gardner’s system, the third de-
gree is the point where one can hive off of his or her original coven and form one’s
own. Remove that artificial coven system from the equation and we realize the third
degree is the point where Wiccans are able to make their own stand (hive off). It is the
point where they have received the secrets, explored the mysteries, and have awak-
ened that Wiccan soul that I have spoke about so much thus far. It is the point when we
welcome others whose hearts have awoken, but we no longer depend on their example.
It is the point when we no longer mix our potions and play with our familiars because it
is the Wiccan thing to do, but when we realize that although those practices are valu-
able in and of themselves, their main purpose was as a stepping stone from which to
launch our understanding of our relationship to the world we live in. We have been
there, done that, and are now moving out into the world to provide the same service to
others who would listen.
In this, we see that the role of taking up arms is not only the act of speaking out and
attempting to manifest our world for the better, but it is also the act of handing down
our traditions to the folk who follow—not by writing books, forming covens, or any of
the ways one might think, but in leading by example. Thus, the very act of assuming a
posture in which one makes their feelings known is the act of handing down traditions
and guiding our younger folk into the mysteries of our religion. Sure, there will be
opposition to those opinions, but that is what the law of Nature is all about.w WB Chap 14.p65 251 7/11/2003, 6:03 PM