Mark Ventimiglia

I picked up a copy of The Wiccan Rede" by Mr. Ventimiglia during my post Thanksgiving browsing...I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited when I saw it sitting on the shelf...I bought it without even giving it a thorough once through. What a GREAT idea I thought to myself as I paid and left the store. I read it about a week later, in one sitting...this book was NOTHING like I expected...I thought, based on the blurb on the inside flap that this was to be a never before attempted look at the meaning of the rede.
Touted to "give the reader a comprehensive and practical understanding of even the most esoteric pagan beliefs and practices" and "how to extract the Rede's wisdom and put into practice, how to live by it's underlying principle..."

Ok, so I didn't expect it to be the "be all" and "end all" on this subject (especially given the size of the volume)...but I certainly expected much more (MUCH, MUCH more) than what I found inside the pages of this little tome. What I found was one man's OPINION or PERSONAL INTERPRETATION of the rede...not founded on any tradition or previous system of practice (near as I can tell at any rate)...and what I read here was very disturbing. On the surface, Mr. Ventimiglia seems to write about a gentle and enlightened lifestyle, the way of the craft...

"Today's witches are ever mindful of issues like religious freedom and human rights, animal rights, environmental policies of governments, deforestation problems, and ocean and air pollution problems, just to name a few."

"To love unconditionally is to remain forever faithful in that love, and where there is unconditional love, there is also unconditional trust. We must never do anything that will violate that trust."

"...this lesson stresses the value and sanctity of all life, and the important necessities from theft and for generosity and compassion."

and these are but a few of the phrases that struck me in the book as positive and helpful...however, they are sandwiched in between hateful, superior, demeaning, and outright bigoted statements about the positive benefits of an all vegetarian diet (most of Chapter 2) and how immoral homosexuality is...how can one man go from writing one of these phrases above to demeaning all of the "unintelligent" and "un-enlightened" meat eating Wiccans and Pagans out there in the world today. How can he talk about unconditional love and trust, generosity, and compassion then turn around and slam homosexuality...in a FOOTNOTE almost near the end of the book (page 125)...was he counting on most of us not picking up on that?

He even re-wrote some of the Couplets to better suit his interpretation...now I did get that some of this stuff was going against the grain...I don't have a problem with challenging tradition and putting new and/or useful ideas out there for us to consider and examine...unfortunately what we got in this book is anything but New (hate and discrimination are hardly new) or Useful (unless of course I use it as kindling in the fireplace). Such a shame that this promising topic has been done such a very big disservice!!

I am most saddened to have Mr Ventimiglia counted among Wiccan authors as he is clearly anything but...this book is full of contradictory "behavior" -- saying "love and trust," tolerance and mindfulness...then turning around in the same breath and spewing out one man's opinion as the only enlightened way to live and believe (though it is rather nicely worded)...I did come to hate the phrase "the intelligent Wiccan" -- which seems to say, those of you who agree with me (you are intelligent), and those of you who don't -- UNINTELLIGENT and UN-ENLIGHTENED....though he never actually goes so far as to say that...his behavior in public forums certainly allows us to see how he really feels about his fellow Wiccans (who don't agree with him that is).

This book is NOT what it claims to be. I would highly discourage potential readers from buying this garbage -- your ten to twelve dollars can be much better spent...give it away...heck, I'd even go so far as to say that your money would be better used if you threw it out of your window. There are SO very many good books out there that delve into ethics from a Wiccan standpoint (try When, Why...If by Robin Wood) and SO many, many more books that give a realistic overview and/or ideas on how to live a positive Wiccan lifestyle, I encourage you to buy ANY one of those!!

I hope someday that an aspiring Wiccan author will pen a much more enlightened volume on the rede...Mr.. Ventimiglia is right, this subject does deserve a thorough examination...unfortunately, you WILL NOT find it in these pages!!… (altro)