Elen Hawke Interview

The following is an interview performed with Elen Hawke. Questions were posed by members of online Forums and sent to Elen by email.

Which book or person has been most influential in shaping your Craft?
Ruby

Strangely enough, the book which had the most effect on me isn’t specifically pagan, though it has a chapter which focuses on the god Pan, and the rest of the book is intertwined with Nature. It is Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. I read it when I was around six, and it has haunted me ever since.

What has been the biggest motivation/influence to you when writing your three books? Do you have plans for any more books? How did you first get drawn into Witchcraft/Paganism?
Casp

Well, to take your questions one at a time

1. The greatest influence on me is always the natural world: the seasons; animals and birds; the great cosmic tides; sun moon and weather.
2. I have a fourth book, a spell book, with Llewellyn right now. I was invited to write a contribution for Spells, The Anthology along with twelve other well known pagan authors, and this will be out this Yule, published by Seventh House. I have also initiated and edited a group project, a book of spells written from the perspective of putting magic back into the context of the Craft, giving safe, ethical guidelines. That will be going off to Llewellyn shortly.
3. My first pull towards the Craft was with the Kenneth Grahame book when I was very young. I began to actively explore and express my pagan bias about sixteen years ago; but I had studied other spiritual and occult disciplines long before that.

Do all of your friends and family know about your Craft life? What was the first you ever heard of the Craft? Describe yourself in 3
words.
Emerald_Sundance

1. Just about everyone in my life knows about my life within the Craft.
2. I can’t remember when I first heard of the Craft. Probably in the sixties. I really don’t remember. It’s something which has worked on me most of my life in one form or another, but the labels came later, creeping up on me gradually.
3. Busy, pressured, overworked.

Are there any opportunities in life that you missed, but wish you hadn’t? Why did you decide to start writing? If you could say one sentence, and know beyond all doubt that the moment after you said it, it would become true, what would you say? Or would you say nothing?
mattw

1. I think it’s negative to think in terms of missing opportunities. Whichever choices we make, something has to be sacrificed (if only people realised this also applies to magic, many spell workers would be more careful!); but for everything given up, many more opportunities open out of the decisions made. And if you really regret missing out on something, go and do it. I regretted not finishing at art school in the seventies, but I went back to college at the end of the nineties and did a course in photography and digital illustration - I got far more from it than the course I was doing when I was younger.
2. I began writing seriously in my early teens.
3. I can’t think of anything which I would wish for currently, as my needs are fairly well met right now a bit more time to myself would be nice, but I don’t want it badly enough to worry. If you think about it, your excellent question is one which is implicated every time we work a spell to bring something we desire, though it would be unusual for the magic to work that fast!

What could you never give up? How would you like to be remembered?
FireAngel

1. I could never give up reading. I’m a total readaholic!
2. To be honest, I’m not fussed about being remembered. Let someone else have a turn once I’m gone

Are you satisfied with the way the media portrayal Wicca? Who is the most influential person in your life? What was it like publishing your first book to what its like with your latest books?
Louise

1. This is a good question, and one it would be worth making the topic of a whole discussion. Things have got better with regard to the subject, but they are far from perfect. Newspaper interviews or articles seem to be better informed and more sympathetic, but television drama still errs on the side of sensationalism. This latter runs a whole range of silliness from the finger snapping magical tricks shown on programmes like Charmed to the usual Devil worshipping, naked orgies which have always been used to describe us by our detractors.
2. I don’t have a most influential person in my life. I think it’s important for all of us to explore a number of sources and then make up our own minds about what we want, both within our Craft lives and more generally.
3. I was a lot more nervous when waiting to hear if my first book had been accepted. I feel more prosaic about the process now. It’s just a job in one sense, though a highly enjoyable job which I wouldn’t want to swap for anything else. I was also more excited when first hearing that I was going to have a book published!

How do you see present day Paganism and how do you think it has changed and will change? Are you optimistic about the future of Paganism? Is there anything about present Paganism that you dislike or disagree with?
Silvertree

I’d like to answer these three questions together, as they are very much linked. Currently paganism is becoming much more accepted and more mainstream. In one way this is good, because it means that people have more information and can choose whether it’s for them, and if so which form suits. However, when religions or spiritual ways become more accessible, they inevitable begin to fossilise. The original inspiration and creativity begin to give way to rules, regulations and thou shalt nots. People stop thinking for themselves and begin to worry about whether they are doing it right. We need to make sure that paganism stays fresh, alive and evolving, and that means present day pagans thinking for themselves, trying out what works for them personally, refusing to be led but instead making their own careful, informed decisions and taking personal responsibility.

How do you think books and websites like this have influenced the form of Wicca/Paganism today?
Aural

Books and the Internet have a huge influence on the way we experience paganism. For many of us, our early experiences of paganism are formed directly from information gleamed from these sources. They are the first and sometimes the only points of contact for enormous numbers of pagans.

What are your views on abortion, contraception and teenage pregnancy? Do you find the lack of dogma in Paganism makes it harder to form opinions on such complex issues?
Dragonfly

1. To answer your very controversial first question: I personally feel it’s impossible to have rigid views on these subjects because each case is different. However, I do feel it is short-sighted for people want to deny sex education to teenagers. The subject should be thoroughly discussed with people in their teens; they should be given as much information as possible on all aspects of sex and pregnancy. I would have preferred my own daughter to wait before beginning a sexual relationship, but once she did so I supported her, even celebrated with her.
2. I don’t think paganism does lack dogma. And there are as many differing views among parents who are pagan as among those who are not.

Do you practise as part of a specific tradition of Wicca or Witchcraft, or Eclectic? Do you believe anyone can be Wiccan, by following the Rede and trying to live ethically with faith in the Gods, or do you believe you must be initiated into a tradition?
Caspar

I was initiated into both Gardnerian Wicca and Druidry, but my practice is eclectic now. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the Rede as such, though it goes without saying that we all need to respect the rights of others. Anyone can be pagan; it isn’t necessary to be initiated. I went through initiation myself as part of my quest for experience, but I don’t think it giver me a superior edge in any way.

Imagine you were a “stereotypical” witch and you had a magic broomstick you could fly on! where would you like to go to? and what would sit at the end of your broomstick!? hehe!!
Aluks

Why, to Sainsburys of course my dear
And what you see on the end of my broomstick is a pair of panniers to put my shopping in, and possible one of those flashing lights so motorists can see me in the dark!

What was your first ever divination tool? and in what way did it help you?
Emerald_Sundance

My first ever divination tool was the I-Ching. It tried to help me, but I was very good at ignoring it in those days - unless it agreed with me over whether or not I was going to manage to attract some bloke or other.

Do you find it difficult to get your point across when writing?
Enharmaiel

Goodness, there’s a question! I very much hope not. People keep buying my
books, so hopefully I’m managing to put my point clearly enough! Do you think I
find it difficult to put my point across?

Do you think ‘fluffy bunnies’ are a good or bad thing?
Pila-Pala

Fluffy bunnies bad in that they give the media an erroneous impression of the rest of us, and good in that they are valid to those who want to be fluffies. People come into the Craft on many different levels, and if someone wants to be a fluffy bunny, then let’s not get all superior about it

What do you think of the ideas of ‘The Rede’ and ‘Law of return’ (threefold law, karma, etc.)? Where do you think Pagan or Wiccan ethics and morals come from within the religions (rather than from the individuals upbringing etc.)? Do you think the Rede should be, can be, or has become the be all and end all of Wiccan ethics and morality?
Silvertree

Karma is an eastern concept, adopted by westerners. If you look at it as a form of universal balance, as cause and effect in action, then you will have a good idea of what it’s all about. The Rede itself was invented by Gerald Gardner, as was, as far as I know, the Law of Threefold Return. I’m not happy about the concept of things rebounding three times, as this seems to contradict natural law. I personally think we are all responsible for our actions and must balance out any negativity, but only equal to the amount we have put things out of line. If you have a three times counter swing, then you create another form of imbalance! But the Rede is an extension of the code of ethics found in many religions. I think it has become the be all and end all of Wiccan ethics only for those individuals who aren’t prepared to think for themselves - these people are probably still responding to the underlying Judeo-Christian ethic of western culture. It’s difficult to lay down totally rigid rules for people to live by, as, beyond a few basics and up to a point, morality and ethics are personal issues.