Talk:Warlock

Removed from main page:

An alien with the ability to alter his body to become different objects, he also finds sustenance by absorbing the energy from any organic materials, leaving a lifeless husk in its wake.

Presumably this is in reference to a film, TV, or video game character, as that is most certainly not what is meant when one refers to a 'warlock' without any other context. In that case, it is imperative to make clear that you are talking about a fictional character, explain which fictional universe it comes from, and use a different page name (this, in my view, is one of the few places where subpages make sense). --Robert Merkel

warlock

Among most traditions of neo-pagans, a warlock is a punishment ceremony, not a person. In the ceremony a persons access to magickal power is "locked" and he or she has no ability to perform effective magickal spells, or have access to the energies at all. This is one of the most severe punishments that can be meted out among the neo-pagan community, and access to the ceremony itself is restricted to only the most advanced practitioners. To call someone a warlock is considered a major insult among neo-pagans.

I've been a neopagan since childhood, and I've never heard of this. Source? Or is it someone's fantasy?

changes

I cut out what I could identify as purely and entirely wrong, esp. some speculation about Anglo-Saxon apostacy making dubious reference to the chronicles.

In the case of the soi dissant "Warlock rite," I've tried to make it plain that at least one Neo-pagan believes in this, but also that this doesn't mean that most or even many have ever heard of itn (I certainly haven't, and as I was trained, it's about as possible to "lock" someone's access to the "energies" of magic as it is to lock someone's ability to think).

The idea of a "warlocking" seems to be based purely on bad etymology. The linked page explains why and explains what sounds to be a much more plausible origin for the term.

Good, neutral, bad, male and female

The current version of the first paragraph is somewhat confusing in this regard. It almost seems to imply that in Wicca Male equates with good and Female with Neutral, which I am fairly sure is neither true nor the intended message. I do not want to reword it because I really do not know enough about the subject matter, though. Luis Dantas 12:11, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Links

What is a Warlock? - Very interesting article.