Witchgrove - Anna Alexander interviews Mike Gleason

About 6 months ago I asked Mike if he wanted to do an interview for the Witchgrove website. Since I didn't know much about Mike I was very proper and polite in my request and he responded in kind and said he'd be happy to do it. We e-mailed back and forth a few times and then life got in the way and I had to put the interview on the back burner.

Recently, Mab nudged me again and asked if he still wanted to do the interview. I groveled to Mike, who said, "Of course!" I e-mailed him questions and we chatted a few times about the state of the world.

Through those e-mails I learned A LOT about him. Mike does not run on Pagan Standard Time and has no patience for those who operate in that time zone. He takes people at their word and expects them to live up to it. Mike has a wicked sense of humor and promised to be good when he answered his questions. He also told me that I could send as many follow up questions as I wanted and members of the Grove were more than welcome to e-mail him as well. He's one of those people who I would like to sit down with and have a bottle of wine or two.

Your Path

You have been involved in various covens but now you're a solitaire. Can you tell us a little about your path and how you "got here"?

Well, my path doesn't have a name, really. As to how I got here, that is a long story with more than a few twists and turns. I started my studies by accident. A friend had gotten a book from a book club because he forgot to send in the refusal card. I got the book from him to start work on a term paper in high school. And so it began. Over the years I have studied (and been initiated) as an Alexandrian, I studied with the Pagan Way; was a third circle member of the Church of All Worlds; I hold an inactive membership with the Sabaean Religious Order of A'mn; and have received my elekes and warriors in the Santerian religion. So much for my formal affiliations.

Informally I have studied anything I could lay my hands on. I have read books on numerology, some herbalism (I have an herbalist friend, so I rely on her when I need something), a bit of astrology, some ceremonial magick, etc.

If you care to tell us about your family, please do. Or make something up.

I have a boringly conventional family life. My wife and I have been married for almost 27 years at this time. We have two children together, and she had two before I married her. They are all grown.

My youngest daughter is initiated, the two older girls aren't involved in the Craft at all (they were raised by my wife's family for a number of reasons and didn't have much exposure to the Craft. My son claims to have no religion, but is knowledge and tolerant of most faiths.

I also read you used to live near near Salem, Massachusetts for many years, what was that like?

Actually, I still live near Salem (just over the bridge in Beverly). It is amazing how many "look at me" Witches one sees. These are the types that walk down the streets in the middle of July wearing their black robes and capes, and then wondering why people are staring at them.

There are a few sincere Witches in Salem. They do their thing, worship the Lady and Lord, and generally try to make their way in the world while causing the least possible disturbance.

Your Reviews

First and foremost, how did you get started doing book reviews and how long have you been doing it?

I started doing reviews when a friend and I published a short-lived Pagan magazine here in Massachusetts. I spent about four years doing reviews for the magazine, and then let things slide for a while

Do you only do books or do you review other media as well?

While I concentrate on books, I have done music reviews and videos and DVDs as well. I am trying to do more reviews outside the book field simply because I am always looking to expand my field of experiences.

Do you review other "spiritual" books as well or is your focus on Pagan/Witchy books?

Actually, that is something that has given me certain level of grief. I will review anything that catches my interest, even if I don't have a background in it. Some readers have taken me to task for not specializing.

I have been reviewing a lot more fiction in the past couple of years. I have also been doing occasional Christian related books, and books dealing with "secret societies" such as the Knights Templar and Masons.

I read somewhere that you do this as a public service. Do you eventually want to get paid for it?

Hard as it is to believe, I really have no expectations of being paid. I am on disability and couldn't afford to buy the books I like so this is a good way for me to keep a steady supply of books coming in.

Plus, as I was explaining to someone last weekend, over the years I have gained an immeasurable amount of knowledge from the community, not to mention emotional and magickal help. This is just my way of paying back the community for all the help I have received.

One other thing I do to help pay my debt is to spend the weekends of October every year in Salem helping to staff a booth where we answer questions about Witchcraft/Wicca and help children to make "magic wands" (a poster board star stapled to a black straw, covered with glue, and then decorated with glitter and ribbons). The kids love it, and we get a chance to network with folks from all around the country and even overseas.

Is this well received? Do you have any examples of how you have "enlightened" someone to this path?

It goes over so well (we've been doing it for over a decade) that the one year we didn't do it (2004) people were extremely disappointed to find out we weren't there. The little ones have a ball making their wands.

I can't count the number of out-of-town Pagans/Witches/seekers who have stopped by and said something along the lines of "I'm from Rhode Island (or Wyoming or any other state) and there aren't any other Witches in the area." I always steer them to Witchvox and tell them they just haven't been looking in the right places.

Two or three years ago we were manning the table one day when a gentlemen stopped by and said: "My thirteen year old daughter says she wants to consider studying Witchcraft. She just had her bat mitzvah and I told her I would talk to someone more experienced while we were here on vacation." We talked for about ten minutes and then his daughter and wife came out of one of the local shops. He called them over, introduced us, and then told his daughter: "I've talked with this gentleman. He recommended some books. I'm still not sure about all of this, but you have my permission to look into it."

Score one for the good guys.

Another time (before I was personally involved, although my family was already helping out), a mother came to the table and told my daughter (who was about 16 at the time): "My daughter would like to make a wand, but she is afraid of seeing Witches."

Sheri left the table, walked over to the young girl (she was in kindergarten or first grade), squatted down to her level and asked her: "Would you like to make a wand?" She said, shyly: "yes, but I'm afraid. Witches are evil, and ugly, and eat little children." (The teacher had just read them 'Hansel and Gretel'). Sheri looked at her and asked: "Do I look evil and ugly?" The girl said "No." Sheri then told her: "Well, I'm a Witch. How about if I hold your hand and we go over there together?" and so she got to make her wand.

Obviously you have done a lot of networking since you have reviews on a LOT of sites, do you have suggestions for someone that wants to get started doing reviews?

I get that question a lot, and I really don't have a set answer. I guess I would have to say that you should, first and foremost, love to read, but I guess that goes without saying. Then you should write a couple of sample reviews of items which interest you and either send them to magazines, or post them on the Internet. Once you have done that, check out the websites of publishers/producers/etc. that provide the material you are reviewing and find out how to send your samples to them (some still require hardcopies, some what them faxed in, and some accept only email submission_. Send them samples and explain what you want to do. Request one or two samples for review (Don't get greedy - most companies won't send out a lot of stuff to an untried reviewer).

Finally, if you do make connections, make sure to honor your commitments and keep them updated. Some companies expect reviews within a month or so; others give up to six months. Make sure you abide by their guidelines, not what you feel like doing.

You mentioned to me once that you have limited computer time. I do know you have a family so when do you have time to read?

Fortunately, my children are all grown (my youngest is 23), so they require minimum maintenance. And, my doctors placed me on medical disability a few years ago, so I actually have a lot of spare time. In fact, that is why I got back into reviewing. I couldn't afford to buy books, so I thought I would try to snag a few books by offering to review them.

With so many reviews under your belt, do you find the books start to say the same thing after a while?

That is definitely a problem, especially since there are so many "Wicca-101" books being published. That is why I have shifted a bit and have started looking at a lot more fiction (not all of it by Pagan authors), and stuff on "secret societies".

As someone who has been on this path for many years, do you think there is a need for more "advanced" books or should that sort of knowledge not be published?

I was taught, many years ago, that if someone weren't ready for certain knowledge, they wouldn't understand it when they see or hear it. I'm not sure that "more advanced" books need to be published. Perhaps what needs to be published are more "controversial" books. We need to challenge some of the more commonly accepted "wisdoms".

There is a tendency to re-cycle things that don't ruffle any feathers. If an author was to put forth the idea that there are four faces each of the Goddess and God they would have difficulty finding a publisher; and if they did get published they would find few readers.

Although we claim to encourage our members to think for themselves, there is a certain amount of "don't rock the boat" mentality. I encourage my students to disagree with me if they feel strongly about something, so long as they can do it without being disagreeable. For instance, I have learned an awful lot from a first degree Witch I know who happens to be a professional astrologer. I find myself learning from everyone. If a student says to me "You're wrong" we are going to have a problem, that's being disagreeable. Saying to me "Are you sure that is right?" or "Personally, I fell that…" is fine with me.

What books and authors really stand out to you?

I have to say that I am a bit conservative. I would have to say that books by Ray Buckland, the Farrars, and Scott Cunningham (although I have to say that I limit Cunningham to herbs. Oil, and incenses).

You have a very even-handed way of reviewing books. You don't come right out and say, "This book really sucks and you should only use it as a door stop" is this important to you?

I guess I have always felt that even the worst garbage out there can always serve as a bad example. In the past 4 or 5 years, I don't remember more than handful of books where I came out and said, "Don't waste your money on this book."

The even-handedness, I feel, make it more likely that publishers will respect my opinions and continue to support my reading habit.

What's your biggest issue with Pagan/Witchy books? And by that I mean, do they all start to repeat themselves or do they have bad grammar, etc?

I guess I would have to say sheer sloppiness. I'm assuming that most authors nowadays use a spellchecker program and rely on that to catch their goofs. The problem is that, apparently, the publishers are doing the same thing. Thus I see a lot of "there" for "their", "four" for "for" and similar slip-ups.

I also see a lot of dropped words, which could be a real problem if someone doesn't have a basic understanding of the subject. I know costs are escalating, but I would hope that the major publishers would be using human editors to read submissions and check out things.

If you were to write a book, what would you write?

The history of the Craft in the U.S. in the 1960s and ' 70s I have been accused by some folks who are really experienced (they've been initiates for FIVE years) that I obviously don't know how things were in the "old days". Funny, I grew up in that time and feel that personal experience trumps wishful thinking.

If I had never heard of Witchgrove, where could I find your reviews?

I was just updating my posting list and discovered that I am posting to over 25 mailing lists, about seven or eight newsgroups, and a few print publications.

Do you keep all of your books when you're done or do you get rid of them? You must have a decent library if you keep them. (I would!)

Unless I make the mistake of loaning them out, they generally go right into my library. Before I started doing reviews I had about 1500 books on a wide variety of topics in my library and I have added another 400 or so easily. I do occasionally get books that I don't review, but they still find their way into the library.

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