Weinstein, Marion

Marion Weinstein is an American Witch, author, entertainer and media spokesperson. Marion Weinstein is especially known for her teachings on the positive applications and ethics of magic—she is called the “Ethics Witch.” As an entertainer, she offers Wicca-based standup comedy.

Weinstein grew up in the 1950s. She said she knew from early childhood—by age three—that she was a Witch. Born in New York City on a new moon in the sign of Taurus (with moon in Gemini), she has always felt an affinity with Diana, the aspect of Goddess who rules the new and waxing moon. As a young child, Weinstein called her dolls “witches.” She knew instinctively the basics of magic: that reality can be changed by specific, intense concentration. She felt a profound connection to Halloween (Samhain) that went beyond a child’s interest in trick-or-treating; to her, this most mysterious of Pagan holidays was filled with magic and beauty.

The oldest of three daughters in a Jewish family, Weinstein became interested in Jewish mysticism, but was disappointed to find the Kabbalah closed to women. At an early age, she realized she had a psychic link with her mother, the experience of which encouraged her to develop her intuition.

In school, she was fascinated by fairy tales, certain they were truth that had become fictionalized. Fairytales launched her on a lifelong pursuit of her Witchcraft heritage.

In early adulthood, Weinstein began to piece her intuitions and research together. At age 19, she visited Pompeii and felt a strong, instinctive connection to classical Paganism.

She graduated from Barnard College with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Witchcraft played a prominent part in her creative life. She wrote a rogers-andHart-style musical comedy about Witchcraft, The Girl from Salem, which was produced on campus. After graduation, she took several courses in film at Columbia University, then went to Los Angeles to work as a commercial artist and animator. After two years, she returned to New York, studied acting, dance and voice and joined an improvisational theater troupe.

At the same time, she pursued her spiritual research and formed a group of people interested in Magic and Witchcraft. The group quickly recognized itself as a coven, with an eclectic tradition, meeting regularly on the Witchcraft holidays, and devoted to—among other traditional goals—sending positive energy toward world peace and nourishment of the planet.

In 1969, Weinstein connected with WBAI-Fm radio, a liberal station in New York City. Her audition tape became the Halloween show that same year. That led to “marion’s Cauldron,” her own program. Weinstein decided to “come out” as a Witch live on air, figuring she would be supported by the station’s liberal staff. many reacted negatively, however, and Weinstein had a difficult time for several years before being accepted as a Witch.

Weinstein interviewed experts, taught occult techniques, conducted group Rituals and discussed topics such as psychic phenomena and dream research, as well as Witchcraft. Her show lasted 14 years. She concluded her work at WBAI-Fm as she had begun, on Halloween.

During 20 years of research, Weinstein compiled a treasury of material on Witchcraft and magic, which she integrated into her first book, Positive Magic (1978 and revised in 1981).

While she was working on Positive Magic, her own personal theology crystallized into a system of working with five aspects of the Deity: dIAnA, selene and Hecate as the Triple Goddess, complimented by Cernunnos and PAn, which she correlates to the five points of the pentagram, the religious symbol of Witchcraft. Weinstein developed this system in her second book, Earth Magic: A Dianic Book of Shadows (1979). The book was published by her own company, Earth magic Productions, founded the same year, and initially was intended for a small audience of Witches. Its success led to several revised editions.

Weinstein has always advocated the practice of magic only for beneficial purposes, both with the public and inside the Wiccan/Pagan communities. Her stand on this led to the informal title of the “Ethics Witch.” Ideally, an ethics spokesperson shouldn’t be necessary, she believes, because magical practice should be understood as inherently ethical.

Weinstein began working professionally as a stand-up comic in nightclubs in 1978, using Witchcraft as the basis for her routines. Every Halloween, she appears in a New York City comedy club to deliver her annual routine about Witchcraft and to lead people in a ritual of positive magic. She appears on numerous radio and television shows and presents lectures and workshops about practical magic.

From 2001 to 2005, she had a radio show on Voice of America, “Marion Weinstein Live!”

Weinstein’s guiding belief about Witchcraft is that a Witch’s job is to help the community and to restore magic to daily life. Her personal definition of magic is transformation. She teaches personal self-transformation—always for the good of all and according to free will—as an ongoing way to help the individual self and the global community. A self-avowed “city Witch” in a modern world, she believes the ancient traditions translate well to fulfill current needs. Earth Magic notes the integration of Witchcraft into mainstream religious, political, environmental and social concerns and the “discovery” of new physics that show that the universe is indeed a magical place.

Weinstein sees Witchcraft not only as a religion, but also as a philosophy and a way of life, springing from a personal inspiration that comes from within. Her guiding tenet is the Threefold Law of Return. She encourages people to develop their own groups and traditions in accordance with their inner guidance and their cultural and karmic roots, rather than to follow rules set by someone else. Her own system of Dianic Witchcraft evolved before the term became synonymous with feminist Witchcraft, and relates to her affinity with Diana. She believes it is helpful for women to identify with one particular aspect of the Goddess and embody the attributes associated with that deity, and for men to align similarly with God.

Her personal pantheon of deities has expanded from the original five to include Ceres, Goddess of the grain and rebirth; Neptune, God of the seas; Isis, Osiris and Horus, the holy trinity of the ancient Egyptians; and Cerridwen, Celtic Goddess of the Cauldron of Transformation.

Weinstein lives on Long Island with her pets and Familiars. Some of her pets and familiars have reincarnated, and she maintains an animal family of wild and “nonwild” animals. She is involved in animal rescue work of lost, abandoned and mistreated dogs and cats and is developing her interspecies communication with animals.

Through Earth magic Productions, Weinstein has created audio and video products from some of her radio interviews, instructional material and workshops. Her other book credits include Racewalking, with William Finley (1986), an exercise guide to the sport; Magic for Peace (1991); The Ancient/Modern Witch (1991, revised in 1993); Positive Magic: Ancient Metaphysical Techniques for Modern hints, revised edition (2002); and Earth Magic: A Book of Shadows for Positive Witches, revised edition (2003). She offers rituals on the Internet.

FURTHER READING:

• Marion Weinstein Web site. Available online. UrL: https:// www.marionweinstein.com. Downloaded September 12, 2007.
• “The Wiccan/Pagan Times Talks with marion Weinstein.” Available online. UrL: https://www.twpt.com/weinstein. htm. Downloaded September 12, 2007.

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca – written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – Copyright © 1989, 1999, 2008 by Visionary Living, Inc.

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