ALL THINGS THAT MATTER  

Ever since she can remember, Rebecca York has loved making up stories full of adventure, romance, and suspense. As a child she corralled her friends into adventure games or acted out romantic suspense stories with a cast of dolls. But she never assumed she could be an author because she couldn't spell. Her life changed dramatically with the invention of the word processor and spelling checker--and the help of her husband, Norman Glick, who spots spelling errors from fifty paces away.

Some of Rebecca's achievements:
A New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-selling
and award-winning author, Rebecca has written over 115 books. Her KILLING MOON was a launch title for Berkley’s Sensation imprint in June 2003. Five more books in the series have followed.

Rebecca has authored or co-authored over 65 romantic thrillers, many for Harlequin Intrigue's very popular 43 Light Street series, set in Baltimore, and many with paranormal elements. Her next Intrigue is RETURN OF THE WARRIOR, October 2007.

Maggie's List of Awards & Nominations

Bestseller Lists Including NEW YORK TIMES Extended,
B. Dalton's top 10, Waldenbooks Series Romance list (topping at #1)
Waldenbooks Mass Market Romance List
Ingrams A-List top fifty (topping at #14)
Amazon.com top 25,
USA Today's top 150 (topping at #32)
Barnes and Noble Mass Market Bestseller List, Four Straight Weeks, topping at #14 

More Information On Wicca and Witchcraft
by LadyHawke, The Mythmaker

Wicca:

1. From the Indo-European "wic" and "weik" meaning to bend or shape.

2. From the Old English "wit" meaning wisdom.

3. A positive, nature based religion legally recognized as such in the United States and elsewhere.

4. Among practitioners, "The Craft of the Wise"

Wicca is not a cult.  It is a legally recognized religion.  It is tax exempt, practiced on military bases, and acknowledged by officials and spiritual leaders alike as a positive path.

In Wicca, the core concept is known as The Wiccan Rede.  In its shortest, most simplified form, the Rede states,   "And it harm none, do what thou wilt."  Meaning that the Wiccan strives above all else, to do no harm.  While this sounds like a very simple code, looking more closely one might realize that it is truly extremely complex.  Wiccans become adept at weighing every decision in their lives against the Rede.   Will their actions cause harm?  To other people, to themselves, to their friends, relatives, enemies?  The planet?  An animal?  The Universe?

Click on the Image to view the long, poetic version of the Wiccan Rede.

There is no "devil" or "satan" in Wiccan belief.  The system teaches that while all religions are equally valid and sacred, they do resent those who call them Satanists.  They are not.  The Wiccans for the most part, believe that all the Gods are one God.  In many forms, and see Jesus as equally valid as Buddha, or Isis.  God has many faces in this path.  Female faces as well as male.  This is why so many women are drawn to the Craft.

To view the 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief, click on the image.

Wiccans believe in the connection between themselves and everything in nature.  They believe that life, like nature, is cyclical, and that death is an illusion.  Just as the planet becomes barren in winter, and seems to come back to life in spring, so must we.  Wiccans believe in reincarnation.  They respect each cycle of life, from birth, to youth, to adulthood, to parenthood, to elder, to crone, to the slumber of death in between lives, to rebirth.  To remind ourselves constantly of the cycles of life and nature, we celebrate the cycles we find in nature.  The phases of the moon, and wheel of the year.

To learn about the Wiccan Holidays, click on the image.

Wiccans are also practitioners of Witchcraft, the act of bending or shaping reality by the use of magick.  The women in times past who were labeled Witches, were learned women, healers, wise women, independent women.  The magick practiced by Wiccans comes with strict guidelines.  There must no manipulation of another person's free will.  There must be no harm.  And there is the constant certainty that whatever one sends out will surely return to them, multiplied.
"Ever mind the rule of three, three times what thou givest, returns unto thee."
Witches work magick to heal, to better their lives, their environment, their careers,
and their spirits.  They cast spells to make their gardens grow, to bring favorable
weather when needed, to keep their cars running.   Wiccans do not "curse"
anyone, or cast evil spells.  To do so would be to curse themselves.  The only time a Wiccan would act against another person magickally, would be if doing nothing would cause greater harm.  Aiding the police in catching a serial  rapist, for example.  More often, even when pushed to their limits, the Wiccan's strongest reaction would be to reflect the attack back upon the attacker.