Jaeger, I doubt that your family has been doing Wicca for "ages" as Wicca only dates back to the 1950's; however, I will accept that they might have been some other sort of Pagan. Further, I doubt that either your mother or your father were initiated while they were teenagers. That sort of thing simply doesn't happen with reputable groups. And again, spellcraft is not a core practice of Wicca, so your pursuit of animation spells, etc. while certainly a form of magic has nothing to do with Wicca.
Perhaps you would care to discuss your Wiccan religious beliefs and practices, what you have read, etc. I'd be happy to offer some suggestions as to readings, etc.
It is against the law in the USA to teach any religion to a minor without the consent of the parents. If you' would taken the time to read the article that I wrote at http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=580909 you would see the legal precedent that makes this the case. People have indeed been fined or sent to jail for violating this law.
Just because Wicca is allowed the same rights under US law as any other religion does not change the fact that teaching it to a minor without the consent of the parents is a violation of the law.
Lark, it isn't technically illegal unless it is done without the parent's permission. The original posts made it seem completely illegal, but if a guardian's permission is given in writing though, it isn't in any way illegal. I was wanting to make sure that was said because it wasn't communicated as so. I've taught many minors with written permission from the parents after I got to meet them. In these cases, there is nothing illegal and I've known of teachers who have a circle of minor students that learn together because of this. The main problems occur when minors sneak off to learn behind their parent's backs and the teacher never double checked if they have permission or the coven didn't check their ages before starting the open rituals.
That's correct, minors can indeed be taught if the teacher has written permission from the parents.
That being said, the legal counsel we discussed the matter with said that there is a risk even with written permission. The parents could claim they did not write the note, or that they wouldn't have given permission if they'd actually known what their child would be learning. And in front of a jury with a weeping parent on the stand that piece of paper is largely worthless.
It's indeed sad that we need to hesitate before teaching some teen who is serious about learning, but the risk to the teacher is very real and needs to be considered carefully.
On the other hand, suggesting reading or websites is generally not subject to legal issues as it is assumed that the minor could have found these things by themselves.
you'll need to be atleast 18 for any coven to accept you also i don't mean to be rude but i doubt your going to be bringing any new ideas to any field of magic most things your going to bring to the table have probably already been tried and if they arent currently used its because they don't work also there is no such thing as combat magic
