Christopher Penczak

Wiccan writer Christopher Penczak blew through Los Angeles on April 15 and 16, promoting his new book Sons of the Goddess. I caught up with Chris at his West Hollywood hotel on April 16, and then followed him on to Willow's Crystal Cauldron in Pomona that evening, where he spoke to a group of about 40 people, signed books, and discussed his outlook as a Wiccan.

Chris Penczak is one of those rare writers who has a gift to synthesize widely various ideas, and to present them clearly and lucidly. The Moonrise documentary is very concerned about profiling the "elders" and "foudners" of paganism and Chris, at 33 years old, is clearly not one of the founders. However, ability to communicate has made him a very popular and influential writer. His book The Inner Temple of Witchcraft is really just about my favorite "Wicca 101" type book, with a different approach that gently introduces a student to the actual historical underpinnings of Wicca and paganism, as well as how to build real skills. One of the differnces about it (and about Chris's approach in general) is that it focuses on why things are, not simply that they are - and this, in my opnion, is a fundamental failing of many otherwise good tomes.

Chris is thoughtful and articulate, and his participation in Moonrise certainly adds to the meaning of the work.