4.11.2007
Wanna Buy Witch School?
On Monday Ed Hubbard publicly announced that he is selling off Witch School (here is the official eBay auction for the site), the infamous online school for aspiring Witches.
"Imagine, if you could buy Harry Potter's Hogwarts? Well, the world's first and largest public school of Wiccan and Witches has become available for sale. Starting Tuesday, April 10th, WitchSchool.com will be auctioned off to the highest bidder during an eBay Auction. If you ever wanted to have your very own cyber school of magick and witchcraft, this is the auction for you. So you can own and run your very own Academy for Magick and Witchcraft. If you would love to become the next Dumbledore, this is your chance to do so."
This announcement has come after a strange series of shake-ups and developments. First a schism between two factions of the Witchcraft tradition that the school was associated with, then the installation of a new president (from one of the factions), and then the news that a reality program was being developed around the school. But now it seems everything must go, including their "Minispells" business, the proprietary software that runs the school, and even their MySpace page.
"The Comprehensive Site for online Wiccan and Pagan Education. With over 85 courses, plus tons of features that have been developed over the last five years. With over 145,000 currently actively registered students, and hundreds of thousands have passed through. It offers a lot of interaction including testing, transcripts, etc."
In a letter to me
"I offered to give the school to the tradition and the church and Davron refused. At that time, I informed Don and Davron that I would give WS one more year, and that I would turn it into NFP ... I resigned from Correllian Nativist Church International, Inc. and The Correllian Mother Temple which were two separate organizations."
There is no word on how this will affect their bricks-and-mortar campus in Hoopeston, Illinois. Will the property go to the Correllian Mother Temple and Don Lewis (who is acting president of Witch School), or will it be sold off? It seems strange that the Witch School site is conducting a fund raiser in which it urges all its online students to donate money to fix up their building in Hoopeston.
"We are asking our students, friends, and supporters to 'Adopt' a brick, and have your name (or craft name) put on it. We are creating a wall that includes everyone who helps us in this fundraiser ... His exact words 'If each basic student were to give a dollar the building would be able to be fixed up pretty quickly.' And he came up with this fundraiser. We hope that Michael is correct and the blessing of the three fold law is given full rein in this project."
As for the online school, Hubbard seems to hope it will be scooped up by a major Pagan-oriented business like Llewellyn Worldwide or New Page publishing, but seems just as open to the idea of it being bought out by a non-Pagan corporation like Google or Disney. In an addendum to the auction, Hubbard explains that the new owner of the school will have to honor the development deal with the SciFi Channel, and that the new owner will have the power to grant religious initiations within Correllian Wicca, and will control the Copyright to Don Lewis' (head of the Correllian Mother Temple) writing.
"The Main Thing it holds is the License to Don Lewis Correllian Wicca, and the right to use it in many different ways. It has a perpetual right to provide FIRST, SECOND and THIRD DEGREES. It has many other rights to sell product. Witch School also negotiates and handles Don Lewis Copyright licenses exclusively since the Year 2000. Currently, a major publisher has the option to publish Don Lewis books, and will be likely exercise this right."
Of course given the rules of eBay, it is entirely possible that a stealth organization hostile to Witch School (like an evangelical church) could buy it out, or that the winner of the auction will be a non-Pagan who will start selling off initiations. Which makes the eBay selling method somewhat surprising (top bid as of this writing is $1,625.01). But aside from the pitfalls of a public auction, there are all sorts of troubling ethical implications, like what will happen to personal data once its sold, the selling of the power to "initiate" someone as a Witch, and the strange legal intermixing of the school with the Witchcraft tradition it has been affiliated with. It remains to be seen what the final fall-out of this sale will be.
A big thanks to Lupa for tipping me off to this story!
* The letter in question mostly concerns Ed Hubbard's take on the split between the two Correllian factions, so it might be useful for those wanting more information on the split (from one point of view).
Labels: Correllian Wicca, Don Lewis, eBay, Ed Hubbard, Paganism, Wicca, Witch School
Comments:
My e-mail to him via Witchvox while the press relaease was still up
To: Ed Hubbard
Subject: [VoxMail 182506] the school for sale?
From: "Firerose"
Does this mean that all of our personal information is for sale as well? How about the promises that have been made? Will the new owners honor them? I bought a lifetime memnership the FIRST time there was a one time offering for them believeing that I would be helping a worthwile venture that would stay "in the family". All your teachings are based on family and honor and lineage - are you now selling this out? If Google buys it, how will they pervert the teachings? How about Disney - they have done nothing but pervert stories and history for most of the last 30 years.
I have had others laugh at me because I am a member of Witchschool. Laugh at the teachings. However, I have used those same materials to teach others with great results. I have followed the ethical teachings with pride and honor. However, now it seems that those teachings were simply a way to generate profit for the Lewis family.
How sad that this day has come.
FireRose
And the response...
Hi,
Lifetime memberships are part of the agreement...they will be honored.
Blessings
Ed
I have written to Witch School to have my account removed. I haven't used it in years, but I don't want my personal information accessible by goodness-knows-who at the end of this auction.
Ed, why didn't you email all the students and give the the choice to remove their accounts?
I see the whole Correllian/Witchschool arc as an abject lesson in scrambled priorities and poor planning. Things went well when it was strictly online and correspondence only, with shrines being seeded around the country. But it jumped the shark when the property was purchased and when its focus was switched from training Witches to making money. I've seen the switch from the spiritual to the monetary destroy more Pagan endeavors than I care to think about. The problem isn't that monetary pursuits are necessarily bad, but that the people attempting them generally do not have good business sense. Visionaries seldom do, sad to say. The successful Pagan organizations have practical people who have good business sense acting in concert with their visionaries and spiritual people, and understand that Pagan businesses must operate under the same rules as any other business- churches, stores, etc.
I wish peace and prosperity (and common sense!) to all involved in this sad turn of events.
There is no word on how this will affect their bricks-and-mortar campus in Hoopeston, Illinois.
This is addressed in the FAQ section of the auction listing on eBay:
Q: May I ask why you are selling this item? Apr-10-07
A: Hi, Simply put....Witch School can not stay in Hoopeston, and I do not want to move it. Under the laws I need to offer it aat fair amrket value to all the partners, and eBay is considered a fair market. Basically events have led me to beleive that we will not be able to survive...Maybe Salem, maybe somewhere else, but it will be destroyed soon if it does not leave Hoopeston. I pray that by offering it to the world, led by spirit, that someone can take it and make it work even better. After all, it's a very powerful website, with a lot of tools. It's worth something to someone, but my health and obligations won't let me move it. So I will sell it to someone who can.
From: enews1@witchschool.com
To: FireRose
Subject: WS News: Witch School For Sale, Student Rights to be Protected.
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:51:48 -0500
Dear Firerose10, Registered Student at Witch School
No one has ever built a site quite like Witch School and it will continue to teach and amaze its students and its creators. It is a fantastic site with lots of great features and very unique in the world and should continue to be so. The owners and operators of Witch School do appreciate that WitchSchool continues to mature and grow into the site that all dreamed it would be. So it may be a surprise to hear that Witch School has been put up for Auction on eBay this week, and that we are looking for new owner /operator.
As Chairman and the largest partner several things have happened in my personal life that have forced me to reconsider being able to effectively run Witch School. As the current owner/operator, I am unable to fulfill the needs of such a massive, demanding, and rewarding school. So, we are looking for someone who is able to handle and perpetuate the growth and future of Witchschool.
Unfortunately, Witch School can not continue its current operations in Hoopeston, IL. If it were to try, with a increasingly hostile City Council Members and a Daily Press that openly discriminates, it will not be able to assure the comfort and possibly safety of the workers or visiting students. With many legal but openly hostile actions, Witch School is facing a fight that is draining us all.
So it is time to move Witch School Headquarters to a more suitable and welcoming environment, and I have discovered that I neither have the health or finances to do so. Rev. Don Lewis can and will continue to do his best to operate Witch School, but the partners need to find a new owner with better resources and who is in a better position for the move.
By the legal requirements of a Limited Liability General Partnership, the partners must be paid by a fair market value for their investment, This was the main reason we listed Witch School on eBay - so we could set the fair market price.
To see the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250102654667
Rev. Don Lewis is hoping to lead a coalition that may manage this very successful site. However, if no new buyer or buyers can be found to buy out the current partners and revitalize WitchSchool with fresh and new operators, then Witchschool will have no choice but to enact the following, by May 1, 2007:
* We will close the headquarters in Hoopeston and not relocate.
* We will stop selling all merchandise and memberships.
* We will not accept any more new free students.
* The site will be then be open ONLY to lifetime and supporting members, and it will remain up perpetually to fulfill our promise of lifetime education.
* All basic members will no longer be able to access the site.
Our public education will nor longer be able to be handled as we will not have the staff to handle it. We will be forced to end the public education component of our site despite the need for our basic courses. Witch School will become a closed campus online except for lifetime and subscription students.
The good news is that Rev. Don Lewis and Witch School has made a deal with a major publisher that will make copies of the book available in Book form and new eBook forms soon. Updated, and will include even more illustrations of the wonderful art that Don tells the Wiccan story with. There is even a rumor that a deluxe edition will be made available as well. Whoever becomes the new owners, will be able to work with Don to produce these works and possibly share in the future royalties.
Rev. Don Lewis has done everything he can to make his material publicly accessible, and those temples in good standing may continue and are actually encouraged to use the writings as needed. Don wants and had made a gift of his teachings to the community and, unfortunately, there are now groups who are violating his rights and not recognizing his unique contribution. As of April 4th, 2007 anyone who is creating copies of the book for sale, other than Witch School itself is actually stealing and plagiarizing Rev. Don Lewis material. Any school that is teaching Correllian material without recognizing Don himself as the source, and without his direct written permission is violating the law. So those who are making illegal copies, and sadly Don's material have been pirated by many groups and individuals, will be soon facing legal action.
Further SciFi is still developing a series and own the right to create a Witch School Television show. This contract will be transferred to the new ownership and be required to fulfill the requirements as well. Witch School will also receive payments from SciFi/NBC if the series actually makes it to television. This is very simple and will only increase Rev. Don Lewis ability to teach Wicca to a ever increasing number of people who are desperately seeking to learn the world saving ways of the Wiccan faith.
Also, under the editorship of Debbe Tompkins, the Daily Spell has expanded, and under Don's management, it will soon be made available daily to all students. We are looking at this in little more than three weeks away, and it will become the most distributed "e-zine" in the entire Pagan World with over 100,000 subscribers, a dream we have held for years.
Despite the sale, we will not sell the names of our members, and we refuse to reveal any personal information. We promised this and we will continue to keep our promises. And any new owners will be forced to the same confidentiality.
Together, we have created a world wide education system that is very unique and very powerful. Recently, Rev. Don Lewis has made major improvements with his team of programmers any future owner would be getting a great system with great people. If someone can afford to move the HQ fully online or to a new location, then it can continue to prosper, but it can not continue in Hoopeston nor with its current understaffed and overworked management system. Witch School can be of great service to the community in ways and it can bring a return to any owner.
Thank You for listening and being supportive, and let us hope that Rev. Don Lewis gets the best people to support his continued mission to provide a Wiccan and Magickal education to anyone, anywhere, anyplace at anytime they want it. It is, after all, the largest Public Wiccan Educator in the history of the world. Hopefully, the mission can continue. To contact Don to help him you can email him at DonLewisHP@aol.com or call 217-283-4360
To check out the Global Press release go to http://prweb.com/releases/Witch/School/prweb517797.htm
Blessings
Ed Hubbard
Chairman, Witch School
You are receiving this as part of our email verification system. As a student of Witch School, you are automatically receive these periodic announcements. If you do not wish to receive Witch School notices, please click or enter this link into your web browser. http://www.witchschool.com/oo.asp?sid=18415 Please do not reply to this email. This email address is not checked.
Read between the lines about the hostility of the locals in Hoopeston. Isn't it weird that Witch School publicized, in comments made by Don Lewis to witch school students, following up their Open House on Feb 10, 2007, that Hoopeston was so supportive and supposedly came out in droves to the Open House (which, btw, was not true, according to people who actually live in Hoopeston...who said the Open House was dead. Never mind what you can glean from Witch School's YouTube postings from that Open House.)
How is it that the Hoopeston locals were so supportive two months ago and then suddenly turned? Give me a break. All they are looking for is the money.
Their myspace account lists the Illiana Web Co http://www.illianaweb.com as a "friend." This actually looks to be more the reason Hubbard is dumping Witchschool...in a desperate attempt to fund a new venture. Perhaps it is this venture facing local difficulties, and NOT Witchschool. Witchschool never needed to rely on much local support as it was an online school. However, a local wi-fi company can't survive if it is not local, eh?
BTW, they NEVER owned the building in Hoopeston, according to some of the people who worked with them originally. They just TOLD people they did.
What a shame that they caught so many people with dreams but fed them so many lies....Hey, guess wicca did go mainstream, after all!
Up front disclaimer: I don't have a finger in this pie though I would be interested in owning the paganarmy.* domains if a pagan Gordon Gecko won the auction with the intent to sell off the individual assets to fund the purchase and turn a quick profit.
However, I have been reading the eBay listing and the info here. If the names of current members are not part of the sale (written to assure people that their privacy will be protected) then how can the new buyer honor the lifetime memberships? (written to assure people that their investments will be protected.) The ebay listing notes 150K+ members but only 665 members paying on a recurring basis, so a large part of the value is the intellectual property of the targeted mailing/emailing lists. But only if the buyer receives them. But based on the public statements attributed to Hubbard will the buyer be facing litigation expenses from members that were assured that their information was not a part of the sale? It will be interesting to continue to watch how this plays out. But then I also like to watch Engineering Disasters shows on the History Channel. :)
Grinning Wolf
The fundrasier offically ended when they decided to sell the site. The links dont let you donate anymore but the page was left so people could still see their bricks.
Oh and ed dosnt own illiana web. Me and my frinends own it thank you vary much. It a friend of witchschools becuse some of us used to work there. And its not the citys population thats the issue altho a large amount are still hostil its the citys government.
As someone who worked with lawyers, I am left wondering about the Sci-Fi contract they talk about. It is only COMMON SENSE to not agree, sign or accept a contract, till you and an attorney have looked it over. So how can one honor a contract they haven't seen.
What if the contract says the new owners have to live in IL, or they need to let camera crews into their home! What if the contract says that the new owner must pony up some of the funds to get this project off the ground.
Buyer beware.
Ok here is somethign i dont get. So many of you hate witchschool right? so whats the diffrence if its sold of not. Get off your soap box and get a life. All I ever see bad about witchschool is they charge to pay for their workers. People bad mouth them about what they do, Im saprised your all not happy its being sold.
Hoopeston’s only locally-owned daily news publication
P.O. Box 441, Hoopeston, IL. 60942 www.justthefacts.net
the Facts©
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Phone/Fax:
(217) 283-9348
Email:
publish@justthefacts.net
A new company plans to put wireless Internet throughout the
city starting January 1, 2007.
Representatives of Illiana Web Company spoke at Tuesday’s
Hoopeston City Council meeting to discuss their plans and ask for asneeded rights of way on city property to install equipment.
Principals in the company include Ed Hubbard, CEO/president;
Mary Ann Kaufmann, CFO; Michael Ferrell, COO; Dale Hubbard,
vice president, sales and acquisitions; Sherrene Hubbard, vice president, marketing/public relations;
Chris Welch, vice president, engineering; and Steven Hupp, website development.
Ed Hubbard, who has served as CEO of WitchSchool, will leave WitchSchool at the end of the year to concentrate on the new company.
Hmmmmm....is this "Michael" guy the same Michael Ferrell listed as COO? Hmmmm....So Ed Hubbard is a "friend" too?
More nonsense...but at least be HONEST for once in your life!
Ya thats me so what. That lady just hates ed. Eds not the ceo dale is. Ed is more of a legal councel of sorts. And if you actually read the justthefact thats kinda sad. That lady needs alife also.
Take a better look at what she writes sometime. Hmmm a few moths ago you wrote im ganna charge 230 a month for service and woldnt correct it.
And personaly i could care less about any of this shit. Reason im not pagan. Too much complaning eather way.
One quick last thing. So everyone agrees that witchschool is bad correct? so i agree with the person above. You should be happy that its closing. I don’t quite see the downside for the community if its really as big a detriment as everyone clams it is. From searching the web a bit that seams to be a large majorities opinion, correct me if I’m wrong. Then the sale should be a good thing, maybe someone will buy it and make it something that the pagan community would appreciate.
And now the eBay listing has been pulled.
I think there may have been something about the comment that Ed reserved the right to ultimately refuse to sell the place to the highest bidder.
Witch school was my intro to the Pagan World. I became clergy with their degree programs. As time progressed, within the study programs and student council, all done online, there was an increasing amount of bleating as people turned into sheep as Don Lewis and Ed Hubbard were treated like demi gods who could do no wrong. They advertised to buy your lifetime membership before 1/04 or never be able to purchase it again and we found out that Ed Hubbard was selling lifetime member ships on ebay cheaper than what we paid for them, not to mention he also auctioned off books and material on Ebay cheaper than Witchschool was charging us for them. A good friend of mine was blasted by Rev. Don Lewis for standing up and speaking against the hypocrisy and was basically banned because of him. Then came the charges of embezzlement from Lord Davron against Ed and Don and they retaliated with their own Witch Hunt against Davron by accusing him of being a Satanist. A witch hunt within a Witch school.
Ed Hubbard and Don Lewis did what they wanted to without any thought to the members who supported them with their hard earned money, so it seems in my opinion. They controlled information that was given to members, much like a cult would do in addition to not being honest about financial matters.
Now they have NOT informed one of us that they are selling Witchschoo. They do more double speak by saying us supporting and lifetime members will still have our accounts honored but then say our information won't be sold. Well how can you grant us what we paid for if the new owners can't figure out who we are? So yes, our information, our personal information will be handed over to the new owners, Goddess knows who that will be.
Witchschool never offered us a choice in the matter. But that is how Witchschool has operated all along; they do what is best for themselves and expect the Outer Court members and us Inner Court clergy just to follow along like bleating sheep.
What I find amazing is the statments of using Don's work of the Wicca program is stealing or copy right infringment. I wish someone would investigate the sources Don Lewis used for his Wicca program. For anyone who thinks that the Correllian Wicca program differs from any other book on the market, or that there are family secrets or special insights in the Wicca program are sadly mistaken. You can buy Raymond Buckland's book of Witchcraft (along with numerous other books) and find all the same information. At least for Buckland, he traces back into the Saxon heritage. There is NO heritage in Correllian.
I've been a Witchschool lifetime member for several years now. There are many things to recommend it, but Witchschool is like a buffet: Pick what you want, because there's also crap there.
Organization is a joke. Some of the "courses" are so riddled with grammatical and spelling errors as to be incomprehensible. I volunteered to help clean things up, as I have been a professional writer for more than 20 years now. There was an effort that got started, but never went anywhere. Or at least, I was let in the loop and then taken out.
The Correllian "church" seems to be very cliquish and some of that attitude spread to the school, even though they were supposed to be separate entities.
I think Witchschool provides some important services, especially to solitary pagans. But it is not up to its own lofty goals.
Post a Comment
My e-mail to him via Witchvox while the press relaease was still up
To: Ed Hubbard
Subject: [VoxMail 182506] the school for sale?
From: "Firerose"
Does this mean that all of our personal information is for sale as well? How about the promises that have been made? Will the new owners honor them? I bought a lifetime memnership the FIRST time there was a one time offering for them believeing that I would be helping a worthwile venture that would stay "in the family". All your teachings are based on family and honor and lineage - are you now selling this out? If Google buys it, how will they pervert the teachings? How about Disney - they have done nothing but pervert stories and history for most of the last 30 years.
I have had others laugh at me because I am a member of Witchschool. Laugh at the teachings. However, I have used those same materials to teach others with great results. I have followed the ethical teachings with pride and honor. However, now it seems that those teachings were simply a way to generate profit for the Lewis family.
How sad that this day has come.
FireRose
And the response...
Hi,
Lifetime memberships are part of the agreement...they will be honored.
Blessings
Ed
I have written to Witch School to have my account removed. I haven't used it in years, but I don't want my personal information accessible by goodness-knows-who at the end of this auction.
Ed, why didn't you email all the students and give the the choice to remove their accounts?
I see the whole Correllian/Witchschool arc as an abject lesson in scrambled priorities and poor planning. Things went well when it was strictly online and correspondence only, with shrines being seeded around the country. But it jumped the shark when the property was purchased and when its focus was switched from training Witches to making money. I've seen the switch from the spiritual to the monetary destroy more Pagan endeavors than I care to think about. The problem isn't that monetary pursuits are necessarily bad, but that the people attempting them generally do not have good business sense. Visionaries seldom do, sad to say. The successful Pagan organizations have practical people who have good business sense acting in concert with their visionaries and spiritual people, and understand that Pagan businesses must operate under the same rules as any other business- churches, stores, etc.
I wish peace and prosperity (and common sense!) to all involved in this sad turn of events.
There is no word on how this will affect their bricks-and-mortar campus in Hoopeston, Illinois.
This is addressed in the FAQ section of the auction listing on eBay:
Q: May I ask why you are selling this item? Apr-10-07
A: Hi, Simply put....Witch School can not stay in Hoopeston, and I do not want to move it. Under the laws I need to offer it aat fair amrket value to all the partners, and eBay is considered a fair market. Basically events have led me to beleive that we will not be able to survive...Maybe Salem, maybe somewhere else, but it will be destroyed soon if it does not leave Hoopeston. I pray that by offering it to the world, led by spirit, that someone can take it and make it work even better. After all, it's a very powerful website, with a lot of tools. It's worth something to someone, but my health and obligations won't let me move it. So I will sell it to someone who can.
From: enews1@witchschool.com
To: FireRose
Subject: WS News: Witch School For Sale, Student Rights to be Protected.
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:51:48 -0500
Dear Firerose10, Registered Student at Witch School
No one has ever built a site quite like Witch School and it will continue to teach and amaze its students and its creators. It is a fantastic site with lots of great features and very unique in the world and should continue to be so. The owners and operators of Witch School do appreciate that WitchSchool continues to mature and grow into the site that all dreamed it would be. So it may be a surprise to hear that Witch School has been put up for Auction on eBay this week, and that we are looking for new owner /operator.
As Chairman and the largest partner several things have happened in my personal life that have forced me to reconsider being able to effectively run Witch School. As the current owner/operator, I am unable to fulfill the needs of such a massive, demanding, and rewarding school. So, we are looking for someone who is able to handle and perpetuate the growth and future of Witchschool.
Unfortunately, Witch School can not continue its current operations in Hoopeston, IL. If it were to try, with a increasingly hostile City Council Members and a Daily Press that openly discriminates, it will not be able to assure the comfort and possibly safety of the workers or visiting students. With many legal but openly hostile actions, Witch School is facing a fight that is draining us all.
So it is time to move Witch School Headquarters to a more suitable and welcoming environment, and I have discovered that I neither have the health or finances to do so. Rev. Don Lewis can and will continue to do his best to operate Witch School, but the partners need to find a new owner with better resources and who is in a better position for the move.
By the legal requirements of a Limited Liability General Partnership, the partners must be paid by a fair market value for their investment, This was the main reason we listed Witch School on eBay - so we could set the fair market price.
To see the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250102654667
Rev. Don Lewis is hoping to lead a coalition that may manage this very successful site. However, if no new buyer or buyers can be found to buy out the current partners and revitalize WitchSchool with fresh and new operators, then Witchschool will have no choice but to enact the following, by May 1, 2007:
* We will close the headquarters in Hoopeston and not relocate.
* We will stop selling all merchandise and memberships.
* We will not accept any more new free students.
* The site will be then be open ONLY to lifetime and supporting members, and it will remain up perpetually to fulfill our promise of lifetime education.
* All basic members will no longer be able to access the site.
Our public education will nor longer be able to be handled as we will not have the staff to handle it. We will be forced to end the public education component of our site despite the need for our basic courses. Witch School will become a closed campus online except for lifetime and subscription students.
The good news is that Rev. Don Lewis and Witch School has made a deal with a major publisher that will make copies of the book available in Book form and new eBook forms soon. Updated, and will include even more illustrations of the wonderful art that Don tells the Wiccan story with. There is even a rumor that a deluxe edition will be made available as well. Whoever becomes the new owners, will be able to work with Don to produce these works and possibly share in the future royalties.
Rev. Don Lewis has done everything he can to make his material publicly accessible, and those temples in good standing may continue and are actually encouraged to use the writings as needed. Don wants and had made a gift of his teachings to the community and, unfortunately, there are now groups who are violating his rights and not recognizing his unique contribution. As of April 4th, 2007 anyone who is creating copies of the book for sale, other than Witch School itself is actually stealing and plagiarizing Rev. Don Lewis material. Any school that is teaching Correllian material without recognizing Don himself as the source, and without his direct written permission is violating the law. So those who are making illegal copies, and sadly Don's material have been pirated by many groups and individuals, will be soon facing legal action.
Further SciFi is still developing a series and own the right to create a Witch School Television show. This contract will be transferred to the new ownership and be required to fulfill the requirements as well. Witch School will also receive payments from SciFi/NBC if the series actually makes it to television. This is very simple and will only increase Rev. Don Lewis ability to teach Wicca to a ever increasing number of people who are desperately seeking to learn the world saving ways of the Wiccan faith.
Also, under the editorship of Debbe Tompkins, the Daily Spell has expanded, and under Don's management, it will soon be made available daily to all students. We are looking at this in little more than three weeks away, and it will become the most distributed "e-zine" in the entire Pagan World with over 100,000 subscribers, a dream we have held for years.
Despite the sale, we will not sell the names of our members, and we refuse to reveal any personal information. We promised this and we will continue to keep our promises. And any new owners will be forced to the same confidentiality.
Together, we have created a world wide education system that is very unique and very powerful. Recently, Rev. Don Lewis has made major improvements with his team of programmers any future owner would be getting a great system with great people. If someone can afford to move the HQ fully online or to a new location, then it can continue to prosper, but it can not continue in Hoopeston nor with its current understaffed and overworked management system. Witch School can be of great service to the community in ways and it can bring a return to any owner.
Thank You for listening and being supportive, and let us hope that Rev. Don Lewis gets the best people to support his continued mission to provide a Wiccan and Magickal education to anyone, anywhere, anyplace at anytime they want it. It is, after all, the largest Public Wiccan Educator in the history of the world. Hopefully, the mission can continue. To contact Don to help him you can email him at DonLewisHP@aol.com or call 217-283-4360
To check out the Global Press release go to http://prweb.com/releases/Witch/School/prweb517797.htm
Blessings
Ed Hubbard
Chairman, Witch School
You are receiving this as part of our email verification system. As a student of Witch School, you are automatically receive these periodic announcements. If you do not wish to receive Witch School notices, please click or enter this link into your web browser. http://www.witchschool.com/oo.asp?sid=18415 Please do not reply to this email. This email address is not checked.
Read between the lines about the hostility of the locals in Hoopeston. Isn't it weird that Witch School publicized, in comments made by Don Lewis to witch school students, following up their Open House on Feb 10, 2007, that Hoopeston was so supportive and supposedly came out in droves to the Open House (which, btw, was not true, according to people who actually live in Hoopeston...who said the Open House was dead. Never mind what you can glean from Witch School's YouTube postings from that Open House.)
How is it that the Hoopeston locals were so supportive two months ago and then suddenly turned? Give me a break. All they are looking for is the money.
Their myspace account lists the Illiana Web Co http://www.illianaweb.com as a "friend." This actually looks to be more the reason Hubbard is dumping Witchschool...in a desperate attempt to fund a new venture. Perhaps it is this venture facing local difficulties, and NOT Witchschool. Witchschool never needed to rely on much local support as it was an online school. However, a local wi-fi company can't survive if it is not local, eh?
BTW, they NEVER owned the building in Hoopeston, according to some of the people who worked with them originally. They just TOLD people they did.
What a shame that they caught so many people with dreams but fed them so many lies....Hey, guess wicca did go mainstream, after all!
Up front disclaimer: I don't have a finger in this pie though I would be interested in owning the paganarmy.* domains if a pagan Gordon Gecko won the auction with the intent to sell off the individual assets to fund the purchase and turn a quick profit.
However, I have been reading the eBay listing and the info here. If the names of current members are not part of the sale (written to assure people that their privacy will be protected) then how can the new buyer honor the lifetime memberships? (written to assure people that their investments will be protected.) The ebay listing notes 150K+ members but only 665 members paying on a recurring basis, so a large part of the value is the intellectual property of the targeted mailing/emailing lists. But only if the buyer receives them. But based on the public statements attributed to Hubbard will the buyer be facing litigation expenses from members that were assured that their information was not a part of the sale? It will be interesting to continue to watch how this plays out. But then I also like to watch Engineering Disasters shows on the History Channel. :)
Grinning Wolf
The fundrasier offically ended when they decided to sell the site. The links dont let you donate anymore but the page was left so people could still see their bricks.
Oh and ed dosnt own illiana web. Me and my frinends own it thank you vary much. It a friend of witchschools becuse some of us used to work there. And its not the citys population thats the issue altho a large amount are still hostil its the citys government.
As someone who worked with lawyers, I am left wondering about the Sci-Fi contract they talk about. It is only COMMON SENSE to not agree, sign or accept a contract, till you and an attorney have looked it over. So how can one honor a contract they haven't seen.
What if the contract says the new owners have to live in IL, or they need to let camera crews into their home! What if the contract says that the new owner must pony up some of the funds to get this project off the ground.
Buyer beware.
Ok here is somethign i dont get. So many of you hate witchschool right? so whats the diffrence if its sold of not. Get off your soap box and get a life. All I ever see bad about witchschool is they charge to pay for their workers. People bad mouth them about what they do, Im saprised your all not happy its being sold.
Hoopeston’s only locally-owned daily news publication
P.O. Box 441, Hoopeston, IL. 60942 www.justthefacts.net
the Facts©
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Phone/Fax:
(217) 283-9348
Email:
publish@justthefacts.net
A new company plans to put wireless Internet throughout the
city starting January 1, 2007.
Representatives of Illiana Web Company spoke at Tuesday’s
Hoopeston City Council meeting to discuss their plans and ask for asneeded rights of way on city property to install equipment.
Principals in the company include Ed Hubbard, CEO/president;
Mary Ann Kaufmann, CFO; Michael Ferrell, COO; Dale Hubbard,
vice president, sales and acquisitions; Sherrene Hubbard, vice president, marketing/public relations;
Chris Welch, vice president, engineering; and Steven Hupp, website development.
Ed Hubbard, who has served as CEO of WitchSchool, will leave WitchSchool at the end of the year to concentrate on the new company.
Hmmmmm....is this "Michael" guy the same Michael Ferrell listed as COO? Hmmmm....So Ed Hubbard is a "friend" too?
More nonsense...but at least be HONEST for once in your life!
Ya thats me so what. That lady just hates ed. Eds not the ceo dale is. Ed is more of a legal councel of sorts. And if you actually read the justthefact thats kinda sad. That lady needs alife also.
Take a better look at what she writes sometime. Hmmm a few moths ago you wrote im ganna charge 230 a month for service and woldnt correct it.
And personaly i could care less about any of this shit. Reason im not pagan. Too much complaning eather way.
One quick last thing. So everyone agrees that witchschool is bad correct? so i agree with the person above. You should be happy that its closing. I don’t quite see the downside for the community if its really as big a detriment as everyone clams it is. From searching the web a bit that seams to be a large majorities opinion, correct me if I’m wrong. Then the sale should be a good thing, maybe someone will buy it and make it something that the pagan community would appreciate.
And now the eBay listing has been pulled.
I think there may have been something about the comment that Ed reserved the right to ultimately refuse to sell the place to the highest bidder.
Witch school was my intro to the Pagan World. I became clergy with their degree programs. As time progressed, within the study programs and student council, all done online, there was an increasing amount of bleating as people turned into sheep as Don Lewis and Ed Hubbard were treated like demi gods who could do no wrong. They advertised to buy your lifetime membership before 1/04 or never be able to purchase it again and we found out that Ed Hubbard was selling lifetime member ships on ebay cheaper than what we paid for them, not to mention he also auctioned off books and material on Ebay cheaper than Witchschool was charging us for them. A good friend of mine was blasted by Rev. Don Lewis for standing up and speaking against the hypocrisy and was basically banned because of him. Then came the charges of embezzlement from Lord Davron against Ed and Don and they retaliated with their own Witch Hunt against Davron by accusing him of being a Satanist. A witch hunt within a Witch school.
Ed Hubbard and Don Lewis did what they wanted to without any thought to the members who supported them with their hard earned money, so it seems in my opinion. They controlled information that was given to members, much like a cult would do in addition to not being honest about financial matters.
Now they have NOT informed one of us that they are selling Witchschoo. They do more double speak by saying us supporting and lifetime members will still have our accounts honored but then say our information won't be sold. Well how can you grant us what we paid for if the new owners can't figure out who we are? So yes, our information, our personal information will be handed over to the new owners, Goddess knows who that will be.
Witchschool never offered us a choice in the matter. But that is how Witchschool has operated all along; they do what is best for themselves and expect the Outer Court members and us Inner Court clergy just to follow along like bleating sheep.
What I find amazing is the statments of using Don's work of the Wicca program is stealing or copy right infringment. I wish someone would investigate the sources Don Lewis used for his Wicca program. For anyone who thinks that the Correllian Wicca program differs from any other book on the market, or that there are family secrets or special insights in the Wicca program are sadly mistaken. You can buy Raymond Buckland's book of Witchcraft (along with numerous other books) and find all the same information. At least for Buckland, he traces back into the Saxon heritage. There is NO heritage in Correllian.
I've been a Witchschool lifetime member for several years now. There are many things to recommend it, but Witchschool is like a buffet: Pick what you want, because there's also crap there.
Organization is a joke. Some of the "courses" are so riddled with grammatical and spelling errors as to be incomprehensible. I volunteered to help clean things up, as I have been a professional writer for more than 20 years now. There was an effort that got started, but never went anywhere. Or at least, I was let in the loop and then taken out.
The Correllian "church" seems to be very cliquish and some of that attitude spread to the school, even though they were supposed to be separate entities.
I think Witchschool provides some important services, especially to solitary pagans. But it is not up to its own lofty goals.
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