Is a male Witch a Warlock?

Note: This is an image of a "puritan"; for some reason when I think of Warlocks I think of a dude in Pilgrim garb. Hmm...the buckled hat is kinda funky. I think I'll have to get one, one of these days. ;^)


I have felt for some time that the term Warlock to refer to a male Witch may have some value. For years I have taken the position offered by most Wiccans like Stewart Farrar who says in "Eight Sabbats for Witches":

"But `warlock', in the sense of `a male witch',
is Scottish Late Middle English and entirely
derogatory; its root means `traitor, enemy,
devil'; and if the very few modern male witches
who call themselves warlocks realized its
origin, they would join the majority and
share the title `witch' with their sisters."

I have felt for some time that there may be a connection between the term "ergi" which is used to refer to a male sorcerer who has an effeminate or "receptive" nature and warlock which refers to the traitor or oath-breaker. Perhaps this is one who has turned away from "manly" things who has turned his back on the warrior's lodge to embark on a pursuit of the "womanly" mysteries--of magick, divination, healing, and mediumship. Just a thought...

Check out these links to learn more...

http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/witch/warlock.txt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergi

Where have all the male Witches gone?

So where are the men in modern Wicca? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the company of women...I definitely would not consider myself to be a "man's man". I simply find I'm most at home in the company of women. Being raised by a single mother may have something to do with that. I still wonder, though, why it is that Wicca and Witchcraft attract more women than men. After all, if it weren't for the efforts of men in the 20th century, modern Wicca may well not exist!
Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, Robert Cochrane, Evan John Jones, Raymond Buckland, Paul Huson, Stewart Farrar, Gavin Frost, Scott Cunningham, Robin Skelton too name just a few are men who have contributed greatly to the growth of Modern Witchcraft and the movement toward "Goddess Religion" and yet (it seems) men are now less attracted than they once were. In fact, many of the new covens coming out of the 1950s and 60s were mostly men!
I think that the efforts of women like Z. Budapest and Starhawk have contributed greatly to the empowerment of women and the spread of "Goddess Religion" but I think that in the broader movement there has been a loss of the balance that, to me, is one of the central themes of Wicca.
For all one may celebrate the works of Starhawk there seems to be hardly much mention of her own teacher, a man by the name of Victor Anderson--a person who apparently was not always in agreement with her politics!
So again, I wonder where the men are? And particularly the straight men? I mean there are many all women covens--especially where I live, but all men covens, which are much fewer and far between, are usually comprised of gay men...not that I have a problem with this as straight men and gay men should be quite comfortable working together, as straight women and lesbians are certainly comfortable working together. My main concern is that Wiccan and Pagan society, while trying its best to encourage diversity seems to have left the straight male out of this society of diversity. Is this due to an inherent misandry existing in Wicca today? Is it because the straight male is the embodiment of the evil patriarchal paradigm? Or is it merely poor publicity which has left the average straight guy with the sense that there is no place for him in Wicca and Witchcraft?
Hmmm...makes me think I may have to take matters into my own hands and host an information meeting for men who are interested in Wicca, but perhaps don't bother to pursue it because they feel it is for women only...I pray to Lady and Lord that the balance be restored!
Blessed Be!