This is another site that showed up as a querry in my logs. So, here’s the review.

First things first. Things that suck. It’s green and yellow. I hate green and yellow. Yeah, I know, that’s completely a personal thing, but green and yellow are my two least favorite colors. (Well, forest-y greens are good, but I hate crayola crayon green. But, then again, if you’ve been faithfully following my reviews (as if), then you’ll already know that I just plain hate those colors and have to bitch every time I see them.) Another thing that sucks. It’s a geocities site. Blah. (FWIW, Becca (the webmistress of Demoted Goddess), if you read this, Inanna’s Garden offers free hosting. It’s pagan-owned and gets you away from the crappy geocities stuff.)

But, hey, as much as I hate the colors, I can still read it. And I’m all about the content.

The content of the first page is, IMO, great. It’s just a little introduction. It doesn’t go on forever. There’s nothing flashy. It just tells you a bit about the site and the sections, and then waves you on to go through the rest of the site. Good stuff.

I was a bit disappointed with The Witch section. There’s not much there, yet, but I was (based on the description on the home page) expecting something a bit more scholarly. The personal exploration stuff is good. We should all be thinking about the state of “I”, and what makes it so. I just… well, I wish that the introduction had given a better representation of what was there. Also, the navigation once you get in the subsections needs work. (And it’s the same mistakes that I made on my first web design… well, hell, the last web design I had just before this one, too.) But, fwiw, she *does* say once you get to the Witch section that she wants to have more scholarly stuff up there. (Note to Becca: yeah, I know, it takes effort to think up things to write about. I’m in serious need of writing a new essay, myself.)

I love the Bitch section. The rants are snarky, witty, and funny because, well, they actually seem to be pretty darned true. The Links section Kicks Ass (and I say this not because she links to me.)

The long and short of it is, it’s not a huge site, but it’s a fun site. It’s not a scholarly site at this time, but it’s definitely personality driven. If you’re looking for thought and entertainment, it’s a great place to go. But if you’ve got a yen for research, this site isn’t there, yet.

Link: Demoted Goddess
Score: 8/10
Reviewed by Enyo Perseus

This is a site that I’ve been meaning to review. And, clearly, someone wants me to review it, because it keeps showing up in my logs as a search. Sadly, I’ve not done it (until now) because I wanted to be able to give it the review that it deserves. Fact is, it’s a huge site. And I can’t look around a site of this size in ten or fifteen minutes and give it the kind of review that it deserves. So, unlike the normal review, which I do in a day, this one’s taking several days.

But it’s worth it.

Looking at the first page, I can see that I like the lay out. The colors are neat, clean, and subdued, which, IMO, is the ideal for a content driven site. The only fusses that I have about the front page is that the boxes could have a bit of space around them. The text gets too close to the box and then feels claustrophobic. Also, I find the front page a bit too long, but this site is more like a printed magazine, I think, than a journal. It’s even complete with a “letter from the editor” section and a table of contents bit. And you know what? It’s different. It’s cool. I’m also quite pleased with the search engine feature at the bottom of the page. For huge sites, it’s handier than Hel. (In fact, I’ve been thinking about doing one of those for WarGoddess in general, since right now, the only thing that’s search-able is what runs off of the Movable Type structure, but that’s neither here nor there right now.) Suffice it to say, search engines and site maps on huge sites are good. And the journal offers both.

(Note: this is long, so click the continue reading link to see the rest of it.)
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I found this site by going through my logs. Someone had done a search, and when I hit Google, this was the first site that came up. So, what can I say about this site?

Um, yeah. Cookie cutter site, right off the get-go. Sure, the set is pretty enough, but I *hate* those layered sites. What would look pretty on my wall or on a book isn’t necessarily how I’d do a web site. I mean, there’s nothing *wrong* with these kinds of backgrounds, but I always feel that they look generic on the web. The quotes from the movie Practical Magic scream “I’m a bunny, watch me hop!” There are, of course other things on the front page that enhance this idea: “best viewed with an open mind” (well, to accept this site at face value, my mind would have to be so open that my brains will fall out); “pagan” is spelled “pagen” (honestly, if you can’t even spell the path, why the Hel should I take your “teachings” about it seriously?); a half-way decent poem written just for use on that particular background (why would you limit your poetry so?); fantasy dolls (why do people stick crap like this on the front page of a web site, anyway? IMO, things like this should be limited to a silly quiz page or about me, or something, because, honestly, who cares if you adopt a fantasy doll?), the stock “never again” crap (although this one does it with the “adopt a witch” format. Wonder if she realizes that most of the “witches” burned weren’t actually witches), and just too much crap in general on the first page. You’d think with a site that looks more book-like, she’d realize that every book has a title page/table of contents. And that, IMO, is exactly what should be on the first page of any site. (Yes, I know, some people like splash pages. I generally don’t, but I’m not really into eye candy. I like content.) (more…)

Augh! My eyes! Hint: a powder blue text with tacky red and orange animated flames are not a good combination. The genius that crafted this hellhole, er, website clearly needs a swift kick for putting this attrocity in a place where human eyes can find it, anyway.

What is Wicca, the title of the home page asks in the header. Hmph. It sure as Hel isn’t anything you’ll find on this site. It’s definitely a question that the webmaster of this site needs to investigate before putting any further drivel up on the site.

The page “Where did Wicca Start” is even more heinous. Still have the lame-ass animated flames. Still have the dreadful, tacky blue title text. Only this time, to further enhance the eye-bleeding effect, it also uses this rose/purple text, all centered, for content. And the content. Oh, the content. I actually suppose that I should be grateful that the site is so hideous, because that minimizes the chance of someone actually bothering to read this drivel. The etimology for “wicca” is wrong. There’s just enough accuracy to fool a newbie who hasn’t learned to tell the wheat from the chaff. There’s a bull shit warning about the evils of “black magick.” Like it’s some forbidden law, or something. And, of course, witches aren’t anything like those ooky-wooky Satanists. Oh, and it seems that Wicca and witchcraft are the exact same thing, too. And, of course, I can’t forget about those evil Jews (?!) coming over to the land of the peaceful, goddess worshipping Celts, and having their mean ol’ man-god ruin everything.

Once I found their “coven rules”, I nearly lost my lunch. Of course, to be a member of the coven, you have to live by those over-quoted eight words from the rede. Guess that means that they don’t get to take anti-biotics, because that would harm the bacteria. And “In circle Buzzed is fine shit faced is not.” Yeah, that makes me *really* want to do energy raising with these people. The level of irresponsiblity these idiots put forth just amazes me.

Thank the gods that the site is so horrible that it’s painful to read. If they’ve actually got to have so much garbage up there, at least it’s in a method that will hopefully discourage visitors.

Link: Coven of the Shaded Moon
Score: 1/10
Reviewed by Enyo Perseus

This is an interesting site… Like Paganetwork, it is a PHPNuke/Post Nuke driven site, but unlike Paganetwork, it’s more of a site that focuses on information regarding the different paths. It’s pretty easy to navigate, and easy on the eyes. The information is easy to digest for the newbie, or for the non-newbie who has minimal knowledge of a different path. Excellent for an overview of numerous paths, but some information that I would also consider just plain wrong (witchcraft is a religion, for one). Also offered are book reviews, a book store, and an herbal store.

Link: Witch/Pagan Resources
Score: 8/10
Originally posted by Enyo Perseus at Paganetwork

It’s not very often that I review a site and I’m just amazed by how beautiful it is. This time, however, is an exception. The colors are easy on the eyes. The graphics, while intensive, are quite pretty.

The downside is that there are some flashy, move-y bits throughout the site. Of course, this is strictly an Enyo bias, but I hate things that move. I find it distracting, as I’d rather be noticing the contents than “vote for me” types of things. To the webmistress’s credit, her “vote for me” things are very tastefully done, and not the usual assortment of tacky buttons littering the front page. Everything (except for the darned blinkies) is done beautifully. This site epitomizes all that is tasteful in web design.

The navigability is a snap, too. Front page has a neat, clean little search box, while the navigation off to the right is direct, easy, and fits beautifully with the site design. It was meant to be readily navigable, rather than shoved in there after the fact.

The content is actually primarily original, or at least it’s not something that you find on an average of 99.9% of the pagan sites out there. It’s smart. It’s well-written. It’s home to the webmistress’s own thoughts, although, I admit, I don’t agree with her about everything. (But, then, I seldom do agree with everything on someone else’s web page, anyway.) Her web site reviews are great, containing sarcasm and wit. Honestly, it’s pretty much everything I look for in a review.

The short story is, this is a fantastic site, and one that’s totally worth visiting. It’s a pleasure to hit a good site.

Link: La Luna Bella
Score: 10/10
Reviewed by Enyo Perseus