This article is GREAT!!!
Finding Wicca
Author: Kamrusepas
Posted: February 8th. 2009
Times Viewed: 598
For most of my life I have been pagan- I just never really realized it. I have always believed in magick (Or magic, pick whichever you like) and I have always believed in fairies.
When I was younger I tried so hard to be Christian. I was still somehow in that stage where, because you don’t know any others, you think it’s the only religion out there. Then I got into history, the ancient Greeks to be exact. I learnt so much about the beautiful mythology of their civilization; I could see Athena, Artemis, Hekate, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Apollo, Zeus and Gaia. I could feel them.
I was still only about six.
I went to a Church of England school. My first proper RE lesson was ‘draw a picture of Jesus’. Up until year six all RE lessons were Christianity based and every Wednesday we’d go to church. So I got back into Christianity. I dismissed the myths and stories as just that, stories. I dismissed what I’d felt as my imagination (I had quite a lot of it!) Yet somehow I still couldn’t fit into Christianity.
We went to church each Sunday and I’d be bored. I read a children’s Bible and found it too contradictory. An eye for an eye? Hurt no one? Which one was right?
My mum is a Christian, and I respect that. She tried very hard to bring me up as a Christian; at Halloween we wouldn’t go trick or treating- she actually once told me it was too pagan! But the problem was, I couldn’t fit into it.
They got me a book of British history- I was still into history- and I read it. It went from the Bronze Age to World War II.
I read the sections on druids. Still thinking, Oh no, they’re pagans. That’s bad. I read about Cernunnos, how Christians identified him with the devil. Now I know that was just cause they wanted less pagans but I took it to heart.
I read books with magick in them like ’The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe’. I believed that Lilith was, you guessed it, evil. I was so gullible. I thought I was a bad person because I didn’t believe in God. I hoped that maybe if I were a good person, maybe I wouldn’t then go to hell. I longed to be a witch. Just to know that magick was, for certain, real. Just to feel like I belonged in a belief.
I went to these groups with our local priest, preparing us for confirmation. My mum made me go. I questioned. I refused to get confirmed. I told my mum I did not want to restrict myself. I was twelve, too young, I thought, to say that this was my religion. But I also couldn’t agree with it. It wasn’t what I believed.
My thoughts on pagans changed when I read a magazine article with a girl who was Wiccan. She went to circles and cast spells. I felt like this was me, this was what I wanted. I know now that I did not understand fully what Wicca truly was. But still I dismissed it, fearing my mum’s ’wrath’. I carried on with my life forgetting religion, just being a person who felt agnostic at that point in my life.
Then Wicca and I crossed paths once more, two years later on Christmas Eve. It felt relevant to me as I had learned a lot more about religions than my primary school ever taught me. I saw the flaws in Christianity as well as the good things. In the morning I would go to church as we always did on Christmas day.
But I decided to research Wicca. I wanted to know more about it, to see whether it was right or not for me.
It was so right.
You will hear many people say that finding the right religion feels like coming home- and it is. It was. I looked at it, learning about the threefold law, the Lady and Lord, everything. Well, except one thing. Somehow I still didn’t get how profound it was. I hadn’t truly felt the Goddess or God. It hadn’t truly touched my heart yet.
I decided to take a breather. I read something decidedly non- Wiccan (cowan, if you like) . I read ‘Does My Head Look Big In This?’ by Randa Abdel Fattah. (Which by the way is an amazing book, so read it!) Yes, it’s a book about a Muslim girl putting on the veil. Yes, it’s not the average thing that will make people feel the Goddess for the first time, but that’s what happened. I felt so overwhelmed by this girl’s faith in her God. The way she carried on through the racism and the bullying just because this was her faith.
I thought about the discrimination that many witches around the world face. In so many ways, Muslims will have to face it too- every person, every religion may have to.
And I felt the Goddess. I felt her amazing never-ending love for the first time. It was amazing. It was nothing like God spoken of in churches, it was so magickal. So, well, beautiful (If it could be described like that) . She felt so motherly and loving and wise. And I loved her back.
So if you’ve managed to stay awake through my actually quite long story (Hopefully not too boring...) I hope you get my slightly abstract lesson (or moral) :
Sometimes to truly know your own religion you have to understand others. Which may sound strange, but really, if you can understand what other cultures feel for their god (s) then maybe you’ll know more about your own.
I still read the Bible occasionally. There are so many lessons in there which Wiccans could adopt as well. My parents know about my beliefs; my Mum’s ok with it. It took a bit of persuasion, but I proved to her that Wicca is truly a beautiful and peaceful religion. I don’t think she completely understands but at least she won’t burn me. My friends know too. One of them actually collects pagan stuff but she doesn’t practice paganism.
So, that was my journey into paganism and Wicca. I hope that on some level you learnt something.
Blessed be.
Footnotes:
does my head look big in this by Randa Abdel Fattah
PLEASE READ ORIGINAL HERE
Showing posts with label Witchvox Articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Witchvox Articles. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2009
I find this article a wee bit antagonistic, but I'm always up for lively debate and beleive that just because a subject is uncomfortable, doesn't mean we can't talk about it!
Has Neo Paganism Gone Too Far?
Author: Crick
Posted: February 8th. 2009
Times Viewed: 847
Has Neo Paganism gone too far? Have members of the organized religions diluted the real meaning of paganism to serve their own needs? Do the organized religions inadvertently use neo paganism to rid themselves of their mal-contents?
Prior to the advent of neo paganism in the mid 1950’s, paganism for the most part referred to those folks who believed in and maintained a genuine connection with Mother Nature and all she represents. Generally this referred to those folks who practiced a form of witchcraft, shamanism or druidism.
Neo paganism has taken what used to be and in some cases still is and has re-created it into something beyond recognition by those who practice the Old Ways.
Since many who now call themselves pagans were once and in many ways by way of behavior and thought still are, members of one of the organized religions, paganism is now a role p laying venture for many neo pagans.
Anyone who wants to rebel against his or her primary religious beliefs can now simply call himself or herself pagan. Since there is no litmus test so to speak, every borderline sociopath can pretend to be pagan.
The fact is that the gentleman who started Wicca and thus opened the door to neo paganism, claimed to have doctorate degrees from two different universities. These claims were later proven to be patently false. And so one cannot help but wonder if such dubious beginnings to neo paganism set the stage for the bewildering morass that we have today.
I personally have never had the experience of going from one set of religious/spiritual beliefs to another, having lived my entire life as a witch brought up in an Irish family. And yet the more that I see and experience in the environment called neo paganism makes me even more inclined to shun such a label.
For instance the concept of open acceptance and diversity are nothing more then rehashed ideals from the hippie era of the 1960s. Realistically these concepts were never tenets of paganism during the 10, 000 year or so, tenure of paganism prior to the neo pagan beginnings in the mid 1950s. Pagan gatherings from one area did not necessarily get along with pagan gatherings from another area. Even with folks from the same pagan ethnicity, there were different aspects and/or Deity that was recognized dependent on the geographic area in question.
And while such grand ideas sound appealing, they are far too altruistic to have any meaningful role in any group or community. We have to remember that we are dealing with human beings here. One has to only look at the multitude of pseudo masters, the massive egos and the many elitist groups that have sprung up under the banner of neo paganism to see what effect this has had on what was once and for some still is, a belief system based upon the realities of a mystical life. For those who shun the hype and glamour of “Hollywood” neo paganism, and practice paganism for what it really is, such realities extend far beyond just this realm.
Also, I personally don’t believe that such groups as vampires, werewolves, were-kin and what have you were ever intended to be recognized under the description of paganism. Prior to the advent of neo paganism, such entities were feared and shunned by pagans. Pagan history is full of tales and mentions many charms and talismans to protect against such entities. Do neo pagans pretend to know something that old line pagans don’t know?
It is not my place to say that these groups should not exist within their own particular belief systems, but I do believe that it is an oxymoron to include them under the pagan banner. Though, such a contradiction seems acceptable under the neo pagan banner.
And perhaps this is why there is so much uncertainty, disorganization, in-fighting (witch wars) and controversy within the neo pagan community. Even the title “community” is euphuism for a concept, which has yet to take on any valid substance.
Neo paganism is trying to take concepts, which have been in place for thousands of years and are trying to re-invent them to serve the self-serving society that is in place today. Such an attempt is bound to end in failure as so many other fads before it has done.
This is not to say that there are not those who quietly practice paganism for what it really is. Such folks know the real value of study, discipline, and an unending curiosity. For such folks the spiritual rewards are unending. For the discovery of one life mystery leads to the desire to continue such a trek through life. There is no overwhelming need to be accepted by a hostile society that has been inundated with antipathy over the concepts of religion/spirituality.
We are who we are and that is enough. There is no need to proclaim to the world that we are masters of the arts, for we know in our hearts that we are simply students of something much greater then ourselves. There is no need to accept everything and to be diverse in all things, for such concepts are unrealistic and have been unattainable over the entire course of human history.
Life is not all light and love, for such concepts belie the true nature of polarity. Pagans accept the dark along with the light, as these are the ingredients of life. Why subscribe to a fallacy that is unattainable in reality? Realism is the mark of a pagan as it pertains to real life.
Neo paganism is beginning to look like a stage for role players rather then a continuation of any valid belief system.
I say this because this because society today is rapidly becoming more and more insular. Moving further and further away from the ideals and experiences that Mother Earth once provided and to some, still does provide. And it was these very real experiences that paved the way for paganism. What used to be real life is now an artificial creation brought on by the hand of man.
And yet neo paganism seems to be following the same trend in regards to paganism as society is in regards to life. Simply creating a façade of what used to be to satisfy the desires of a spiritually lackadaisical people.
It takes a real effort to engage in the mystical arts, but such effort is hard to find in modern times. And so at the end of the day perhaps neo paganism does in fact have a “role” to play…
PLEASE SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
Has Neo Paganism Gone Too Far?
Author: Crick
Posted: February 8th. 2009
Times Viewed: 847
Has Neo Paganism gone too far? Have members of the organized religions diluted the real meaning of paganism to serve their own needs? Do the organized religions inadvertently use neo paganism to rid themselves of their mal-contents?
Prior to the advent of neo paganism in the mid 1950’s, paganism for the most part referred to those folks who believed in and maintained a genuine connection with Mother Nature and all she represents. Generally this referred to those folks who practiced a form of witchcraft, shamanism or druidism.
Neo paganism has taken what used to be and in some cases still is and has re-created it into something beyond recognition by those who practice the Old Ways.
Since many who now call themselves pagans were once and in many ways by way of behavior and thought still are, members of one of the organized religions, paganism is now a role p laying venture for many neo pagans.
Anyone who wants to rebel against his or her primary religious beliefs can now simply call himself or herself pagan. Since there is no litmus test so to speak, every borderline sociopath can pretend to be pagan.
The fact is that the gentleman who started Wicca and thus opened the door to neo paganism, claimed to have doctorate degrees from two different universities. These claims were later proven to be patently false. And so one cannot help but wonder if such dubious beginnings to neo paganism set the stage for the bewildering morass that we have today.
I personally have never had the experience of going from one set of religious/spiritual beliefs to another, having lived my entire life as a witch brought up in an Irish family. And yet the more that I see and experience in the environment called neo paganism makes me even more inclined to shun such a label.
For instance the concept of open acceptance and diversity are nothing more then rehashed ideals from the hippie era of the 1960s. Realistically these concepts were never tenets of paganism during the 10, 000 year or so, tenure of paganism prior to the neo pagan beginnings in the mid 1950s. Pagan gatherings from one area did not necessarily get along with pagan gatherings from another area. Even with folks from the same pagan ethnicity, there were different aspects and/or Deity that was recognized dependent on the geographic area in question.
And while such grand ideas sound appealing, they are far too altruistic to have any meaningful role in any group or community. We have to remember that we are dealing with human beings here. One has to only look at the multitude of pseudo masters, the massive egos and the many elitist groups that have sprung up under the banner of neo paganism to see what effect this has had on what was once and for some still is, a belief system based upon the realities of a mystical life. For those who shun the hype and glamour of “Hollywood” neo paganism, and practice paganism for what it really is, such realities extend far beyond just this realm.
Also, I personally don’t believe that such groups as vampires, werewolves, were-kin and what have you were ever intended to be recognized under the description of paganism. Prior to the advent of neo paganism, such entities were feared and shunned by pagans. Pagan history is full of tales and mentions many charms and talismans to protect against such entities. Do neo pagans pretend to know something that old line pagans don’t know?
It is not my place to say that these groups should not exist within their own particular belief systems, but I do believe that it is an oxymoron to include them under the pagan banner. Though, such a contradiction seems acceptable under the neo pagan banner.
And perhaps this is why there is so much uncertainty, disorganization, in-fighting (witch wars) and controversy within the neo pagan community. Even the title “community” is euphuism for a concept, which has yet to take on any valid substance.
Neo paganism is trying to take concepts, which have been in place for thousands of years and are trying to re-invent them to serve the self-serving society that is in place today. Such an attempt is bound to end in failure as so many other fads before it has done.
This is not to say that there are not those who quietly practice paganism for what it really is. Such folks know the real value of study, discipline, and an unending curiosity. For such folks the spiritual rewards are unending. For the discovery of one life mystery leads to the desire to continue such a trek through life. There is no overwhelming need to be accepted by a hostile society that has been inundated with antipathy over the concepts of religion/spirituality.
We are who we are and that is enough. There is no need to proclaim to the world that we are masters of the arts, for we know in our hearts that we are simply students of something much greater then ourselves. There is no need to accept everything and to be diverse in all things, for such concepts are unrealistic and have been unattainable over the entire course of human history.
Life is not all light and love, for such concepts belie the true nature of polarity. Pagans accept the dark along with the light, as these are the ingredients of life. Why subscribe to a fallacy that is unattainable in reality? Realism is the mark of a pagan as it pertains to real life.
Neo paganism is beginning to look like a stage for role players rather then a continuation of any valid belief system.
I say this because this because society today is rapidly becoming more and more insular. Moving further and further away from the ideals and experiences that Mother Earth once provided and to some, still does provide. And it was these very real experiences that paved the way for paganism. What used to be real life is now an artificial creation brought on by the hand of man.
And yet neo paganism seems to be following the same trend in regards to paganism as society is in regards to life. Simply creating a façade of what used to be to satisfy the desires of a spiritually lackadaisical people.
It takes a real effort to engage in the mystical arts, but such effort is hard to find in modern times. And so at the end of the day perhaps neo paganism does in fact have a “role” to play…
PLEASE SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Becoming a Daily Spiritual Practitioner
Becoming a Daily Spiritual Practitioner
Author: Silverwolf Sanctuary [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: February 1st. 2009
Times Viewed: 221
For whatever reason, it appears that the numbers of non-practicing Pagans are growing at an exponential rate. ("Non-practicing Pagan" is defined here as persons that self-identify as Pagan but do not attend or perform rituals and have no regular routine of prayer or rites, be they group, solitary or any combination of the two.) In a recently observed conversation, a woman discovered that an acquaintance regularly panegyrizes the Divine and characterized the practice as surprisingly quaint! As if the idea of actually exercising some sort of Pagan liturgy was both amusingly antiquated and somewhat atypical.
In the matter of the practicing Pagans, very often it seems that we observe ritual a mere 8 times a year. When a Sabbat comes around, candles and incense are lit, circles are cast and chants are mumbled most austerely. The individual occurrence is joyful, devout and filled with compelling intent and mysticism, but once the candles are blown out, the mundane world comes crashing down and the Divine Mysteries are packed away, only to be dusted off again when the next Sabbat rolls around.
A smaller group of practitioners, often those who represent themselves as Wiccan, also turn out for Esbats, eulogizing Full Moons 13 times a year. A seemingly trivial number of frequently considered "die hards" attend/perform ritual on the 13 New Moons as well. This means that a considerable number of people are celebrating the Divine 8 or 21, or at best 34 times a year. At the most, this is less than 3 times a month, 33% less than the standard weekly worship traditional of Christians (not including those Christians who offer nightly prayers and meal rites) . This is absolutely not meant to validate one religious practice over another, but used merely as a numerical comparative.
Considering that the average Pagan in the United States comes originally from some denomination of a Christian home, it leads to logical conclusion that they often decrease their incidence of spiritual practice upon taking up a Pagan mantle. (Please note this is only a quantitative value, not in any way qualitative.)
This sporadic practice conveys an impression of vague inadequacy; it cannot be spiritually fulfilling to connect to the Earth, the God/dess, the Divine, or whatever your preferred nomenclature, only a handful of times a year. Belief dictates that there is Divinity in all things, that the Divine can be encountered every day, not just on Sabbats. It would be reasonable then to say that the quintessential goal is to find a way to commune with our sacred path on a daily basis, thus forging a more intimate and personal relationship with our spiritual beliefs, with Deity and with all the energies that we define as Divine.
There are legions of impediments that interfere with the cultivation of this individual, circadian pattern of sacrosanct observance. How exactly does one go about becoming a daily Pagan practitioner without creating some sort of every day devotional that runs the risk of becoming both routine and mundane?
The conduit to daily spirituality need not be full of complex mantras, smudging and energy intensive circle casting. The idea in and of itself is both daunting and exhausting. When recalling the amount of self, careful thought and deliberate energy that is put into merely preparing for Esbat or Sabbat rituals, it should be easy to recognize that it is preposterous to expect the same for a daily communion. (Not to mention the momentous amount of élan vital required in actually performing said ceremonies!)
Scheduling becomes another stumbling block to the daily practitioner. Modern life is hectic for almost everyone; between family activities, jobs, home and social obligations, squirreling away time to write and perform daily ritual can be nearly impossible. Who has excess hours for writing intricate, meaningful Quarter Calls and Invocations when there are carpools to catch, dinner to plan, laundry to fold and the boss on the answering machine wondering why you are late (again) to the monthly budget meeting?
Please read the full article HERE
Author: Silverwolf Sanctuary [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: February 1st. 2009
Times Viewed: 221
For whatever reason, it appears that the numbers of non-practicing Pagans are growing at an exponential rate. ("Non-practicing Pagan" is defined here as persons that self-identify as Pagan but do not attend or perform rituals and have no regular routine of prayer or rites, be they group, solitary or any combination of the two.) In a recently observed conversation, a woman discovered that an acquaintance regularly panegyrizes the Divine and characterized the practice as surprisingly quaint! As if the idea of actually exercising some sort of Pagan liturgy was both amusingly antiquated and somewhat atypical.
In the matter of the practicing Pagans, very often it seems that we observe ritual a mere 8 times a year. When a Sabbat comes around, candles and incense are lit, circles are cast and chants are mumbled most austerely. The individual occurrence is joyful, devout and filled with compelling intent and mysticism, but once the candles are blown out, the mundane world comes crashing down and the Divine Mysteries are packed away, only to be dusted off again when the next Sabbat rolls around.
A smaller group of practitioners, often those who represent themselves as Wiccan, also turn out for Esbats, eulogizing Full Moons 13 times a year. A seemingly trivial number of frequently considered "die hards" attend/perform ritual on the 13 New Moons as well. This means that a considerable number of people are celebrating the Divine 8 or 21, or at best 34 times a year. At the most, this is less than 3 times a month, 33% less than the standard weekly worship traditional of Christians (not including those Christians who offer nightly prayers and meal rites) . This is absolutely not meant to validate one religious practice over another, but used merely as a numerical comparative.
Considering that the average Pagan in the United States comes originally from some denomination of a Christian home, it leads to logical conclusion that they often decrease their incidence of spiritual practice upon taking up a Pagan mantle. (Please note this is only a quantitative value, not in any way qualitative.)
This sporadic practice conveys an impression of vague inadequacy; it cannot be spiritually fulfilling to connect to the Earth, the God/dess, the Divine, or whatever your preferred nomenclature, only a handful of times a year. Belief dictates that there is Divinity in all things, that the Divine can be encountered every day, not just on Sabbats. It would be reasonable then to say that the quintessential goal is to find a way to commune with our sacred path on a daily basis, thus forging a more intimate and personal relationship with our spiritual beliefs, with Deity and with all the energies that we define as Divine.
There are legions of impediments that interfere with the cultivation of this individual, circadian pattern of sacrosanct observance. How exactly does one go about becoming a daily Pagan practitioner without creating some sort of every day devotional that runs the risk of becoming both routine and mundane?
The conduit to daily spirituality need not be full of complex mantras, smudging and energy intensive circle casting. The idea in and of itself is both daunting and exhausting. When recalling the amount of self, careful thought and deliberate energy that is put into merely preparing for Esbat or Sabbat rituals, it should be easy to recognize that it is preposterous to expect the same for a daily communion. (Not to mention the momentous amount of élan vital required in actually performing said ceremonies!)
Scheduling becomes another stumbling block to the daily practitioner. Modern life is hectic for almost everyone; between family activities, jobs, home and social obligations, squirreling away time to write and perform daily ritual can be nearly impossible. Who has excess hours for writing intricate, meaningful Quarter Calls and Invocations when there are carpools to catch, dinner to plan, laundry to fold and the boss on the answering machine wondering why you are late (again) to the monthly budget meeting?
Please read the full article HERE
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