|
youngxmagexofxmyths
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Mar 06, 2012
Age: 21
Posts: 37
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 4:56 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| I'm using the term Pagan as a term for wiccan, witch, magician, occultist. I've been into witchcraft for years but just recently (with in the last year) managed to develop to the point of better understanding the basic mechanics. But basically I'm a beginner. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Bloodheart
Grisha's Gal
Joined: Jan 18, 2011
Age: 30
Posts: 2182
Location: Newcastle, England.
|
| Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm not "into" Paganism - and there's a big difference between Pagan, Wiccan, witch, magician and occultist.
I'm Pagan.
I've always been pagan, I received formal training within a BTW Wiccan tradition only up until Initiation before converting to Neo-Wicca within a Norse based tradition, I then crossed over to Pagan-atheism (combination of Scientific Pantheism and Sea Of Faith Movement) a few years later, but I'm still heavily influenced by Wicca. I was on the committee for one of the UK's largest Pagan organisations for a while too.
_________________
Bloodheart
Good-looking girls break hearts, and goodhearted girls mend them. |
|
| Back to top |
|
androbot2084
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 24, 2011
Posts: 3227
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:11 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Wicca sounds dangerous. |
|
| Back to top |
|
SpiritBlooms
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 15, 2009
Posts: 1024
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| androbot2084 wrote: | | Wicca sounds dangerous. |
Why? What makes you think that? It's a pretty strong statement to make without being more specific. |
|
| Back to top |
|
SilkySifaka
Lemur
Joined: Apr 23, 2012
Age: 27
Posts: 1396
Location: UK
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| androbot2084 wrote: | | Wicca sounds dangerous. |
Wicca can be very dangerous as can Catholicism and Judaism - any religions that involve lighting candles have the potential for terrible accidents! Apart from that, Wicca is no more dangerous than any other religion. |
|
| Back to top |
|
androbot2084
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 24, 2011
Posts: 3227
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| maybe spooky is a better word. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Zinia
Deinonychus
Joined: Sep 23, 2011
Age: 30
Posts: 344
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I think the word "pagan" is an umbrella term for a lot of different paths.
I call myself pagan because there's nothing else to call it. I'm an Pantheistic Eclectic Neo-Pagan if you want to get more specific. And if I was a Christian, I would be the kind who only goes to church in emergencies, and who hasn't read the whole bible.
I usually divide paganism up into two groups--"neo" and "reconstructionist." Wicca is basically a neo-pagan religion, though some Wiccans would argue that it's older than the 19th C.
Reconstructionists seek to re-construct and practice ancient religions (get the name?)
And Wicca is certainly not a dangerous religion, in my opinion. The name comes the old word for "witch."
There are, of course, a lot of other pagan religions that fall out of these two categories--like Voodoo and indigenous Shamanic practices. Paganism is just an umbrella term--and I don't ever use the word "occult." Aren't their plenty of Christians who believe in occult things like miracles and pregnant virgins? |
|
| Back to top |
|
SilkySifaka
Lemur
Joined: Apr 23, 2012
Age: 27
Posts: 1396
Location: UK
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Zinia wrote: | I think the word "pagan" is an umbrella term for a lot of different paths.
I call myself pagan because there's nothing else to call it. I'm an Pantheistic Eclectic Neo-Pagan if you want to get more specific. And if I was a Christian, I would be the kind who only goes to church in emergencies, and who hasn't read the whole bible.
I usually divide paganism up into two groups--"neo" and "reconstructionist." Wicca is basically a neo-pagan religion, though some Wiccans would argue that it's older than the 19th C.
Reconstructionists seek to re-construct and practice ancient religions (get the name?)
And Wicca is certainly not a dangerous religion, in my opinion. The name comes the old word for "witch."
There are, of course, a lot of other pagan religions that fall out of these two categories--like Voodoo and indigenous Shamanic practices. Paganism is just an umbrella term--and I don't ever use the word "occult." Aren't their plenty of Christians who believe in occult things like miracles and pregnant virgins? |
Ah yes, that's the sort of specifics I like  I think my sister is an Eclectic Pagan, but I'm pretty sure she is not a Pantheist. I suspect she is a neo-Pagan rather than a Reconstructionist.
I like your Christian analogy. Do you find comfort in your religion times of crisis? My sister doesn't seem to, but I don't want to upset her by asking her too much about it. She says when she is upset or miserable she doesn't have the concentration for it. I find that difficult to understand. If you could explain your approach I'd be really interested. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Zinia
Deinonychus
Joined: Sep 23, 2011
Age: 30
Posts: 344
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| SilkySifaka wrote: |
I like your Christian analogy. Do you find comfort in your religion times of crisis? My sister doesn't seem to, but I don't want to upset her by asking her too much about it. She says when she is upset or miserable she doesn't have the concentration for it. I find that difficult to understand. If you could explain your approach I'd be really interested. |
Thank you. I do find comfort in my beliefs. One of the reasons why I chose this type of spirituality is because I feel more comfortable with a feminine goddess than a patriarchal god.
Also, when I have times of crisis I feel I can talk more directly to the Goddess through nature, and I believe that I can change my circumstances, which encourages me to be pro-active about the crisis even if it's something I can't physically control.
Plus, it helps me deal with certain crisis' like the death of a loved one because I celibate holidays in which the dead spirits are believed to visit, so I feel comforted and happy to re-connect with my late loved ones.
If your sister has some depression or a lot of stress in her life, then I can see why she would not be able to find comfort. It's hard to find comfort when you're emotionally off-balance or overwhelmed by your circumstances. Eclectic Pagans are very different from each other, so she probably doesn't have the same beliefs as me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
SilkySifaka
Lemur
Joined: Apr 23, 2012
Age: 27
Posts: 1396
Location: UK
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Zinia wrote: | | SilkySifaka wrote: |
I like your Christian analogy. Do you find comfort in your religion times of crisis? My sister doesn't seem to, but I don't want to upset her by asking her too much about it. She says when she is upset or miserable she doesn't have the concentration for it. I find that difficult to understand. If you could explain your approach I'd be really interested. |
Thank you. I do find comfort in my beliefs. One of the reasons why I chose this type of spirituality is because I feel more comfortable with a feminine goddess than a patriarchal god.
Also, when I have times of crisis I feel I can talk more directly to the Goddess through nature, and I believe that I can change my circumstances, which encourages me to be pro-active about the crisis even if it's something I can't physically control.
Plus, it helps me deal with certain crisis' like the death of a loved one because I celibate holidays in which the dead spirits are believed to visit, so I feel comforted and happy to re-connect with my late loved ones.
If your sister has some depression or a lot of stress in her life, then I can see why she would not be able to find comfort. It's hard to find comfort when you're emotionally off-balance or overwhelmed by your circumstances. Eclectic Pagans are very different from each other, so she probably doesn't have the same beliefs as me. |
Thank you again. I think that is how she feels about the idea of a patriarchal god. I think she does some quite complicated rituals and she feels it is important to get those right (she is a perfectionist generally) and so I think when she is overwhelmed she can't do them as correctly as she would like. I don't think she talks directly to the Goddess, as I do with my God. I really need to read more on this, she is currently reading books on Aspergers to understand me so I should make a similar effort with her too. |
|
| Back to top |
|
SpiritBlooms
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 15, 2009
Posts: 1024
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| SilkySifaka wrote: | | androbot2084 wrote: | | Wicca sounds dangerous. |
Wicca can be very dangerous as can Catholicism and Judaism - any religions that involve lighting candles have the potential for terrible accidents! Apart from that, Wicca is no more dangerous than any other religion. |
LOL, that's exactly what crossed my mind when I first read that, that other religions use fire as well. Plus you have to wonder if full immersion baptism has ever resulted in a drowning.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
androbot2084
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 24, 2011
Posts: 3227
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I can understand the divine feminine but Wicca embraces Lucifer which does not seem very feminine to me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
SpiritBlooms
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 15, 2009
Posts: 1024
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
| androbot2084 wrote: | | I can understand the divine feminine but Wicca embraces Lucifer which does not seem very feminine to me. |
I think you need to read more about Wicca before you make judgments about it. Wicca typically involves both a goddess and a god, and varies from individual to individual as to what specific deities are involved. To lump all of Wicca together and say it embraces Lucifer is incorrect. Besides which, it's my understanding that the Lucifer some pagans look to is not the same Lucifer that Christians fear, but rather a masculine form of Venus spoken of as the morning star or bringer of light. Nothing to do with Biblical lore at all.
But I'm not a Wiccan and I'm not going to try to educate anyone about it. I simply suggest that you do a lot more learning before you make such statements. |
|
| Back to top |
|
androbot2084
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 24, 2011
Posts: 3227
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
My impression of Lucifer is that it seems to be the worship of divine masculine power to the exclusion of the divine feminine. I don't think that there is anything wrong with masculinity itself but it should never exalt itself over the divine feminine.
I think people are attracted to Wicca initially because they are looking for the divine feminine which unfortunately is mostly absent from mainstream religions. But they soon start putting more and more emphasis on the masculine in order to obtain magical power. |
|
| Back to top |
|
SpiritBlooms
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 15, 2009
Posts: 1024
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 12:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
.....
Last edited by SpiritBlooms on Thu Jun 21, 2012 2:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
