Beyond The Wand

Showing posts tagged neopagan

Wickedly Witchy Audio or Text Survey Part… Sec is too lazy to number these again…

asksecularwitch:

Secular Witch: As always, this is specifically a wickedly witchy survey, meaning it’s for witches. But if you aren’t a witch, and you’d totes love to do it. Feel free. Also, feel free to adjust things around to make it a better question. But seriously, don’t lose my header or you’ll drop ten thousand dimes this year and the next. No one likes their money running out of their pockets.
Prompt: How you would respond to this….
1. “But where did the rule, harm none, go?”
Down the terlet, where it belongs.
The rede was a bit of advice created by an adherent of a specific religion.  I don’t follow that religion, so I don’t see any particular need to follow the Rede.  Personally, I feel Wheaton’s Law - “Don’t Be A Dick” - works just as well.
2. “My, my, .. you must be new here if you think curses are real.”
Dunning-Kruger effect, much?
Yeh, uh, you agree that magic does stuff, right?  And that stuff can be good or bad?  And that a curse is basically bad stuff?
3. “You’re just wearing that outfit because you want to pretend to be a witch. Real witches don’t need you demonizing them.” 
No, I’m wearing this outfit because I’m Iron Man.
I dunno, no non-snarky answer to that because I don’t actually dress “oddly.”
4. “You must have only just started practicing because I’ve been doing this, this way for years.”
Naw man, I just found this way that works and didn’t see any reason to change it.
5. “Spells are only powerful if you make them yourself.”
I expect you have empirical data to back that up.
6. “All you need to do to learn how to be a witch is read a book.”
You can learn scads from reading, but you’re not likely to find everything you need in one book, especially since many books are just awful.
7. “Who is your matron deity, again?”
Deadpool.
I don’t have one, thanks for asking.
8. “You can’t worship a cartoon or a celebrity, I mean, oh my (pagan) gods, they aren’t gods.”
Oh yes I can and there ain’t nuttin’ you girls can do about it.
9. “Oh I know about the fact the burning times weren’t like that at all, but you can’t say there weren’t some witches being burned at the stake - like in Massachusetts.”
Oh yes I can.  Nobody was burned in Salem.  Furthermore, the religious beliefs that people claim were persecuted back in the day did not exist at that point, period.
10. “Wait, you do cast a circle, right?”
Only when I feel it’s necessary.  Which I don’t recall when the last time even was…
11. “My religion, where we worship nature and love everyone, came totally before Christianity. I mean, obviously it’s better.”
Are you implying that older = better?  Because then I’ll happily trade you a 486 for your shiny new lappy.
12. “Pagans aren’t devil worshipers. *eye roll*”
While most pagans do not worship the devil, you can’t overlook those who worship Satan in one form or another.  Granted, no, you don’t really find people who worship the horned pitchfork-wielding boogeyman guy…
13. ‘Um, the real magick is over here.’
DAMMIT REAL MAGIC I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT.
14. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. There isn’t a way someone can target you with an item that you used - years ago.”
…That you know of.
15. “What do you mean that I should stop posting these images to facebook, but they are lovely and have glittery fonts and tell meaningful things like about how we aren’t satanists. duh.”
No amount of glitter can make inaccurate information okay.
Bonusssssssss: “Homg, I am so sorry, I forgot you weren’t out of the broom closet with your parents or your grand parents or all of your cousins and the rest of your family. Whoops! But they’re family they have to love you.”

Oh heheheheh, they do, but sometimes their form of love isn’t exactly nice or fair.

(Post reblogged from asksecularwitch)

I’m starting to feel like Neopaganism is largely some kind of arts ‘n crafts and/or COLLECT ALL THE THINGS fest.

ಠ_ಠ

(Link reblogged from )

A word of warning to all pagans

My experience and the experience of others strongly suggests that some less-than-pleasant entities may take advantage of your loneliness and need to be wanted.  Like humans who do the exact same thing, they may present as loving and affectionate at first (lovebombing), but after the “honeymoon” ends you may find out that you’ve been caught in a bait-and-switch con game with an abusive control-freak.

I’ll just copy and paste this from the page the lovebombing link leads to:

If someone is too positive and flattering and gives you too much attention in the beginning of a relationship, it generally means you’re in for a very bumpy road later on, filled with criticism and manipulation. When somebody starts love bombing you, don’t ask yourself: How in the world did I get so lucky? Ask yourself: What does this guy want from me? In a psychopathic bond, the idealization phase of flattery and wild declarations of love is by far the most dangerous because that’s when a psychopath conditions you in a positive way to pin your self-worth on him.

Put up a page linking to what I consider to be my best original content…

And here it is.  :)

Communications from the gods… surprisingly indistinguishable from most pagans’ personal opinions, actually.

mybooksandmore:


Goddess

So many things wrong with this.

So… many… things.

(Photo reblogged from mybooksandmore)

LIKE WHOA!

THAR BE PEOPLE WITH PAGAN AND WITCHCRAFT-RELATED INTEREST TAGS ON OMEGLE NOW!

I am so happy.  :’D

-does the happy dance-

From an anonymous Ask sent in two parts…

Hi! I would like to ask your views (a pagan perspective) from the following statement made by Bron Taylor, quoted in Dark Green Religion. The book is ultimately about a religious dimension in multiple green movements, but this statement I found particularly interesting in regards to pagan nature writing (also, he refers to Starhawk here, but he does mention her work is “Paganism in general, Wicca… in particular”!)… to be continued!

The Quote!: “This was no small accomplishment, for there are aspects to Paganism, including its hedonistic ethos and the tendency to emphasize ritualizing as a means to ecstatic experience, that hinder political activism.” I ask, because I noticed your blog has very strong political opinions regarding paganism. Is he giving paganism a fair assessment? I am not so sure…

No.

First, paganism is an umbrella term covering numerous religions and philosophies.  It does not have a singular ethos.  As this guy seems to be starting from the premise that paganism = Wicca and its offshoots, he’s bound to get many, many things wrong.

Also, I’m not sure where he gets it in his head that pagans have a “hedonistic ethos” in the first place.  Sure, many pagans tend to be more open about sex and like to have fun, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re single-minded pursuants of the pleasures of the flesh.  Generally speaking, we often more or less agree that the right to swing your fist ends where the other person’s face begins and what consenting adults do isn’t anyone else’s business.  (Though there are exceptions, as one would find in any sufficiently large group.)