Pagan Misconception #5

Pagan Misconception #5 – Pagans are trying to lure minors to Paganism through popular books such as Harry Potter.

With the release of each Harry Potter book, comes a media storm of people claiming that Pagans are using these books to “recruit” new followers by showing how “cool” magic is. This, of course, isn’t true. While there are a few Christians that argue that Harry Potter is full of Christ symbolism, there are many more that point to them as examples of how kids can learn magic, including ceremonial magic. To me it seems that if parents didn’t think that these books (or any other books) were inappropriate for their kids they would not let read these.

Pagans, themselves, do not have anything to do with this particular series. In fact, the author J. K. Rowling, states that she is Christian. So how are these books being used as recruitment tools? Indirectly, according to people that like to push this misconception. They are saying that kids are reading these books and getting ideas, especially about magic.

These books do not represent Paganism as a religion and are not being used by Pagans as recruitment tools. Yes, these books have a few pagan themes, but so do other books such as those of the Narnia series. If a child becomes interested in learning, and tries to seek out a teacher based on these books, they will have difficulty. The truth is that Paganism is a religion that doesn’t recruit and many Pagans, individuals or groups, will not teach minors.

Books

I love to read. However, being a college student, I don’t have the money to buy some of the books that I want. Because of this, I have signed up to be an Amazon Associate. The books that are listed in the “currently reading” section on my sidebar are also links to buy the books from Amazon. If you are interested in buying one of the books listed, please consider buying the book by clicking the links from my site. I will get a percentage of the sale and it doesn’t add on anything to the price for you.

Please let me know if you end up buying a book through my site so that I can thank you!

What Pagans Are Saying

Inanna of At The End of Desire reports from Starwood and admits that she is a workshop workshop junkie. She is also thinking about posting a big sign at next year's Starwood:

I would like to find more people to engage with intellectually at Starwood, but that hasn't happened for me yet. Maybe next year I should put up a sign: "Smart, idea-hungry Pagans who want to talk spirituality meet at my camp in the Dark Moor...."

Jaspenelle at The Painted Dragonfly asks everyone to help define what a Witch is. She also talks about the "I'm better than thou" complex that some Pagan have:

I don’t understand people who assume anyone who does not practice their brand of “magic” are somehow inferior.

Nixie at Blogickal has a proposal for all Witches based on an idea from a phsyics Professor in Switzerland:

What I propose is this: On an upcoming Dark Moon (which is one of the best times for banishing spells) we coordinate as many witches across the country as possible to simultaneously perform a spell to remove George Bush from office.

Is the sky falling? Hrafnkell of A Heathen's Day says Christians are playing at Chicken Little and he's getting a bit bored:

Christians are always convinced the end is near. They always have been. There have been more false alarms in this regard than I have fingers and toes.

Niobium at Solidly Average has posted a picture that makes me wish I still lived in the mountains.

Social Action

Arachne at Textual Arachne has posted her thoughts on social action and Paganism:

But there is a third reason why I struggle with these questions. And...Well, I'm ashamed of it. The third thing that's keeping me from writing on this topic, facing it honestly, is a desperate need to cling to what I have. A shameful hope that by never spelling out what translating Pagan beliefs into social action means, I can avoid having to act on them.

I tried to do a search on Pagans and social action, and I didn't find much. There is one site that was specifically regarding this topic but there doesn't seem to be any activity on their site for almost six years. Many of the other links that I found mentioned CUUPS (Covenant of UU Pagans) along with social action such as this convention back in 2001.

Much of what I am finding is from years ago. I know that I have to be missing something, as many Pagan do mention social action. Anybody want to point me in the right direction?

Karma And Sin

I never thought of the ideas of karma and sin as having the potential of being related until I heard the line “Do not think that all sins go unpunished in this life” near the end of the movie, Rob Roy. What seemed to be implied is that the other character’s wrong doings were not being overlooked and would be taken into account upon death. This is the point that I started to think about a possible connection.

I realize that the characters were most likely talking about the idea of punishment of sins in the context of the Christian after life, but I thought it could be taken in a different context as well. One where karma and sin were related and the wrong doings that the character commited could be dealth with in the next life. To understand where I am coming from with this potentially off-the-wall idea, I have to explain what my ideas of karma and sin are.

Karma seems to be a type of catch phrase today with people saying things like “Oh, if I do X,Y or Z, then something good/bad will happen to me due to karma.” It seems that many people understand karma in terms of something that will happen to you in your current life time. Pagans sometimes state this as the Three-Fold Law.

While that seems to be the common usage, at least in the U.S., I have understood the term ‘karma’ to be the idea behind the cycle of reincarnation. In other words, what you did in your previous life/lives will affect the type of life that you have now. This is the definition that I am using to make to my point.

Sin also has to do with aspects of personal action. It is “an act that violates a moral code of conduct or the state of having committed such a violation” (Wikipedia). In the Christian religion, this moral code is determined by God and is punishable (by God) if broken.

Now, please note that I am not saying that karma and sin are the same thing, I am proposing that there is a relation between the two concepts. If you understand both as have something to do with the concept of personal actions and conduct, there can be noticeable parallels made. In both concepts, your quality of life can be correlated to behavior in your past. Under the concept of sin, if you have acted wrongly, you will find punishment in the after life. Under the concept of karma, if you have acted wrongly, you have some sort of difficulty in your new life. Either way, an aspect of your being is affected.

I have noticed that many Pagans do not believe in the concept of sin, but I have not seen any solid reason as to why. I know that they believe in wrong doings, because of the use of the idea of karma and the Three-Fold Law. Could it be a matter of definition of the word ‘sin’ and how it is used in understanding?

As for the possible connection between the two terms, I wonder if anyone else has thought about this before. In both cases, it seems that you have to someday deal with what you have done.

** Just a note: the way the ideas are presented is not necessarily what I believe, just something that I have been thinking about.

Religious Forums

I was recently contacted by Sunstone at Religious Forums regarding a link exchange between our sites. I checked out RF and think that it is a great resource for religious discussions about many different faiths. From the RF home page:

At Religious Forums you can find religious discussions, religious comparisons, religious debates, god debates, and religious education in our religious chat. Please register and start posting!

At ReligiousForums.com you can discuss, compare, and debate religions in our Religious Forums. Religious education is our motto. We are going to try to keep posting as open as you want but we will NOT tolerate blatant hatefull remarks. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone must respect them. This is a site for religious education.

Please check out Religious Forums!

End-Of-Life Research

Niobium at Solidly Average has posted some information regarding a research study regarding end-of-life care in which she was invited to participate. If you would like to participate as well, more information can be found at Circle Sanctuary.

I think that it is important for Pagans to participate in studies such as this, because it can help other people to understand the Pagan world view.

From the Circle Sanctuary Website:

A sociological study is currently being conducted to gather information about end-of-life preferences for those who follow Wiccan, Pagan and Nature Spirituality religious paths. This study was crafted by Rev. Nora Cedarwind-Young, a minister doing advanced studies with Circle Sanctuary, and Dr. Marilyn Stoner, Ph.D, RN.

This survey is 41 questions, and will take up to 90 minutes to complete.

The survey is anonymous, and the analyzed results will be submitted for publication in nursing journals focused on end-of-life care.

Pagan Misconception #4

Misconception #4 – All Pagan rituals are full of sex rites and orgies.

Many Pagans I know state that they have a healthy attitude towards sex and do not think of it as shameful. While Pagans do not consider sex as a sinful act, I would not say that it is always included or common to include sex within a ritual situation, either, as people would be inclined to believe. This attitude towards sex by itself does not perpetuate the myth.

So where did this misconception come from? The Pagan/Wicca page on About.com states that this misconception came from performing rituals skyclad, or nude. While that might be possible, there is definitely more to it than that. A person's nakedness does not (always) equal sex.

I think it is a combination of things that have happened in the past (with the rise of Christianity) and in the present (with how modern Pagans present themselves regarding attitudes towards sex). With the rise of Christianity, there was an attempt to curb pagan (i.e. – those that live in the country) practices, especially at some of the major festivals. One of these festivals in particular, which is now included in the Wiccan religion as the holiday Beltane, had some traditions that the Church frowned upon and tried to stop.

This myth could also come from performing The Great Rite. The Great Rite can be performed symbolically or actually. The Great Rite was recently portrayed in the movie, The DaVinci Code, which produced much discussion on the internet about a month ago. While this rite often seems to be one that is included into the traditions of individual Covens, not everyone in Paganism has a positive view of it as stated by this article. I think that the author, Adrienne, has made some good points regarding this ritual.

While searching for information regarding sex and ritual, I found this article entitled A Brief History of Religious Sex. While not extremely in-depth on the subject, the article still gives a basic outline of the history.

Ooo, I can just imagine what kind of keyword searches are going to pop up now!

*Also, I would like to let you know that these misconceptions are not in any particular order. It is just the order that they happened to be written about.

A New Site Design

I would just like all of you to know that I am working on a new site design, as I recently realized that the current template that I am using does not work well with Internet Explorer. As half of you are using IE, I feel that this is necessary.

Until I am finished with this redesign, this site is best viewed with Firefox which can be downloaded here.

Guide to Good Livin'

Rubicon over at heima has provided us with The Smartass Witch's Guide to Good Livin' in 10 Easy Steps as a response to the recent discussion on Pagan leadership. I particularly like the advice on reconnecting, moderation, play and education.

Humor On A Hot Day

As I am tired from sitting all day in a hot and humid classroom, I decided to take it easy tonight and link to some blogs that I have enjoyed recently. Most of the links are of a rather light and humorous bent. Enjoy!

Fiacharrey at Cypress Nemeton talks about his idea of what a Druid workout would be like.


Cosette at Pandora's Bazaar invites people to take up the title of Lord or Lady because "if you can beat 'em, join 'em." Oh, and remember to call her by her newly "acquired" title when you stop over to say hello.


Justin Whitaker at American Buddhist Perspective gives us something to laugh about regarding Mahatma Gandhi.


Shawn Anthony at LoFi Tribe has started a new series of posts regarding theology in popular films. He says:

I am a huge fan of movie theology! In other words, I love it when theological commentary and/or interpretation is offered up freely in popular film. It’s fun! I may not attempt to assimilate any movie acquired theology into my personal faith, life and/or practice. Hell, I may not even endorse it as wise. It is, however, interesting, to say the least!

His first and second posts in the series involve the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

A Quick Note

Just a quick note to say Hello to those of you that are coming from The City Pages Blotter. Also, thanks to The City Pages for listing me as the Minnesota Blog of the Day!

I will make my regular post this evening after class.

The Daily Scribe

The Daily Scribe has officially been launched!

The Daily Scribe is place where you can find the best religions blogs on the web. I was deeply honored when Shawn Anthony, of LoFi Tribe, contacted me with an invitation to become a Scribe.

There are currently 28 bloggers representing many faiths, such as Christianity, Emergent Christianity, Unitarian Universalism, Judaism, Modern Paganism and Academics. Check out the Tradition Channels to find blogs that you would be interested in reading. To fully represent all paths, we are still in need of bloggers from the Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist traditions. And a few more for the Modern Paganism category would be nice as well!

There are many things that are in the works for the future of The Daily Scribe community. Some of the upcoming features include podcasts, ping homilies, and some giveaways, as stated by C. Wess Daniels of Gathering In Light, another Scribe.

So if you like to be a part of this great community and think your blog would be a good fit, go on over to The Daily Scribe and apply.

Is Pagan Leadership Lacking?

Hrafnkell of A Heathen’s Day got me thinking about the role of Pagan leadership. Here is what he had to say about Pagan’s (lack of) knowledge of their history and questions their leadership ability:

I was talking to an old pagan friend one day about the meaning of words like superstition and religion. She asked, "how do you know these things?" For a moment, I did not know how to answer. I was truly stunned. I wanted to give an answer like "osmosis" or make some bizarre claim to an ancient being speaking through me. It's difficult to take such a question seriously when the answer is so obvious: books. Read. Reading is the most important thing anyone can do. But this person is a leader in a pagan group and it made me wonder. Are all pagan leaders lacking education and awareness of their past?

I would agree that reading is an important way to learn about things, but would add that it is important to realize what sources your information is coming. There are many great books that worth reading, but you have to wade through the mountains of books on “instant spells” and “how to be a Witch in 10 minutes” to find the ones that have accurate information. Many Pagans would not consider Silver Ravenwolf a good source of Pagan information, however popular she may be. It is a matter of being pointed in the right direction to find the correct information. In my opinion, that is what Pagan leadership should be doing – pointing people in the right direction and know what direction they are pointing.

Even though Pagans tend to be very independent and there is no central church to look towards for direction, leadership is still needed. As most leadership is found in the High Priestess and/or High Priest of individual covens, I would think that is important to have some kind of formal training to be qualified. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with most in the leadership roles. If what Hrafnkell asks is true and the Pagan leadership is lacking this basic knowledge, how are the next generation of Pagans to learn about their correct history, ethics and other knowledge? The end result is that many Pagans do not know their own history and other needed information.

As there is no organized preparation and training specifically for becoming Pagan clergy, in my opinion, there is a lack of qualified Pagan leaders. Sure, there are covens that have some training with their own traditions, but I don’t think that this is enough. When I mention this, I am specifically thinking about the training that one must go through to become a leader within the Christian church, the UU church, etc. The training that a coven can give its potential leaders just doesn’t compare to the type of training that is required of other faiths.

I am starting to realize that a lack of knowledgeable leadership may be one of my problems with the Pagan community and why I do not consider myself Pagan, even thought I do hold many similar beliefs. It’s not from a lack of interest; it’s more out of a lack of places that I can go to get answers to my questions.

Hmong Religion

It is amazing sometimes when a conversation about religion is started in a time and place that you didn't expect it.

While driving home from class today, a classmate was asking me the usual questions about my current research project and my future grad school plans and telling me about hers. It came up within conversation that I had found a professor that currently did research within my area of interest as well as within the area of the psychology of religion and that I was thinking about contacting him. I don’t remember just how the conversation switched to our personal beliefs,[1] rather than the general subject of religion, but I realized that I had never given a thought to what her religion might be as we began to talk about it.[2]

My classmate is Hmong. She told me that her religion is Shamanism and asked if I knew what that was. I mentioned that I knew of Shamanism in regards to Native American beliefs, but was not familiar with Hmong Shamanism. I started to ask her a few questions, trying not to look to eager. I love conversations where I am learning about other people’s religions.

She mentioned that the Hmong people worship and honor their ancestors. I asked if they had particular holidays that were observed. While the Hmong people do not have specific holidays, one particular celebration that she mentioned was around the time of the New Year, a day that was determined by the traditions of each family group.

One part of conversation really interested me – their belief in spirits. I had heard about the Hmong belief in spirits before. I had heard that Hmong families will not move into a house that someone had been murdered in or one that is located across the street from a graveyard. She said that this may be due to a possible bad spirit. Unfortunately, I can not remember all of what we talked about regarding spirits. Here is some more information regarding Hmong spirit beliefs. Also, while looking for information on Hmong religion, I came across a list of religious phrases which included many references to spirits.

Other parts of the conversation included the belief in after life, karma, shaman healers and sickness, although we didn’t get too in depth regarding these subjects. There just was not enough time on our ride home. However, I am hoping that she will be willing to discuss more about her beliefs in the future as I am definitely interested in learning more.

---

[1] If I remember correctly, I had mentioned Pantheism and she thought that it was somewhat similar to Hmong belief. The conversation may have started from there.

[2] I grew up with many Hmong classmates and neighbors, which is why I thought it was strange that I never had given it a thought.

Pagan Misconception #3

Pagan Misconception #3 – Paganism/Wicca can be whatever you want it to be.

Yes, there are different denominations of Pagan religions, but that doesn’t mean that you can make them what you want. That is one of the points of proclaiming that you are a part of a religion. It tells people a little bit about you and your beliefs, without having to explain everything. Contrary to common understanding, Pagan religions do have specific beliefs, ethics and Gods.

This is a misconception that is used against Pagans all the time. Critics use this one as a way to “prove” that this set of religions isn’t vaild. When you say that Paganism can be whatever you want, you seem to be saying that you can ignore the parts of the religion that you don’t like. Your choice of religion is a serious decision and if you make light of it by ignoring the issues that you don’t like, it make your choice seem trivial and it is then easy for others to question the choice that you have made.

Where did this misconception come from? This is something that I saw many times while looking at websites about ten years ago. It was mostly from Pagans themselves claiming that their religion allows them to believe whatever they want. I do think that this is a product of learning how to define what Paganism is, especially being that that it is a newish set of religions. While it is not something that claimed as often as is used to be, it is something that has stuck in people’s mind.

Here is a great article about this misconception from Witches Voice.

Pagan Misconception #2

Pagan Misconception #2 – Witches/Pagans have magical powers that normal people do not have.

This misconception is touching on a couple of things. First, it implies that Witches are not normal people. Well, yes they have a different religion, but that doesn’t make them any less normal than, say, a Catholic or a Lutheran. The Witches that I have meet have jobs, families, hopes, dreams and, yes, even problems they need to take care of. The only difference is some of their religious beliefs. Witches are, in fact, regular people.

Second, it is focusing on one aspect of their religion – the use of magic. This misconception makes people think that Witches cast spells to get all the money, love and friends that they want by lighting a few candles and saying some words and that this is all that they do. However magic doesn’t work this way. While spell work and magic are a large component of Pagan Religions, especially Wicca, this is only a small part of the religion. It is not about using magic to become “powerful.” This is a misunderstanding of what magic is and what it does.

I will go more into the theory behind magic in a later post.

Another So-Called "Expert"

As I was reading a couple of news sites tonight, I came across an article that talked about gangs and their use of the internet. However, it was this line that caught my eye:

"In order to understand any subculture, be it al-Qaida, witches, devil worshippers or gangs, you have to be able to know their own language," Knox said.

Why does the press continue to print comments connecting Witches to terrorists/gangs/etc from people like George W. Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, when he is obviously an "expert" on gangs not Witches? Just because he can say the word, does he think that he has all the information he needs?

Come on, George W., stick to what you know and stop making comparisons when you don't have any basis for doing so.

Pagan Misconception #1

Pagan religions tend to be prone to misunderstandings or misrepresentations by other religions. There are many stories, myths and comparisons that are made up to perpetuate the idea that Paganism is wrong. Whether this intentional or not, it creates many problems for Pagan religions in moving forward in the public’s eye to be considered a legitimate religion. I am going to spend the next few posts exploring some of the myths and misconceptions regarding modern Pagan religions.

Myth #1 – Pagans Worship The Devil

One of the top myths that I see talked about is that some religions state that Paganism equals devil worship, specifically Satan worship. On many Pagan websites, the first thing that you will see is a disclaimer stating that the occupants of the site do not adhere to Satanic beliefs as a way to get past this false belief. They dispel this myth by pointing out that Satan is a figure in the Christian religion and is therefore not something they believe in. But it seems there is more to this misconception then meets the eye – it includes Pagans spreading these types of myths, too. Let me explain.

While it is fair to say that Pagans are not Satanic, one site I found says that when Pagans try to use this as their reason, they have to remember that Pagans could be misrepresenting Satanism. Satanism, while having its roots in Christianity, is not part of the Christian religion. When Pagans try to debunk the whole Pagans as Satanism as Christianity, they are also creating misconceptions. I think that it is fair to say that if you don’t want your religion misrepresented, it is necessary to understand how you are representing a religion that is not your own and be aware that you, too, may be creating misconceptions.

While Paganism-is-not-Satanism-by-way-of-Christianity seems to be the top defense in debunking this myth, there is another one that I noticed. While looking around to see what some sites had to say about this particular myth, I noticed that one site goes beyond the above misrepresentation. About.com’s Pagan/Wiccan site mentions that not only are Pagans not Satanists because they don’t believe in the Christian idea of Satan, but also because they don’t do summon demons to work for them. From my understanding of Satanism, Satanist don’t do this either.

Instead of creating more religious misconceptions, I think that a fair way to deal with this myth would be to state that Paganism is not Satanism and that Satanists have their own beliefs. I think that it is necessary to leave out explaining this myth away by using an interpretation of the beliefs of others. I would rather see explanations of what Pagans believe rather than what they don’t.

In the end, it is true that Paganism does not equal Satanic practice and people who perpetuate this myth should stop passing this off as truth. However, it is also true that how the Pagan community deals with this particular myth could have an impact on how other religions are viewed and it needs to be addressed as well. We all need to be careful when we are discussing another's set of beliefs.

Witch School?

Wouldn't it be nice if there was place you can go to when you don't know any other Pagans in your community? Where information about Witchcraft could be found all in one place? Where you could take classes and get the supplies you need for you magic? Then try The Witch School!

Located in Illinois, you can now visit the campus 6 days a week from 11 am to 6 pm. Have a look at their campus information and class offerings. They also have a store where you can buy any supplies that you need.

There have been other schools that have been created that offer Witchcraft or Wicca classes to the public, but you will never find me signing up for one of them. These types of schools seem to be out to get your money instead of for the purpose they seem to claim, which would be to inspire you to go further in your studies in Paganism. Check out Cosette's experience with one of these schools.

I'm a leery about this one, I have to admit. Some of my red flags about this particular school are that there are tons of grammatical errors right on the information pages, the full prices to attend the school are not posted and the Childish Habit of Weird Capitalizations. These things make the whole site look unprofessional.


Link to Witch School found via Lofi Tribe.