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10 reasons to not be a pagan

Started by WitchSabrina, August 10, 2013, 06:46:20 AM

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ApostateLois

Quote from: "OtterPop"I was born and raised pagan, eclectic to say the least. (Much less traumatic than what many here experienced, so I count that as lucky).  Like so many others who spend half their lives shaking off ingrained childhood habits, I often find myself thinking, "Dammit, blowing out candles is FINE! Stop smothering them from superstition," or, "No fucking spirits are closer to me just because it's nearly Samhain" and other benign, but hard to kick habits. I'm more than halfway through an astrophysics program, have been an atheist since I was at least 13, and I still kind of think I could fairly call myself a Kitchen Witch. :D

I think the whole "kitchen witch" idea came about because women used to be healers in their community, concocting remedies in their homes from various herbs, plants, and flowers. Then Christians came along, insisting that if God wants someone to recover from their sickness, he will do it himself, and if they die, it was God's will. They declared women healers to be witches who were concocting magic brews and casting spells on people, or conjuring demons. But it wasn't originally about Harry Potter-style magic, but about making people well and preventing illness using the abundance of natural remedies that are available almost anywhere. Modern pagans/witches/Wiccans think it's about doing actual magic with crystals and sage and whatnot. Good luck with that!
"Now we see through a glass dumbly." ~Crow, MST3K #903, "Puma Man"

OtterPop

No, what I meant was that I was raised doing the types of shit you mentioned - herbal remedies and such, and even though I've long been parted from the religion, the old habits die hard.

dgirl1986


stromboli

Quote from: "dgirl1986"This seems specific to wicca

Now, pretty much. Our resident witch, Sabrina, has been absent. Don't know if we pissed her off- a possibility- or is she just got tired of the forum. She's missed, in any case.

The movement of Christianity into Europe was largely responsible for the end of naturalistic beliefs. In cultures like the Celts, women were held on equal terms with men and were often healers and keepers of herbal knowledge.  Abrahamic beliefs are very much male dominated, with priesthoods and Imams and so on. The word pagan means anything not specific to the Abrahamic beliefs or specific Eastern beliefs, so it has become a catch all name.

As everybody knows, our holidays like Halloween, Christmas and Easter are all blendings of pagan and Abrahamic beliefs. What Christianity couldn't erase it absorbed.