Paganism and Wicca.....

[Regine]

Tell me what you think about either. Your impressions, stereotypes, what you think it is, etc. (This is for one of my classes)

I'd also appreciate if any Neo-Pagan or Wiccan here would send me a PM.

Thanks a lot

 

[Scrapster]

What are they?

 

[konichiwa]

I took that religious beliefs survey that was posted awhile back in OT and it told me I was a Neo-Pagan. Dunno what it is, though. :Q

Here it is.

 

[Regine]

They're religions.

 

[toph99]

i have several Wiccan friends, and a few others into witchcraft, but not necessarily any specific kind

my ex was studying Wicca too

 

[IamDavid]

I believe they are the same as any other religion.. They were created to explain the unknown in a way that brought comfort to believers..

 

[Azraele]

Paganism from what I understand is a religion close to nature. The name for most conjures thoughts of bloody sacrifice and goat footed gods, but for me, it revolves around seasons, cycles and crops more so than bloody sacrifice.
Wicca is a sort of modern day witchcraft that draws from old princilpes and revolves around the adage "harm none" since wicans believe that whatever "vibes" you send out are returned to you 3 fold.

I'm probably way off, but I get the feeling that you wanted our impressions and not some trumped up research.

 

[fir3wir3]

yah, just go to that thread that was up a about a month ago and read everyones ignorant opinion

 

[toph99]

Wiccan, from what i can remember, is a very ancient religion(my memory is sketchy though)
paganism is simply the beliefe in multiple gods/higher beings

i really need to refresh myself on this stuff

 

[RevVveD1]

Wicca is a new religion, only created around the 50's by gerald gardner. The word wicca or wiccan actually does date back a ways, and it means wise one.. Wicca, paganism, witchcraft are all religions. Most of them hold a belief in a male and female diety instead of just one all powerful diety (god). I could go on for hours, but I will not. Just check your PM's...

Reverend Blackthorne
aka
RevVveD

For those who do want to know a little and are genuinely interested and will not start up the flames, please visit my website at witchesrealm.idahopagan.com

 

[JBAR]

Anton Lavey said they are satanists who were too afraid to admit it.

 

[cxim]

all of the Wiccans I have met have been women & a 'little' whacky...

not bad people but on the strange side. most seem to be playing at it for the 'shock' effect. still need to be convinced that any of them really believe it.

 

[Regine]

bump

 

[Regine]

bump for a new day

come on, people - give me some more opinions

 

[warcleric]

Dont wiccans worship the earth or nature or something....either way if they weigh as much as a duck they must be witches.

 

[Soybomb]

Personally, I sort of laugh at them, and like the other guy said, all the wiccans I've known have been wackier people on the whole

 

[daddyo]

Funny thing about Pagans/Wiccans and "satanism":

Pagans existed LONG before Christianity and the common view of God/Satan.

Wiccans have their own set of icons unrelated to Christianity.

I really feel bad for Pagans and Wiccans. They are so misunderstood.

 

[AndrewR]

<< Pagans existed LONG before Christianity and the common view of God/Satan. >>


I always find statements like this amusing. Certainly, there were religions or practices which pre-date Christianity; however, you would be hard-pressed to find any consistent practices or beliefs which survived intact throughout that period simply for the fact that record keeping was non-existent. Comparing that disjointed history and calling it a &quot;religion&quot; in the same vein as Christianity, or even more profoundly from a historical perspective, Judiasm, is ludicrous. When you have a book such as the Bible which has shaped the worship of two majors religions (referred to Christianity as a whole, and Judiasm) for 2000 years and more (for Judiasm), it's a whole different animal from the animists who worship rocks.

Ditto to the above on the typical &quot;Wiccan&quot; -- some strange women, usually.

Here's a question: If Wiccans, or pagans or whatever you want to call them, build altars to the seasons (heard one say that), what would they do on Aruba, for instance? No seasons = no altars? Or would it just be a permanent altar to summer? Just curious.

 

[warcleric]

AndrewR: that has got to be the most presumptuous thing I have heard yet? You honestly dont believe any long running organized religion existed before Christianity? How about Greek or Egyptian Mythology. I hate to burst your bubble but just because someone has a book written about them, it doesnt make them the son of some all powerful immortal being.

 

[Thorn]

<< yah, just go to that thread that was up a about a month ago and read everyones ignorant opinion. >>


Hey, I resent that to a degree. Even though I'm Christian I was defending paganism and how it's often misunderstood. I used to be GD (and associated with other groups) so I understand the need to know more. It's all just a part of &quot;the seeking&quot; and how all of us want to take control of our lives. That's what makes Wicca and paganism so attractive, there's very little of the &quot;don't do that&quot; or &quot;make sure you do this&quot; mentality.

Most modern Christians for some reason feel the need to lump Wiccans, Pagans, and Occultists with Satanists, this is so far from the truth it's laughable. If most Christians would simply take a little bit of time and look at the history of the Church they'd see that many practices that are now considered taboo today were widely accepted (and even practiced) by the Christian Church centuries ago. Look up the history of St. Albertus Magnus (who was Cannonized by the Romans and the Byzantines) sometime, he's a great example of what I'm talking about. Look up St. Patrick too while you're at it, he's the true archetype of Christian Druidism.

 

[AndrewR]

warcleric: Most Wiccan and pagan traditions that I have seen have espoused to be descended from druidic practices, typically Celtic ones. Do we know what Stonehenge was used for? No. Why? No record of it. We can guess, but that's it.

As for Greek and Egyptian mythology, does anyone still practice it and can they trace their &quot;church&quot; back through history to when it was actually widely practiced? I suspect not. If you have information otherwise, please enlighten us. With the advent of Christianity and its adoption by Rome, that became the de facto standard in Greece. With the advent of Islam, Egypt became dominated by that. Greek mythology died with the city-states, and Egyptian mythology died with the Pharoahs. Simply because some person decides they want to revive the religion does not make it anything more than that -- it doesn't create a consistent history especially since much of what was done earlier has been lost. Or, were you able to understand Egyptian heiroglyphics prior to the Rosetta stone?

I respect other people's religions because I believe strongly that God reveals himself (to use the conventional masculine) to people in whatever way is best for them. If a religion expounds general goodness from its followers, then it's a true manifestation of divine revelation, to me. What bothers me is when people choose religion for its shock value or its appearance or when they create a religion to suit other needs (Scientology anyone?). That's a sham.

I see many &quot;Wiccans&quot; as doing so for the rebellious nature of it against conventional religions such as Christianity (any particular reason why there are Wiccans at many colleges? Hmm, young, rebellious?). I don't really have a problem with it, and if it floats your boat, then fine. I just think it's amusing when people go around calling themselves witches and warlocks, acting out some adult Dungeons &amp; Dragons fantasy while robing it as religion.

 

[warcleric]

Honestly I could care less either way, it is my firm belief that religion is for people who dont want to take full responsibility for their own lives, letting some fantasy being &quot;guide&quot; their every movement. What really disturbs me is that nobody caught my Monty Python quip.

 

[RevVveD1]

<< Here's a question: If Wiccans, or pagans or whatever you want to call them, build altars to the seasons (heard one say that), what would they do on Aruba, for instance? No seasons = no altars? Or would it just be a permanent altar to summer? Just curious. >>

Altars to the seasons? Im a pagan, never ever heard of that.. No pagans/wiccans do not build altars to the seasons. Most have one altar, and it is just decorated to the seasons and is just a place to set tools and whatever is needed for that particular ceremony. The ceremonies are not only focused on the seasons either, with ceremonies for the full/new moon also, and others.

<< I see many &quot;Wiccans&quot; as doing so for the rebellious nature of it against conventional religions such as Christianity (any particular reason why there are Wiccans at many colleges? Hmm, young, rebellious?). I don't really have a problem with it, and if it floats your boat, then fine. >>

Most of the witches/pagans I know are well out of college. Most of them are in their 30's or 40's. SOme were in college, some not. Most of the ones I know didn't come across paganism until the last 5-10 years..

<< I just think it's amusing when people go around calling themselves witches and warlocks, acting out some adult Dungeons &amp; Dragons fantasy while robing it as religion. >>

Umm, not even close. Just because some people see whatever is up above as having female and male aspects, or as two separate entities, this is nowhere close to acting out a D&amp;D dantasy. If you would take some time to actually study the religion and look at their ceremonies you would see it is nowhere close to how you describe it.

Just another couple thoughts..

 

[Kosugi]

News flash for the Christians on this board:


If you are Christian, then you've a bit of pagan in you.


Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays. Also, Sunday (why isn't it called the Sabbath anymore) is the day to worship the sun, and Monday is the day to worship the moon. Christianity and paganism mingled quite some time ago, in a bid to expand christianity. Basically, instead of forcibly converting pagans, Christianity was modified to absorb paganism.

This is an over simplification of cource, but you get the picture.

Oh, and Easter was the pagan festival for birth and fertility. That's why the egg and bunny rabbit. Dates were modified to bring Christ's birth and death inline with the Pagan holidays because 1) no one really new what day Christ was born or died, and 2) by bringing the two dates in line with Pagan culture, it was easier to &quot;convert&quot; them.

 

[vi edit]

I could be mistaken here, but many of your pre-christian religions stressed individualism and were against organization. If you have a religion that stressed individualism then you don't need a book to tie people together like the bible does with christians. Christians use the bible to guide their masses/sermons/ect. Wiccans, Buddhists, Jains, and Taoists didn't need one centralized group or book to recite from every sunday.

If you want a &quot;religion&quot; that predates christianity by about 500 years look into Confucianism. Ever hear of the Analects of Confucious?

Also Andrew, some Hindu's may take offence to your comment about no texts being present or written down. Ever hear of The Bhagavad Gita or the Vedas?