To the members of the guild

[LordNeuf]

Hello, I'm a writer for Modern Witch Magazine.

With Nuri's permission I am doing a story on this guild, as well as young adult and teenage pagans and their place on society and within the internet.

So if you wish to give a statement for me to use in my article, include just your age for me. If you want you can add other information like how long you have been practicing and what particular pagan you are. (IE : Wicca, Eclectic Pagan, Nordic Traditionalist, Celtic Traditionalist, etc etc.)

If you do not wish to be printed, withhold your age. I will assume it to be off the record.

So here are my questions. You can answer all of them or just one.

I know that many people on Gaia are from other countries, but our magazine has only very limited distribution as of now. Now this doesn't mean that pagans from other countries will be discounted, I would love to hear from others in the world, but our readers are primarily American.

What do you consider a fluff bunny?

What do you see as the place for Pagans in American Society?

Have you had any trouble practicing your religion at home/school/in society?

What do you consider real problems for Pagans in America?

How do you think Pagans should express themselves as Pagans?

What political issues are important to you as a Pagan?

Do you belong to a group, sect or coven, or are you a soloist?

And finally....

Why did you come to this particular guild?

Also if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.

Only information from this thread will be used in the article, no other message threads from this guild will be considered for publication.  

[Cranium Squirrel]

How nifty! I do have a few questions, though: Am I considered pagan by your standard, being Buddhist, or not? Some people count me, some don't. 3nodding

And the second one: Am I still a young pagan (if I am one at all xd ) at nearly 30?  

[imadelilith]

geez, i take a mostly buddhist stance on most things, but there is so much wicca in my view, that i generalize it out to pagan, and call myself a witch.

and you should hope you're young. you're still in your bottom third of life, or maybe even quarter, heading up... we all hope, i hope! *lol*

what do i consider fluffy bunny? I think that there are a whole lot of witches or pagans that want so badly to find for themselves a land that is all light, love, life, and mystical star light that they forget light emerges from darkness, unconditional love can only be learned by being shown hate, life can only exist through death, and so forth with such sorts of thing. fluffy bunnies are also the young nutters that want to float around with gods/goddesses/fearies/whatever and believe that one of the aforementioned is going to walk up to them and step on their toe... they don't pay enough attention to the idea of our perspective as humans creating all things, including those things. these are like metaphors chosen by vibration because they resonate with enough people to cover a broad spactrum and open the path way to enlightenment. i think of gods and goddesses as mendallas for lessons and characteristics of nature and life that can be accessed by our minds quite honestly, but are a reflection of our belief. I hope that made sense, and wasn't fluffy bunny in and of itself to anyone. i have a house to clean... i get another break soon, lol!  

[imadelilith]

what is the place of pagans in American society?

I think that it is our job as pagans to assume a more proactive role in our society and government to promote the things we supposedly care most about, which includes our freedoms and our earth. I thin think that the average pagan is content to hide behind the cloak of normalcy and *pray* for the best. But I think that we need to get educated and go out into the world and work towards positive change and encourage love.

I think on more of a community level I think we have some responsibility towards providing healing services and classes on magickal theories and practices that are available to curious public. I think we need to go back a bit to our roots, be a little more green than your average citizen, and show a little bit of extra compassion and love in an effort to affect the change that is fundamentally needed for the human condition to improve. I think too many of us are content to remain cloaked, robed, and burning candles behind closed doors. If Christians can enjoy churches on Sunday and in every day conversation, then we should enjoy something of the same, and show that it is positive, and welcome wandering souls... ugh, I am so scatter brained... need to do dishes, but i'll be back to bother...  

[imadelilith]

How do you think pagans should express themselves as pagan?

I don't think it requires any kind of grand expression, just like any other belief. I think it is up to the individual. Maybe wearing a pentacle like a cross. But really, I don't think it's something that needs flamboyance.  

[LordNeuf]

Byaggha

Am I considered pagan by your standard, being Buddhist, or not?

Well I can tell you that I'm not a pagan, I'm Jewish infact. Some people might of glanced that from my sigline. I have no standards of what is "proper pagan" and what is not. Something my editor likes and why I do that particular feature in the magazine. I simply look for ministries and practitioners who self identify as a pagan, or a witch, or whatever label they want to put on themselves ask them a couple questions, collect their answers and put it all in the article.

Also imadelillith, I cannot attribute your quote unless I get an age. I think you wanted to be published, but you didn't give me enough info to attribute the quote. If you want you can send me the info in PM if you don't want the rest of the guild to know.  

[Cirrus Mystallow]

I'm not American, I am infact Scottish but I thought I would answer for the sake of it razz I'm 18 btw.

What do you consider a fluff bunny?

I consider a fluff bunny to be someone who does not accept that they may be wrong when told they are by others of their faith or other faiths. It is not their fault they are wrong as there is a large amount of books stuffed with incorrect information out there. However when people try to correct them and they get defensive then do not back up there arguement with a valid source then in my eyes they become a fluff bunny.

What do you see as the place for Pagans in American Society?

Have you had any trouble practicing your religion at home/school/in society?

In my home I have never had a problem, at my school that is a differen't matter. While most of my school mates and teachers one girl did. She made up very radical claims and took me to my guidance teacher and head of year. She said she was even going to call the social work on my parents for allowing me to follow a pagan path. When my parents were called up they said I was promoting a "negative" energy but they could do nothing about it. My parents knew a bit better and told the school it was none of their business.

What do you consider real problems for Pagans in America?

The huge amount of misleading books on Paganism and more importantly Wicca marketed at young audiences.

How do you think Pagans should express themselves as Pagans?

I'm not too sure about this... Just celebrate their holidays how they see fit? Maybe through writing to try to correct the works of fluff authors.

What political issues are important to you as a Pagan?

Again, I am not sure...

Do you belong to a group, sect or coven, or are you a soloist?

I belong to a group which is part of a family tradition as well as University Pagan Society, the Society however is mainly a discussion group and we do little practical work as we do not believe in the same religons/methods.

Why did you come to this particular guild?

Intellectual discussion and to learn more about other peoples faiths.  

[TeaDidikai]

I'll PM you with my personal details that I do not issue in the forum.

Fluffy Bunny is not a set collection of beliefs, but a behavior pattern that is centered upon justifying a person's belief system with assertions that have been objectively refuted. Often the term is tossed around as an insult to individuals who are misinformed. To me, this crosses a line. Everyone had to start learning somewhere. Being misinformed is easier than having quality information.

The level of scholarship in the Pagan Scene has generated a vast amount of work that presents a given author's personal opinion as fact. We need only take a trip to the local giant book store and glance at the Pagan section to see a towering wall of Spells to Turn Your Ex Into a Werewolf! and Mashed Potatoes for the Pagan Soul texts. If an author can turn a profit on selling their spells on prosperity, more power to them. However, when the author misrepresents history or perpetuates debunked anthropology, there's a line crossed. People look to authors to provide them with quality information, there is a sense of trust that the author knows what they are talking about. In the Pagan Scene, we are seeing that trust betrayed.

We're only now starting to see children being born into neo-pagan families. Our culture values things that "have stood the test of time". The idea that antiquity makes a tradition valid is an underlying factor in the Pagan Scene and so we see individuals claiming to be descended from "witches that were burned in Salem" and a host of other things that attempt to make their personal opinions seem valid because they are traditional. This approach is fundamentally flawed- it rests on fallacy.

Often we never see the spiritual fulfilling elements of a person's path in an open discussion. Many discussions follow a formula of "I am X! My Path is Wise and Ancient. We suffered at the hands of the Evil Christians and we kept our tradition secret!" When the individual is challenged on the archaeological validity of their claims, the discussion becomes not about the spiritual path, but about the "facts" being presented. The challenges to the "facts" are confused with challenges to the validity of the path.

In the end, it isn't being misinformed that makes a person a Fluffy Bunny. It's having others demonstrate that a person has been misinformed, and rather than admit to that error and grow beyond it, they cling to the misinformation because it makes them feel special, often claiming that they are suffering persecution for their ideas.

We are also seeing lots of Teens become interested in the scene. Too often their interest is dismissed out of hand as "Teen Rebellion" by older Pagans. I think it would benefit the whole of the Pagan Scene if we had a better understanding of the difference between "Teen Rebellion" and the development of Personal Autonomy that is so critical for young people. As a young adult, I did not experience any trouble practicing my faith. I did experience conflict because I was openly opinionated and obvious about my practices. It was my behavior, not my tradition that caused conflict and this is experience crosses religious lines even in mainstream religions.

Answering questions about the place of pagans in the United States, how pagans should represent themselves and what political issues should be important to the Pagan Scene, it becomes difficult when we consider how vast the concept of "Pagan" is. Everyone from The Wica to Reconstructionists, from Buddhists to Zoroastrians seem to have the title applied to them. These concepts being applied to the general Pagan Scene speak to me of a united position within society. It is difficult to be united with a group based not on what you are, but on what you are not- namely a member of an Abrahamic religion.

It's even more difficult when we start thinking that being Pagan sets our social agenda. Political issues, how we express ourselves socially, spiritually and intellectually and a host of other things are not directly tied to being counted as pagans, and I think it is an error to attempt to homogenize the Pagan Scene as a result.

I think the Pagan Scene is ready for some major steps forward. I think it is ready for quality scholarship, critical thinking, reason and reflection to accentuate the beauty already present.  

[LordNeuf]

As a response to the why of the age question

This feature is to focus on teenaged and young adult Pagans. If I get a really great answer of what it is to be a teenage Pagan, for the interest of our readers we'd like to know if it's actually a teenager saying it.

Not to say us old people cannot contribue, but this one's for the youngins.  

[imadelilith]

uh, i don't necessarily know if i'd like to be published, just contributing ideas. i'm only 20 years old...  

[LordNeuf]

imadelilith

uh, i don't necessarily know if i'd like to be published, just contributing ideas. i'm only 20 years old...

Fair enough, I'll keep it unattributed.

I'll quote you as a 20 year old member.  

[LordNeuf]

Another question for the group.

How do you think society perceives you as pagans and what would you like to change about how you're perceived.  

[TeaDidikai]

Unless an individual goes out of their way to be identified as a pagan, I don't see that any group will perceive them as such, nor do I find it prudent to make blanket assumptions about a whole group of people who only have one thing to contrast us, that being religious differences.  

[LordNeuf]

TeaDidikai

Unless an individual goes out of their way to be identified as a pagan, I don't see that any group will perceive them as such, nor do I find it prudent to make blanket assumptions about a whole group of people who only have one thing to contrast us, that being religious differences.

It was more of a question of self identity vs social identity.

I'm close to Salem Massachusetts. 15 stores that specialize in modern witchcraft in 7 square miles. Witches and Pagans up their wear their religion like a badge of honor.

Laurie Cabot was once quoted as saying "I want to go outside and walk around Downtown Salem, in my hat and cloak and wear a pentacle the size of a dinner plate, and have no one consider it strange to look at."

They don't always get along with each other, they have differences in local politics and marketing witchcraft. Some think the market is over saturated, others think that Salem should be like Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.

There are Pagans and Witches who question if Wiccans Witches and Pagans can be unified and form their own cultural identity or if Pagans in general are each individually a culture of one.  

[TeaDidikai]

LordNeuf

It was more of a question of self identity vs social identity.

I'm close to Salem Massachusetts. 15 stores that specialize in modern witchcraft in 7 square miles. Witches and Pagans up their wear their religion like a badge of honor.

Laurie Cabot was once quoted as saying "I want to go outside and walk around Downtown Salem, in my hat and cloak and wear a pentacle the size of a dinner plate, and have no one consider it strange to look at."

They don't always get along with each other, they have differences in local politics and marketing witchcraft. Some think the market is over saturated, others think that Salem should be like Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.

There are Pagans and Witches who question if Wiccans Witches and Pagans can be unified and form their own cultural identity or if Pagans in general are each individually a culture of one.

If we flipped what Laurie said around- say, someone who is Christian dressing up in broad daylight as an Angel with a cross the size of a dinner plate around their neck, everyone would think it was strange.

That behavior is designed to attract attention. Socially we have formed a concept of conventional dress. Huge religious icons on public display do not serve any function accept to say "Look at Me!". Spiritually speaking, the size of a pent, cross or grapevine necklace is not what sets it's functionality.

People who wear their religion as a badge of honor are welcome to do so. But they do so accepting the fact that they are intentionally making themselves a target. It is worthy to note that there are Christians who claim they are persecuted for wearing their hubcap sized crosses and scriptural t-shirts as well.

It boils down to behavior, not theology.