if any of you, ditching abrahamic religions, feel the need to fill this newfound void with wicca or other neopagan rites, just remember that their founders were white, privileged men, stealing and deviating elements of various native folk rituals and habits. they appropriated and took without any credit whatever fit them at the moment. they had no regard for these cultures, treating them as merely oriental costumes for their bullshit power fantasies.
what about women, then? well, if you want your biggest cultural representation and goal to be a virgin, mother and crone, then sure, go on. i hope you don't mind that the highest priestesses were also called whores, to liberate them from... something?
i'll leave you with this lovely quote from alister crowley himself, the ultimate misogynist, racist edgelord, who made a religion out of his worst traits and narcissistic desires.
No; I do not think she was morally responsible. Women with rare exceptions, are not. They are not soul, but sex; they have no morals, only moods. It is useless to punish them, and very difficult to guard against them. You can prevent a man from harming you, as a rule, because you know what he is going to do; you cannot so prevent a woman, because she does not know what she is going to do herself!
if you want to dive into spirituality, i strongly suggest to stay away from any groups or covens where you'll find men in power. as someone who spent some time with this community as a researcher - it's not worth it.
if you have to, if it makes you feel better, go out into the woods and give praise to artemis, plant a tree, make a wreath, learn about other cultures, meditate or pray. read about athena, maa kali, pele, morrigan, saraswati, marzanna, erzulie dantor, bastet, hathor. anything but getting stuck with these new, repackaged forms of patriarchy, wrapped as something new, freeing and empowering.
