#neopagans

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Green Egg, magazine, Vol. VI, No. 54, Church of All Worlds, Beltane AA13, May 1, 1973

[tuulikki]

I swear I read something someone posted on this site insisting that it’s discriminatory to use “witch,” “pagan,” or “heathen” as an insult (as those words have been for the past several centuries) because those terms are labels used by modern belief communities. Never mind that those belief communities specifically chose those words for the edginess factor. They could have said “folk magic” or “cunning [person]” or “pre-Christian reconstruction” but no, the names were chosen to be transgressive. People wanted to look like they had some cool secret authentic connection to the imagined past so they used terms that people use as insults.

Literally who was gonna read Aradia: Traditional Rural Lore of Female Folk Magic Practitioners? No one. They tarted it up to make it transgressive and sexy, so don’t go complaining when that’s part of the fun factor.

[luna-drinker]

I don't understand why neopagans think it's a good idea to worship deities that even the original pagans thought were massive assholes. They didn't worship those Gods out of love, they did it either out of fear or survival.

[crazycatsiren]

You know what? I agree.

Drop "karma" from your witchcraft vocabulary all together.

Full on.

Stop saying it.

Because karma literally has nothing to do with witchcraft. Never did, never will. The millenia old religions from which karma originates aren't witchcraft. Very few people who are native practitioners of those religions identify as witches, and those who do, they know what they're talking about when they do bring up karma in their practices.

If you're not coming from a spiritual background of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, if you don't have a working knowledge of any of these religions, and especially if you're white, then shut it about karma.

Signed, a very tired native Asian Buddhist witch who is very tired.

[maeve-an-bhanchainti]

super annoying how many neopagans will make a big show of celebrating "beltane" and "worshipping the goddess" and collecting slavery-sourced crystals & when you ask them how any of that makes them feel, how it's impacted their life, what it means to them etc they basically find the longest and floweriest way to say "I don't actually believe in this shit but I desperately need you to think it's an inseparable part of my personality" or "I don't actually believe in this shit but I desperately need to be anti-christian for shock value because making any valid criticism of Christianity is too hard"

[blackcrowing]

"For many Pagans, creativity is central to both spiritual development and the ability to contribute to society. Because creativity and artistry involve evocation and transformation, these acts become equivalent to magic." - Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America by Sabina Magliocco

[aceofspades1717]

HAPPY SAMHAIN! 🖤✨💀🎃