Pagan

There are 41 posts tagged Pagan (this is page 4 of 7).

If There is No Magic?

A question I read on Scribatious, a blog by Faith Van Horne:

Is it fantasy if there is no magic?

I hadn’t thought of this before. But, is magic what makes one story fantasy and another story science fiction? If so, where does the whole paranormal genre fall?

Maybe the first thing to do is decide what magic is? Is magic a unicorn horn or is it tarot cards? Magic, to me, isn’t something you can easily pin down. I think of Pagan magic and Earth Witchery and then there is the fantastical magic which includes things I’ve never seen before and would be surprised to ever see. I think fantasy is the type of magic I don’t expect to find in the real world.

So, I think it isn’t fantasy if there isn’t magic. What do you think, and why?

The New Paranormal Fiction is a Mystery

I’ve been noticing an interesting fiction genre, paranormal mysteries. Yes, a mystery with a ghost or haunted house is not new. Most of the Pagan/ paranormal mysteries begin with a stereotypical young woman who is a Witch and owns a bookstore/ sells antiques. It would be nice if they could stray away a little from that standard. But, it is somewhere for the paranormal writers to go as the current genre begins to age a bit and dig itself into a well worn rut.

I can see a paranormal mystery where the main character is a middle aged woman, an Earth Witch, administrative assistant by day and jewel thief by night, who just happens to be lurking in a closet when someone is murdered in the next room. She heard a few sounds, a voice and puts together a theory of what happened. But, she can’t go to the police to explain what she heard to the people investigating the murder. It would be possible to just forget the whole thing… but, how can she when karma is such a bitch?!!

I like it the blending of the paranormal women’s fiction with the mystery genre. I have always enjoyed mystery stories and science fiction/ urban fantasy. I’d like to see some of the well known paranormal fiction writers like Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong, Genna Showalter, Kresley Cole, Mary Janice Davidson, Michelle Rowen and Katie MacAlister get into this.

Here are authors which I have found, so far. I am going to look for more next time I am browsing at the secondhand bookstore (still the best place to find old titles in any series you are reading).

Shirely Damsgaard

Madelyn Alt

Yasmin Galenorn

If you know of others, leave a name and link (if you have a Twitter or blog link for the author) in comments here.

hell is Just Another Four Letter Word

The concept of hell and the idea that women could be unclean when they have their period, have sex, or get pregnant and give birth were all reasons why I stopped following/ believing in the standard Christian type religions.

I don’t think I even need to go into detail about the women part. I am a woman. Being so and having the body of a woman and all it’s cycles does not make me unclean. I don’t bite the heads off penis’s or chickens. I’m not into that sort of kinky stuff. Other kinky stuff… but not that.

As for hell. How can anyone have faith in a religion which tells you to worship or face going to hell? No real power would say that. Unless it never really had any power and the only way to enforce and keep it’s power was to debase itself and threaten the very followers who give it their faith, their hope and their life. Doesn’t that seem wrong? Why would you worship something that threatens to take it’s ball and go home like a kid having a tantrum? Shouldn’t a supreme power be confident, mature and more independent than that?

Anyway the hell thing just proved to me that what people call god is not very godly. It seems to me a real power/ god would not bother with us all that much. Which is the case if you look around. We are left to our own to fight our own battles, to protect our own environment and to keep each other.

Only someone who needs praise demands worship. I don’t see a real god being that needy. Rather they would have better things to do.

It’s like giving someone a gift. If you really give from your heart you give cause it pleases you, not because you need to be thanked. I don’t give a present and then stand around expecting anyone to hang around telling me how sweet I am, how great the gift is. I already know those things.

Quietly an Earth Witch

I don’t blog about being Pagan very often. It’s a personal decision and something I mostly keep to myself. But, now and then I think of something to say to more than just myself.

When the Internet was newer there were some really good sites for Pagans. Also, many personal sites which were a mix of good and flamboyant. I don’t see many good sites still around. It’s a shame. Some of those which were my favourites have been gone a long time. It’s not an easy road to take, to put yourself out there as a Pagan and an authority on what being Pagan is. When I wrote a column about Wicca I would get a few upset emails but more often it would be questions from young women who wanted to know how to cope with family who disagreed with their choices.

I still think about those young women, now and then. I sent them replies, did my best to explain that for me being Wiccan (as I called myself at that time, it’s a bit more generic and easily understood) was all within myself and I did not need to tell anyone anything. I did hear back from a few of them, nothing long term though. I wonder how they did, if they understood what I was trying to say and if they stuck with being Pagan or changed/ evolved in another direction.

Anyway, for any young women who come across this and have the same issue. What I would most like people in general to understand about being Pagan is that it is personal and does not need to be displayed. You don’t need to buy the “Kiss me I’m Pagan” t-shirt, or the “I’m a Witch, I can put a hex on you” poster or all the fancy tools, jewellry and books available in Pagan and New Age stores. You don’t need to create elaborate rituals and altars. You don’t need to work on casting spells. I’m especially against spells as those are always about changing something in someone else. You can only change yourself.

Being an Earth Witch, as I call myself now, is inside of me. I’m quiet about it because I don’t need recognition for it. I don’t need to join a club to have someone else tell me I’m who I am. I don’t need to stick it to Christians. I don’t think I’m better than they are. I don’t want to upset them or try to make them understand what being an Earth Witch is about.

Being an Earth Witch, quietly, means I only change myself and all the magic comes from me as I work on being a better person and do my part to make the world better. If I am being the best person I can be then the world is that much better too. I don’t need to change the world or anyone else. I don’t need to broadcast who I am or stir up others. I let them do their best too and when I can I encourage them too. I don’t cast spells. I have love and respect for everyone, letting them have the benefit of my optimism.

Of course, there are people who let me down. There are people who have gone too far down the wrong road. I can’t even try to change them or feel I should. I can keep myself going, on the right road and in that way be a good example. I’m not perfect and don’t want to be. I just keep working on it. We are all works in progress after all.

So for young women who want to buck the system, insist their family accept them as Pagan and so on, stop! If you really do want to be Pagan, do it quietly. Be the best example of what being Pagan can be. Once your family see you doing well and being happy they will be happy and eventually they may see that being Pagan is part of that for you. If they see no reason to fear you being Pagan it will be just a little quirk, rather than a stand of aggression and rebellion.

A practical idea… if you want an altar and don’t want it to seem out of the ordinary, get a goldfish. A small goldfish bowl with water, rocks in the bottom, a red feather beside it gives you all the elements represented. You can think up something that will work better for you. But, as an example it shows that you can have an altar without anyone knowing it is anything more than a goldfish.

Best of wishes to all the quiet Pagans and Merry Season to everyone.