The Darker side of Wicca. Part 3

     Wicca hasn't been around very long. It is a part of the Neopagan movement. It has exploded in numbers because of the many virtues it offers. Also when you compare Wicca with all it possibilities to Christianity with all of its limitations, how could you resist Wicca. If you have been watching how paganism has grown and become more mainstream, you probably seen this coming. To many people becoming "wiccan" without someone to help them accomplish the goal.

      Many wiccan traditions require a person to be initiated by a high level priest or priestess. But so many people have chosen this path and they are so spread out it is impossible for everyone to get shown all of the structure in that belief system. This has resulted in many people creating a belief that is missing major parts. Many people have mixed understandings on how things should be. People letting personal feelings interfere with something that has the potential of being wonderful.

      Recently I read "Living Wicca, by Scott Cunningham" I enjoy his books and they do give me things to think about. He made a couple statements that I have been pondering...... "Wiccan traditions are one of our religion's strongest survival mechanisms. Structure is necessary for every religion's survival. Without it, it will crumble in confusion and chaos."...... "Wicca isn't a spiritual free-for-all. A true wiccan tradition must be based on Wiccan Conventions. Though there is plenty of room for personal touches, some things are essentially wiccan and can't be discarded." So what happens when these traditions are ignored or forgotten? I believe that many people that say they are wiccan, have only half the story. Since Wicca is a branch of Paganism, what effects Wicca effects paganism.

      Let's start off with the most overwhelming one. "Hey , I am male and I am not evil." I find it troubling that many wiccans have such a hard time accepting a male god aspect. They are so scarred by Christianity that they will shun any male god concept. That is like getting a bad haircut and deciding to go bald from that moment on. Just because there was a bad result with this one male god concept doesn't mean that they are all bad. There is a male and female aspect, the lord and the lady. Yet I have talked to many wiccans that 'honor' at least 4 goddesses, but not one single god. How can you honor the many aspects of the universe if you are refusing to accept a male god?

      Wouldn't it be great if we were all just happy and didn't have a care in the world. Well then you are dreaming, in reality there is light and dark aspects of nature. And too many wiccans seem to shun anything remotely 'negative'. The cycle of life requires us to be born and for us to die to make room for the next generation. It is a reoccurring cycle of life that everything that lives must also die. The crone is so abused and neglected by many 'happy' wiccans. The crone is called upon for dark mean things, I have seen wiccans call on a crone for vengeance, but shun her the rest of the time. The crone is not evil, she is wisdom, kindness, caring, nurturing, and if you piss her off she will make you pay dearly. How many of you had a grandmother while you were kids. She was there to help you, care for you, she loved you. And in those rare occasions when someone did you wrong, she got angry. The crone is a spiritual grandmother.. Treat her with some respect.

    Light and Dark, you can't have one without the other. Moments in life require us to be not so  nice. Just like above where wiccans seem to shun the crone. They  also seem to  shun anything considered dark.  Many  wiccans will  yell  and scream "Harm none", but  that is not realistic. You  have to  be able to  protect yourself and others around you.  And how do  you know that  something that  helps you doesn't hurt someone else.  The concept of Harm none is about making people think  before they  do something that  they might regret.  I  remind wiccans that  talk  about shunning darkness if they  love looking at the full moon.  And of course they  love looking at the full  moon and rituals during the Esbats. I have to  remind them that  the moon shines brightest during the darkness of night.  Even in darkness there is beauty and purpose, stop shunning it.

     Be honest with yourself.  There is a structure of titles with  Wicca and most of paganism.  You  can't  just read a book or two  and declare yourself a priest or priestess.  I have seen people claim a title that  they  have not earned, not only does it make them look bad, it makes other wiccans look bad as well.  I could spend twenty bucks and become an ordained minister,  but have I  earned the title, no.  Think long and hard if you really deserve to  be called a certain title before you claim it. And a title doesn't make you a better person, you are still  you without or with that  title.

     Wicca is a form of paganism, it is not a separate  entity.  Wicca is  pagan just like Asatru is pagan. As pagans you have to  embrace the diversity of the pagan community. To  shun any  group of pagans because they  are 'hostile' or 'negative' is to  turn your back on fellow pagans.

      Honoring gods and goddess should take time. I have seen wiccansyoutube video that covers this perfectly. Too many wiccans treat gods and goddesses as Pokemon cards. whenever the need arises they pull the card out and demand service. That is not how it works, You have to build a relationship with the gods and goddesses. going down a list of Celtic goddesses until you find the one that fits doesn't work.  You have to  do  what  they  call on you to  do  first, before they  are going to help  you in anyway.

     I have read the Wiccan Rede many  times. It is not the law of Wicca,  In 1974 a complete twenty-six line poem entitled "The Wiccan Rede" was published in the neo-Pagan magazine Earth Religion News.  Use it as a guideline not as dogmatic laws.

     There has to  be structure, something that is not changing to build your beliefs on. I believe that too many  people that  are new to  Wicca  have failed to  build this structure. They are constantly reworking what  they  believe to  fit the moment that  they  need it.  That is just as wrong as the Christians that  pick  and choose from the bible to  justify the actions that  they  do.  They  will have one verse that  says don't do it, and another that  says to do it,  so  they  are covered in anyway needed.  Sometimes we can't rewrite our beliefs to  fit the situation. If the situation  doesn't fit your beliefs, maybe the situation is wrong and you have to  change that.

     I  am not saying that  you can't be a solitary  practitioner, I  am a solitary  practitioner, but not wiccan.  I  think  that many wiccans have jumped into  this head first without thinking and without taking the time to learn all  the details.  I  would be great if there were more groups so  that  everyone can find someone to  interact with about the path  they have chosen.  I  believe that  those that are knowledgeable of Wiccan and paganism  should reach out to  those that  are needing a hand and guide them on their path. We shouldn't and can't walk their path, but maybe our paths could run along other 's  paths and help  them out from time to  time.

The Darker side of Wicca, Part 2

     I have to  give credit  where credit is due, and shame where shame is due. First off there are good wiccans out there.  People that have been part of a coven  and learned a tradition and have a great deal of structure into  there belief system.  I  didn't say  that  in part one, and I  should have.

     Part two is about politics in paganism.  How paganism is not a group of happy everybody gets along with  everyone else.   Pagans generally have many  different views that reflect the many  different branches of paganism. And it is these different views can cause a tremendous amount of anguish in a group of people, Online or in Real life interactions.

     So Part one was posted in the group in question. Many  people changed there views about me. Some people apologized for their actions and we moved on.  I  watched for a few days from the sidelines as events unfolded, and then I  was allowed back into  the group.  One person struck me as a massive drama queen.  One of the Admins posted that  they  were called Nazis.  In my previous blog I  made a reference to how people like me  were treated compares to how Hitler treated the Jews. I  even used the word totalaristic, but I  never used the word Nazi.  This person was playing victim. Though she was one of the people seeking to  delete posts and remove people, the moment someone  commented about her actions in a manner she didn't like, she tried to make everyone believe that  she was unjustly attacked. The only person that  called her or any of the other admins Nazis, was herself. Shortly after I  returned this person made a post." Post deleted 3.2.1" . Because she knew that I  was posting on the group. I  saw this post and asked her why she felt the need to make a post, and she refused to  comment.  Miss Atwell can't play victim if she is caught causing troubles.

     The group leader had numerous times told people that they  need to  take there negative ways out of the group. Mrs. Muck posted many  times that  she thinks there is too much hostility and that people need to  take it  outside of the group. Yet there was a young man that  decided to  take any outside issue and vent about it in the group. He was complaining about someone "playing Pagan".  In a post he later said that  the person he was complaining about was not in the group, and that  he was just venting.  Mrs Muck posted on that  very thread, but never told him to  keep his outside troubles outside of the group. I  guess that  was one of those selective rule enforcements.

     Upon my return  to  this  group  I  made a comment about  how the admins for the group were set-up. Would you believe that  they  had someone that  was actually an online store account as an admin.  So I  made a comment about maybe adding some of the ones that  were on the other side of the fence as admins to  help  get things balanced.  It wouldn't change  how people acted, but then someone wouldn't have to  worry so much  about being alienated.  This idea resulted into  a messed-up election process. Two polls were created, the first one I  had people supporting me, I  guess that  didn't sit well  with the admins and they deleted the first poll and created a second one under a different person's account. They  were adding names, removing names. and turned it into  a circus. The dumbest part I  see was the current admins added there names to  the list of people. This was about adding  different people and they  turned it into  a  way  to  see who likes them and who  doesn't.  Because with  the wonders of facebook  you can see who  voted for who.  I  made a comment about giving everyone a week  to  vote on who  they  wanted, the current admins gave it just a couple days.  talking about controlling a vote. And the final straw for the supposed elections was so  corrupt, I  felt that  the republicans had taken over the pagan group. Mrs. Muck  disclosed after the "election" that one of the 2 people SHE promoted to admin was her husband. After the fact, and she had the nerve to  ask if anyone had any  problems with it... with  people knowing that  at least 2 people were banned from the group on the same day. It is like having the Republicans controlling the election and saying that  Obama has a fair chance of winning.

     So I  was one of the people banned from the group.  But I was able to  see the posts still  and watched as the darkness swept across this group.  The two new admins made posts stating that  they  were going to  remove the negativity from the group, deleting negative posts and the people  that  posted them. Wow complete and total censorship has been installed. But you would have to  hope that  these new anti-negativity rules would be enforced on everyone equally. But alas they aren't.  I  seen new admin Ryan have a conversation with  people calling me a "hatemonger" . I never called people a name like that in any  form, I  was viewed as negative because I  would disagree with  some of the posts people made. Now the last  time I  checked Hatemonger was a negative insult.  Did Ryan do  anything to stop such  posts? No he allowed them to continue.  I  watched a long thread in which  a different member called a person  several  negative names, 3 of the 4 admins were active in this long thread, and they did NOTHING.  So  these admins are not against negativity, they are only against select people that  do it.  One thing that  I  remind myself is this fact. "The battle between right and wrong is lost the moment that  you allow your friends to  do  something that  you wouldn't allow your enemy to  do."  Selective  rule enforcement is corruption. How can they  claim to  be positive and just people when they  act in such a corrupt manner.


     Leaders need to  lead, they  need to  follow a set line of rules. In parenting you have to  be consistent when disciplining the child or they  will  not learn. You  can't say  one day  that it is all right, then the next spank  the child for the same exact situation. You  can't make two  sets of rules for two  children, that  will  cause nothing more that  hate and fighting.  Honor and integrity are needed if you want to  be someone people can look up to.  There are times we have to  make the not so  nice decision.  And this transfers to many of these eclectic wiccans,  They  are lacking structure and consistency with their beliefs.  They  want to be surrounded  by  love and light, they  will  shun darkness, and anyone that  doesn't  will face all  the darkness that  they  hide beneath  their supposed good nature.