Being a Grey Witch...

   Now I  have for many  years talked about how "Jedism" is not Paganism. And I  still  believe in that  stance, however that  doesn't mean that  we can learn something from star wars. After all, it is a saga full of depth and philosophy. When Star Wars was first conceived, George Lucas saw the Jedi  and the Sith  as polar opposites.  The Jedi  were the light and good, while the Sith  were dark  and evil.  This followed the Christian concept that  you are either for "God" or against "God". These extremes were violent and uncompromising.  With  the slightest inkling to the dark side you were bound to  be fallen and evil. The first 6 Star  Wars movies held this theme and presented a saga of conflict and pain.

   What  if I  told you that  there has been a change in this view and it follows my concept of viewing the world, life, and all  the energies in it. In the history of the Jedi  there are those that  have walked away  from the strict white light minded Jedi  but didn't turn evil. These Jedi  were called the "grey  Jedi" these use both the light and the dark  side of the force.  The view the force as a neutral  entity and establish a balance when working with  it. These force users see that  sometimes  the darker side needs to  be used to  fight back  the darkness.  Because this is a fandom, there are many  versions,  only recently with  Star  Wars Rebels has  "Canon" touched upon the Grey Jedi as a group. Here is one version of the Grey  Jedi  Code...

There must be both dark and light.

I will do what I must to keep the balance,

as the balance is what holds all life.

There is no good without evil,

but evil must not be allowed to flourish.

There is passion, yet peace;

serenity, yet emotion;

chaos, yet order.

I am a wielder of the flame;

a champion of balance.

I am a guardian of life.

I am a Gray Jedi.

Now what  does all  this have to  do  with  Paganism?  Essentially everything can be effected by  this stance.   We have a massive amount of Pagans out there that  shun darkness.  They believe that  just walking away from anything they  view as negative is the  way  to  deal  with  everything.  This world and the whole universe is full of danger that  must be understood and kept in check.  This goes back  to  the analogy of the Wolves in Yellowstone park.  Wolves keep  the population of the deer and other herbivores in balance.   Too many  Wolves and the deer population can't support it , thus the wolves go hungry and some die off by  hunger.  Too  few wolves and the Deer will  over reproduce and they  will  starve on the lack of grass in winter.  Wolves are beautiful strong willed creatures that  aren't evil  but they apply dark means to  stay  alive by  attacking and killing deer.   Wolves defend their young and have a strong social structure,  they  have their community.

Now these extreme light loving pagans demand  everything to  be on their terms.  They  have the one sided views as the Jedi and there is conflict. But just the same there are dark minded pagans that  are nihilists or chaotic witches.  These people remind me of the Sith in their one sided mentality.

The Grey  Jedi  give freedoms to  learn different techniques and skills. They  are not demonized for learning something dark as long as they  understand the purpose and issues with it.  These Grey  Jedi  fight for and defend others that  don't agree with  them personally.  The Grey  Jedi  know the importance of Balance and right from wrong.  A mentality that  is ignored by  many  light minded pagans because faith over-rides reasoning.

So  I  have called myself a grey witch  for years, I  have talked about balance for that  long as well.  There are times to  be angry and pull  from the darker side to  fight a bigger darkness.  Such  as right now with  all  the Trump drama going on in the US.  I  can't stay focused on the light side to  fight for the greater good of humanity and the world of life.  But while I  fight the good fight, I  also  show  compassion to  those that  are affected by  these dark  times.

The world is not black  and white, it is full of greys and different colors. We can't live in a world with  rigid views  to  push  on everyone.  We must as individuals understand  what  the balance for a growing  prosperous pagan community and world.

Trump Presidency, a Lesson in Darkness

I  want to  first say that  I  am completely opposed to  Donald Trump, I  did not vote for him or agree with  his personality. So  the man that  led the republican three ring circus has been elected to  be the next President of the United States. With  that, there was an immediate response by  society. There are protests going on everywhere, reports of protesters attacking  each other, and now  legal  action to  dismantle the electoral college.

But there is more to  this madness,  what  I  have seen and read on Facebook  and YouTube has brought me much disappointment. I  have been adamant about  my views of eclectic wicca for  years. There are weaknesses to  eclectic wicca and I  tried to  tell  people about them, and not many  understood what  I  was referring to, but with  the election  of  Trump they  came true.

1. Eclectic wicca is the mixing of different religions and philosophies to  create a personal  belief system that  fits your lifestyle. There are many  wiccans that  have combined Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, Native American beliefs , with  several  different parts of Pre-Christian religions.  Many  of these people have little knowledge of these beliefs and are picking these tidbits with  little study on the subject.  Massive amounts of  backstory and information are skipped over so  that  they  can use a single aspect of a belief.  Then these are assembled in a patchwork  quilt and paraded as a art project by  many  youtube pagans.  All these religions are represented by  different types of fabric and strengths.  These quilts work  great in calm weather, there is nothing testing them. With  the election of Trump  the winds are blowing for the storm that  is coming.  Some of these fabrics are starting to  tear. And as each square starts to  tear it adds stress on the surrounding squares  and the quilt falls apart.

Our Pagan beliefs are supposed to  give us strength to  get through the rough times and guide us through the good times as well.  If these beliefs are tattering , that means that  a strong foundation is missing.  Some of those pieces that  were overlooked could have added to  the strength of  their personal  beliefs. Thus saving them a lot of pain and torment.

2. Some of those very  pagans that I  am referring to  claimed to  be light workers that  preached shunning negativity and 'harm none'.  And with  the torment of Trump coming soon, some have talked about getting a gun. Which is hypocritical  when some of these people have judged me as a negative person that  doesn't understand paganism because I  have a 'warrior witch"  belief system.

There is such  a difference in having a sword and shield as spiritual  tools and owning a firearm.  My  sword and shield can be used in defensive manners working with  energies to  protect what  I  hold sacred, harder to  do  that  with a Smith and Wesson. As a warrior aspect I  reflect that  life and nature can be brutal  and one must fight at times to  survive. Thus I  can handle the Trump  presidency better because I  am better prepared for these situations.  And if you look  at  the Pagans from 2000 years ago, they  were warriors with  a strong code of ethics.

3.There is no  way to  Shun  President Trump, and so  the whole shunning any  negativity  can't work. This New age concept of shunning negative energy is unhealthy.  We gain strength from over coming our fears and threats. People that  refuse to  deal  with  negativity have no  idea how to  handle it when it is avoidable, like it is now with  Donald Trump. SO many  of these young pagans are collapsing because they  don't know how to handle this.

4.It really is a shame to  see so many  young pagans out there confused and scared.  But they lack  the experiences to  handle life still.  I  have grown tired of all  the young pagans that  have read a few books and think  they  are able to  teach  and lead other pagans.  If you are a pagan under 25,  you were safe in your parent home during the last  Republican president.  All  this  information has no  form without experiences.  It is these experiences that  shape us into  who  we are. I  have experienced a couple republican presidents and the crap  they  claim.  I  know what  I  have to  fight.  Obama wasn't  perfect, but  he was a good president.  Eight years of stable leadership  have spoiled many  young people.

So  there is wisdom in my words, I  am not perfect and  not saying everyone should listen to me. What  I  am saying is that  if your are stressed and confused with  Donald Trump  being the next president, and your spiritual  beliefs are not helping you, then  reevaluate your beliefs and what  you have been taught by others.   This is one of those experiences that  you will  learn from. Real life begins now.