Paganism Rant

[moon_ferret]

One the message boards I am on is populated by some wild and woolly Pagans. There are a couple in particular that are quite a bit older than me and have been around the Pagan community for thirty plus years. One has the screen name of Daimon and is one of the ones that I always know I want to read his posts. This one was one of my favorites and

Comments

How much do I agree... Let me count the ways.

[kestrel127]

When I was in (Catholic) high school and just getting into Wicca, I went to school for Halloween as goth. Black everything, cape, fake nose ring, black eyeshadow and lipstick, lots of jewelry, about five necklaces, including a pentacle I'd bought over the summer.

My art teacher was taking pictures of everyone in costume. She comes up to me and says, "I have to take your picture. You look just like a real Wiccan!"

And then there's the Vanessa Carleton interview and Rolling Stones. 'I'm like, trying to be so wicca and like, so goth, and yet still get twelve year old girls to buy my album! Hee!"

At the same time, most Paganism is a very open and accepting religion. Your "alternative lifestyle" (whatever the hell THAT means) will probably be accepted. I don't agree with ritual drug use, I'm bisexual and open to polyamory (though no one has approached me. )= ) I wear a lot of black cuz I work in theater, I knit and am generally fairly wholesome, and I don't wear big flouncy skirts or wear lots of patchouli oil. But those choices are separate from my belief system. One does not define another.

Just like a good Christian can wear teeny tiny little skirts and sleep around, or prefer their own gender, or whatever instead of making cookies for the church bake sale. We are not our stereotypes.

If it's not fair or right to classify different races or religions that way, then why is it right to generalize about us?