Ok, its 2009 (happy new year by the way) and it's safe to assume that we live in a fairly open minded society (I live in london) with ppl from all walks of life religion and sexual orientation, so we can expect to be at least respected and left alone with the choices we make, right?
Wrong! coming out as a witch has proven to me as prone to discrimination as in the old days! My flatmate who is a buddhist (excuse the spelling if its wrong) saw me arriving home from the bookshop yesterday with a number of witchcraft books and was horrified!:eek:. He said "You re not thinking of getting involved with these things are you"? (can you believe it?) it turned into a major verbal fight ( I tend to get agressive with ignorance) even after I patiently explained to him what the wiccan religion is all about and assured him it has nothing to do with the pop image of witches we see in movies. he said he still thinks "this casting spells business" as he put it, is bad stuff.
Today I was at work (Im a nanny) and was reading my book in my lunch break, my boss comes downstairs smiling and kindly asks "what are you reading?" I showed her "a witch alone" she thought it was a novel and I explained its about practicing witchcraft outside a coven on your own since Im still not part of one. WOW! the look on her face was something I can only describe as if she thought I would eat her child one of these days!
obviously she did not make any remarks besides a worried "oh" because she knows of legal implications for discrimination. But her face said it all
So basically Im feeling part of the middle ages where we had to keep our religion to ourselves or :014: . Its awful!
Anyone has had similar experiences?
Lol....im sorry, your story amused me exactly for the reasons you have writen, other peoples ignorance these days.
Im not a witch either out of curiosity on my part how do you know your a witch?
Lol....im sorry, your story amused me exactly for the reasons you have writen, other peoples ignorance these days.
Im not a witch either out of curiosity on my part how do you know your a witch?
HI yingyang
you know just the same way you know you re a catholic, muslim, jewish or anything else. It's in your heart. you can be born into a family who practice a certain religion and go along with it but in the end if its not truly rooted in your heart you ll eventually shif towards your true nature.
I grew up in a catholic family in a catholic country and although I have huge respect for my family's belief I never felt thats who I was, like a fish out of water. when I came across the paganism and wicca more precisely that was it. it was like true love happening right there. the more I would learn about it the more I thought "yes, this is what i ve always felt! how come I didnt know about this before?!" So I never looked back.
I am not a witch but I do hypnotherapy and reiki and I found I used to get really angry when people were really ignorant to it. However, I realised I was only making myself angry... they didn't care!!!
And not one for putting myself through unnecessary upset I just chose not to get angry about it anymore. Instead I use it as a way of chatting to them, usually learning more about them and yourself in the process.
There are loads of things I don't know anything about. Do you know much about your flatmate's faith? Just asking, not accussing anything.
I just know that if I was asking about something I knew nothing about I would be muchh more interested to get some info about it so I can make an informed decision on my thoughts about it.
Enjoy your journey! 🙂
I find other people's ignorance is best countered with information, understanding and humour, with all the disinformation that's around on anything to do with alternative therapies, beliefs and practices I'm no longer surprised (but still disappointed) at reactions such as you have encountered.
If you get too assertive over your beliefs you're in danger of reinforcing peoples negative stereotypes, take it easy with those who can't understand and keep a smile handy !
MM, MP & MMA.......
Hiya
I'm quite disappointed in the reaction you're getting. I've only come across curiosity when I mention my beliefs (spiritual rather than adhering to any one religion) and practises (Reiki and crystal healing among them).
When I did a demonstration of chakra dowsing and balancing using crystals recently, I was aware that the older ones in the group were really curious, while the younger ones thought I was barking... until things started happening with the pendulum and my client started confirming things to me.
The one thing that got the vibes going was when I introduced my Merlinite pendulum by saying "This is a Merlinite pendulum, and Merlin is one of my healing guides". The ripple of disbelief that went round the room was tangible. However, I'm past caring what people think of me when it comes to the psychic realms - it's my business what I believe, not theirs!
If you think they're going to become psychically aggressive with you, I'm sure you can use your tools to shield yourself. Wiccan friends of mine tell me that Reiki entirely complements their practises, and I'd recommend you investigate it. Try reading "The Magick of Reiki" by Christopher Penczak.
Hope this helps (sorry I've rambled on a bit!)
Don't generally tell many people what spiritual path I walk. It just doesn't come up very often.Although I attend many rituals and Pagan celebrations they are usually open rituals, so all denominations are welcomed.
If you feel strongly about the way you are treated by the general public, then maybe you should join a group like the Pagan Federation. They try to keep the public and the media informed about all the Pagan paths.....it's certainly a good place to start.
have you asked the buddhist flat mate about the demons in buddhism?..and how he can have anything to do with demons?
.
I'm the secretary of our local Residents' Association and when people found out I'm Pagan the only reaction I got was to be sheepishly asked what I would be doing at Christmas. They were quite shocked when I pointed out that most of the Christmas traditions (big dinners, sparkly decorations, holly and ivy, family gatherings, gifts etc) had their foundation in pagan tradition and that we'd be doing pretty much the same as them. After that, they passed round the Christmas cards and that was an end of it. Nobody's bothered by it at all.
Of course, when I lived in London it was completely different. Apart from among my friends, I was treated with a mixture of horror and disdain. Nobody really asked what I was about or what I believed. It was just assumed that I needed to be "saved" and the local Christian communities took it upon themselves to try. They were almost disappointed when they realised that I knew almost as much about the Bible as they did (and more in some instances. These were modern Christians after all so they didn't set a great deal of score by the Old Testament, which I think is far more fun). So yes, you'd think that living in such a multi-cultural, multi-faith metropolis would mean that your views and beliefs were at least tolerated. It's actually taken me moving to a tiny rural community to be truly comfortable with who I am and to know that I'm accepted as just another person who lives in the village.
I'll give you a little example of comparative prayer to send you on your way.
- Magic(k) is the act of using your will to effect change in a situation or person
- Prayer is the supplication to a higher power to effect change in a situation or person
- Mantra is an act of meditation to effect change in a situation or person
Get the picture?
Good luck with everything.
Hi, Lynne. Interesting post! I'm glad you are accepted, with open-minded interest, too.
I've never come across any problem in southern England among my many pagan friends; though some of them would LOVE to be 'discriminated against' and feel 'special' as an 'oppressed minority'!
But in any public declarations of their beliefs & practices and any exchanges of letters, e-mails etc with The Authorities / the Press etc,
the replies & treatment they & their ideas receive remain resolutely courteous & respectful (to their chagrin! Lol. No heroic martyrdom forthcoming here then!)
Hospitals & prisons now have official pagan chaplains on request.
I've always wondered about the Crowley definition you quote though:
" Magic(k) is the act of using your will to effect change in a situation or person ".
[I've also seen it cited as "Magic(k) is the power to effect change at will".]
Surely that applies to doing anything?!
Like lifting one's arm, for instance?
Hey, it's a magical world we inhabit!
Bright Blessings - Starshower.
I live in the south east, and most people have more problems with my sustainable living than my paganism.
Myarka.
Hello Alinecalves,
I don’t really think that you would feel so outraged art people’s reactions, if you asked them what they think witchcraft means. As an example, I looked it up in AskOxford (and I have added in bold what is in people’s thoughts about it:
witchcraft
• noun the practice of magic, especially the use of spells and the invocation of evil spirits.
witch
• noun 1 a woman thought to have evil magic powers. 2 a follower or practitioner of modern witchcraft. 3 informal an ugly or unpleasant old woman.
• verb archaic 1 practise witchcraft. 2 cast an evil spell on.
You are probably outraged by these dictionary definitions, but the truth is, that in places like Africa and Haiti, witchcraft is often malevolent (wishing evil on others) and people are very afraid of it and its supposed power to cause harm. (Mind you, seeing a recent terrible documentary about children regarded as witches in Africa, the evil was all in those who were persecuting the innocent little children and causing them such distress.)
I can imagine that your poor employer is now absolutely terrified that you will be putting curses on her and her child. Why don’t you take the time to explain what it is all about, instead of just slamming her for her lack of understanding and knowledge? Surely too, it would be better to use the words “pagan” or “a follower of Wicca” and "spirituality"? They don’t have the mental connection to the occult, evil, spells and curses that "witchcraft" has.
Wicca
• noun the religious cult of modern witchcraft.
I would not use words like "coven" either as they conjure up the witches of Macbeth stirring the cauldron. 😮 😀
Love and peace,
Judy
People will fear what they don't know or only remember the horror movies they watched as children. It can be hard to go 'public'
I work in a London Police station and most of my collegues are aware of my beliefs. I would not describe my self as a Witch, but certqainley a Pagan; I have told them that I have cast the odd circle. They ask questions and I answer as best I can. I also share celebations with them such as winter an summer solstice by bringing in cakes to share. I tell them to wish on a full moon etc......to which... to Witch.... they ask if I dance around naked in my back yard, in jest. "Good Goddess", I say, "it's far too cold for that"
Basically as Principled has said, it is down to lack of understanding. Help them to understand.
Much Love
Purplewolf
P,S A Witch Alone was one of the first book I read with regards to Witches and I still return to it now
they ask if I dance around naked in my back yard, in jest. "Good Goddess", I say, "it's far too cold for that"
Not to mention unexpected thistles and sudden hedgehogs:eek:
I find this all very interesting really, since I was born and raised pagan so I have nothing else to compare it with. I suppose I find people new to it all a bit odd, in the same way a lifelong Christian might view someone who's "born again"; really happy they've found what they're looking for but slightly bemused at the way they go on about it. Just me I guess.
As for the idea of magic(k) being to do with the will, I stand by that entirely, although there is a big difference between "using the will to effect change" and "effecting change at will". But you're right, Starshower. Lifting your arm is using your will to effect change in the position of your arm. And if you apply that principle to everything you do, your whole life is a magical act, and one of devotion to your craft and your beliefs. We live life in a magical way.
Hope that makes sense