Having become a Pagan parent in the late 70’s and raised my son through the 80’s & 90’s; I realize that there are commonalities and differences with the Pagan parents of today (2005). In the 70’s there was not a very visible Pagan community. In many ways there was a lot more ‘open mindedness’ than today. The ‘mainstream’ society hardly knew the word pagan, but they did know the word witch. And being a Druid equated me with ‘tree-hugging-hippy’. This was not necessarily bad. It took me out of the context of being a threat to the Christian community. Witches, even though we grew up watching Samantha Stevens, were something else. This negative image, originally drawn by the Catholic Church, still hangs on. The current trend for education in the churches has a mighty wall to tumble. The comfort of the blanket of Fear is better to many than learning the truth. If they can remain ignorant of the truth, then they can still find solstice in the arrogance of superiority of Christianity. Do not misunderstand me, I am not Christian bashing here. There are numerous documented historical occurrences and facts that support that statement. I digress; where I am trying to go is this, witches are the subject of fear, ridicule and scorn. Druids have been pictured an old men with long white beards in white robes hugging a tree. There is a difference in the pictures. It will take time for the Pagan community to over come the psychological differences of the images. In the mean time, we must use wisdom and prudence in raising our children. Do not lie to them, but remember that there are ways to teach them and tell them things that are gentler than others. In days past there have been certain Mystery Cults that flourished in the midst of cultured society. This is because of the lengths they took to present themselves in a benign and upscale way. The members of these cults were the prominent and highly respected members of society and the business world. They were the highly educated of the world. By being highly educated, they assimilated themselves into their environment and became that which the common man aspired to become, the powerful, the wealthy, the famous. They understood the value of illusion. Rather than wearing their symbols of office in their religious orders, they donned the costume of industry. They were the fashion and trend-setters of their time. We need to teach our children these lessons. It is not turning our backs upon our beliefs to prosper, to become leaders of the mundane community or the ‘Captains of Business and Industry’. Rather this is following in the footsteps trodden by our predecessors, and trodden with success. By remember that the symbols of our faith are sacred, we keep them sanctified. By using them as a means to rail against the profane diminishes them of their purity. Wisdom knows it is far easier to change something that is not aware of the coming change. Age old sayings, such as “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” are more than something Grandma use to say. They are the pearls of wisdom that our ancestors used to teach their children the wisdom for survival in the mundane world. This is all leading to showing the importance of the command of silence. This command is not to protect us from the mundane world, but rather to protect the mundane world from them. By using this command, and not exploiting our knowledge for the profane, we can then find our self in a place to enable changes in the mundane world that will benefit our children, our grand-children and so forth…’unto the seventh generation’. Today’s world is not really any different from yesterday’s world. People are still people. Celebrate your Path, your faith and beliefs. Attend Rituals and partake of other forms of Fellowship. Teach your children who you are and who they are. But do so in a wise way. Do it without marred motive. If you wish to draw scorn, hatred, mistrust and anger from a fearful world, that is your right, until you become a parent. Now it is your duty to work to change this fearful world, in a gentle way, and to provide the best for your children, as the God and Goddess provide for you. Back to Sanctuary Main Page Blessed Be... |
