Pagans to Watch Out For
(I'd Like to Thank, an old friend, who allowed me to post this piece of hers. Hope you all giggle at it as much as I did! Blessed Be! Ginger)
Pagans To Watch Out For
by Lady Sylverfyre of the "I'm A Third Degree And
You're Not Tradition"
In my years of hanging around Pagan gatherings, metaphysical bookstores,
science fiction conventions, and college campuses, I have observed some
discernable types of Pagans who inevitably turn out to be trouble. If
someone fits ONE of these criteria...don't sweat it, they are probably OK,
only really boring people have no flaws. If they show two or more...tread
carefully. If the whole list sounds like I know them...run.
In all seriousness, I know there are many fine people who are Ceremonial
Magicians, for example, and that Ceremonial Magic has contributed a lot to
the modern Pagan movement. However....out of the people I've met, I can
count the number of CM types who turned out to be very sensible and cool on
the fingers of one hand....while the ones who were raging egomaniacs with
delusions of grandeur are legion. Of course, it may just be that truly cool
people do not announce their label, wait til you figure it out, or eschew
labels altogether. In fact, that tendency to announce "I'm a (whatever)
(tm)" **when you didn't ask** may be the real tipoff...the sign of someone
who thinks that labels make the Witch.
Those to be wary of:
1. People who call themselves a "white witch". In my world, if you're a
witch you're already a good guy, and it needs no qualifiers.
2. People who spell things with gratuitous y's.
Shadowfyre...Whytewitch...etc. Yt suggests
they eyther spend way too much
tyme readyng fantasy novels, or way to much
tyme lystenyng to heavy metal
bands. Both of these thyngs are good...but
not as a relygyous ynfluence.
Or they are trying to suggest antiquity
with an "old fashioned" spelling,
when they actually thought the name up yesterday,
and they themselves are
generally about nineteen.
3. People who are particular followers of Tiamat or Bast, for some reason.
I like Bast myself, but I have to admit that hardcore Bast worshippers tend
to be flaky. Tiamat worshippers are without exception insane...sometimes in
a good way, often in a bad, but clinically, certifiably crazy nonetheless.
4. Ceremonial Magicians, or people who spell it "magick". If they start
talking about "Ceremonial Magick"....well, you get the picture.
5. People who go out of their way to announce that they are "3rd Degrees".
I recall that one woman, whom I respect, I knew for literally YEARS before
finding out she had a 3rd from Ravenwood. People who announce it when you
meet them invariably turn out to be full of shit. The more and fancier
lineages they claim, the bigger the pile.
6. People who call themselves any kind of "Traditionalist". They aren't.
7. People who start talking about tantra and sex "magick"...apropos of
nothing....the **very first time** you meet them.
8. People who show **great enthusiasm** for Silver Crosses-My-Palms...er,
RavenWolf, D.J. Conway, and other "Llewellyn witchcrap" writers. If you've
READ their books and got something out of them, I don't hold it against you.
If you think they are better than, say, Starhawk, you have a problem that
only the Clue Fairy can solve.
9. People of any description who assure you that only THEY know the "true
secrets" of witchcraft, which often turn out to be really icky if not
illegal. Hint: They are bullshitting you.
10. One word: Crowley.
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