Thread: The stigma of paganism

Being involved in paganism, I sometimes feel isolated from society, due to my beliefs in witchcraft, so I try to keep a low profile upon my religious path. Most people are ignorant to paganism, sadly. Does anybody else feel this same feeling as myself? I suppose so. Please, don't burn us with the fire of ignorance!

I think it's all the paths that don't follow the mainstream religions , beleifs and faiths...
I'm never hiding the fact of the path I follow , but I've chosen also the people I let into my life and that they accept the way I see things or that they have similar views.
I think it also helps to seek the people that are more open and might see the way you see things or have similar values, beleifs, etc..

I also view it this way, 'that there are many Turkies around , but only a few Eagles', it's the Eagles I keep close and the Turkies at a distance.. You might have go through many Turkies, that first appear like Eagles , to find the true Eagles and that might take some time...

I don't tell people unless they ask, but most of my mates know about it. I've found it's like being gay : if people get to know you before they know, then they're usually alright with it.

Originally Posted by Moonstalker

Being involved in paganism, I sometimes feel isolated from society, due to my beliefs in witchcraft, so I try to keep a low profile upon my religious path. Most people are ignorant to paganism, sadly. Does anybody else feel this same feeling as myself? I suppose so. Please, don't burn us with the fire of ignorance!

Personally I find most people to be nothing more than boring prototypes following an endless cycle of repetition in their lives. They are born, they get taught religion, they go to school, they go to college, they find a mate, they make children and eventually they die. Never are they to enjoy the fruits of introspection, of challenging the threshold of the mind to explore the deeper side of life and awareness! And honestly so be it. We all have to play the roles we are here to play.

Our roles are different though. Our roles are less defined it seems, we all arrive here through different circumstances. There is no set road one walks down to get involved in paganism/occultism. We are not prototypes. In fact we are the threat here because we are not them.

It is incredibly interesting to see the lengths some people will go to be like us! For every 1 of us true folks out there exploring the things the mind cannot barely fathom there seem to be 25 folks who simply want to pretend that their life is "special". They pretend to be satanists, they pretend to be vampires, they pretend to be witches and they pretend to be anything and everything that they are not, because they too are prototypes.

I do not worry myself with how I am perceived by people who are of base energy levels. If the situation arises where I find I can trust someone with detailed information on what I do or what I believe then I will begin to engage them with that trust in mind. However I no longer feel the need to go out of my way to tell everyone that I am different. Frankly it is none of their concern for they would never really understand it anyways!

If you feel isolated from society it is likely more to do with you not being them[ than it is to do with you being a witch. To me that is a badge of honor and not a curse

I felt this way when I first became Pagan, but after a few years I realized other people's reactions really weren't that important. Even though I've had really bad experiences with discrimination, I've made the decision to not let that bother me, so I wear my pentacle and talk about witchcraft out in the open without caring what others think.

...Unless, of course, it's not the time and place for such talk.

Originally Posted by InsipidPariah

Personally I find most people to be nothing more than boring prototypes following an endless cycle of repetition in their lives. They are born, they get taught religion, they go to school, they go to college, they find a mate, they make children and eventually they die.

I've found that while some non-pagans are as deep as a puddle others are truly introspective. For example I have a mate who is a Gnostic Christian and has read the apocrphya.

It is incredibly interesting to see the lengths some people will go to be like us! For every 1 of us true folks out there exploring the things the mind cannot barely fathom there seem to be 25 folks who simply want to pretend that their life is "special". They pretend to be satanists, they pretend to be vampires, they pretend to be witches and they pretend to be anything and everything that they are not, because they too are prototypes.

Yup, often marked out by saying "I've been told I have been put here for a purpose" *eyes rolling*

I also wanted to add that I've seen some pagans who've ghettoised themselves and think that everyone's against them.

Originally Posted by QuercusRobur

I also wanted to add that I've seen some pagans who've ghettoised themselves and think that everyone's against them.

Exactly. Unless the only thing about you is your religious belief, there is absolutely no reason to go around blaring your religion. Christians don't come up to me and say "Hi, I'm a Christian." So why in the world would I approach them and say "Hi, I'm a <insert religion here>?"

So very many people are "Pagan" because they /want/ to be a pariah. I can't say what my beliefs are... because I don't truly know.

However, I have the Liber Falxifer, and plan on doing a ritual from it someday. Do I approach people and say "Hi, my name is Kyle, I'm gonna sacrifice a chicken!?" Of course not. It's not relevant. And to be honest, as much of an animal lover as I am, it's gonna be tough for me to sacrifice a chicken. If only I had access to a rapist or a pedophile. Oh well.

Anyway, I guess this has been a bit of a mini rant, but it's annoying to see how many people /want/ to be pariahs. Unless your religion is relevant to the discussion (and even then, if you feel it's going to cause a problem, ignore it or lie), or you are so hardcore about your religion that you want to go pass out pamphlets and convert people, don't say anything about it.

People aren't psychic, they aren't going to know your beliefs if you don't open your "screaming howler*."

Kyle

*Ten points to whoever knows where I got that line from.