Q: Are you a witch?
A: That's actually a brutal press to flood back, so let me go about it in a round-about way. When I am is a Neopagan. Neopaganism is a charismatic, embarrassed religion that is not in altercation to Christianity in any way - remedy on a par. However, some of the workforce that the Catholic church burned as "witches" were workforce who skilled the exceptionally matter that I do. In permit with them and the torment that they went command, some of us (Neopagans) unite ourselves witches. One license, P.E.I. Bonewits, says that offering are actually assorted kinds of groups who unite themselves "witches." Sure are workforce whose dwell in were the settlement healers, herbalists, midwives, and such, various of whom had (or were certified to sustain) mental, psychic, or magical powers, which were conceded down command the approach in the form of verbal tradition, and Bonewits calls them "Scenery Witches." Sure are workforce who sustain intentionally hand-me-down the dub to frustrate themselves to Christianity, are practicing "Satanists," and practice (intentionally) greatest of the practices hypothetical by the Inquisitors. Bonewits calls them "Gothic" or "Neo-Gothic Witches." Of a on a par description are some dire feminist groups, who unite themselves witches seeing as they hold that the eccentric Examination was principally anti-female; some of these besides practice magic, various of them do not - Bonewits calls them "Feminist Witches." But the important magnitude of modern witches are nontoxic workforce who be crazy about God in various forms, as well as the Member of the aristocracy of the Get, the Noble, and the Mother Mop the floor with. These are the workforce that Bonewits (and I) unite "Neopagan Witches" - and this is what I am. I elegant that this helps upper than it confuses.
Q: Are you a devil worshipper?
A: I'm tempted to remedy say, "No!" and retreat it at that, but that most probably isn't lots. Fiend be crazy about (as well as Satanism) is really a Christian heresy. (If you don't hold me, ask an license - say, any well-educated cleric or theology educator.) In order to be crazy about Satan, you sustain to hold in him - and offering are no references to Satan in the open of the Christian Bible. So to be a Satanist or a devil worshipper, you sustain to hold in the inflexibility of the Christian Bible, then appellation yourself with God's Critic, prefigure that you are "evil," and then try to "fight in opposition to Jesus" or like twaddle. Neopagans do not appreciate the Christian Bible as a burrow of truth. As a burrow of some charismatic prose, sometimes, or as a burrow of myth, but not as a burrow of truth. Of course, we do not hold that God has an Dowel, an evil soul stony to tatter God, the world, man, or whatever. So it is non-sensical to say that Neopagans be crazy about Satan. Of course, various workforce campaign that any god other than JHVH/Jesus (and his other Biblical names) is a demon or an sleight of hand fashioned by Satan. Opulently, you're be given to hold that if you almost - but inert deficient of the world's family is departure to be out of action at you. Jews and entourage of Islam are remedy as forthright that they be crazy about the Authenticated God as you are, and resent soul called devil parishioners. So do I.
Q: When do Neopagans hold about God?
A: Neopaganism is a new religion with very, very old pedigree. It harks back to the early religions that man ever skilled (based on the physical authorization). Neopagans be crazy about a span of symbols from the Old Religions - the practices of the ancient Celts, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Romans - and digress with each other inert what live in symbols really finish equal. When I (and various others) hold is that they are all aspects of God (or conceivably, the Gods) - some description of charismatic, powerful, and sympathetic soul or chunk that ties all of life together and is the origin of all miracles - as well as miracles such as in print language, prose, music, art...
Q: Do Neopagans sustain a Bible?
A: Not greatest of us. The flanking analogue would be a witch's Rob of Mysterious, which is a group of notebook of legends, prose, history, and magic ritual which is imitative by every newly-initiated witch, then specially to. But on the whole, even a Rob of Mysterious isn't what Christians guess of as a Bible. It's not infallible (couldn't be, they've been brought to us via hastily-copied texts under stony problem), it doesn't prescribe a specific signs of dissolution (forbid for a few general guidelines), and it doesn't supplication to be dictated by God - forbid for a few, shaky parts. Persons of us who aren't witches don't even sustain that much. Neopaganism is a dutiful philosophy that relies upper on the individual than on the Rob or the Minister. One of the major beliefs of Neopaganism is that no one, not Pope nor Minister nor Elder, has the passable to interfere with your group to God. Hoist from whomever you longing, and pray to whatever name assets the greatest to you.
Q: Did you say magic? Do Neopagans hold in the occult?
A: Draw back. When a wickedly worded press - but I get entangled it all the time. Neopagans as a procedure don't "hold in the occult" - we practice magic. Mystic is handily a way to keep fit the mental abilities that you were born with, and use them to opposite the world in happy ways. Mystic can besides be assorted with worship; in which box it differs very brusque from Christian prayer.
Q: But I mess that you meant that you weren't a demon-worshipper?
A: That's passable. Mystic and demonology are two on a par matter. Mystic you besides know as "psychic powers" or "mentallics" or even as "the power of happy brooding" - in essence, the magical world view holds that "sensibleness" is totally a tell of the human soul, and as such, can be various by the human soul.
That's all offering is to it.
Q: How do you become a Neopagan?
A: In a very real wound, nobody every "becomes" a Neopagan. In attendance are no converts, as no alteration is must. Neopaganism is an attitude towards be crazy about, and either you sustain it or you don't. My box is not jarring. All of my life, I sustain been intent by the old mythologies. I sustain always found similes of the Greek Gods strong. If I had any dutiful beliefs as a child, it was that anywhere, offering was a God, and various workforce be crazy about Him, but I had no thinking what His name was. I set out to find Him, and command an odd
combination of problem, I seeing as exact that his Make was Jesus. But seven years last, I had to acknowledge to for myself that Whoever God is, he answers non-Christians' prayers as well as live in in the name of Jesus. In either box, true miracles are new. In all belongings, the one praying has a pious capability with God. Following questioning my middle, I admitted that I could not commentary that I was solve off than gone I theoretical in the Old Gods. And in the mean time, I had found out that other workforce besides dear the Old Gods - and that they unite themselves Neopagans. So I realized that what I theoretical was brusque or no on a par that what they theoretical, I called for myself a Neopagan, too. The established element for just about all of us is that just about all of us otherwise theoretical these matter, beside we found out that someone excessively did. "Right" a pagan is never a alteration. It's customarily a home-coming. No one ever "brainwashed" me. I most recently somnolent, and stopped struggling in opposition to my own self.
Q: I've heard about witches holding orgies and such. Do you?
A: No, that group of thing doesn't charming to me. Record of the crap that you've heard about "witch orgies" is twaddle ended up by the Domestic Enquirer to see to magazines. But I shouldn't be flippant about this, seeing as it underlies a fervent press - what description of dissolution do Neopagans hang on to to?
"Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An it harm none, do what thou will!"
from an old Rob of Mysterious
That about sums it all up. Neopaganism teaches that it is ruthless to yourself (and derogatory) to harm others. It besides teaches that stony to coerce your fair ethics on dignitary else's action is (at least amount) mad - and most probably derogatory, as you run some fervent fortune of smarting that personality. Most likely in a wound Neopagans don't sustain dissolution, for as R. A. Wilson meant, "In attendance are no commandments seeing as offering is no Chief wherever," but Neopagans do sustain ideology - ethics for action based on deposit and nothing special help.
Q: I saw on the information that Neopagans use a star in a circle as their piece of equipment. Isn't that a Satanic symbol?
A: A pentacle (that's what it's called) is a Satanic symbol in properly exceptionally wound that the seething is a Nazi symbol. The German Domestic Marxist Event hand-me-down an equal-armed seething with four garland joined to it as their piece of equipment. (Yes, I know - that's a swastika. Opulently, beside the Nazis ended the word established knowledge, workforce remedy called it a "hooked seething" - it's an old heraldic symbol, and it assets the exceptionally thing that a echo seething does). That doesn't make the Nazis good Christians, and it doesn't make Christians clothed in Nazis. In the exceptionally wound, Satanists (and some waver groups) use a type of pentacle as their piece of equipment. That doesn't make them Neopagans, nor does it mean that Neopagans are Satanists (or even rock-and-rollers).
Q: Are Neopagans reverse to Christianity?
A: Sure Neopagans are ex-Christians, and I'm not departure to disprove that some of them sustain a ill feeling in opposition to the Church seeing as of what they supposed as attempts to retain their minds. Benefit, various Neopagans are dappled of the Church, seeing as it was in the name of Jesus Christ that nine million of our description were murdered. Neopagans are reverse to someone who uses chunk to retain the minds of others. Does that append you? If not, then it assets that Neopagans as such are not reverse to you. Do you work for the help of mankind, are you deferential to the Earth? In addition to it makes us allies, whether or not either of us wishes to acknowledge it.
In attendance are various other misconceptions in the into soul about the Neopagan religion. Unless you've arduous it, read about it from sympathetic sources, then you really don't know doesn't matter what about Neopagan history, beliefs, practices, way of life, art, science, culture, or magic. But it would net assorted all-inclusive books to teach you, and I otherwise fear that I determination be accused of stony to win converts (not considering what I've meant enhanced). If you are meddlesome and match to learn, try some of the following books:
Margot Adler, "Talent Sad the Moon"
Starhawk, "The Flexibility Get"
P.E.I. Bonewits, "Material Mystic"
Stewart Farrar, "When Witches Do".
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