I've been a pagan for 27 years and I've seen the rise of social media and most importantly Youtube. When Youtube came out there really wasn't a 'Youtube witchcraft community' and so you could do your thing and not worry. As time went on it was taken over by Witches, Wiccans, Heathens, and many others. Soon the term 'fake witches' and 'fair weathered Wiccans' came out. The second I don't really hear being used.
The pressure to show how authentic and real you were became important. Who wants to, after two decades practicing, get called a fake witch? I would boil some heads if anyone called me that. I think that there are those out there that do pretend to be witches and be witchy and they do such a good job that no one knows that they're not. These people do more damage to the Pagan community than anyone that does pop culture paganism or try a path that isn't what you would call normal.
I remembered reading a comment on a post that clearly stated, and this isn't the comment, that if you practice pop culture paganism get the fuck out of the community and stop calling yourself a pagan because your giving the rest of us a bad name. The comment made it clear that the child molesters, rapists, and others that have used paganism as a cover to ruin others lives are more of a danger to the pagan community than people that believe that Xena is a goddess to be worshiped.
I do believe that I practice a form of pop culture paganism and that's fine. I did a house blessing ritual and a ritual to send energy to those that are suffering due to the hurricane. I used the gods and spirits that are connected to steampunk to cast the spell and I did feel a bit odd doing it. However, the energy that I felt was amazing and something is telling me that this is something that I should be doing. Fake witches that don't break the law isn't harming the community.
They will leave in their own time. Child molesters and rapists do damage the community and make our community look bad is a problem. A HUGE PROBLEM! The pressure, I believe, to prove how witchy you are can be a huge stress factor. That's why I don't care if someone doesn't like it that I don't have an opening for my video and that you just see me instead. I'm not on Youtube to prove how witchy I can be.
Another thing that really caused feathers to ruffle, and their still talking about it, was the beginners witches kits. Now the kits aren't coming out due to the amount of hate that was being directed at them. To me this is something that's coming out in-time for Halloween. Strange, and odd, things do crop up with Halloween comes around. That's just the fact of life when it comes to something like witchcraft. It also gives Christians something to rant about for the next month.
I don't view things like this as a problem. To get angry about it means that you have way too much time on your hands. Let the little smelly witches enjoy their little oils and then they will leave with the rotten pumpkins and maybe not return. To complain about how much witchcraft has become shallow and commercialized doesn't change that, for some, it has become those things. Of course if things like these little witches kits get them interested in true spirituality then that's fine.
I'm not going to be waiting for things to change, I'm going to change them. And that's the whole point when it comes to how I do things.
No comments:
Post a Comment