Stirrings of Neopagan Fundamentalism?
Aug. 25th, 2018 05:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
I fielded a distinctly unexpected email the other day from a Wiccan I've met several times in a professional context. The topic was a book of mine; more to the point, the topic was this person's insistence that the book in question was wrong, wrong, wrong -- oh, and did I mention wrong? -- because the practices and teachings it included aren't the same as the ones that you'll find in use in your common or garden variety American eclectic Wiccan coven. What made this startling to me is that I never claimed anywhere that the book conformed to American eclectic Wicca. I wouldn't have imagined that anyone would expect me to do so -- after all, ahem, I'm a Druid, which is not the same thing, and a Druid in the traditions of the 18th and 19th century Druid Revival, which is emphatically not the same thing. It's not just that we keep our robes on during ritual, though of course that's true; it's also that the teachings, symbolism, practices, and philosophy taught in Druid Revival traditions differ sharply, and not just in superficial ways, from those you'll find in American eclectic Neopaganism. Thus insisting that a book by a Druid is wrong because it doesn't conform to American eclectic Wicca is roughly on a par with insisting that a book by a Buddhist is wrong because it doesn't talk about Jesus and quote the Bible.
Two possible explanations for this odd tirade occur to me. The first is that the person in question was simply melting down about my political writings online, which of course don't support the sort of mainstream liberalism that's standard in many Neopagan circles these days, and (worse still) don't conform to the mainstream liberal stereotype of the only alternative to mainstream liberalism. (I've found that many American liberals these days react far more heatedly to, say, a moderate political stance than they do to actual fascism; I think it's because, given the increasingly shrill moral dualism that pervades American political discourse these days, the existence of any viewpoint other than the extremes causes a pretty fair case of cognitive dissonance in those who've bought into the claim that the only alternative to their own viewpoint is some suitably mustached variety of evil incarnate.)
The second is rather more troubling, at least to my mind. There's always been a certain tendency among many members of the eclectic Wiccan mainstream in the US to treat what they do as real Paganism and relegate everyone else in the Neopagan scene -- Druids, Heathens, polytheists of various kinds, and so on -- to a kind of second-class status. That's typical, and though it can be annoying, most of those of us who've been assigned that status have learned to live with it when dealing with the Neopagan community. Over the last few years, though, I've noticed a hardening of boundaries on the part of the mainstream, and the first signs of an effort to impose doctrinal and ritual uniformity on the entire scene. So far, this has usually been presented in velvet-soft forms -- "I just want to see every Pagan joining together in one big tent, all singing 'We all come from the Goddess'" and that sort of thing -- but you don't have to be a weather mage to tell which way the wind is blowing.
So I'm wondering whether other people outside the American eclectic Wiccan mainstream have begun to field anything like the kind of diatribe I got. As Monty Python reminded us, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition...but I'm beginning to wonder whether it's time for those of us who aren't part of the mainstream to keep a weather eye out for Neopagan fundamentalism.
I’m sorry :(
Date: 2018-08-28 07:28 am (UTC)I do value my Wiccan background though, because without a first step there would never have been a second step. And for this reason I apologize for your treatment from the bottom of my heart. To me, dogma sounds like the mirror opposite of a true pagan worldview and I don’t think it has a place in any polytheist religion (though it can sprout anywhere, I guess).
I can only speculate about the person’s motivations, but it sounds to me like the classic rookie mistake of assuming the first thing you read is the right way. I think I probably stumbled across my first bit of conflicting Occult information in the second book I read, promptly to have both books contradicted by the third. I don’t understand how anyone could study the Occult for any length of time and assume there is only one way to do anything. I suspect perhaps the author in question may have ego issues. I do not remember much material in early Wicca that was designed to “kill the ego” as you have called it (or even to put it down for a nap). Wicca is still a very young religion, it may take some time for the cream to rise. However, there are still
some incredibly wise and humble Wiccans out there, and you may not recognize them since they aren’t coming out of the woodwork to tell you how to magick.
The Pagan scene in the nearby cities does value diversity and our Chicago Pagan Pride organizer is a gem of a woman who clearly values diversity in religion. She is liberal but she is also open to alternate political views as well, which is a lot more rare. I am hoping the Heathen religions will balance the red and blue in the force ;) so that Pagans will remember to be tolerant of other political affiliations.
In rural areas , I’ve encountered more people who only identify as Witches and tend to study more magic and less religion. They are also influenced by Wicca but not dogmatic about it.
I do agree that generic Wiccan rituals can sometimes be utterly disappointing, especially if written or designed by relatively inexperienced practitioners. It starts to feel like the exact same ritual all over again. I think most festivals would benefit tremendously from a wider variety of rituals of various backgrounds. In some cases I think this may be a lack of volunteers, where the best practitioners and groves/covens have nothing to prove so the ones who lack experience or have character defects are overrepresented (like the loudest people are usually the ones with the least to say). I myself have led some *not great* rituals in the transition from “solitary ritual” to “inviting friends over for ritual” before learning how to scale things and how to help people participate who have no idea what’s going on. I don’t have confidence that I could lead a festival ritual with my current group (mostly because our total 3-5 people would need to be REALLY IMPRESSIVE to create effects dramatic enough to keep the attention of a festival size group, and we aren’t there yet!!! But in a festival of 10 people we could steal the show!!!!! Hahaha)
Wiccan book sales did peak in 2007, but it was the fastest growing religion in the 1990s so it makes sense that it would start to lose steam. I would like to know what the total numbers of Occultists and Pagans look like... are those total numbers still growing rapidly? I suspect Heathenism is growing a lot right now, based on seeing it nowhere 10 years ago to seeing it a lot now. I am hoping yes, and I hope it is part of a broader societal change rejecting scientific materialism.
I just want to end this by saying there are bad apples in every religion and it’s not fair to judge the whole of a religion by the behavior of its worst representatives (if we did that, we’d have to give up all the religions AND atheism.... an interesting trick if we could pull it off). I think the goals of Wicca are noble and its values are virtuous, even though sometimes some people screw up the execution. I think it will be a beautiful, powerful, vibrant religion in a hundred years, if it adjusts to a more modest rate of growth. Even if it falls in history’s dustbin, it has made some interesting and beautiful contributions to the Western Occultism, just like so many other traditions that have come and gone.
I’m terribly sorry that such a widely respected Archdruid and mage has suffered such undignified treatment, and I am saddened that the bad behaviors of a few people are tarnishing the reputation of other Wiccans. I sincerely hope that wisdom prevails in more and more of humanity’s interactions in the future, and I hope that the wise elders of the Wiccan community clamp down on this sort of behavior before it does any more damage.
Very sincerely,
Jessi Thompson
anotheramethyst
Wiccan style public ritual
Date: 2018-08-29 02:07 am (UTC)Rituals of this general pattern can be well done and moving. They can be poorly done and excruciatingly boring. Some try to branch out from Wiccan to other polytheisms without understanding that the circle is not universal for religious workings. Then you get what I call 'flavored GUP'--use Greek names for the winds at the quarters, invoke Aphrodite and Mars and serve barley bread and wine and presto, you are a Greek Pagan. Meanwhile the Hellenismos in the audience are grinding their teeth. Or let's get eclectic and invoke Quan-yin in the east, some Shango in the south, White Buffalo Woman in the north and Bridget in the west and make everyone cringe and duck for cover. Then the Wiccans wander into an Norse seidth and want to know why the circle hasn't been cast. Because seidth workers don't use circles, that's why. I've seen this reaction. I was also at the Pantheacon in which the wiccanate discussion took place. What a bunch of people talking past each other.
As for lack of published advanced Wiccan materials--the usual reason given is that the advanced material is oath-bound. Which is true. But it is also true that many covens and the traditions they come from don't have a distinct body of advanced material. What you learn depends much on the interests of your HPS. Train with an astrologer and you will be told to cast and delineate your chart. Train with a gardener and you will be out learning to grow your own vervain, etc.
Rita
Re: Wiccan style public ritual
Date: 2018-08-29 07:53 am (UTC)It is unfortunate that so few people seek out public rituals from other occult groups. I know in many areas options are limited and few people can find rituals truly open to the public. But especially for city folk and those with the experience to organize a festival, why wouldn’t you want branch out and learn new techniques? I don’t understand. Learning how to do a ritual without casting a circle is USEFUL. I never cast a circle when I cleanse my house anymore. I used to. It made no sense. Learning to cast a circle is also useful, it’s great practice for all sorts of magickal barriers. Who couldn’t use a few more techniques in their toolkit?
I was also surprised the first time I encountered a ritual without a circle. I did not ask why they didn’t cast one. I asked what they did instead to keep wandering spirits out. They left offerings for them to keep them busy. Makes sense.
To be fair, I think anyone who puts on a public ritual should expect to field stupid questions, though. It’s just something that happens when you deal with the public.
Sincerely,
Jessi Thompson
anotheramethyst