classic
Reincarnation Neo style
Friday, 13Jan2006 Filed in: beliefs
h4 class="blurb">Drama kings and queens and their effect on worship Read More...
Comments
The "war on Christmas" got me thinking
Wednesday, 04Jan2006 Filed in: beliefs
Elvis has left the building
Friday, 01Feb2008 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ manifest
Absolutely mythical
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C1325529963/E20071009133622
Dualism and modern mythology
From some reason as I write this, I've got the tune to Robert Palmer's Simply Irresistible running through my head with new lyrics.
When it comes to modern Pagan philosophers, Isaac Bonewits was one of my earliest influences. His writings on the distortions created by dualistic assumptions were some of the best I had ever read. It was one of those "ton of brick" moments, I was struggling with my identity as a Pagan despite being raised Christian. And Bonewits is absolutely right.
Except when it comes to his own politics.
It's common. Those EITHER/OR blinders are a lot more widespread than we comfortably admit. Especially when it comes to ourselves.
My own blinders include prejudices against "fluffy bunnies" and until quite recently otherkin. Part of that was because I didn't make the effort to dig deeper, but mainly because the "noisiest" examples aren't necessarily the people you'd want around you. There are exceptions, but they are difficult to find.
I absolutely love Wren's Nest, I consider it one of the the best Pagan news sources around. But it doesn't take long before a commenter trots out the anti-Christian bit on almost any thread.
One of my hard won life lessons that I am willing to share is very simple. When you see two and only two alternatives, start looking for the third.
In most situations, either/or choices don't work.
A dualistic mind set is one of those REALLY BAD™ ideas.
It doesn't matter if it's Christian vs. Pagan, Democrat vs. Republican, or Freemasons vs. the Elks.
I made that last one up. And that is my point. The myths we choose to talk about and live are the memes that shape our lives, regardless of their "truth."
I want to talk about one of the best known myths of our time, and how it illustrates the Third Way that overcomes dualism. I'm talking about the Star Wars films.
Specifically, I want to concentrate on the differences between the pre-Empire Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire on the large scale, and between Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker on the small scale.
From the original films, we know that the Galactic Empire is EVIL BAD in capital letters. They destroy entire planets. They make their stormtroopers wear dorky armor that doesn't seem to deflect much blaster fire. They squeeze the economies of their member planets. They send secret operatives to ferret out dissent.
From the prequel films, we know that the Republic are the good guys. They have a democratic tradition which prevents justice and can be manipulated behind the scenes. They make their cloned stormtroopers wear dorky armor that doesn't seem to prevent much blaster fire. They squeeze the economies of their member planets. And they send secret operatives to ferret out dissent.
The Empire has the Death Star, but the Republic is incapable of defending one of it's members from the advances of another. Is it evil to destroy life with the push of a button or with the procedural vote?
Be careful, that is one of those either/or choices I warned you about.
So let's look at how Anakin Skywalker fared under the Galactic Republic.
Time after time, he's told that he has to deny his passions, his connections to other people. It's not pure, it's not the Way of the Jedi. At first, he's even denied the Jedi training. The mighty Jedi Council sits on high, dispassionately evaluating everything and totally blind to the Sith.
The one Jedi Master who thinks outside the box well enough to help Anakin come to terms with his feelings is dead by the end of the first prequel film.
Despite promises of freedom and justice, Anakin's mother remains a slave and is killed without the protection of the Republic. Anakin's visions torment him with visions of his beloved dying in despair. The Jedi Council won't make him a Master, despite his obvious gifts and abilities.
To Anakin, the Republic betrayed him long before he took up the path of a Sith Lord.
Luke Skywalker fared even worse under the Galactic Empire. His guardians were killed by stormtroopers. He knew that Darth Vader had "killed" his father. He watched as Vader sliced his mentor in half. If anyone had a reason for revenge, it was Luke.
As Luke progressed in his training, his teachers stress that he must disassociate his feelings from his actions. Time after time, he is told that only a fully trained Jedi could hope to face Vader and the Emperor.
Yet there was an x-factor, something totally unexpected. Even before Luke knew Leia was his sister, there was a connection that grew only stronger the more time they spent together. Luke could feel how his sister felt about Han Solo, the charming rogue who only became a hero because his friends were in danger.
Anakin didn't have a Han Solo. Luke did.
That's why Luke knew his father could be redeemed. He had already seen Han redeemed.
I'd like to say that the clues were there. Red Flight became Rogue Flight. Han's military and practical experience showed up on Hoth and in the deference that the Rebels gave Han and Chewie. More than anything else, more than the pronouncements of Yoda or the promises of Ben Kenobi, Luke knew that he could count on Han to pull him out of a disaster.
"That's two you owe me, junior."
It was the connection to Leia that let Luke survive his first encounter with Vader. It was Han's willing sacrifice that let Leia, Chewie, Lando, and the droids escape.
Because, you see, even though the good guys won and the Emperor was destroyed, it wasn't done by the way of the Jedi.
It was a man who had mastered the way of the Jedi but chose a path of compassion.
Luke Skywalker looked for the third way beyond either/or. That's what let him win.
That's the real myth of Star Wars. Not good versus evil.
The Sith could only exist because the Jedi were incomplete. And the Sith were doomed because they were the flip side and just as incomplete.
The only lasting solution was to find another way not in the assumptions of either "side." And the man who made it possible wasn't a Jedi, but a good man who chose to be better out of friendship and love.
So how does this relate to us?
Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it is enough to know that there are usually more than two answers. Maybe it is enough to know that sometimes our expectations shape our answers more than any truth.
And maybe it is enough knowing that only two answers mirror each other.
When it comes to modern Pagan philosophers, Isaac Bonewits was one of my earliest influences. His writings on the distortions created by dualistic assumptions were some of the best I had ever read. It was one of those "ton of brick" moments, I was struggling with my identity as a Pagan despite being raised Christian. And Bonewits is absolutely right.
Except when it comes to his own politics.
It's common. Those EITHER/OR blinders are a lot more widespread than we comfortably admit. Especially when it comes to ourselves.
My own blinders include prejudices against "fluffy bunnies" and until quite recently otherkin. Part of that was because I didn't make the effort to dig deeper, but mainly because the "noisiest" examples aren't necessarily the people you'd want around you. There are exceptions, but they are difficult to find.
I absolutely love Wren's Nest, I consider it one of the the best Pagan news sources around. But it doesn't take long before a commenter trots out the anti-Christian bit on almost any thread.
One of my hard won life lessons that I am willing to share is very simple. When you see two and only two alternatives, start looking for the third.
In most situations, either/or choices don't work.
A dualistic mind set is one of those REALLY BAD™ ideas.
It doesn't matter if it's Christian vs. Pagan, Democrat vs. Republican, or Freemasons vs. the Elks.
I made that last one up. And that is my point. The myths we choose to talk about and live are the memes that shape our lives, regardless of their "truth."
I want to talk about one of the best known myths of our time, and how it illustrates the Third Way that overcomes dualism. I'm talking about the Star Wars films.
Specifically, I want to concentrate on the differences between the pre-Empire Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire on the large scale, and between Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker on the small scale.
From the original films, we know that the Galactic Empire is EVIL BAD in capital letters. They destroy entire planets. They make their stormtroopers wear dorky armor that doesn't seem to deflect much blaster fire. They squeeze the economies of their member planets. They send secret operatives to ferret out dissent.
From the prequel films, we know that the Republic are the good guys. They have a democratic tradition which prevents justice and can be manipulated behind the scenes. They make their cloned stormtroopers wear dorky armor that doesn't seem to prevent much blaster fire. They squeeze the economies of their member planets. And they send secret operatives to ferret out dissent.
The Empire has the Death Star, but the Republic is incapable of defending one of it's members from the advances of another. Is it evil to destroy life with the push of a button or with the procedural vote?
Be careful, that is one of those either/or choices I warned you about.
So let's look at how Anakin Skywalker fared under the Galactic Republic.
Time after time, he's told that he has to deny his passions, his connections to other people. It's not pure, it's not the Way of the Jedi. At first, he's even denied the Jedi training. The mighty Jedi Council sits on high, dispassionately evaluating everything and totally blind to the Sith.
The one Jedi Master who thinks outside the box well enough to help Anakin come to terms with his feelings is dead by the end of the first prequel film.
Despite promises of freedom and justice, Anakin's mother remains a slave and is killed without the protection of the Republic. Anakin's visions torment him with visions of his beloved dying in despair. The Jedi Council won't make him a Master, despite his obvious gifts and abilities.
To Anakin, the Republic betrayed him long before he took up the path of a Sith Lord.
Luke Skywalker fared even worse under the Galactic Empire. His guardians were killed by stormtroopers. He knew that Darth Vader had "killed" his father. He watched as Vader sliced his mentor in half. If anyone had a reason for revenge, it was Luke.
As Luke progressed in his training, his teachers stress that he must disassociate his feelings from his actions. Time after time, he is told that only a fully trained Jedi could hope to face Vader and the Emperor.
Yet there was an x-factor, something totally unexpected. Even before Luke knew Leia was his sister, there was a connection that grew only stronger the more time they spent together. Luke could feel how his sister felt about Han Solo, the charming rogue who only became a hero because his friends were in danger.
Anakin didn't have a Han Solo. Luke did.
That's why Luke knew his father could be redeemed. He had already seen Han redeemed.
I'd like to say that the clues were there. Red Flight became Rogue Flight. Han's military and practical experience showed up on Hoth and in the deference that the Rebels gave Han and Chewie. More than anything else, more than the pronouncements of Yoda or the promises of Ben Kenobi, Luke knew that he could count on Han to pull him out of a disaster.
"That's two you owe me, junior."
It was the connection to Leia that let Luke survive his first encounter with Vader. It was Han's willing sacrifice that let Leia, Chewie, Lando, and the droids escape.
Because, you see, even though the good guys won and the Emperor was destroyed, it wasn't done by the way of the Jedi.
It was a man who had mastered the way of the Jedi but chose a path of compassion.
Luke Skywalker looked for the third way beyond either/or. That's what let him win.
That's the real myth of Star Wars. Not good versus evil.
The Sith could only exist because the Jedi were incomplete. And the Sith were doomed because they were the flip side and just as incomplete.
The only lasting solution was to find another way not in the assumptions of either "side." And the man who made it possible wasn't a Jedi, but a good man who chose to be better out of friendship and love.
So how does this relate to us?
Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it is enough to know that there are usually more than two answers. Maybe it is enough to know that sometimes our expectations shape our answers more than any truth.
And maybe it is enough knowing that only two answers mirror each other.
Redux: Christians & Pagan Tolerance
Thursday, 11Feb2010 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ entertainment
Forget the red pill, go for the green drink
Tuesday, 04Aug2009 Filed in: entertainment⭐︎ philosophy
Yesterday's news…
h4 class="blurb">I don't have a stake in that fight. Or the other three either. Read More...
On Pagan Rights
Thursday, 29Jul2010 Filed in: modern adult pagans
“We are the Pagans who have moved on”
These blog entries have been reformatted and entered into the current directories. Redirect pages have been placed in the old locations.
Read More...“Here I come to save the Day”
Tuesday, 01Aug2006 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ tellus
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C65989237/E20060802051541
Why do some Pagans believe they are destined to save the world?
The posts on discipline and Indigo kids got me in the mood to go exploring the Pagan web again, just to see what is happening. It's getting harder and harder to do that anonymously, but I still have a few technopagan tricks up my sleeve.
Much of what I saw hasn't really changed in the last few years. There are still very few experienced Pagans who are willing to go online, at least publicly. There are definite trends towards political correctness and silencing dissent. And the most visible Pagans online aren't necessarily the ones that anyone should be listening to.
Although that doesn't just apply to Pagans. Imagine if Christians only listened to Jesse Jackson or Pat Robertson.
To me at least, the most disturbing thing is the growth of the "Pagans will save the World" theme. Save the world from what, I am not quite sure, but there are some out there who are only a few steps away from conquering in the Name of the Goddess for the Betterment of Humanity. Or at least trying.
It always worries me when I can hear the capitals in what other people say, even if it is only what they are typing on a computer screen.
I am not quite sure where this messiah complex comes from. I only know that it is there. I get frustrated when I deal with newbies. Online, my experience is "one upped" by some kid who read the "right" books and started "practicing" six whole months ago. It's times like that when I understand exactly what Oberon Ravenhart-Zell wants to do with his so-called Grey Council.
Intentionally or not, this "save the world" thing comes across as recycled Christianity. I'm not sure that is what they need, although they believe it's what they want.
*sighs*
And that is the rub, isn't? You can't tell them until they are ready to believe it. Even if I could, I am not sure I should stop them from tripping and falling. Although the gods know I am tempted. I understand now what the Blessed who were around me were saying when I "broke out," although I ignored them then.
I'm pretty sure that the World can take care of Herself, maybe with a little help from her Consort.
It's the rest of us I am not so sure about.
Much of what I saw hasn't really changed in the last few years. There are still very few experienced Pagans who are willing to go online, at least publicly. There are definite trends towards political correctness and silencing dissent. And the most visible Pagans online aren't necessarily the ones that anyone should be listening to.
Although that doesn't just apply to Pagans. Imagine if Christians only listened to Jesse Jackson or Pat Robertson.
To me at least, the most disturbing thing is the growth of the "Pagans will save the World" theme. Save the world from what, I am not quite sure, but there are some out there who are only a few steps away from conquering in the Name of the Goddess for the Betterment of Humanity. Or at least trying.
It always worries me when I can hear the capitals in what other people say, even if it is only what they are typing on a computer screen.
I am not quite sure where this messiah complex comes from. I only know that it is there. I get frustrated when I deal with newbies. Online, my experience is "one upped" by some kid who read the "right" books and started "practicing" six whole months ago. It's times like that when I understand exactly what Oberon Ravenhart-Zell wants to do with his so-called Grey Council.
Intentionally or not, this "save the world" thing comes across as recycled Christianity. I'm not sure that is what they need, although they believe it's what they want.
*sighs*
And that is the rub, isn't? You can't tell them until they are ready to believe it. Even if I could, I am not sure I should stop them from tripping and falling. Although the gods know I am tempted. I understand now what the Blessed who were around me were saying when I "broke out," although I ignored them then.
I'm pretty sure that the World can take care of Herself, maybe with a little help from her Consort.
It's the rest of us I am not so sure about.
Flake off
Tuesday, 21Nov2006 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ rite & ritual
❝It always worries me when I can hear the capitals in what other people say, even if it is only what they are typing on a computer screen.❞— NeoWayland, "Here I come to save the Day"
Otherkin
Tuesday, 06Dec2005 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ practicals
Why do I do it? Internet debates, emails, and online Pagan groups
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C65989237/E20100218113503
I am what I am - updated
Let's face it, getting involved in these prolonged internet debates isn't exactly the healthiest behavior out there. When it comes to relieving frustration, not only to I have perfectly reasonable poly-resin skull to talk to, I have bed companions who are more than willing to let me indulge my odd tastes. Perhaps not as much as I would like, but certainly more than occasionally.
I wrote about it some in Almost the last advocate at Pagan Vigil.
I won't kid you, there's a part of me that grooves on taking someone down a notch or two using nothing more than logic and their own arguments. I've also been known to go searching, well, not exactly for fights but for places where someone is likely to trip over their own words and pretensions and fights will break out. It's sick, unhealthy, and I try to find other ways to handle frustrations these days.
I also know that it's unhealthy to use kinky sex as a substitute, but them's the breaks.
But when it comes to Pagans and small "L" libertarians, I take it personally. Particularly if I care about the group. If anyone should know about the dangers of scapegoating, it's Pagans. We know that Pagans aren't crouching naked in the bushes, waiting to rape your kids or sacrifice your cat under the next full moon. Or maybe it is the other way around.
But we also know that there are more than enough people who believe that Pagans are there to do exactly that. And it doesn't help that some of us are casual about nudity and sex to begin with.
I don't believe that modern Pagans can let ourselves become that which we might fear. Just because someone calling themselves a Christian did something horrible 1739 years ago doesn't mean we can afford to label someone else a monster today.
The thing is, if we insist that someone is innocent until proven guilty, that's a sword that cuts both ways. It means that we can't allow ourselves the luxury of scapegoats, even in the secret places where they will never know we did it. We'll know, and that will be enough to undo our goals.
I've given up internet debates these days unless it is in a REALLY Good Cause. It's not that I don't want to, the gods know that I want it bad. And I am very very good. My own weird sense of ethics and responsibility insists that I tell my opponents I am good. Or maybe it is just my Coyote-warped sense of humor. Let me share something I wrote in a private email.
I know, it doesn't say much for my character and desires that I indulge in these confrontations, even if it's only occasionally.
But wouldn't you rather me do it in support of honor than wily-nily? It's a tradeoff.
Yes, that is one of mine. Great for last stands or True Beliefs. For maximum effect, plant your feet, flex your knees, and face things head on. Say it out loud.
When all your choices are bad, sometimes the only choice is to listen to your heart and embrace your dream.
_____
Update - Yes, the Otherkin thing is an example of how I didn't follow these principles. It's also a mild example of what happens when things go wrong. Lesson learned.
I wrote about it some in Almost the last advocate at Pagan Vigil.
❝Live and let live works mostly. When that doesn't work, KYFHO comes through. But usually there is no one else willing to make a stand. Unpopular religions? I'll defend them to the end until they impose on someone else. Same with political groups. Or rights groups.
The one thing I insist on is that free choice is a cornerstone. Including the rights of the members to walk away if they choose. As long as they do that and don't force themselves on any others, I believe that they are free to do what they want.
ARE, not should be.
Because that is the right I expect for myself, and it's not a right unless everyone else has it too. Otherwise it's a privilege taken at someone else's expense.
Even though it means that I end up defending ideas and practices that I find questionable at best, I can't do anything else and stay true to myself.❞
I won't kid you, there's a part of me that grooves on taking someone down a notch or two using nothing more than logic and their own arguments. I've also been known to go searching, well, not exactly for fights but for places where someone is likely to trip over their own words and pretensions and fights will break out. It's sick, unhealthy, and I try to find other ways to handle frustrations these days.
I also know that it's unhealthy to use kinky sex as a substitute, but them's the breaks.
But when it comes to Pagans and small "L" libertarians, I take it personally. Particularly if I care about the group. If anyone should know about the dangers of scapegoating, it's Pagans. We know that Pagans aren't crouching naked in the bushes, waiting to rape your kids or sacrifice your cat under the next full moon. Or maybe it is the other way around.
But we also know that there are more than enough people who believe that Pagans are there to do exactly that. And it doesn't help that some of us are casual about nudity and sex to begin with.
I don't believe that modern Pagans can let ourselves become that which we might fear. Just because someone calling themselves a Christian did something horrible 1739 years ago doesn't mean we can afford to label someone else a monster today.
The thing is, if we insist that someone is innocent until proven guilty, that's a sword that cuts both ways. It means that we can't allow ourselves the luxury of scapegoats, even in the secret places where they will never know we did it. We'll know, and that will be enough to undo our goals.
I've given up internet debates these days unless it is in a REALLY Good Cause. It's not that I don't want to, the gods know that I want it bad. And I am very very good. My own weird sense of ethics and responsibility insists that I tell my opponents I am good. Or maybe it is just my Coyote-warped sense of humor. Let me share something I wrote in a private email.
❝By insisting that everyone be judged by their actions, I'm also invoking civilized behavior. If I show fair play and they don't play nice, I'm under no obligation to respect their rules as I deal with them. Civilized means that no one can threaten force or try to intimidate someone. Depending on how mischievous I'm feeling, I might even insist on no insults. If they can't compete under those conditions, that doesn't say much for their opinions or their cause.
I just stacked the odds heavily in my favor. I already know I can probably argue most people under the table and three times on Sunday, and that is at even odds.
If someone doesn't "play nice," they just ceded moral authority and I am justified in my actions. No one watching could say otherwise. After all, I dealt with them fairly at first.
Even then, I probably wouldn't "defeat" them or "destroy" them. I wouldn't want to create martyrs. Instead I would defuse them, defang them, render them harmless.
It's hard to scare someone if they are busy chuckling❞
I know, it doesn't say much for my character and desires that I indulge in these confrontations, even if it's only occasionally.
But wouldn't you rather me do it in support of honor than wily-nily? It's a tradeoff.
I am what I am
And the man that I am
Demands what I dream
I am what I am
And the man that I am
Demands what I dream
I am what I am
Yes, that is one of mine. Great for last stands or True Beliefs. For maximum effect, plant your feet, flex your knees, and face things head on. Say it out loud.
When all your choices are bad, sometimes the only choice is to listen to your heart and embrace your dream.
_____
Update - Yes, the Otherkin thing is an example of how I didn't follow these principles. It's also a mild example of what happens when things go wrong. Lesson learned.
Snap out of it!
❝Master the discipline or be mastered by the victimhood.❞— NeoWayland, Discipline, the Modern Pagan, and power from victimhood
Bittersweet honor
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20090803073939
Unexpected and delightful
I had visitors over the weekend. Unexpected ones, but delightful ones all the same.
An old friend and her husband and her 14 year old son dropped in on Wednesday.
She and I had dated and slept together, well, at least fifteen years ago I guess. Probably closer to eighteen. Guess I am getting older. She has aged remarkably well. Originally from Haiti, her lovely accent and marvelous skin color triggered some great memories. Oh, and her scent, can't forget that. If she hadn't married and promised to be a one-and-only, I might have tried again for old times sake.
Her husband is well educated and knows how to use that brain of his. I heartily approve of her choice.
Their boy shows every sign of being just as smart as his parents. So of course he asked if I used to date his mom.
I told him yes.
Then we wandered into one of those awkward social areas that teens (and especially BRIGHT teens) love to nose out. And I could tell that his dad was laughing at his wife and I.
The kid asked if I wanted to sleep with his mom again. Actually he said fuck his mom, I'm sure he was going for the shock value. It's one of the few times I have seen that particular lady embarrassed, and I had the feeling that I missed the first act in this particular drama.
Deep breath. Only one way through this.
My feelings were irrelevant, I told him. My personal beliefs mean that The Lady Always Chooses. She was in a monogamous marriage to his dad. And that is where it stood. What he suggested wasn't even a possibility because her honor was more important to me than my own.
At that point I looked at her. She winked because she knew me well enough to know what I might do next.
In fact, I told the young man, he should be proud of his mom because she had honor and obviously loved his father. Just because she could be an insatiable fuck didn't mean she would make the Two-Backed Beast with just anyone. She chose to fuck me, but she chose to love her husband. And I told the boy that I thought he dishonored both his parents by trying to put his mom on the spot like that.
That was Friday.
Things went much better after that. I spent much of the time trying my darnedest to bend his brain. But his parents had already made things pretty flexible.
This morning, the young man proved he had honor after all. He apologized to his mother, his father, and then to me (which I didn't expect). And then he cooked breakfast.
A few more like him and this world might have some hope after all.
Thanks to Coyote for the lessons.
Skeins
Thursday, 19Nov2009 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ philosophy
❝There is an old saying that the difficult truths are the only ones that must be told.❞— NeoWayland, Discipline, the Modern Pagan, and power from victimhood
Discipline, the Modern Pagan, and power from victimhood
Friday, 21Jul2006 Filed in: modern adult pagans
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C65989237/E20060722013450
What makes the so many modern pagans fluffy? And why don't they seem to want more?
There is an old saying that the difficult truths are the only ones that must be told.
I've tried several times in the last couple of weeks to write this post. It keeps coming out wrong. So I am going to sit here and hammer this one out once and for all so I can concentrate on other things that I want to say. It's probably going to be shorter than I wanted, but there are only so many times I can rewrite the thing.
Before I get too deep, I want to say that I absolutely despise classifying people, their abilities, and their accomplishments based on membership in some group. I am an individualist. As far as I am concerned, we are human. To understand the poisonous mindset, it's necessary to put that viewpoint aside for a bit and wade into meaningless yet influential group distinctions.
I read Shelby Steele's excellent White Guilt. While not a pagan book, it gave me excellent insight into American life over the last few decades, and helped focus some of my own realizations. Most of it doesn't apply in a pagan context, with one very important exception.
The rise of the popular forms of modern paganism are tied into the rise of the feminist movement that followed the success of the 1960s civil rights movement. Feminism (and paganism through feminism) borrowed some of the best and worst ideas of the civil rights movement for it's own purposes.
One idea was power through victimhood because of past crimes committed against one group by members of another.
Before you tell me that doesn't apply, go find someone talking about "Never again the Burning Times!"
For "power through victimhood" to be successful, it's not enough to have an "oppressed victim," there also has to be a public acknowledgment of guilt by the powerful and a lingering guilt. "PTV" gains it's moral authority only through guilt, otherwise it runs smack dab into the morals and ethics of the majority.
To simplify, American blacks had a legitimate grievance. That isn't necessarily so for American feminists, and it probably isn't so for American pagans. It is the difference between oppression and repression.
Paganism was a good way for repressed women to explore the Sacred Feminine and experience the Divine instead of having it handed to them through a patriarchal framework. Since many pagans celebrate the Female Aspects of Divinity, of course we took joy as the ladies took center stage and found themselves.
But all things have destruction wrapped in creation. The power wasn't in the victimhood. It never was. Overcoming victimhood could be the first gate to power. Some took power from the victimhood itself, never realizing that their "strength" depended entirely on the guilty pity of others. Without that guilt and pity, the "moral authority" collapsed.
This wasn't just in paganism of course. Much of Western culture and society was undergoing the same growing pangs. So to preserve the "power through victimhood" of certain groups, permanent victim groups were enshrined. Blacks first. Then other minority groups. Then women (of course). And finally alternative religions. With a pecking order firmly established, it became the Progressive Thing to make sure that the victim groups and the pecking order were universally established. If some members of the victim groups weren't quite good enough, that was okay, they had been through enough. Allowances would be made.
That in turn introduced our second and third tier problems. Members of the victim groups weren't expect to be "as good" as the majority. Excuses were made for their failures. They were never held personally responsible.
Imagine that. By virtue of victimhood and belonging to a recognized victim group, someone could be excused from being an adult and taking responsibility for themselves.
I want to stress that the victimhood was never universal. Many people soon learned to move beyond victimhood and into individual excellence.
But for those who didn't, they never realized it was a trap. Some of them still don't.
Fast forward a few decades.
Now some areas have schools that cherish victimhood of certain groups before the kids are old enough to understand if they are even victims at all. Being a social victim means that others will look out for you and that you are not fully human.
Nor can you be fully trusted. Even if your victimhood grants you "moral authority" and exceptions from the rules.
Other kids see that being a victim is the easy path. Even if you don't know the answers, they will be provided to you in a timely manner. And if you can't be bothered to learn them this time around, that is okay. You've had a hard victimhood.
The end result are people who not only don't know the answers, but expect those answers to be provided on demand. And they want a second chance to take any tests, only this time with crib sheets.
It's not their fault that this is how they were taught.
It's their fault if they do not change once their path demands more.
Master the discipline or be mastered by the victimhood.
Bright & Dark Blessings, everyone.
I've tried several times in the last couple of weeks to write this post. It keeps coming out wrong. So I am going to sit here and hammer this one out once and for all so I can concentrate on other things that I want to say. It's probably going to be shorter than I wanted, but there are only so many times I can rewrite the thing.
Before I get too deep, I want to say that I absolutely despise classifying people, their abilities, and their accomplishments based on membership in some group. I am an individualist. As far as I am concerned, we are human. To understand the poisonous mindset, it's necessary to put that viewpoint aside for a bit and wade into meaningless yet influential group distinctions.
I read Shelby Steele's excellent White Guilt. While not a pagan book, it gave me excellent insight into American life over the last few decades, and helped focus some of my own realizations. Most of it doesn't apply in a pagan context, with one very important exception.
The rise of the popular forms of modern paganism are tied into the rise of the feminist movement that followed the success of the 1960s civil rights movement. Feminism (and paganism through feminism) borrowed some of the best and worst ideas of the civil rights movement for it's own purposes.
One idea was power through victimhood because of past crimes committed against one group by members of another.
Before you tell me that doesn't apply, go find someone talking about "Never again the Burning Times!"
For "power through victimhood" to be successful, it's not enough to have an "oppressed victim," there also has to be a public acknowledgment of guilt by the powerful and a lingering guilt. "PTV" gains it's moral authority only through guilt, otherwise it runs smack dab into the morals and ethics of the majority.
To simplify, American blacks had a legitimate grievance. That isn't necessarily so for American feminists, and it probably isn't so for American pagans. It is the difference between oppression and repression.
Paganism was a good way for repressed women to explore the Sacred Feminine and experience the Divine instead of having it handed to them through a patriarchal framework. Since many pagans celebrate the Female Aspects of Divinity, of course we took joy as the ladies took center stage and found themselves.
But all things have destruction wrapped in creation. The power wasn't in the victimhood. It never was. Overcoming victimhood could be the first gate to power. Some took power from the victimhood itself, never realizing that their "strength" depended entirely on the guilty pity of others. Without that guilt and pity, the "moral authority" collapsed.
This wasn't just in paganism of course. Much of Western culture and society was undergoing the same growing pangs. So to preserve the "power through victimhood" of certain groups, permanent victim groups were enshrined. Blacks first. Then other minority groups. Then women (of course). And finally alternative religions. With a pecking order firmly established, it became the Progressive Thing to make sure that the victim groups and the pecking order were universally established. If some members of the victim groups weren't quite good enough, that was okay, they had been through enough. Allowances would be made.
That in turn introduced our second and third tier problems. Members of the victim groups weren't expect to be "as good" as the majority. Excuses were made for their failures. They were never held personally responsible.
Imagine that. By virtue of victimhood and belonging to a recognized victim group, someone could be excused from being an adult and taking responsibility for themselves.
I want to stress that the victimhood was never universal. Many people soon learned to move beyond victimhood and into individual excellence.
But for those who didn't, they never realized it was a trap. Some of them still don't.
Fast forward a few decades.
Now some areas have schools that cherish victimhood of certain groups before the kids are old enough to understand if they are even victims at all. Being a social victim means that others will look out for you and that you are not fully human.
Nor can you be fully trusted. Even if your victimhood grants you "moral authority" and exceptions from the rules.
Other kids see that being a victim is the easy path. Even if you don't know the answers, they will be provided to you in a timely manner. And if you can't be bothered to learn them this time around, that is okay. You've had a hard victimhood.
The end result are people who not only don't know the answers, but expect those answers to be provided on demand. And they want a second chance to take any tests, only this time with crib sheets.
It's not their fault that this is how they were taught.
It's their fault if they do not change once their path demands more.
Master the discipline or be mastered by the victimhood.
Bright & Dark Blessings, everyone.
Several rewrites later…
Saturday, 13Feb2010 Filed in: beliefs
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E20100213150023
Dealing with life - updated
I can't be politically correct on this one and writing it has been frustrating. I think the only thing that would be more frustrating would be to shelve it.
So here goes.
Back in 2006, I wrote about Pagans and victimhood. Recently online and IRL, I've been talking with Pagans who believe that Christianity* is a Big Bad Evil that must be confronted.
Here's the thing.
Drawing your power from your victimhood depends on the other recognizing the wrong done and expressing guilt. Without the "oppressor" doing both those things, your victimhood has no power. It also only lasts as long as the Big Baddy feels guilty.
Here's the real scary bit.
As long as you embrace victimhood, you can't possibly be as "worthy" as the person who made you a victim. You'll always need "help."
And yes, you should recognize the abuser/abused pattern here.
I put it simply in my Quick notes to a new seeker.
Do you really want to give the Christians that much power over you?
Find yourself. And remember that like calls to like.
_____
*Okay, so I forgot the word Christianity in the original post. Sorry about that.
So here goes.
Back in 2006, I wrote about Pagans and victimhood. Recently online and IRL, I've been talking with Pagans who believe that Christianity* is a Big Bad Evil that must be confronted.
Here's the thing.
Drawing your power from your victimhood depends on the other recognizing the wrong done and expressing guilt. Without the "oppressor" doing both those things, your victimhood has no power. It also only lasts as long as the Big Baddy feels guilty.
Here's the real scary bit.
As long as you embrace victimhood, you can't possibly be as "worthy" as the person who made you a victim. You'll always need "help."
And yes, you should recognize the abuser/abused pattern here.
I put it simply in my Quick notes to a new seeker.
❝Beware of anyone who tells you power comes through victimhood. That power can only be borrowed and only at the sufferance of another.❞But the real power is not in victimhood. Overcoming victimhood can be the first gate to power because that is your power that you discover.
Do you really want to give the Christians that much power over you?
Find yourself. And remember that like calls to like.
_____
*Okay, so I forgot the word Christianity in the original post. Sorry about that.
Religion and popular culture
This is what happens when you hit deadline and you can't think of anything to write. You bring out something from your poetry file. This started as a chant and developed into something else along the way.
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No, it wasn’t responsible. No, I’m not proud of it. And yes, it lasted longer than it should have with me.
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It was a warm summer night and I was laying on my roof staring deep into the sky. One of the local cats was on the corner cleaning itself and hoping I would share some food.
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The Focusing Flame
Saturday, 22Jul2006 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ rite & ritual
Harvestpoint differs from Lughnasadh, but that is a good place to begin your studies. Read More...
Kissed by the Lady Moon - updated
Saturday, 13Dec2008 Filed in: tellus
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”— John Muir
Do Be Do Be Do
From classic philosophy to classic virtue, Paganism's best hope depends on what we choose to put out in the World - updated
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The Old Breed
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Characters
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Eyes open and watching carefully
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Community and being a Proper Pagan
Tuesday, 20Jul2010 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ sex
Front door and back door
Thursday, 11Jun2009 Filed in: tellus
Crossing the horizon
Tuesday, 01Sep2009 Filed in: tellus
Quick notes to a new seeker - Updated
Tuesday, 03Nov2009 Filed in: practicals
The Day After Earth Day
Thursday, 23Apr2009 Filed in: tellus
Love
❝You're so determined to struggle nobly against dark forces that you can't see what is casting the shadow.❞— NeoWayland
Beyond the details
Tuesday, 31Aug2010 Filed in: book⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
Revisiting writing the book
Thursday, 07May2009 Filed in: book
If it’s bad when the People of the Book do it, then why on Earth is it a good idea when neopagans do it?
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Sunday, 01Oct2006 Filed in: studies⭐︎ entertainment
The price
Friday, 27Jan2006 Filed in: studies⭐︎ rite & ritual
“We've got trouble my friends…”
Monday, 30May2005 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Synchronicity, coincidence, perception, and perspective
Sunday, 28Jan2007 Filed in: beliefs
Eclecticism, Discipline, & Mastery
Tuesday, 04Jul2006 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ practicals
“At the end of the day, some things can't be faked.”— Leverage, “The Corkscrew Job”
Homework assignment
Thursday, 29Jan2015 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
The Authority Problem
Wednesday, 21Apr2010 Filed in: tellus⭐︎ modern adult pagans
On Pagan Leadership
Tuesday, 11May2010 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Comments on "Teach Me, My Way"
Wednesday, 18May2005 Filed in: beliefs
Progressively regressive
Monday, 05Apr2010 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Facing the True Believer™
Monday, 12Sep2005 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Why some fail all the time and how they can start to turn it around, with a little help from Stan and Ollie
Read More...Assembly of NeoWayland
Sunday, 17Sep2006 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ practicals
Depression and the Modern Pagan
Tuesday, 25Nov2008 Filed in: modern adult pagans
Systematically
Thursday, 08Jan2009 Filed in: practicals
“You're not doing what I wanted you to do!”
Thursday, 06Apr2006 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ entertainment
Evangelism
Tuesday, 25Apr2006 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ modern adult pagans
Horizons
Thursday, 30Mar2006 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ celebrations & passages
“ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX IV: I mean what exactly are you doing with your life?Read More...
ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX: I'm being attacked by a Vogon Fleet.
ZB IV: Doesn't surprise me in the least.”—The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio series, Fit the Ninth
Wheel
My response to a question about being skyclad. Taken from Wicca: General Chat from the Timerift Forums
Read More...On Being Not
Friday, 06Jan2006 Filed in: practicals⭐︎ modern adult pagans
“I'm being attacked!”
I'm going to watch this one a bit before adding it to the blogroll, but I do agree with the idea.
Read More...NeoNote — Skyclad
"all of that sunshine,
all of that sweet golden sunshine,
that thrills me and fills me and…"
Sex & the Modern Pagan
Sunday, 21Dec2008 Filed in: modern adult pagans⭐︎ sex
I took a couple of days off and went to the Kaibab for some retreat and renewal
Read More...Touch of a Master - Updated
Tuesday, 29Dec2009 Filed in: studies⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
Harassment: Avoidance & Confrontation
Monday, 03Oct2005 Filed in: practicals
Self-initiation
The next step depends on the focus of your faith and your choices. It's not enough to be just Pagan.
Read More...Why are you Pagan?
Monday, 21Nov2005 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ celebrations & passages
“Follow” is not exactly an accurate term
Monday, 09May2005 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ quotes & thinkums
How to be Pagan for a day
Thursday, 30Apr2009 Filed in: beliefs⭐︎ celebrations & passages
Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I choose to honor these people this season
Read More...Bringing it home
Monday, 04May2009 Filed in: beliefs
