Dispatches from the Pagan web
More results from my wandering and
exploring
As I said, I've been poking around the Pagan web.
I decided to try a little
experiment.
For the purposes of my experiment, I assumed that I would be looking for people for a Pagan online group I would put together. Actually I decided to try for three different types of groups.
Now remember that these are fictional groups. Remember too that the criteria is very subjective, namely the personality types I would prefer to work with and be associated with. And while part of what I am drawing on to make those judgments is my Pagan experience, an even bigger part is my general life experience.
You're allowed to do that once you've passed 35.
The first would be a general discussion group, modeled somewhat on a defunct large group I belonged to for a while.
The second would be a loosely networked group of problem solvers, based on a much smaller offline group I used to work with.
The third would be a teaching site using my own Webtree as a guide.
Again, these were fictional groups. I did not approach anyone about actually joining these groups. I did not even mention the possibility until now.
Using the information I found online, I chose fifty-two Pagans and evaluated them for membership in each group. I did not talk to the fifty-two directly. I just used statements that they themselves had used online.
There is nothing special about the number 52. That just happened to be my sample size when I decided I had found enough. They didn't all belong to one group, and they didn't all use one service. They were primarily American and Canadian, although there were a couple of Brits and one Australian thrown in the mix. I never learned another language, so I was stuck pretty much to English.
For some kind of control, I did something similar with about thirty Christians.
Of the Pagans, I found four that would fit the discussion group, one who would fit the responder group (who also was one of the discussion group), and none who would fit in the teaching group.
Of the Christians, I found eleven that would fit in the discussion group, four who would fit the responder group (and three of those were also in the discussion group), and five who would fit into a teaching group (two of whom were also in the discussion group).
Obviously the numbers aren't big enough to give a definitive answer, and singly I am probably not the most objective person to either create or evaluate the criteria. On the other hand, I am not exactly inexperienced either. During my Corporate Clone days, I ended up overhauling the company's interview process and conducted a few hundred interviews myself. If these were going to be actual groups, my next step would be to approach the ones who "passed" and maybe a few others who ranked high enough.
But there is something going on here. I do not think there would have been the same disparity a few years ago. This would seem to confirm what I have been getting from other sources. Many of the more stable and more honorable Pagans have a much lower online presence then they did about a decade ago.
Truth to tell, given some of the personalities I saw, I can't say I blame them.
What we may be seeing is that the web is developing into a sort of first line filter for new Pagans. If you can find the truths among the noise and realize that there is much more beyond the internet, there is still enough available online to point you in the right direction if you look hard enough.
But I don't think that the reputable groups will be easily found on the web. It wouldn't surprise me if Pagan groups (the good ones anyway) started doing what the militias did a decade or so ago. You don't get in unless you are invited and unless someone trusted vouches for you.
I also think that there is a growing division between the faith-based versions of Paganism and the magick-based ones. Nor do I think that is such a bad thing.
So, as a "Pagan community," what are we going to do about it?
That depends if you see it as a problem or a solution.
My guess is that this is a perfectly natural process. After having the public spotlight shined in the dark corners but never penetrating more than one or two levels, I don't think being a public faith is really in our best interests. The heart of Paganism has always been Mystery. It is the journey, not the destination.
We don't need to enshrine the excesses of visible Paganism, especially when they aren't the people anyone would choose to be around. We certainly don't need to celebrate it as something that makes Paganism "better."
Centralized authority certainly isn't the "answer." I don't want to bow to a Pagan pope, or a Grand High Council either.
I firmly believe that there needs to be a hint of Mystery shining through, but I can't require that of any person or any group. If I did, I'd be denying them their choice and their path. There is no way to do that without force, and that would just drive things further away from the spotlight.
All I can do is trust in their wisdom to keep their faith and the Mystery alive and try to do the same myself.
For the purposes of my experiment, I assumed that I would be looking for people for a Pagan online group I would put together. Actually I decided to try for three different types of groups.
Now remember that these are fictional groups. Remember too that the criteria is very subjective, namely the personality types I would prefer to work with and be associated with. And while part of what I am drawing on to make those judgments is my Pagan experience, an even bigger part is my general life experience.
You're allowed to do that once you've passed 35.
The first would be a general discussion group, modeled somewhat on a defunct large group I belonged to for a while.
The second would be a loosely networked group of problem solvers, based on a much smaller offline group I used to work with.
The third would be a teaching site using my own Webtree as a guide.
Again, these were fictional groups. I did not approach anyone about actually joining these groups. I did not even mention the possibility until now.
Using the information I found online, I chose fifty-two Pagans and evaluated them for membership in each group. I did not talk to the fifty-two directly. I just used statements that they themselves had used online.
There is nothing special about the number 52. That just happened to be my sample size when I decided I had found enough. They didn't all belong to one group, and they didn't all use one service. They were primarily American and Canadian, although there were a couple of Brits and one Australian thrown in the mix. I never learned another language, so I was stuck pretty much to English.
For some kind of control, I did something similar with about thirty Christians.
Of the Pagans, I found four that would fit the discussion group, one who would fit the responder group (who also was one of the discussion group), and none who would fit in the teaching group.
Of the Christians, I found eleven that would fit in the discussion group, four who would fit the responder group (and three of those were also in the discussion group), and five who would fit into a teaching group (two of whom were also in the discussion group).
Obviously the numbers aren't big enough to give a definitive answer, and singly I am probably not the most objective person to either create or evaluate the criteria. On the other hand, I am not exactly inexperienced either. During my Corporate Clone days, I ended up overhauling the company's interview process and conducted a few hundred interviews myself. If these were going to be actual groups, my next step would be to approach the ones who "passed" and maybe a few others who ranked high enough.
But there is something going on here. I do not think there would have been the same disparity a few years ago. This would seem to confirm what I have been getting from other sources. Many of the more stable and more honorable Pagans have a much lower online presence then they did about a decade ago.
Truth to tell, given some of the personalities I saw, I can't say I blame them.
What we may be seeing is that the web is developing into a sort of first line filter for new Pagans. If you can find the truths among the noise and realize that there is much more beyond the internet, there is still enough available online to point you in the right direction if you look hard enough.
But I don't think that the reputable groups will be easily found on the web. It wouldn't surprise me if Pagan groups (the good ones anyway) started doing what the militias did a decade or so ago. You don't get in unless you are invited and unless someone trusted vouches for you.
I also think that there is a growing division between the faith-based versions of Paganism and the magick-based ones. Nor do I think that is such a bad thing.
So, as a "Pagan community," what are we going to do about it?
That depends if you see it as a problem or a solution.
My guess is that this is a perfectly natural process. After having the public spotlight shined in the dark corners but never penetrating more than one or two levels, I don't think being a public faith is really in our best interests. The heart of Paganism has always been Mystery. It is the journey, not the destination.
We don't need to enshrine the excesses of visible Paganism, especially when they aren't the people anyone would choose to be around. We certainly don't need to celebrate it as something that makes Paganism "better."
Centralized authority certainly isn't the "answer." I don't want to bow to a Pagan pope, or a Grand High Council either.
I firmly believe that there needs to be a hint of Mystery shining through, but I can't require that of any person or any group. If I did, I'd be denying them their choice and their path. There is no way to do that without force, and that would just drive things further away from the spotlight.
All I can do is trust in their wisdom to keep their faith and the Mystery alive and try to do the same myself.
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Pagan philosopher, libertarian, and part-time trouble maker, NeoWayland looks at keeping truths alive despite a wash of nonsense. But don't be surprised when he's doing the "nekkid Pagan guy" thing.
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Published On: Apr 02, 2010 02:47 PM
Published On: Apr 02, 2010 02:47 PM
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