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Occasionally I wandered in where I was not wanted and gave truthful answers.
Sometimes I even did it deliberately. A little disruption now can prevent disaster later.

Related to who?

Sorry about that. I wasn't going to load the new stuff until I had all the changes made.

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Redux: Christians & Pagan Tolerance

A musical interlude because I have a song that won't get out of my head

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On Pagan Rights

An idea worth exploring

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❝Individuals have rights. Groups have power plays.❞

Here's part of a conversation I had with Shawn Herles

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Okay, rain break over

We're people, not legends.

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Elite witchcraft

This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C1325529963/E20070412051550

Reconsidering the answer to an old post

The thing with Witch School reminded me of a comment from Juliaki on this post.

She asked "Why is elitism bad?"

I suppose it comes down to if the elitism is earned or bestowed.

When it comes to titles, Pagan titles in particular, they really don't tell me much.

"Vice President of Marketing." "Lady of the Inner Circle." "Teacher."

These titles tell nothing.

The virtue isn't in the title you see, the virtue is in the individual.

Titles draw their power from the virtue of the individual.

So what makes an elite?

The actions and choices of an individual.

We recognize elitism all the time. You go to your doctor because you trust him, not necessarily because of those initials behind his name. You call the plumber that you know will show up and fix the problem. You don't go to just any restaurant, you carefully choose.

If witchcraft were a profession, people would want to know about the individual reputation.

Not if a person was a witch or not.

If you had an English sports car, would you take it to just any mechanic? If you want a good quality towel, will you go the the closeout bin at the dollar store? If you need your taxes done, will you use your neighbor's sister's friend?

You may get exactly what you want from these places, but you have no way of knowing which will pay off and which will not. And there is no guarantee that it will pay off more than once.

Thinking about it, over the years we've assumed that there is some sort of egalitarianism in witchcraft and Pagan beliefs. There is not. Not all witches are equal. Not all Pagans are equal. Not all Pagans are witches.

Let's put in another word that is supposed to be a no-no.

Discrimination.

Discrimination is not necessarily evil.

I don't want my Baptist relatives telling me how to practice my faith. I don't necessarily want them telling me how to practice magick either, even though some of them do exactly that, all be it in rather limited circumstances. I'm discriminating because I don't think they know enough to tell me what I need to know.

People are not all equally gifted. Certainly Pagans aren't all equally gifted. Should each be given the same consideration?

All I have got to go on is the individual reputation. And once there is someone I can trust, I am more likely to pay attention to THEIR choices than I am someone I do not know.

So should witchcraft be elite?

Why should it be any different?

Posted: Thu - April 12, 2007 at 05:15 AM

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NeoNote — Change the groups

Everything must go somewhere.
— Barry Commoner, second law of ecology
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Transcending the label

The "fastest growing" becomes one of the fastest collapsing

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Institution vs. individual choice

There is an arc there: a vector. It tells a story of steadily increasing individual choice about religious belief and expression, and as a result, steadily decreasing subscription to old religious systems that clash with both modern values and humanity's growing body of accumulated knowledge.
— Mark Green, Is Paganism Dying?
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A dangerous pagan

No, I am not quite foolish enough to do it on my own. I don’t know enough about explosives and I don’t own an anvil.

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Listen and consider

Thinking by blogging

Look around and see the wonders

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On Christians and Pagan tolerance

Bet you thought I wasn't going to get one up today. I almost didn't.

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Sunfell Tech Mage Rede Nine Words Serve The Tech Mage Best Keep What Works Fix What’s Broke Ditch The Rest

A narrow slice of life, but now and again pondering American neopaganism, modern adult pagans & the World.

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