little rant
Jul. 20th, 2003 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivendellroseI really need to vent about something. It bothers me all the time, and today it struck me while poking my nose into my favorite pagan news-site.
Why the hell do all pagans feel the need to cast spells and all? And why are not more of us/them insulted by the spell-kits and books that are rampant in bookstores and new age shops?
Talk all you want about the commercialization of Christianity, but I think paganism suffers from it even more so. I'm not sure why, but it's a *good* thing, apparently, that there are all these books capitalizing on interest in paganism by offering love spells, ritual scripts, and lists of the meanings and ritual uses of herbs, colors, trees, rocks, and just about every other damned thing you can imagine. LadySonnet can vouch for the stupid spell-books--she and I sat on the floor in Powells reading one, once, and laughing our heads off at it.
Now, I know some people really believe in spells, and that's cool. Maybe they're right. And formal rituals can be a good thing, if you're in the proper mind-set and mood for such. But they often give the impression that this is the only way it can be done, which I firmly believe is just plain wrong. What's more, though, is the feeling these books and kits give, which is that spells, rituals, and herbs are what paganism is about.
And, for me, that couldn't be more wrong.
I don't care about spells, and my "rituals" have become so protracted as to lack everything that would mark a true ritual, by any definition I've ever heard of. While that's not a fact I'm proud of (I feel that I've become lax in my worship, and I want to go back toward the way I used to celebrate), I certainly don't put any stock in the circle-casting and mumbo-jumbo that I see in so many of the books. Maybe that's just because I've always been a solitary--I'm sure the whole song and dance routine is much more impressive with a group. And I'd like to try a group sometime, if I didn't think that every group of pagans I'd ever met were completely wacky. Ah, hypocrisy at it's best... but that's not the point.
The point is that most of these kits and books and how-to websites make paganism look like a game. They fail completely to emphasize anything about relationships with the divine, about ethics, about something that truly makes a *faith* as opposed to a collection of rituals and spells and gobbletygook. No wonder no other religions take us seriously! No wonder that people think pagans are all wackos.
If we're going to survive and grow as a religion, it's not going to involve more spellbooks and crystals and merchandising--that's nothing more than a sign of our deterioration, as far as I'm concerned. Neither do I want paganism to become some kind of standardized church, with laws and standards of practice and a centralized authority that declares what are the right and wrong ways to worship. I just want to find other pagans, somewhere, who don't feel the need to have skyclad rituals where they bless their computer parts under the full moon and go home to cleanse their house with lavender and sweet grass because of the evil salesman who stopped by earlier in the day. I want intelligent people who understand that other religions aren't our enemies, that the pyramid code (and most other ancient wisdom junk), and that maybe you don't need a cauldron and a moon-chart to ask for something from the gods. Maybe you just need to *ask* them.
I want a religion or spirituality, not a pack of pseudo-scientific and new age babble. Quit trying to capitalize on people's naivete, damn it, and let's join the 21st century. I'm not asking you to give up everything... I'm just asking for some real inquiry, some real thought, some reason, intellectualism, and logic. And faith.
That can't possibly be too much to ask, I don't think.
Why the hell do all pagans feel the need to cast spells and all? And why are not more of us/them insulted by the spell-kits and books that are rampant in bookstores and new age shops?
Talk all you want about the commercialization of Christianity, but I think paganism suffers from it even more so. I'm not sure why, but it's a *good* thing, apparently, that there are all these books capitalizing on interest in paganism by offering love spells, ritual scripts, and lists of the meanings and ritual uses of herbs, colors, trees, rocks, and just about every other damned thing you can imagine. LadySonnet can vouch for the stupid spell-books--she and I sat on the floor in Powells reading one, once, and laughing our heads off at it.
Now, I know some people really believe in spells, and that's cool. Maybe they're right. And formal rituals can be a good thing, if you're in the proper mind-set and mood for such. But they often give the impression that this is the only way it can be done, which I firmly believe is just plain wrong. What's more, though, is the feeling these books and kits give, which is that spells, rituals, and herbs are what paganism is about.
And, for me, that couldn't be more wrong.
I don't care about spells, and my "rituals" have become so protracted as to lack everything that would mark a true ritual, by any definition I've ever heard of. While that's not a fact I'm proud of (I feel that I've become lax in my worship, and I want to go back toward the way I used to celebrate), I certainly don't put any stock in the circle-casting and mumbo-jumbo that I see in so many of the books. Maybe that's just because I've always been a solitary--I'm sure the whole song and dance routine is much more impressive with a group. And I'd like to try a group sometime, if I didn't think that every group of pagans I'd ever met were completely wacky. Ah, hypocrisy at it's best... but that's not the point.
The point is that most of these kits and books and how-to websites make paganism look like a game. They fail completely to emphasize anything about relationships with the divine, about ethics, about something that truly makes a *faith* as opposed to a collection of rituals and spells and gobbletygook. No wonder no other religions take us seriously! No wonder that people think pagans are all wackos.
If we're going to survive and grow as a religion, it's not going to involve more spellbooks and crystals and merchandising--that's nothing more than a sign of our deterioration, as far as I'm concerned. Neither do I want paganism to become some kind of standardized church, with laws and standards of practice and a centralized authority that declares what are the right and wrong ways to worship. I just want to find other pagans, somewhere, who don't feel the need to have skyclad rituals where they bless their computer parts under the full moon and go home to cleanse their house with lavender and sweet grass because of the evil salesman who stopped by earlier in the day. I want intelligent people who understand that other religions aren't our enemies, that the pyramid code (and most other ancient wisdom junk), and that maybe you don't need a cauldron and a moon-chart to ask for something from the gods. Maybe you just need to *ask* them.
I want a religion or spirituality, not a pack of pseudo-scientific and new age babble. Quit trying to capitalize on people's naivete, damn it, and let's join the 21st century. I'm not asking you to give up everything... I'm just asking for some real inquiry, some real thought, some reason, intellectualism, and logic. And faith.
That can't possibly be too much to ask, I don't think.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-21 01:57 pm (UTC)You're right, paganism definitely gets commercialized a lot more than Christianity, and those clever chaps in marketing do capitalize on interest in paganism. Sadly, it's turned into something of a fad religion, and they're going to exploit that to make a buck. Hopefully, though, the process is reciprocal, and the capitalization creates interest, as well. Because you have to be introduced to spirituality somehow. For some people, it's family and friends. For some people, it's spontaneous nirvana revelation. For some people, it might be through one of those kits. Admittedly, it's probably not the best way to get in touch with divinity, but for some people, it might work.
People are sheep. We're bred to be sheep. Arguably, our educational system is designed to keep us sheep (check out the quotes at http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/school-mission.htm). It's hard to come up with a personal theology. God, Buddha, Vishnu, nature, whatever, is so damned big compared to us. Almost more than a single person can fathom. So it's easy to go to the pre-boxed religions to get your fix.
The vast majority of my religion's worship services were published (in the United States) in a book in 1789, and it's only been updated three times since then, the last time over twenty years ago, so I can understand your irritation with the books and kits. I can also sympathize with your complaints about the game-like atmosphere of paganism. My "official" religion's practically call and response.
At times, I think, ritual comes first, and faith comes later.
You've self-realized and personalized your religion. You've found a paradigm that works for you. Sadly, I'd say that puts you in a minority. I'd like to think that everybody can get there, but it takes time, and it takes relfection, and it takes, I think, a lot of self confidence and courage.
And I think I've wandered from the topic, and don't know how to get back, so I'll stop.
Don't worry, you'll find the people you're looking for. Just remember to have patience with the rest, too.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-21 06:38 pm (UTC)I will argue, however, with the proposition that people are sheep, and particularly that education is meant to make us sheep. *Some* people are sheep, certainly, but some have their own minds, and a great deal of modern education has changed to accomodate and encourage this. At least in the district I grew up in that was the case. I'd like to make it more like that--giving the background and tools for exploration, and then facilitating. It's a tricky proposition, I imagine, but it would be worth it.
Do you mind my asking what religion you're speaking of? Comparative Religion is a hobby (and, potentially, a minor) for me, and I don't recognize off-hand what you've said.
Ritual does indeed bring faith--that is one factor in which I've always had a bit of jealousy for communal and organized religions. That, and the sense of community, of belonging to something greater than any one person. That's why I long so much to find others who share beliefs similar to my own--I'd love to form a community.
Thanks very much for the compliments, as well as your well-thought-out and interesting comments. I'm glad that my little rant wasn't too boring for everyone.
Speaking of which... I'm chronically incapable of restraining my curiosity, and I find myself totally unable to figure out if I know you. Which sounds really silly, since I almost certainly know you in some way if you're looking at this thing. So... might I know with whom I'm having this conversation? ;)
no subject
Date: 2003-07-21 05:58 pm (UTC)>>>>
Perhaps its just my pessimism coming out, but when there is money to be made.. well, i think these things are too much to ask. People seem more than willing to do anything, even move a religion towards laughable, to make a quick buck. Sad but true.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-21 06:40 pm (UTC)little rant..
Date: 2003-07-21 09:52 pm (UTC)No matter what the people in marketing do, however, it seems that at least your own personal beliefs are sure. Good luck finding others who share that faith. *read: no sarcasm intended.*
Always With Blood,
Kat