Walking the Hedge

Us vs Ourselves

One of the things that always bothered me the most about the Pagan/Heathen/Witch/Occult community is how various groups view other groups. It is human nature to form groups, and to think your group is better than others; it is even human nature to feel the need to disparage other groups. I know this, yet it still irritates me to no end.

Perhaps it is because I am the sort who does not fit easily, or at all, into groups. I have always felt disturbed when one of my fellow humans makes a comment that begins “All BLANKS are…” Are we humans so weak minded, so easily threatened that we feel the need to disparage others in order to make ourselves feel better about who we are, what we do, and which group we belong to?

I spent much of my teen years demanding defiantly that people not try to fit me into their preconceived labels.

I walked away, angry, ashamed and frustrated from Wicca as a young adult. Tired of people looking down their nose at others, feeling they have the right to tell someone else who they are, what they do, which group they belong to. I once swore that the next person I heard tell another “you’re not a REAL Wiccan” would get a kick in the ass from one of my booted feet.

I wandered on my Path for a time, like a bit of flotsam on the ocean current, lost in a sea of ecclectism. I tried different things out, different Traditions, sampled from the smorgasbord that is modern Paganism and Witchcraft.

I learned a few things.

All Wiccans are NOT white-lighter fluffy bunnies.

All Druids are NOT following a made up religion based on the writing of the likes of Julius Caesar.

All Reconstructionalists are NOT foolishly clinging to the past in a modern era.

All Heathens are NOT knuckle dragging, militant brutes.

All Eclectics are NOT afraid of commitment and are silly girls playing make believe.

All Ceremonial Magicians are NOT creepy, heavy-metal-listening losers who use their path as a way to get laid.

All Traditionalists are NOT mean spirited snobs.

All Hedgewitches are NOT solitary wannabe-Wiccans playing with herbs.

All Shamans are NOT white boys playing at native spirituality.

Have I missed anyone? I am sure I have.

How stupid are we to judge another person’s religion or tradition or spiritual path without walking a mile in their shoes?

And we are little better than Catholics and Protestants shouting cuss words at each other from across the street!

When did we decide to follow in the footsteps of the major religions and begin to pass judgment on different sects and groups in ignorance and without understanding? For shame.

I attended a meeting of a heathen kinship a couple of years ago. Something that was said there left a bitter taste in my mouth. When describing Asatru to a couple of new comers, they were comparing Asatru to other religions. The comment made was that Heathens are more scholarly than Pagans. WHAT?!! WHAT?! It was incredibly difficult to keep my mouth shut.

After some thirteen years as a Pagan and Witch, I know that Pagans do not view Heathens as intellectuals, and that Heathens do not view Pagans as scholars. The irony is ridiculous.

The comment that Pagans are not a scholarly bunch bothered me, and left me feeling insulted, even thought they made a point of telling me that they feel I am different.

Just as every time I hear a Wiccan say “you’re not a real Wiccan” to another person bothers me, or hearing a Druid call a Heathen a “stupid Viking” bothers me.

I wish sometimes I could change human nature, and teach people they do not need to put down others to make themselves feel right or good about what they do, who they are, and which group they belong to.

I wish I could force the Pagan community to some spend time walking in each other’s shoes before passing judgment.

But I know it is a fight I couldn’t win.

So, for now, I shall be what I am, the kind of witch who lives at the edge of the community, because sometimes she cannot stand living within it.

Related posts:

1. An Open Letter