A Random Rebuttal
The laypagans have been getting on my nerves lately. That’s my problem, not theirs, I’m big enough to admit it.
I believe that people need to shake free of this McWicca mentality and stop looking for easy way to anything.
However … we can’t fault laypagans for being laypagans.
Not all of us are called to a deeper path, not all of us are smart, or educated, or disciplined.
Some of us may have learning disabilities or have other things going on in our lives that take away from our ability to practice and study at someone else’s standards. If a fellow witch seems to be lazy to me, while I may rail against lazy pagans in general, I will not rail at HER. For all I know she has a hubby with pancreatic cancer at home and doesn’t have the time to read like I do.
Not all of us are called to be mystics, priestesses, shamans and so forth … some of us are just pagan. Most villagers or farmers in the Old Days did little more than attend the major festivals, bringing an offering along and eating the feast with everyone else, maybe tossing a old hammer in the nearby lake now and then. We modern Pagans are getting large enough now to again see such things.
Congregation. Its reality now, accept it folks.
While I do strive to advocate responsible practice, intelligent study and critical thinking skills, cultural respect and so forth myself, I see no good in getting involved in the “Real Witch Debate”. Calling particular groups out, or getting into the thinking that we can judge whether or not another is worthy of their own spiritual path is a dangerous and slippery slope. It also does nothing to help build bridges, community, or communication. Nor does it create an atmosphere where those who do yearn for a deeper spiritual path feel welcomed and invited.
And while I’m at it …
I’d also like to state for the record that not everyone in my generation is obsessed with Charmed and Buffy. I’d also like to point out that was the 90’s, over a decade ago … nearly two. We grew up; I’m pushing thirty for crying out loud I don’t watch kids shows any more. Get over it. There are new teenagers now, go look down your noses at them.
Thanks
Juni
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*giggle-snort*…McWicca?!?!?
My witch can beat up your witch…..*grin*
Great post….
And….even those of us who still watch Buffy do so because Joss Whedon is a kick-ass writer, not because we think it’s some realistic portrayal of witchcraft, and omg, we want to be just! like! Willow!
(Oh, the 1990s. How I miss your crunchy acoustic grrl rock and comfortable clothes.)
Joss Whedon writes smart, strong, female leads too!!! (I love Firefly)
I miss grrl rock and comfortable clothes as well. And also Dr. Martins!
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
Hi there,
I am catching up on your enjoyable blog (which I found while researching the Crooked Path podcasts). This is a perceptive comment and one that “my” generation needs to absorb.
You’re right. Not everyone is called to be a priest, priestess, shaman, “Witch”-with-a-capital-W, Druid, or whatever. In fact, most people I meet these days are not.
And of the ones who are ready and thirsty to study in depth, most work service jobs with strange schedules and/or are self-employed (a euphemism for “works all the time”). You look at British witches (including Wiccan witches) in the 40s, 60s, and 60s — how many of them held down a job? The only one I can think of was Robert Cochrane. Gardner was retired but while he worked, he was in Southeast Asia in a job that gave him leisure and ability to explore and study.
So far our local community has not developed ways to serve these various needs — the ones who have the time and ability for indepth work; the ones who have the talent and dedication but with stringent lifestyle restrictions; and the ones who just adopt a Pagan philosophy without really wanting or needing to go in deep.
What I have a hard time with, though, are people in the latter category who think they ARE being deep when they read a book on, say, dragons and think they are half- or quarter-dragon, and maybe even a Third Degree Dragon Master. (Substitute, vampire, elf, fairy, etc. for dragon.) And there are an increasing lot of them.
O, the 90s! Back when it was cool to be a Perl-munching Goth-wearing antisocial X-Files watching outcast. How I miss you!
As a side note, where have you been all my life? Seriously – you’re writing is awesome and you’re *one province away from me*. Very cool!
really loved the article added to my favourites
“Mc Wicca mentality” – this really made me laugh loud!!!
I’m also from the Buffy generation and I found it stupid even when I was 17
.
Simpily right on! I am 33 and a mom so I do watch cartoons with my babies some of the time LOL. But you are so right about there being new generation of teens. I am amazed at some of the things they think is deep these days. On the other hand I have met some really sincere and hard studying teens who realize they do need to do more then read and get out there in to nature, plus really listen to those who we might call elders even if they don’t agree.
I remember being new to the path and this one more experence lady kept warning me against doing certain kinds or spells and such. i was not even studying with her or talking with her about what I was practicing. and every time i had already made up my mind to do something else or handle things differently. I finally told her, “Thanks for your concern, but you have losy timing.”
Peace
“…You look at British witches (including Wiccan witches) in the 40s, 60s, and 60s — how many of them held down a job? The only one I can think of was Robert Cochrane. Gardner was retired but while he worked, he was in Southeast Asia in a job that gave him leisure and ability to explore and study…”
What? Where did you get that idea? Gardner was not retired for the sum total of his participation in the Craft. He worked on a plantation, ran the museum on the Isle of Man among other things. Eleanore Bone worked as a nurse and caretaker in a convalescent home…you can read about that in the many news articles she gave interviews for. Patricia Crowther was a stage actress, lecturer and author. There were a number of others who were teachers, housewives, mechanics, and a host of other employment arenas that aren’t perhaps publicly known. Not everyone made their CV’s and resumes available to the general public but they didn’t live on public aid or act as paid clergy, if that’s what you’re implying.
It is no different for today’s modern practitioners. And it all comes down to prioritizing your time and making a place for your spirituality in your life.
No one is alienating eclectic and hedgewitch style practitioners if that is how they elect to fit witchery into their lives. They are no less a witch than the staunchest of traditionalists. But to claim that trad folks have some magic credentials or endless supply of wealth that allows them to work the path in their way without worry for finances or a roof over their head….that is a wholly unfounded and erroneous perception.
A witch of any stripe has to make decisions about what level of commitment to their ritual practice and study they can comfortably afford to fit into their lives amidst the work, childrearing, sleep and tax paying. Don’t assume that because some folks do find a way to accomodate more participation of a certain nature than you do that they are well off.
I assure you, I’m not. I’m a middle class gal just trying to keep food on my table, a roof over my head and the bill collectors from my doorstep. That I also happen to be a trad HPS is sometimes a juggling act, but to me, it is worth the occasional stress that comes from teaching others and hosting circles in my home.
http://broomhandle.blogspot.com/2009/06/practice-practice-practice.html
Good post!
I agree with Albiana, although she is misusing the term “Hedgewitch” to mean “solitary witch/wiccan-with-a-small-w”.
And Firefly was WAY better than Buffy. Especially the last two seasons of Buffy. It’s like Joss ran out of ideas. Oh–and Dr. Horrible kicks both their butts.