{"id":18605,"date":"2018-10-01T01:10:37","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T06:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=19195"},"modified":"2018-09-30T13:41:52","modified_gmt":"2018-09-30T18:41:52","slug":"celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2018\/10\/01\/celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-44\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times<\/b><\/u> <\/b><\/u>October 2018<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

Bright Blessings,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is the end of the growing season for me due to the kinds of plants I grow, and I\u2019ve already started fall cleanup. It\u2019s also the time I begin planning what I will plant in fall, and I decide what I might like to consider growing come next Spring. I am busily reading bulb catalogs and selecting next years seeds. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pulling the zinnias is always heartbreaking, but we had such heavy rains earlier in the month, they had been knocked over onto the sidewalk so badly, and I had no choice. They wouldn\u2019t have been left another week even, however, as they were spent. The stems and roots were packaged up as yard waste, and the flower heads given to a neighbor friend who dotes on the neighborhood birds. The birds just love to munch on zinnia seeds in the flower heads!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also, we are rolling towards Samhain, the final harvest, and in Westerville, the town just North of Columbus where I live, that means we are having pumpkin patch trips, apple picking days at orchards, and the last of our tomatoes we proudly grew all Summer are blessing us with abundant bounty.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It also means poison ivy for those of us doing cleanup. BAH! A neighbor told me to vinegar spray the heck out of them, and I am going to do that today. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I also did not plant as much this year and I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t. My back has taken a turn for the worse, and although I am in physical therapy now, it\u2019s been getting progressively worse for about five years now. I may have to accept downsizing the amount of plants I do from now on, and I am not happy about it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Good and the Bad<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Like in the garden, there is good and bad in all things. Everybody wants the good, but facing the ugly realities happen to be something few care to do. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of the typical Sabbat based article, I will be reviewing a couple of things that came up in pop culture that has a lot of feathers ruffled in our communities, discuss some things from a generation ago, and why we ought not to be so quick to fly off all angry or offended.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Box<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing that made so many Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans angry was the Witch Starter Kit Sephora was about to release.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Various individuals blew up all over social media calling it theft, appropriation, offensive, infuriating, intolerable, and what have you. Many bloggers condemned it as sacrilege, and disrespectful of Witchcraft and Wicca, and there was such a public outcry, Sephora pulled the product, and they apologized.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently, I am the only Wiccan\/Witch\/Pagan who was not in any way upset by this product. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before you boycott me, or burn effigies of me, hear me out.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I am going to number the reasons why it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to be upset about this product.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. There are tons of similar kits out on shelves and have been for quite some time. What, you think the \u201cStarter Voodoo Kit\u201d you nabbed at Barnes and Noble or Half Priced Books when you were 17 were authentic and written by a real Voodoo priestess? Think again. You think the \u201cCrystal Pack\u201d you nabbed at a similar shop, or even a metaphysical store were by a real elder of the craft? Not necessarily. Both mainstream shops, and metaphysical shops sell such items on a daily basis and have for quite some time. Nobody who is raising hell and crying that Sephora\u2019s kit is a great injustice to our sacred traditions seems upset about the other kits at all. This is no different. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Look what is in it. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. A tarot deck, which you can get almost anyplace these days.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    2. A rose quartz crystal, which again, gets sold in kits constantly. We had a stash of different \u2018crystals\u2019 at a cavern where I was a tour guide, and you can nab then at various trendy shops at malls these days. Many non-metaphysical stores carry magical crystals, and nobody complains. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    3. White sage- which, I am sorry is not in any way European. It is Native to the American Southwest, and South America. So don\u2019t tell me that was misappropriated by this company from European based Pagan and Witch traditions. WE took it from Native Americans. We take a LOT from their practices, and that is a proven fact. Witches use white sage, and don\u2019t think twice about the fact we got it from somebody else. If we are allowed to incorporate practices from others, then others are allowed to incorporate our practices into theirs as well. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Various good smelling tubes of something something. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Each of these products is sold to, sold by, and used by Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches on a daily basis. They are also sold by non-magical practitioners who want to earn money. Even some mainstream groceries carry essential oils these days, and I know of more than one organic market that has nag champa, white sage, and tons of essential oils for sale. Nobody bats an eye about that. Sephora is just one of many companies creating a product that the magical public uses. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      Furthermore, in the apology they released, they said \u201cOur intention for the product was to create something that celebrates wellness, personal ceremony, and intention setting with focus on using fragrance as a beauty ritual.\u201d That is magic folks. And glamour. Witches are well-known for using certain looks, and scents to illicit responses, and beauty and making others find us pleasant smelling will draw more people to us. Rose quartz also initiates love and affection. It\u2019s just another magic kit. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Not everybody in our communities who sells to us belong to the tradition of merch they are selling. I will reword that to make sure people understand what I am saying. Every metaphysical shop where I have ever entered was ran by somebody who practiced a particular path, but sold things for members of many other paths besides their own. Some shop owners are not initiated, and just self-educated, and are very good at running a store. At no time in the 13 years I have been active in the Pagan\/New Age\/Metaphysical community have I ever heard one individual remark on this fact, let alone refuse to by merch for Wicca from a Druid, for example. It would make no sense because how would we be able to buy anything if we were so picky? Sephora\u2019s product is no different.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Furthermore, not everybody in our community who is either a business person or clergyperson has any education, training, or affiliation outside of their own thing. Don\u2019t believe me? I have met more than one self-initiated, self-ordained \u201cPriestess\u201d who recognizes no elders, and put herself in charge because she wanted to be the boss. They have no issue finding followers. I have also known non-clergy who read a few books, and declare titles for themselves they swear was bestowed celestially, and everybody else is just too unenlightened to understand. There are always a number of them at every large gathering, and they slip in and out of our circles seamlessly. We \u201cdon\u2019t judge\u201d and we \u201care inclusive\u201d and put up with a lot of bullshit because we are terrified of somebody getting mad at us for questioning them. Why do we accept this at face value from people who come to our gatherings who are not one of us, yet we raise hell over a product that is actually usable? Furthermore- who is the actual person who designed the kit? Are they Pagan or not? Would it matter if they were?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      3. The people who make tarot cards are not always practitioners. Some are just good at art, got a deal, and have bills to pay. Furthermore, the people who do the assembly line work cannot possibly all practice magic or be Pagan. Nobody seems to mind about that. The people selling you the merch at a non-Pagan shop may or may not practice magic or one of our religions. Again, nobody seems to care. How do you handpick your tarot cards? Do you research the manufacturer and artist and pick over a deck because they do not adhere to your tradition? Nobody does this. It would make no sense. So why are we mad at this manufacturer but none of the other ones? It is not possible to buy all things for our religious or magical practice only from others who practice just as we do. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Is it because it\u2019s more mainstream? Well, how many times have Pagans. Wiccans, and Witches decried the fact the mainstream often rejects us? Now that we are \u201csocially acceptable\u201d enough for things we use to be saleable in a mainstream shop, as we swear up and down we deserve to be, we are insulted. I am sorry, but we cannot have it both ways. \u201cIt\u2019s a corporation so they have no right to take our money\u201d some have said. Really? I will mention Barnes and Noble and Half Priced Books again. I am not sure which of the three companies I mentioned makes more money, but all of them are pretty large, successful businesses. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      5. Our practices are derived from other practices. Period. I have already mentioned our use of white sage. But let\u2019s talk about Wicca in general. An excellent publication that is one of the most controversial in our history is Aiden Kelly\u2019s Inventing Witchcraft. In it, he published parts of Gerald Gardner\u2019s Book of Shadows. The entire Book of Shadows is now available for free online at Sacred Texts. Here is the link- http:\/\/www.sacred-texts.com\/pag\/gbos\/index.htm<\/a> Nobody was supposed to see that except initiates, as it was secret, and for members only. Some Wiccans were very angry with Kelly for this. Oh yeah?
        \nWell, Kelly demonstrated line by line just WHERE Gardner got certain things from. Some from Crowley, some from Rudyard Kipling, some from varied other sources, some on his own. But Gardner and early Wiccans swore Wicca was ancient, from an unbroken tradition, and unchanged for centuries, even thousands of years. My question was- if it was all SO secret, why did Gardner and others put ads in the newspapers, contact journalists to do interviews, write books for publication, and generally put Wicca in the public immediately? Because nothing was secret, nothing was ancient, and they wanted to attract as many as possible. That is fine, it being a small, secret tradition for the few, and it is now readily available for anybody who will buy a book cannot both be true at the same time. Furthermore, Doreen Valiente, a true High Priestess, took one look at some of Gardner\u2019s ritual writings, and said \u201cNo way.\u201d She rewrote quite a bit herself. Kelly\u2019s book can be had from Amazon.com, and         here is the link<\/a>.
        \nWicca is not an ethnocentric ancient religion that went underground and reemerged when Gerald Gardner decided to publish books. It\u2019s Gardner\u2019s creation. It\u2019s one I am thankful for, but it\u2019s something that was pulled together and created from the many things that inspired Gardner. We, those who practice that have no business criticizing others for doing the same things we, ourselves do. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      6. We do not own the practices we utilize, and are not allowed to tell other people they cannot practice what we do unless we give them permission. Many other religious traditions, including atheists who believe in energy and spirits use the things we use, and follow some of the same practices. We do not have the right to dictate they are not allowed. Even somebody who thinks a kit at a shop is pretty or interesting or looks fun has the right to buy it and use the things without our guidance, permission, or approval. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      7. Nobody is making fun of us. Nobody makes us look bad but ourselves. I could list all the things I have seen and the people who I have met in the community who have driven me to tears of frustration over the years with their bullshit, but I know good and well the rest of you have seen pretty much the same things, so I won\u2019t bore you. We also almost never call people on their shit in our communities unless it is childish arguing online over some discussion topic. I would really like to see us focus more on the condition of our own community instead of pitching fits about how some people who don\u2019t belong in our circles views us. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      8. It is not the mainstream\u2019s job or responsibility to portray us correctly. That is up to us. I am so over the people crying over Charmed or the latest horror flick\u2019s wrongful use of the pentacle. I am sick to death of hearing people passionately declare Hollywood makes us look like devil worshipers and is to blame for misconceptions about us. No. Again, that\u2019s us. And that did not come from Hollywood originally. It came out of the fact we use terminology the Xtains have used for centuries to denote devil worship. The word \u201cwitch\u201d was never used to indicate something good until Gardner \u201creclaimed \u201c the word, swearing up and down the Inquisitors misunderstood the indigenous religions and demonized them. If you read what the witch trials looked for, you will not find one damned thing about Mother Earth, the goddess, blessing babies, handfastings, honoring elders, or blessing the garden. You will find sex with the devil, killing innocent people, enslaving people, poisoning neighbors they had a disagreement with, turning into rabbits to eat all their neighbors vegetables, causing crop blights, and insect infestations, peeing in a hole to create a hailstorm, making epidemic illnesses, etc. The word Coven, the number 13, the black hats, a horned man all in black, and brooms were all things \u201cconfessed\u201d to during torture during witch trials. Nobody ever did those things. So Christians were taught there were evil people worshiping the devil doing all the awful things you could think of, and we are a new religion of people using the language set by the Inquisitors having \u201creclaimed\u201d the terms? Likewise, the terms \u201cPagan \u201c and \u201cHeathen\u201d was used in the Bible to denote terrible people, and yet we call ourselves these things and demand to immediately be identified as the good people we actually are as opposed to the horrible people the words have been used by Xtians to describe. I think this is unfair of us. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The Commercial<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Now I come to a commercial that is making people mad as hell also, and to me, it\u2019s not infuriating either. Here is the video:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n