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All about irreverand-hugh - who has written 21 posts on Erin's Journal.
Posts by irreverand-hugh:
Neo-Pagan Witchcraft / Wicca 101 Glossary Part 2
High and Low Magic
High magic refers to much of what the Ceremonial Magic traditions and orders, such as the Golden Dawn or the O.T.O., were doing at the time Gerald Gardner founded Wicca in the 1950′s.
Practices and traditions associated with high magic include the Kabbalah, Alchemy, some of Astrology, Enochian Magic, and the various practices of illuminism. Much of what Aleister Crowley did could be considered
high magic.
Today, Ceremonial Magic is alive and well. It is worth one’s while to at least read up on some of the various groups practicing it.
The terms “Left Hand Path” and “Right Hand Path” incidentally come from Ceremonial Magicians who borrowed the concepts from Indian Tantra. It is commonly thought that the
Left Hand Path refers to selfish or worldly magical practices whereas the Right Hand Path refers to enlightened or healing magical practices. Neither of these descriptions are correct, however.
Left and Right Hand refer simply to one’s focus in practice. Left is more inner-focused and self-oriented whereas Right is more world-oriented and other-focused. The practices of the movement known as Chaos Magic
utilizes elements of both.
Thanks, But No Thanks
Some responses to “Some Christian Observations on Paganism and Wicca”
In an article* for the Spotlight Ministries website, Vincent McCann attempts to address some Pagan ideas. While this is a laudable thing in and of itself, McCann’s article falls short of creating any actual understanding between Pagans and Christians and instead relies upon some of the very misconceptions that Christians have about Pagan religions. Though he claims at the end to have addressed those misconceptions, he has only reinforced them.
First off, he seems to conflate Wicca and Paganism. Whereas Wicca can be considered a Pagan religion, Paganism is the shorthand term used for all Pagan religions. There are many of them and though they share similar approaches to life and of conceiving the divine, their expressions and rituals are widely variant. The Pagan family includes Wicca, Asatru, Celtic Polytheism, Hellenismos, Discordianism, and other religions. Conflating Wicca and Paganism is a common enough mistake to make however and has nothing to do with the author’s Christianity in the least. Many in mainstream society also tend to conflate Wicca and Paganism. Though someone who publishes an article anywhere to be read by others should at least do cursory research before attempting to use terms such as Paganism or Wicca so that they can learn the difference.
The Greatest Neo-Pagan Conceit
One thing that bothers me is the fact that Neo-Pagans, and those who call themselves Wiccan in particular, are virulently anti-Christian. Even the supposedly more moderate Neo-Pagan elders (who should know better) have made statements to the effect that Neo-Paganism is going to replace Christianity. (Not a very diplomatic expression. Not even an expression that shows any of Neo-Paganism’s supposed open-mindedness.) I must confess that such an event, if not coerced, would be fine by me. But frankly, despite the wishful thinking of many people who have probably themselves escaped or left the Christianity of their parents, I find no evidence that Christianity is going to be replaced by anything closely resembling Neo-Paganism. Christianity is not even disappearing, though its influence on several Western European nations has waned considerably in the last hundred years. Within American society, Christianity is stronger now than it has ever been since the founding of the nation.
Wicca: A New Religion of the Old Gods
Breaking Craft Stereotypes:
“Just because my religion gives me a cyclical view of life, doesn’t mean I’ll let you run me around in circles.”
The Wiccan “cosmology,” if you will, describing a twin axis between a double-aspected God and triple-aspected Goddess, and a deep yet seldom explored (at least by hordes of new and increasingly vocal Wiccans) four element schema cross-referenced by a yearly cyclical calendar based off of a creative interpretation of observable natural events is all a modern collective vision. Many of the things that make up this cosmology can be said to stretch back towards humanity’s self-consciously accepted “pre-history.” But this is nothing new in the history of religions. New religions often take up strands of older practices or viewpoints and synthesize them into new practices and meanings relevant for those doing task of weaving them together. Many of Wicca’s practices and certainly most of its belief structure can be correctly said to be modern developments. This is, in and of itself, the way things have always been with human spirituality and religion.
On Black Magic
Much of the Neopagan community is woefully ignorant about magic and its terminology. I should point out the many in the occult or magical community also fall under this ignorance, but I haven’t run into many occultists who necessarily have problems with “black magic” unless they are pulling legs, or pretending to be infamous. This would normally not present any problem, since Neopagan religions are not necessarily magical systems, though they may use magical elements in ritual much as the majority of world religions do. The problem is that Wicca, and other Pagan religious variants under the Witchcraft rubric, consciously uses magical elements and practices and names them as such. This has led to the curious situation today where many Wiccans, self-professed Witches, and Wicca-influenced people will claim they do not practice “black magic.” Many older or more experienced people will often respond with the seemingly intelligent phrase “magic has no color.” But such a statement really says nothing new.
Eris, the Goddess of Confusion, Chaos, and Laughter
(Note from Daven: Please note, this is NOT my article, but it is THE best article I have ever seen dealing with who Eris is and why we should care. Do not make the mistake of dismissing this goddess just because she seems scary like other trickster/chaotic deities (like Loki, Coyote and Discordia) have been in the past. They are CRITICAL to our world. I made a comment when I read this article, and the author said it was one of the best summations of how a Discordian sees Chaos: “Creative Chaos. Without chaos, no inventions can happen, no progress can be made, for it is the spark of the Chaotic that prompts inspiration. Total Order is stagnation. ” So, keep that in mind.)
Eris, the Goddess of Confusion, Chaos, and Laughter
by “Irreverend Hugh (otherwise known as Triskell), KSC, of the Discordians for Softer Sandpaper Society”
“Eris doesn’t want your soul. She only wants to talk to you.â€
Witchcraft Heresies
Copyright © 2005; see bottom of page for full notice.
The Wiccan Rede
Breaking Craft Stereotypes:
What the Hell is Your Problem?
Breaking Craft Stereotypes:
To start with, I practice Wicca. I am a modern Pagan. (Or Neo-Pagan, as I prefer.) This means you can consider me Wiccan. You can most definitely consider me Pagan. But why would you assume that I have no spiritual life outside of the religion known as Wicca? Why would you assume that because I am a Pagan that I cannot be into any other practices? What part of “poly” in the word “polytheism” do you not understand? The last couple of years, I went through a period of not wanting to use the “Wicca” moniker on account of all the bullshit and fluffy nonsense that I saw among people who call themselves Wicca. Then recently, the thought occurred to me: Why should I let all of those suckers take away what I (and others) tend to call my religion?
