I find
it simply gnawing at my nerves more and more. A patient and level-headed
person as myself, can normally overlook the outright stupidity of
others. However, it gets personal when people began to poke and prod at
my religion. I am a Wiccan. Pretty darn proud of it too and I don’t
appreciate people tainting it with mindless dribble. I don’t
appreciate people making Wicca seem like something it isn’t at all.
Now, I
am not talking about our typical “save-your-soul” Christians because
I know their hearts are in the right place. I am not even referring to
those who cringe in fear that I might turn them into frogs or think I am
Satan’s daughter. No. I am talking about those people who stumble
across Wicca and latch on to it immediately. We can call them
“fluffies” or whatever floats your boat, but there is more to these
kinds of people then simply throwing spells around and wearing fancy
jewelry. I can look past people like this. For them it is probably just
a phase. It’s those people who are tearing apart my religion that I
have something against. It is those people who build this entire
illusion up on what Wicca is. They have books, websites, tapes and CDs
simply dedicated to teaching people their Wicca.
This
opinion I have, that people have no right to tamper with such a
beautiful religion, possibly might have to do with my past influences.
Books like The Heart of Wicca (why yes, even The Mists of Avalon has
more truth in it then some of those “Wiccan Leaders” that write
books), people like my mother and grandmother——they have all played
a part in how I feel about Wicca.
I see
it as something sacred. But it seems that with its rising popularity,
newcomers to the religion are destroying what it truly is. People are
following a path that is so unorganized and warped that it is slowly
becoming nothing more then one of those fad-religions. Watered down and
torn apart, it is growing harder and harder to tell the lies from the
truth. My biggest fear is
that Wicca might eventually reach an embarrassing demise.
People
flock to Wicca because, simply put: It is so laidback. Head down to
store and BAM! There is a section with kits and books on do-it yourself
spells. Go on the internet and type in Wicca and hundreds of websites
will come up telling everything you will ever need to know. Don’t even
get me started with covens or we could be here for awhile. A group of
pimply teens get together and instantly slap on the label ‘coven.’
Forgive me, but yes I DO have a problem with this. It probably wasn’t
intended, but these kind of actions are an insult to my beliefs.
How
are we to rid the world of silly superstitions if even among our fellow
Wiccans, we can’t keep things together? I was in a chat room not too
long ago for teen Wiccans and you would not believe how many of these
kids claimed to be Wiccan but had not the slightest inkling to who
Gerald Gardner was. Or they went into these full speeches about “NEVER
AGAIN THE BURNING TIMES!”
I
am told not to get worked up about this kind of stuff. People tell me
there isn’t much I can do. Well, with that attitude I probably
couldn’t. So what is my
point? Who do I think I am going off on other people’s beliefs? Well
honestly, think what you may but I am not an elitist or someone who
wants to completely isolate Wicca. I am just a concerned person who is
passionate about being Wiccan and is afraid to see its destruction. I
write this because, I am just simply tired of keeping it all in. Please,
I am not trying to sound selfish about all this, however in some ways,
yes I am. We have to get our facts straight, people. You want to study
Wicca? Go outside and take a moment to reflect on the world around you.
Honestly, we have to first know what it is to be a Wiccan before we dare
try to tell others.
--
Faelanah
