Out of the Shadows: Wicca Grows in Austin and Beyond

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

I don't think Pagans are exactly secretive although it isn 't the dispossession of property and burning that is bothersome today, but its still the persecution and judgemental attitude of others that usually makes many Pagans keep quiet. That disparaging attitude invariably comes from people who know nothing about what a Pagan thinks and does.

I attach a copy of the Wiccan Rede which, if you choose to look through it will show you that there is nothing darkly evil about Pagan belief. I knew instinctively before I became Pagan that this was how I instinctively lived my life from childhood and Paganism defined this belief for me. (I am not trying to convert you whatsoever, just opening a window onto something we are discussing).

"Be it harm none, do it".

wicca.com...

It's so very sad that Americans don't understand what Wicca is.
They're just too frightened to do any research I guess.

Anyway - today I stumbled upon this:



28 Reasons I’m DONE Talking To Most Of My Conservative Friends And Family Members

I’m disappointed and disturbed to see intelligent and/or educated people who are willfully ignorant. But while it does change my opinion about you on some level, more than anything I’m embarrassed for you.

It hurts me to see you post conspiracy theories on your Facebook timeline, only to have them debunked with a quick Snopes link. It hurts me to see you expressing unapologetic and blatant racism and ignorance. It absolutely tortures me to see you being on the wrong side of history on so many issues.

Although I’ll always love you guys, I have had to quit — for my own sanity and for the sake of our relationships — attempting to engage in intelligent conversation about politics and social issues with most of you. From now on, we’ll talk about the weather, recipes, our mutual friends, our children, our illnesses, thrift shop finds, and our old memories. I want to know what’s going on in your lives. What books are you reading? What home improvements are you planning? Hell, I’ll even follow you on Pinterest!

I very much appreciate those of you who can still have an intelligent conversation and listen to another point of view. Hopefully this small group of sane conservatives never changes.

Click to see the 28 reasons. They are very pertinent.

a reply to: Shiloh7

I attach a copy of the Wiccan Rede which, if you choose to look through it will show you that there is nothing darkly evil about Pagan belief. I knew instinctively before I became Pagan that this was how I instinctively lived my life from childhood and Paganism defined this belief for me. (I am not trying to convert you whatsoever, just opening a window onto something we are discussing).

"Be it harm none, do it".

Yep!

Also stated as "An it Harm None, Do as You Will"

a reply to: Shiloh7

i know about wiccans, but itis only one pagan religion, there are darker ones out there, and if i remember correctly being a wiccan itself can have many different aspects to it depending on them individual group both light and dark.

and like i said before some would masquerade as wiccans and seemed innocent enough,but also practiced a much darker magik.

as far as worrying about being judged? that sounds like the individuals problem, and is no were close to getting burnt at the stake or drowned

a reply to: Shiloh7

i know about wiccans, but itis only one pagan religion, there are darker ones out there, and if i remember correctly being a wiccan itself can have many different aspects to it depending on them individual group both light and dark.

and like i said before some would masquerade as wiccans and seemed innocent enough,but also practiced a much darker magik.

as far as worrying about being judged? that sounds like the individuals problem, and is no were close to getting burnt at the stake or drowned

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

as with almost every religion, there will always be people who take the darker path. It's human nature, we can either do good or harm, the choice is ours.

originally posted by: DOCHOLIDAZE1
a reply to: Klassified

yes third world populations have a lot of problems,

and it looks like its a holy war, Muslim vs christian and they use the term witchcraft as way to impose torture on their enemys

this alot different then the pagan stuff i was talking about in America were i live. im pretty sure we stopped burning people for w.c. some centurys ago

There are good and bad in every religious belief Doc. My point is, Wiccans, and other pagan religions are usually much less likely to be extremist than the big religions. When we're talking extremists or radicalized, it's usually Christian or Muslim, not Wiccans or witches.

a reply to: Klassified

My point is, Wiccans, and other pagan religions are usually much less likely to be extremist than the big religions.

i don't know if that statement can proven at all. so you should retract or modify it. and btw there are many radical pagan religions that would participate in human sacrifice (some would argue they still do).

ever think maybe the reason pagans were getting burned at the stake, cause people were tired of getting rounded up and sacrificed. Just a thought.

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

Maybe you should research the Spanish role in starting the inquisition and the reasons behind it. I'll give you a hint, it involved a lot of fear-mongering mostly for power and money as a way to compel the masses to their will. If you knew anything about the Inquisitions it had very little to do with actual witchcraft and more to do with a way for politicians to eliminate rivals.

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1
When was the last time the news media covered a story of a radicalized coven of witches beheading anyone because they weren't a witch? That's right. Never.
When was the last time a Wiccan blew up, or murdered people at an abortion clinic? Answer? Never.
When was the last time fox/cnn aired a news story about a pagan throwing a gay man/woman from a roof to their death. You guessed it. Never.
When was the last time you read a news article about pagans saying that people died because their god was punishing them for sin? Never.
When was the last time a witch/Wiccan/pagan was in the news for raping little boys? Right. Never.

The list is near endless, Doc. Like I said. There are bad people in every walk of life. To place Christianity/Islam/Judaism on a pedestal above any other faith, accept those who really do sacrifice humans is very narrow-minded and bigoted, imo.

ever think maybe the reason pagans were getting burned at the stake, cause people were tired of getting rounded up and sacrificed. Just a thought.

Ever wondered why it was ok for Christianity to wipe out/murder whole cultures, torture people, hang them, burn them at the stake, and enslave people? What made it ok even one time?
Ever think maybe those pagan religions who harm no one are secretive because Christianity/Islam/Judaism have a history of persecuting and murdering anyone who opposes them, and it's still happening today? Granted, the U.S. doesn't have the cases of violence some other countries have, but the persecution is still there by Christians against anyone they deem deserves it. Like LGBT's and Wiccans.

Whatever, that's enough. I'll leave it there.

originally posted by: roaland
Its the Vatican i have issues with. Harm ye none doest as thou wilst.

However, you have just walked into the final One World Religion trap that the Vatican is going to force down everyone's throat.

Its going to be one huge spiritual Divide & Conquer war, orchestrated by the elite, where all hard-core spiritually gifted mortals are going to slug it out whilst the banksters financially back the warring factions.

i guess its a gift to possessed by a daemon that can see that all of this religious sh1t is worth nothing in the long term - eternity.

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

On the outside they appear no more then nature loving hippies that have taken it to a more formal level, but in reality much darker mystery's lurk in their circles. and not to mention pagans have infiltrated the vatacin and masquerade as Cristian, and then use their power to manipulate millions

And what if the Church was already infiltrated ie what if the actual crusifixion, virgin birth, trinity were "taken" from Pagan sources to begin with?

Theres plenty of sources to suggest that Christianity (esp Pauline doctrine) is the Roman Empire version II.
We used to mix with pagan circles, but like Christianity we found that there are "psychic vampires" in there as well. Now we keep to ourselves. Power shared is power lost.

originally posted by: roaland
a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

as with almost every religion, there will always be people who take the darker path. It's human nature, we can either do good or harm, the choice is ours.

And doing harm to others is still illegal.

It baffles me that people obsess so much over what other think, or believe, or even do, when it has absolutely no impact on them and their lives at all.
And these same people are usually the ones who are so determined to scream from the rooftops about their own freedoms and rights - they seem to believe in those freedoms and rights as long as you're exactly like them and believe everything they believe.

As a follower of Pagan philosophies myself I can say that I have never met a Pagan of any branch of faith who follows "dark" paths, I don't know where these people are supposedly hiding, and I don't know how anyone can view any of it as secretive either.

Seems to me someone here is spreading misconceptions and outright fantasies in an effort to somehow place their beliefs above those of others.

originally posted by: DOCHOLIDAZE1
i don't know if that statement can proven at all. so you should retract or modify it. and btw there are many radical pagan religions that would participate in human sacrifice (some would argue they still do).

If you're going to demand evidence and supporting statements to back up someone's opinion, you really should be providing evidence to support the claims you are making in this thread about "secretive groups" and "dark" practices.

They've made an observation which you then demand evidence for, while making accusations about people within another group based on absolutely no evidence at all.

originally posted by: DOCHOLIDAZE1
ever think maybe the reason pagans were getting burned at the stake, cause people were tired of getting rounded up and sacrificed. Just a thought.

There is no evidence at all that this was the case.
There is plenty of evidence throughout our histories that people of the Pagan faiths (and plenty of NO faith too) were simply rounded up and murdered by the Catholics for nothing more than not being Catholic.

If you want to try and push this belief, you're going to need to rewrite hundreds of years of European history, good luck with that.

a reply to: Klassified

When was the last time the news media covered a story of a radicalized coven of witches beheading anyone because they weren't a witch? That's right. Never.

back when this stuff was happening there was not "news articles"

so a news article about pagan sacrifice is impossible to read but we do know it really happend.

why dont we read them now? hmmm maybe it has something to do with that secrecy i was talking about.

To place Christianity/Islam/Judaism on a pedestal above any other faith, accept those who really do sacrifice humans is very narrow-minded and bigoted, imo.

I never placed anything over anything, so at this point your putting words in my mouth as to get some some kind of sympathy from your cronies on this thread.

Like LGBT's and Wiccans.

are you really comparing gays to wiccans, that's hilarious and i am going to assume offensive to some gays that actually give a crap what people think. Your grasping at straws here so i think you should do just that

I'll leave it there.

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

i dont trust any of you guys, show me a church or "circle", and ill show you a place i will avoid. any one that keeps secrets as to gain power are hairy little CooUNTS in my opinion.

And what if the Church was already infiltrated ie what if the actual crusifixion, virgin birth, trinity were "taken" from Pagan sources to begin with?

Thats what i was trying to elude to before i was cornered, questioned, and reprimanded(ok, maybe not so dramatic) for my beliefs.


but you do notice I spoke out against a religion(s) and now people are trying to sway my belief system, its funny, they very thing the op was against in the op

a reply to: roaland

I know about the Spanish Inquisition, but that was one group doing one thing for their own reasons, you and i both know there is way more killing involved on both sides in all human history.

I really just came to this thread to state the opinion i dont trust pagans and for a good reason,

your thread is open to opinions without persecution,Right?

a reply to: Rocker2013

never once placed one belief above another, you made that up. In fact the only thing Ive said i dont trust pagans.

Not one person has asked me what my religious beliefs are, so if you guys really think im trying say i am above you guys because of my beliefs you wouldn't know because you don't know my beliefs

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

i don't know if that statement can proven at all.

You are talking here about the statement that Klassified made:

"When was the last time the news media covered a story of a radicalized coven of witches beheading anyone because they weren't a witch? That's right. Never."

And you said to Klassified:

you should retract or modify it. and btw there are many radical pagan religions that would participate in human sacrifice (some would argue they still do).
In fact the only thing Ive said i dont trust pagans.

ROFL!!!! Yeah? Well, some of us don't trust "Christians" or "Muslims" or "Jews" ----------- or the bible.

Not one person has asked me what my religious beliefs are,

Okay....so, what are they, then?

so if you guys really think im trying say i am above you guys because of my beliefs you wouldn't know because you don't know my beliefs

You said you believe that 'witches' killed people. You said that, dude.
And you said that we should investigate the Spanish Inquisition -
and you said that 'witches' burned people alive.

And it's pathetic that you said those things, because they're totally wrong.

i don't know if that statement can proven at all. so you should retract or modify it. and btw there are many radical pagan religions that would participate in human sacrifice (some would argue they still do).

Cite this. Prove it. Provide evidence. Please.

[Did you] ever think maybe the reason pagans were getting burned at the stake, cause people were tired of getting rounded up and sacrificed. Just a thought.

Nope, never thought that. Because it's ridiculous. It is ridiculous fiction.

Just a thought.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

ROFL!!!! Yeah? Well, some of us don't trust "Christians" or "Muslims" or "Jews" ----------- or the bible.

cool we agree , never stated otherwise, although i do believe the history's of these old books come from something real. so these old books that have been changed and censored can never be completely discounted, only questioned and researched.

Okay....so, what are they, then?

I am leaning towards Crom, but am ultimately undecided

You said you believe that 'witches' killed people. You said that, dude.

No I said pagans killed people and also stated their are many different pagans and some collude in their beliefs and some are completely independent. That is what was said, And what i was trying to get across is if there is secrecy and collusion among SOME of the pagan religions since they are secret i wont trust any since i know nothing about there sources, whom they ally with, and whom there true god/godess, or gods/godesses are.


IT IS YOU GUYS THAT KEEP ASSUMING THAT WHEN I SAY PAGAN I MEAN ONLY WITCH.

And you said that we should investigate the Spanish Inquisition

Never said that, only said that is only one example and there is death on both sides, if you want to compare Christian and other mainstream religions and pagan religions

and you said that 'witches' burned people alive.

again never said that, sounds like you modifying my statements to fit your own needs as to be a "victim ".

Or is it some witches spell you are trying to put on me to make me believe im crazy as to make me believe in beliefs i never once had?
jk i know witch spells only work on ones weaker then them(which is why you guys need covens as to combine power). Im just glad all the strong witches were burned many years ago. again just kidding

Text Cite this. Prove it. Provide evidence. Please.

YOUR EVIDENCE

if you want to go across the pond

MORE PROF

and if your still not happy

AND MORE


here is the definition of Paganism
Definition of Paganism

So no I dont trust Pagans for good reason.

Nope, never thought that. Because it's ridiculous. It is ridiculous fiction. Just a thought.

No It is not fiction, your thought is wrong

Your not the only pagan in the world get over yourself. I have good reason to not trust pagans i hope you see why now



but if you really want to keep going im here huckelberry