Wiccans: Loki's Dupes

Pagans used to be rural peoples of Europe, which were labeled and targeted for forcible conversion by the rising stench of catholicism. Later on, it came to mean any religion other than the 'big three': islam, christianity, or judaism. It still means that supposedly, encompassing all but 3 of the 2,000 plus religions of the world. This includes some pretty big ones, such as Hinduism ( or 'the Shining Path', as they call themselves). The problem of course is the hijacking of the term pagan by the so-called 'wiccans'.

Wiccans claim to be followers of those rural Europeans' ways. They claim a direct, albeit vague, tie-in to more ancient nature religions as well. Then they get into a few habits that are entirely modern, supposing this defines them as practitioners of ancient ways. For one thing, they obsess over candles and incense. Those have uses when practicing magic, but did the country folk in Europe really make such a big to-do over them as today's wiccans do? They also have a strange obsession with poems, thinking that everything must rhyme- especially spells. If they manage to say something that rhymes it can be a spell, and they assume Nature will then take care of it for them. Then of course there is their 'wiccan rede'. It is a 'rede' because that is an old word for advice. They are completely taken with the older European culture, especially the Renaissance era, and to a lesser extent the Victorian era. For some reason they don't romanticize the Dark Ages... But this rede: it is supposed to simply state that you can do whatever you want to, as long it it doesn't harm anyone else. Of course this is translated into Middle English to some degree, to sound more Renaisance-ish. Then they like to lengthen it and make it sound poetic as well. Some redes are incredibly lengthy. Aside from all this, they are obsessed with their make-it-up-as-you-go spellcasting. I can't help but see most of this as a fantasyland being played out by simplistic hippies.

They claim to be followers of The Goddess. They make a big deal out of the 'three aspects' of Her- the maiden, mother, and crone. Then they pay (minimal) lip service on ocassion to the 'lesser' Gods and Goddesses, The God, and The Source.
Here is where it really gets interesting. Over 95% of modern day 'wiccans' are converts, virtually all of which were raised as christians. Most of these are former catholics.(You know - catholics - those idolatric people that perverted original christianity so badly, and always seem to be having visions of their goddess, mary. She usually appears to them as water stains, apparitions, or deformed cheeto puffs.) Somehow it does not seem like a stretch to posit that most wiccans are in fact ex-catholics.

Their Goddess is portrayed as a humanoid female with supernatural and omniscient powers. She can look like any number of people, depending on each wiccan's 'path', which is a differnet ancient belief system with the triple goddess concept thrown in. Their God is the Goddess' significant other, and their Source is the source energy and most ancient consciousness that is behind the universe's inception. (Funny how this Source is so marginalized by them...) Then their lesser gods and goddesses are aspects of the Goddess, as in personifications of Her powers and personalities. A pattern emerges: God, Mary, Jesus. Source, Goddess, God. Saints and other biblical characters = lesser gods and goddesses. Disenfranchised, rebellious catholics which are known to be prone to hallucinations, superstitions, and idolatry rename their cast of characters and voila - there be wicca here!

Like so many belief systems, there are things they prefer not to speak of. Let us start with a dude named Gardner. He's the man from England whose writings started all of modern day wicca. In 1954. Boy, that is ancient! (There are a few older traditions that are much less popular, dating back to 1734...) Then there is the list of old religions that have been wiccanized: Celtic wicca, Norse wicca, etc.

But what can you expect from a bunch of ex-catholic simpletons? It is good that these people want to connect with Nature and so on, but are they really? Or are they playing a name replacement game, because they just can't get past the religious brainwashing they grew up with? Ask one sometime if they believe in Jesus. Most will say yes. Remember the hippy-factor is strong with them. They believe he was real and revere this 'saintly messenger'. Sounds like Christianity to me. But they are not Christians, as they don't believe in that god- they believe in the Source... Okay... Ad nauseum.

Sounds like Loki is having a ball with the wicca fad.