On My Paganism.

     Alrighty folks, y'all might not exactly know what Paganism is.  I shall tell you right now three things that Paganism is NOT (*clears throat...with the very small exception of the [in my opinion] twisted minds of dirty ruiners that make everybody think we're horrible people) just a bunch of angsty teenagers who cut themselves to become "blood brothers/sisters." Paganism is NOT anything like whatever it is you've seen in the movies (again, with very very few exceptions in movies which I personally have not seen...if you've seen movies that highlight Paganism positively, please leave a note of their title(s) in the comments! THANKS).  And thirdly, Paganism is NOT JUST A PHASE.  Yet again, I must grant the exception of those for who Paganism is a phase.  But seriously people, those of us who stick with it aren't a joke.  We don't (*clears throat again....usually) run around thinking that if we wave our magic wands at you, you'll turn into a toad.
     Okayyy.  I seem to be doing a horrible job at explaining this correctly.  Now, I'm not sure that they have an actual section on the umbrella term "Pagan," but http://www.religioustolerance.org is a great website that I would fully endorse if I had money, especially if you're trying to figure out just what in the world someone means when they say "I am a ______."  There's a lot of good information on that site, and from everything that I've read there, they DO NOT take sides or talk about any of the religions explained there in a negative or biased way.
     I, however, can and will talk about my religion in a biased way, because let's face it, I love being a Pagan.  Especially following Wicca.  I can't think of any other religion that says "If you want to get naked and dance under the full moon in the forest, please just make sure no one thinks you're slaughtering innocents, and try to remember to pray to the right deity so no one gets struck by lightning."  Wicca is, like a number of Pagan traditions, an Earth-based religion (meaning that yes, we like herbs and tea and dancing naked like hippies).  Now, before I say one more word let me explain something: The religion itself is WICCA.  Someone who follows that religion is a WICCAN.  Lol.  I giggle when someone calls me a Wicca, just because I'm a grammar nazi like that I suppose (note: I hate real Nazis. I am not a real Nazi. I do love Germany though <3).  Obviously, that's just my preference; it's mostly because I don't want to make it sound like I AM the religion....which in reality is actually a pretty fair way to explain most of Paganism.  So I'll move back to that again...
Paganism (especially Wicca) is a very individualized religion.  I have friends who are also Wiccan but who perform  very different rites from what I do and worship different pantheons of deities or just worship one God and/or one Goddess. 
     For example, a friend of mine's beliefs are mostly focused on Norse mythology, specifically Thor.  I think that's awesome, but though I also incorporate Norse beliefs in my worship, I tend more towards the Greek pantheon because my patron goddess is Persephone (note: if you don't know who Persephone is, I may later do an entire post on just my interpretation of her story).  When doing certain rites, however, I claim a triple goddess connection of Persephone (Greek), Bast (Egyptian), and Frejya (Norse).  That's just how I roll.
     In clarification:  I am a Wiccan; technically, in my opinion, that does make me a witch.  Which is fun to laugh at and make jokes about whenever someone mentions killing the Wicked Witch of the West.  But in reality, I don't believe that I belong in Harry Potter.  I don't wave wands at people...the closest I usually come to potions is soup (which I'm pretty beast at making btw)...  In fact, the most "witchy" (note: I do a lot more bitchy things) things I usually do are full moon rituals (which no I do not actually usually dance naked at) and protection spells because for some reason bad shit just won't leave me alone. -__-  I do read Tarot and Runes, though not usually for other people because I don't want to risk getting the interpretation wrong and screwing someone over.  The future is a shitty thing to mess with; almost worse than a woman scorned if you muff up.
     I think I'll stop rambling there for now, though I'll probably post more coherent things about details of my beliefs later, such as the promised Persephone story.  :)
     For now, try and remember that awkward things do not exist, only awkward outlooks.  Ta-ta lovelies!


Love&Kisses <3