A Religious Rant

[Tempest]

Okay, I have a lot boiling up inside of me. Yes, this is a rant. It's about time I've had one :)
What is it with these religious fads? I see so many pentacles around the hallway that I think that Wicca just may be the new dominant religion. And I live in the farm ghetto, where pretty much no one lives.
Now, all these pentacle-bearers just happen to all wear black. Black, red, white, okay, now we're getting some variety. But seriously. Wiccan does not equal goth.
Now, I suppose that pentacle-bearing goths aren't so bad, but really, they don't know anything about the religion they sport so proudly. One Wiccan I met liked SilverRavenWolf. Nearly all well-educated Wiccans will say that Silver is a liar--or just stupid, pick one. Yet they worship her like she's the Goddess incarnate, brandishing her "Teen Witch" book and other crap like that. They buy her little "Teen Witch Kit." They visit her website. They fall for her BS.
I am fed up with this! Nearly every--no, make that every--teenage Wiccan I've met hasn't had the slightest idea of what Wicca is, what it represents, or even the basics like the Three-fold Law. No wonder some adults think that Wicca is a cult! Teens gather around and talk about it 24/7, like it's the best thing since sliced bread. They talk spell-talk, about spirits and the Elements, the God and Goddess, and they don't shut up! They don't know what they are talking about.
All teenage Wiccans I've met practice magick for every little thing. One girl I know did a love spell. Honestly, if you have read a decent Wiccan or witchcraft book, you should know you DON'T DO LOVE SPELLS. Then she cried when it back-fired.
Most teens don't even Dedicate themselves. They haven't heard of Initiation. What's the significance of a year and a day? Oh, that's how long my girl/boyfriend and I have been together! Aughh!
I am a teenage Wiccan, and I have to say that I don't dress in all black, I don't like SilverRavenWolf, and I don't even wear a pentacle. Why don't I brandish the mark of my faith that I am so loyal to? Because I don't want to look like another idiot that walks around the halls and doesn't give a crap about actually studying their faith.
This isn't meant to insult anyone. I am not pointing fingers. If this applys to you, then try to listen to my arguements. Perhaps I've been to harsh, but this is a rant, and you knew what it was about the moment you started reading it. If this doesn't apply to you, so be it.
*feels better*
I hope this opened some eyes.

[Hellcat]

Er...fashion perhaps? The 'IN' thing? Everything revolves around fashion these days- Fashionable clothes, fashionable brand names, fashionable pets...now its gone a step further- fashionable religions

[Darth Cluich]

Er...fashion perhaps? The 'IN' thing? Everything revolves around fashion these days- Fashionable clothes, fashionable brand names, fashionable pets...now its gone a step further- fashionable religions

Hell, we've even got fashionable diseases and mental illnesses. Why not religions, too? But then, one might argue that religion is a disease anyway. ;)

[MorganaFang]

YAY another person who despises SilverRavenWolf, There was an article about this similar thing in Bust...But I can't find it online for now heres the site http://www.bust.com/

[kat]

I don't descriminate. I hate all Wiccan losers.

Yeah! That's right! Losers!

[Hellcat]

I don't descriminate. I hate all Wiccan losers.

Yeah! That's right! Losers!

I'm just hate wiccans who aren't wiccans. I hate wiccans who are wiccans...what am I saying? I hate everyone (it's nothing personal) :D

[Ves]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has much to answer for. Helping to bring Wicca into vogue being just one of them "look at all the cool spells they do, I want to be like that" and so on.
One of these days, I'd like to get someone to sit down and describe Wicca to me as they see it, then when they're done, I'd like to get someone else to do the same, just to see how different the two accounts are.

Perhaps Wiccans who are following the faith out of fashion concerns should be burned at the stake, that would sort it out and if done properly could bring in some much needed revenue for local governments. Starting with Silverravenwolf.
I'm now imagining a gleaming silver wolf cawing like a raven, what an amusing sight that would be.

[LGM]

One might say that you are striving for individuality, and now 'everyone else' is wearing a pentacle, it oppresses you. This leads to this obvious show of hostility...yadda yadda yadda.

Seriously, what is the problem here? People get swept away with fads all the time. Hell, thats probably how half the worlds religions started up in the first place. Unless they are litorally harming you with their black clothes and greasy hair, then leave them be. If its a fad, they'll grow out of it and you'll reclaim your individuality. if its not, then well done. Your religion/cult has a new member, and you should be happy.

Moaning about it only tarnishes your own sense of maturity...

[Tempest]

One might say that you are striving for individuality, and now 'everyone else' is wearing a pentacle, it oppresses you. This leads to this obvious show of hostility...yadda yadda yadda.
Did you read my post? I couldn't care less if the whole world was Wiccan. My problem is that they don't know what it is, or what they are talking about. I don't want to repeat myself. Please read my post again.

Seriously, what is the problem here? People get swept away with fads all the time. Hell, thats probably how half the worlds religions started up in the first place. Unless they are litorally harming you with their black clothes and greasy hair, then leave them be. If its a fad, they'll grow out of it and you'll reclaim your individuality. if its not, then well done. Your religion/cult has a new member, and you should be happy.
No, once again, you seem not to have read my post. My religion doesn't have a new member from any of these people. They haven't Dedicated or Initiated, so they aren't Wiccan. You can call yourself Wiccan, but that doesn't mean you are one.

Moaning about it only tarnishes your own sense of maturity...
If stating my opinion is moaning, so be it.

[LGM]

You see, I have an even better idea. How about you read my post again, only this time get rid of the obsession that everyone, like me, is "out to get you"? After that read your own post, and answer any questions I ask of it.

Who are you to judge how dedicated one person is to his or her religion, or indeed how much dedication is necessary for one man to be able to label himself as "wiccan"? Who, I ask are you?

You said "I couldn't care less if the whole world was Wiccan", whilst blatently attacking people who MAY (or may not) be practicing it, even though they 'sport the image'! Ergo, you blatently DO care. You obviously care that there are people out there who label themselves as Wiccan, yet do not practice or believe in specifics exactly the way you do.

Wiccan, like Christianity and umpteen other "religions" are all relative. They allow the wielder of the belief to take parts of this and that and mush it all together into their own individually specific doctrine. That is just the way ambiguous religions fill our society. They may not know what they are talking about going by your standards, but they are entitled to take on their own bastardisations of the core beliefs. Sure they may not be "wiccan" by the strictest definition, but if they have Wiccan beliefs, then they are surely entitled to label themselves as that.

Of course, there are the ones who don't care for the beliefs but model the image anyways. Once again, I see no problem here.

And yes, you may have been stating your opinion, but that doesn't mean you weren't moaning. You said yourself, "Yes, this is a rant.". The difference between 'ranting' and 'moaning' is an extremely thin line, and one can quite easily be taken as the other.

I end by repeating the question that is key to my argument. "What exactly is the problem here", and why should it matter to you?

[Hellcat]

I'm no Wiccan, I'm not even religious (unless you count spritualism as religion), but I'm guessing that Wicca, like any other religion has a basic set of rules by which to abide. Christians are expected to follow the ten commandments of the bible, no doubt Wicca has its own foundation on which to build ones morals- I kinda recall reading something about Wicca that said something along the lines of "Harm no one, and do as you will" (I forget the exact wording). I'm guessing (yep all guess work here) that this is one if not the only foundation on which the morals of the Wiccan religion/cult is set. I doesn't matter what religion you follow, but it is my belief that no one can claim to be Christian, Wiccan, Moslem, etc if they are not prepared to abide by the condations that makes up the foundation of the religion. Lets pretend Joe Bloggs down the road is a christian, he's married with three kids (all inside wedlock) he goes to church every sunday, and twice during the week. He says his prayers including Grace and insists that his family should be able to recite sections from the bible by heart. Fred Boffin two doors down also claims to be christian, he's also married with three kids (all inside wedlock), but Fred Boffin doesn't go to church at all, he just reads the bible when he feels the need, but he doesn't know sections of the bible off by heart. The difference Between Fred and Joe is that Fred has always abided by the ten commandments, Joe on the other hand has a mistress. Which of these guys is a real Christian, and which one is a bloody hypocrit? I guess (again) that even Wicca has it's hypocrit followers just as Christianity, Islam and any other religion does. They aren't real believers, these are people that want to be part of a group and be seen as something they are not.

Tempest, LGM has a point with the whole Wiccan fad thing. If these kids are real Wiccans and are really interested in taking it up as a part of their lives, they will, over time learn the true meaning of Wicca and tune into it properly. If they are merely sporting the ol' pentacle as a fashion statement, the novelty will quickly where off and they might even turn to sporting the old crucifix instead. Try and be patient with these kids, because that is what they are. They will eiher learn, or they will get bored and go away. In the meantime you can stand proud in the knowledge that you have taken up the Wiccan lifestyle for what it is (your religion) and not as something to make you look cool amongst your friends. In time these kids will grow up and be real Wiccans, or else they will jump onto some other religious trend wagon (like satanism, to make them look "Hard"). Don't loose to much sleep over them, they are just kids.

[Frostbeard]

The whole Wiccan Fad thing isn't all that new. I remember the same thing when I was in high school. You could usually spot the ones who weren't in it for the long haul by how loudly and ignorantly they proclaimed their "beliefs".

[Tempest]

You see, I have an even better idea. How about you read my post again, only this time get rid of the obsession that everyone, like me, is "out to get you"? After that read your own post, and answer any questions I ask of it.
Who are you to judge what I think? I don't think that you are out to get me. I think you and I have a difference of opinion. You insulted me in the last post you made. Therefore, I try to defend myself. That's the way I am. Sometimes I am aggressive, but I try not to. Don't judge me, you don't know me.

Who are you to judge how dedicated one person is to his or her religion, or indeed how much dedication is necessary for one man to be able to label himself as "wiccan"? Who, I ask are you?
I am not judging people. I am not pointing fingers. I am stating my opinion. The year and a day thing is common among the Wiccan religion. I didn't make that up, it does have a significance. True, not all Wiccans follow the year and a day law, but to not even know about it is pure ignorance. I try not to judge people before I get to know them. I do sometimes, but that is human nature.

You said "I couldn't care less if the whole world was Wiccan", whilst blatently attacking people who MAY (or may not) be practicing it, even though they 'sport the image'! Ergo, you blatently DO care. You obviously care that there are people out there who label themselves as Wiccan, yet do not practice or believe in specifics exactly the way you do.
The point I was trying to make is that I don't base my religion on popularity, as some teens do. I was not "attacking people who MAY (or may not) be practicing it..". I was trying to open some eyes. I realize I may have been aggressive, but once again, this insults me. I feel it degrades the view of my religion. And like I said, I am often aggressive when insulted. But one thing I don't do is attack people I don't even know on the internet. I may argue or debate. But I don't attack.

Wiccan, like Christianity and umpteen other "religions" are all relative. They allow the wielder of the belief to take parts of this and that and mush it all together into their own individually specific doctrine. That is just the way ambiguous religions fill our society. They may not know what they are talking about going by your standards, but they are entitled to take on their own bastardisations of the core beliefs. Sure they may not be "wiccan" by the strictest definition, but if they have Wiccan beliefs, then they are surely entitled to label themselves as that.
But they haven't even read a book on Wicca. You cannot spin off of the original beliefs when you don't even know what the original beliefs are.

"What exactly is the problem here", and why should it matter to you?
It is my religion, and as I said, this degrades the view of it. When I say Wicca, and someone thinks "teenage witch goth," I do not exactly appreciate that. When everyone thinks Wicca is a cult, I don't appreciate that. When everyone thinks Wicca is practiced by a bunch of brainless twits, I don't appreciate that.
Please tell me if I've offended you by this. I'm not trying to grind you into dust, please understand that.

[Hellcat]

Who are you to judge what I think? I don't think that you are out to get me. I think you and I have a difference of opinion. You insulted me in the last post you made. Therefore, I try to defend myself. That's the way I am. Sometimes I am aggressive, but I try not to. Don't judge me, you don't know me.


I am not judging people. I am not pointing fingers. I am stating my opinion. The year and a day thing is common among the Wiccan religion. I didn't make that up, it does have a significance. True, not all Wiccans follow the year and a day law, but to not even know about it is pure ignorance. I try not to judge people before I get to know them. I do sometimes, but that is human nature.


The point I was trying to make is that I don't base my religion on popularity, as some teens do. I was not "attacking people who MAY (or may not) be practicing it..". I was trying to open some eyes. I realize I may have been aggressive, but once again, this insults me. I feel it degrades the view of my religion. And like I said, I am often aggressive when insulted. But one thing I don't do is attack people I don't even know on the internet. I may argue or debate. But I don't attack.


But they haven't even read a book on Wicca. You cannot spin off of the original beliefs when you don't even know what the original beliefs are.


It is my religion, and as I said, this degrades the view of it. When I say Wicca, and someone thinks "teenage witch goth," I do not exactly appreciate that. When everyone thinks Wicca is a cult, I don't appreciate that. When everyone thinks Wicca is practiced by a bunch of brainless twits, I don't appreciate that.
Please tell me if I've offended you by this. I'm not trying to grind you into dust, please understand that.


*hug* There, there calm down. Shit happens Tempest, we just gotta learn to deal with it. It's not worth getting worked up over ignorant people, they'll either get wise to their own ignorance, or they'll remain blind to the truth (whatever the Wiccan definition is). It's not your problem. Dogs have their irritating fleas, as does religion. They [fleas] usually drop off and die when the climate changes. The same applies with religion- the irritating "believers" drop out when the fashion changes.