Friday, March 27, 2009

Year and a Day, Day 6

If you haven't already guessed, this week's theme is "basics." I figured I should make that really clear. Just for fun.

What Wicca Looks Like

Today's post is inspired by my early days in Wicca-as-fashion-statement. Back in middle school when I was busy being spectacularly goth and weird, I discovered Wicca and thought of it mostly like an accessory, just like my newest 12 dollar plastic bracelet from Hot Topic. (Yes, I was one of 'those.')

Sometime between middle school and High School I discarded my sad attempt at edginess, but I kept the Wicca. Back in the day, I was so concerned with my clothes and how I acted in public, but when I finally had the courage to shed that exterior I had to cling to something else. I clung to Wicca because it had managed to work it's way under my skin without my even paying much attention to it, and I had to respect it's tenacity.

Since then my personality has been very much shaped by my religion. Some examples follow (In list form, because I have been writing these few paragraphs for about half an hour, trying to get it to sound right and now I am tired and am therefore resorting to lists.)

1. I am eco-conscious. It happens when you worship dirt.

2. I move slower. generally, when someone finally finds their place in a religion, they can begin to appreciate things that were overlooked before. When it finally clicked for me that all things, from oceans to doorknobs, were imbued with divinity, it became necessary to slow down a bit and be grateful for it all. As such I suffer from less stress than most of my cohorts and am a generally more contented person.

3. I stand up for myself. I came from a religion that views women almost as sub-humans. No matter how progressive any particular sect of Christianity may be, the fact remains that they believe that God made man, then decided to make a woman to be under the man and serve him. Bitch please. "Feminine weakness" is propaganda spread for centuries to keep women subservient. It isn't *actually* real. I was floored when I found out that there were people out there who worshiped a Goddess. I was like "Whaaaaa...?!"

It made sense very soon. Of course women are strong, ass kicking, respect deserving, people. Sorry boys, but can you openly bleed for days without, you know, dying? Sorry boys but, could YOU deliver a child?  Ect ect ad nauseam. The fact is that women kick ass just as hard as men.

4. I can no longer make enemies. I just can't. I can get into debates, but I can't bring myself to fight. Wicca hada peculiar way of making me see that all of us are made of the same space dirt and we are all the same. A good friend once told me "Everyone in this world has the same goal. Every person who ever hurt you, every person who ever helped you, was just trying to gain happiness." I'll always remember that, and now I can never really be mad at people. I can be confused and hurt, but I know that if I was in their situation, I might have done the same thing.

 

In conclusion, (my english teacher always told us never to actually write "in conclusion...") those things can basically sum up what Wicca looks like.

1 comment:

  1. If I'd have known your mother was letting you shop at Hot Topic, I'd have flown out there & given her a big ol' V-8 smack to the head. Old school punks/goths scoff at kids who get their "uniforms" at the mall. So glad you outgrew that. :-)

    As to your list, I'm mostly right there with ya on it. (I love the "worship dirt" comment.) In regards to subservient women, I've found that that belief is really more on the shoulders of the people of the faith than it is the actual church(es) itself. If you get past the human interpretations of the religious dogma, you'll find that, in most cases, the women are meant to different but equal. Light & dark, sweet & sour, night & day, man & woman. I have quite a bit to say on this (it's great fodder for discussion), but I'm late for phys therapy. Remind me later, if you're interested. If not, that's cool, too.

    I'm loving reading your journey.

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