Neo-paganism sees growth in numbers

[richlevy]

It's Halloween and the obligatory neo-pagan story is on the wires.

Neo-paganism sees growth in numbers

Pagan minister Adam Holtzinger says "the veil between this world and the next is thinnest" during Halloween - what Wiccans call Samhain. Holtzinger's Antioch store, At Sacred Earth, is busy this time of year. He says it's the only place between Milwaukee and Chicago for local witches to buy their tools.
Holtzinger admits it's getting easier to be a witch, but the practice is still misunderstood and feared.

"As soon as you tell people you're a witch, the curtain goes down," he said. "We want to reclaim the word and remove its negative connotation. It's a matter of education."

Getting a grasp of the facts can be tricky. Wicca, the modern name for witchcraft, doesn't fit into neat categories. It lacks a central organization and has no creeds, rules or buildings. There isn't one main god or goddess, and the rituals are as varied as the people who practice them.

"Pagans honor all faces of the divine," Holtzinger explained. "Who you choose as your deities is up to you."

Choosing gods based on feelings doesn't sound like a good idea to the Rev. Mel Svendsen, senior pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Vernon Hills. "Wiccans worship created things rather than the creator - Jesus Christ," he said. "They are looking for life's answers in all the wrong places."

Being Jewish I find both of the above viewpoints interesting. If you do not believe that Jesus was the incarnation of god, or at least no different than all men and women are incarnations of the creator, than Christians too are deifying a creation of God and the two religions become more alike.

Personally, I don't think there is a wrong place to look for life's answer, since the answer is different for each of the 6.4 billion people on this planet. When I go to a yard sale I look at all of the tables, I don't just grab something off of the first one and say "I've found something. I'm done."

As for Pagans and Christians, let them have fun with it this time of year, especially with Halloween falling on a Sunday. Pay no attention to the Jewish man in the corner.

[Elspode]

If all people were as enlightened as you, Rich, we'd all be far better off.

[Trilby]

Good points, richlevy. I turned to Wicca because there is no room for a woman at the top (so to speak) in either Judaism or Christianity--both are so firmly patriarchial and some branches are outright hostile to women. It's hard to worship a God who shows such favoritism. Wicca fully embraces the female aspect of the Diety. As someone who was brought up in the Catholic church, that is refreshing. In Catholicism a female can choose to be one of two things: a whore or a virgin. Correct me if I am wrong, but Judaism has a prayer thanking God for "not making me a woman"--? Yikes! My boyfriend is Jewish, but as you pointed out on another thread, he's the "intellectual" brand and isn't observant!

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Brianna

Good points, richlevy. I turned to Wicca because there is no room for a woman at the top (so to speak) in either Judaism or Christianity--both are so firmly patriarchial and some branches are outright hostile to women. It's hard to worship a God who shows such favoritism. Wicca fully embraces the female aspect of the Diety. As someone who was brought up in the Catholic church, that is refreshing. In Catholicism a female can choose to be one of two things: a whore or a virgin. Correct me if I am wrong, but Judaism has a prayer thanking God for "not making me a woman"--? Yikes! My boyfriend is Jewish, but as you pointed out on another thread, he's the "intellectual" brand and isn't observant!

Well, the rabbi of our Reform synagogue was a woman and so was the cantor, but I do agree that traditional Judaism did believe that a womans place was in the home. Of course, the argument there is that because kosher laws, as well as many of the 600+ other laws are centered on the home, the woman's place as keeper of the hearth (my title) is vital. Of course, this sounds condescending, sort of like telling the team's equipment manager he's as important as the quarterback. But there is also the fact that by Jewish law in cases of intermarriage it is the mother's religion that determines the child's. As with any Jewish custom or law, there are conflicting theories, both practical and political for this.

I think I've brought up the 'thank G-d for not making me a woman' issue myself on the Cellar. The fact is that anyone can make up a prayer and one groups adoption does not reflect the views of all members of a religion. The fact is that there are Jewish fundies who would rival the most venomous Christian and Muslim fanatics. There are also laid-back Orthodox who live their own lives and do not try to be judgemental about the choices others make.

I'm not very good at practicing my religion when it comes to prayer and kashrut (keeping kosher). While I don't eat pork (much), I do like cheeseburgers, cheesesteaks, chicken cheesesteaks, shrimp, the occasional clams casino, and a number of other prohibited foodstuffs. While Reform Judaism might let me slide on the chicken cheesesteak issue (that woman rabbi even mentioned it in one of her sermons), the other items would make me a bit of a hypocrite.

Still I make sure that once in a while I take a deep breath and look for G-d. And the prayers I say are still in Hebrew. I don't want to be one of those people who need to be carried by G-d every moment of their lives, for fear of becoming their bad old selves. I don't want to see G-d as some attendant with a straight jacket following me every day of my life to make sure I don't screw up by wrapping me up in my faith. I see G-d as a companion who I hope will pull me back if I am about to step in front of an oncoming truck but who will otherwise just enjoy that I enjoy being who I am.

One of the ceremonies that I didn't participate in much at home but that I did enjoy was the Havdallah service. Lighting candles to celebrate and smelling spices to give us something to remember for the rest of the week is a great way to start the week. There is also an interesting psychological component given that smell is one of our most powerful keys to memory.

From the Havdallah prayers, we can see the use of Havdallah as a buffer between the spiritual and the everyday existence.

If we look back to the time when survival required long days of hard labor, we can understand the importance of Sabbath much better than we can than today with the two day weekend and push button entertainment. The only issue I have with Judaism is the fact that the entire religion has been in mourning for almost 2000 years. The reason that music is not allowed in services is to comemerate the fall of the temple in 56 AD. This is the equivalent of the US ordering all flags to fly at half-mast because of 9/11 for 2,000 years.

All we do now is give up work religiously and pray. While we still celebrate the Sabbath, we deliberately hold back from the way it used to be.

The destruction of the Second Temple brought about a ban on the use in services of musical instruments giving forth "joyful sounds." Among the many Judaic musical practices the Christians carried on was the use of the organ. Ironically, some early church fathers campaigned to ban the use of this "Jewish instrument" because it would seduce Christians to the ‘hated religion’" – Judaism!3

from Jews and Music; The Legacy of Jubal

We may not get our music back until the Messiah comes, and noone knows when that will be. The Jewish position on that is:
1) Jesus Christ wasn't the messiah.
2) Neither is George W. Bush.

So I will have to sit back and watch, maybe for a few hundred more years.

[wolf]

If you believe 2, it appears that you haven't been getting the mail from the Republican Jewish Coaltion. I still don't know why I'm getting it ...

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by wolf

If you believe 2, it appears that you haven't been getting the mail from the Republican Jewish Coaltion. I still don't know why I'm getting it ...

Actually, I did get it. Had a nice laugh.

[Troubleshooter]

All religious denominations are seeing a growth. Even athiests.

What you have is a whole lot of people either scrabbling for hope or giving up.

It's not complicated, most people need to compensate for some lack in their lives. Religion fills the bill nicely because it requires no evidence or proof.

[Trilby]

richlevy-thanks for the links. Do the colors of the Havdallah candles represent something?

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by Brianna

As someone who was brought up in the Catholic church...<snip!>

I wish I had a buck for every Pagan I know who was brought up Catholic. I swear that Catholicism is the largest single source of Pagans. I think it is because it is very nearly goddess worship to begin with, and the ritual and outrageous clothing is already comfortable to them.

Originally Posted by Elspode

I wish I had a buck for every Pagan I know who was brought up Catholic. I swear that Catholicism is the largest single source of Pagans. I think it is because it is very nearly goddess worship to begin with, and the ritual and outrageous clothing is already comfortable to them.

I have two close friends who are Wiccan. He was raised high church episcopalian, and she, Catholic. There DOES seem to be something to THAT correlation.

The ignorance and prejudice of some people, especially fundamentalists is just appalling. I live in a smaller town which has acquired a reputation for being an artists' community and a haven for "witches." As soon as I'll tell someone where I live, they're likely to roll their eyes and say, "So, you're one of THEM?" or "You live up with the WITCHES?!?"

Yeah, you wanna make something of it, buddy? Even though I'm not a Pagan, I enjoy life among the "witches." There is NO violent crime in my community. I feel perfectly safe walking the streets alone at 2:00 am. The Jehovah's Witchness'es don't show up at my door at 9:00am on Saturday mornings trying to make me repent and bring me back into the fold of "the Goddess." "Witches" seem to be a very tidy bunch with a great love of plants and flowers because every yard around here is ablaze with flowers all summer long. "Witches" put on the best halloween festivities around. Right before Halloween my town had one of those big highway department flashing road signs posted on the main road coming in. "WARNING!" it read, "COFFIN RACES SAT A.M./ GHOULS' MASQUERADE SAT P.M.

I'd rather be a Buddhist among the Pagans than a Buddhist among the Fundamentalists any time!

[Elspode]

No Pagan will ever knock on your door at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning...unless your house is on fire, and they happened to still be up from the previous night's frolics and noticed it, and were trying to save your life.

Pagans have their own particular sets of irritating characteristics, but most of them do not affect you unless you are actually personally involved with them in some way. We make good neighbors for the most part, unless you are a fanatic about tidiness.

[richlevy]

I'm waiting for the Pagans to stand up and try for some of that 'Faith-based Initiative' money. Under equal protection, they could not be denied except on merit.

[Elspode]

It will never happen.

[Trilby]

I'm going to join a radical group of witches and start wearing heavy eyeliner and chiffon...why not? the world is coming to an end.

I might even talk to Laurie Cabot (if that is her real name!

[wolf]

Originally Posted by richlevy

I'm waiting for the Pagans to stand up and try for some of that 'Faith-based Initiative' money. Under equal protection, they could not be denied except on merit.

I've been involved in several pagan organizations (<----oxymoron) that have discussed this possibility.

Getting pagans to actually DO anything, however, is, as it is said, like herding cats. There's an understanding that something SHOULD be done, that someone SHOULD do it, and that it would be a REALLY GOOD IDEA.

That's about as far as things get.