Pagan Misconceptions

[~*Sacred*~]

Throw some out there!

[Glory]

Obviously, we are all Satanists.

Where else does magic come from?

[Athena-Nadine]

We're all Wiccans, we all believe in the "Goddess," we all follow the Rede.

[Trithemius]

We're all hippies and treehuggers.

[David19]

Like Athena-Nadine said, we're all like Wiccans, all Pagans are "earth-based", we believe "all gods are one god, all goddesses are one goddess", we believe in the "3-fold law2", we all love the light side of things and stay away from darker perspectives and areas.

All Pagans, past and present, follow the same religion until those "big bad" Christians came along.

And all Pagans must do magic.

[David19]

We're all hippies and treehuggers.

That's another one :).

[mystic_zoe]

that we sacrifice animals in rituals

[aranarose]

We all dance naked under the full moon, and have weekly orgies. (Don't I wish sometimes)

[Glory]

We're all female, and intense feminists to boot.

[Nitefalle]

We worship rocks and reek of patchouli

[Trithemius]

We're all female, and intense feminists to boot.

That reminds me, if you're a pagan man, you must be into love and light and the "gentle" side of things, therefore you must be gay.

[Glory]

That reminds me, if you're a pagan man, you must be into love and light and the "gentle" side of things, therefore you must be gay.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's impossible to be heterosexual and pagan, man or woman.

[Ben Gruagach]

That urban life is contrary to Paganism. (Funny -- lots of pre-Christian cultures like the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks had towns and cities, and deities reflecting urban life...)

[Endless Rain]

We all wear pentagrams.

[Sidhe-Ra]

We're all on drugs and go shopping in our robes...

[Aithne Cathasaigh]

We're part of an ancient religion that has been around for thousands of years and nine million of us were murdered by the Christians in the Burning Times but we survived and I'm a herditary witch from a long line of witches and in a previous life i was a druid, an egyptian priestess and a ...........

[Lunacie]

That we'd be happier if we accepted Jesus into our hearts.

[RoseKitten]

We all dance naked under the full moon, and have weekly orgies. (Don't I wish sometimes)

You mean you don't?! I thought that was one of our Laws.... hehe.

[Vigdisdotter]

We apparently have large group orgies as part of our rites. Seems I've missed ANOTHER memo <POUT>

[Anubis RainHawk]

Another misconception:
Paganism today excists from an unbroken line of practioneres since the dawn of time..

[Naroddrec]

Here are a few pet peeve misconceptions of mine, all related to assertions made by Douglas Monroe in his literature:

1) The potato is native to Ireland.
2) The pumpkin is native to Europe.
3) The original druids used the four element system.
4) The Book of Pheryllt is real (If anyone has proof of it, please share, it would be nice for a secret text to be real).
5) Women are the deadliest of the species (>.<)

And many more. I could go on and on, but I'll save that for another time.

[Vigdisdotter]

5) Women are the deadliest of the species (>.<)

Well of course we are <GRINS and shows off claws> that's just a given :P

[Nitefalle]

Oh yes, and of course we HATE Christians, Christianity, and anything to do with them because it's so oppressive and patriarchal - we feminists don't like that.

[brymble]

How about these?

We're all so persecuted. We're all such victims. The big bad mean Christians all think we're Satanists and they're out to get us and force us to join their churches, dress, vote, worship and think like they do, and help them take over the world. Again.

Non-pagans sit around all day and talk about all the ridiculous false things they believe about us and they all hate us because the big bad mean Christians told them to. If a Pagan gets fired, divorced, thrown out of a public place for causing a disruption, or otherwise has a bad day, it's religious discrimination because we're so misunderstood and oppressed.

And it's all Christianity's fault, too. Because they're all fundamentalists who hate everybody who is not like them, and they're especially out to get us.

Those naughty Christians.

[Drako3]

Our symbols and holidays weren't stolen by Christian religions. They came up with those all on their own why would they want to steal them from us heathens anyway. <rolls eye's>:hehehehe:

[brymble]

I wasn't intending to be snarky, just to illustrate that we can have misconceptions about ourselves too.

Yeah, stolen holidays, I'd forgotten about those. And the Christian Devil was dreamed up solely to give the Horned God a black eye, with no other history or purpose than to make the Pagans look bad and the Christians appear right.

[Naroddrec]

One cannot do magick to bring new things into their lives on the waning moon, and vice versa for waxing.


It all depends on your approach, in my opinion. If you want to get rid of a disease on the waxing moon, just bring health into your life. If you want to gain money during the waning moon, release obstacles preventing you from obtaining prosperity.

[LostSheep]

Brymble took the words right out of my mouth.

:fpoke: .

[Sage Rainsong]

All Pagans are idiotic losers, with dead end jobs and they never contribute to society.

[Lunacie]

One cannot do magick to bring new things into their lives on the waning moon, and vice versa for waxing.


It all depends on your approach, in my opinion. If you want to get rid of a disease on the waxing moon, just bring health into your life. If you want to gain money during the waning moon, release obstacles preventing you from obtaining prosperity.

Abso-freakin'-lutely right! http://www.mysticwicks.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[banondraig]

We all wear pentagrams.

. . . which are the size of hubcaps, and worn with either all black or all tie-dye.

[LostSheep]

Oh dear. So far I think I do do everything that's been said so far.

:hrmm:

I do indeed worship rocks.

[Nitefalle]

And we're all frothing political liberal leftists

[Sobeq]

All pagan religions are earth-based and honor the earth as a divine power.
All pagans do magic.
All pagans believe in astrology.
All pagans use Tarot cards.
All pagans cast circles.
All pagans believe in a dual Goddess and God.
"Pagan" refers to someone with no religion.
All pagans hate Christians.
All pagans follow the Sabbats.
All pagans worship the moon/sun duality.
All pagans worship in a coven.
If you are pagan, you must believe in Otherkin/Astral Travel/Psychic Vampires/etc.
If you are pagan, you must spend all your time listening to Enya or other such music for meditation.
If you are pagan, you must be against eating meat. (Repeat after me: Just because it's cute doesn't mean it can't be dinner!)
All pagans worship Brighid or the Morrigan.
I can't think of anymore. You wouldn't believe the misconceptions I've encountered just during my first year in the Pagan Student group at college.

[Russ]

If a Pagan gets fired, divorced, thrown out of a public place for causing a disruption, or otherwise has a bad day, it's religious discrimination because we're so misunderstood and oppressed.


An of course there is the reverse of the above (I use to know a fancier term but forgot it).

That no pagan is ever fired, divorced, thrown out of a public place or otherwise in anyway shape of form discriminated against. It is especially the pagans though if he had the the nerve to have a pentagram on or some other pagan jewelry or to be in anyway open about his beliefs.

Such as going to occult shops, browsing the new age section, attending public gatherings and so forth.


I wasn't intending to be snarky, just to illustrate that we can have misconceptions about ourselves too.


Umm pardon but. Are we even reading the same thread!?

The ones about all pagans being Wiccan, earth-based feminist is pretty darn prevalent in our community too. As are a good many of the these post...

[Autumnsong]

A misconception that annoys me:

All Pagans believe they were Cleopatra or King Tut (i.e. someone famous) in a previous life.

[Vampiel]

We all dance naked under the full moon, and have weekly orgies. (Don't I wish sometimes)

I knew ive been missing out on something!! :fpraise:

[Sabriel MoonStar]

Heres the ones I'm attempting to dispell in my family: That we are all goths who decorate with skulls, gargoyles and other "dark and evil" things & That we are all obsessed with death and dying.

Not that I have any issues with goths or darker decorating. :)

[David19]

Thought of some more:

Because we're Pagan, we have to hate Satanists and Satanism, 'cause that's the really "evil" religion, and the one that fundamentalist Christians confuse "us" with. It's only a religion for psychopaths.

All Pagans believe everything is a result of male/female duality, that gay men are really only gay 'cause they've got female souls and lesbians have male souls, 'cause the hetrosexual male/female duality is at the center of the universe.

All Pagans believe in karma.

No Pagan would ever do any "negative" magic, like curses, hexes, or other darker type magics 'cause we are "pure good", and any Pagan that does do them must be a Satanist or one of those evil Christians in disguise.

Satanism and Christianity are just the same religion, except Satanism is the dark version of Christianity.

We all dance naked and are attracted to any body type (now if you get a load of cute Pagan guys, I would so do that!).

No "real" Pagan would ever be right-wing (you'd get that impression if you read some of Isaac Bonewits site).

Wicca (aka Paganism) didn't borrow from any religion, all those other religions borrowed from us, we first had karma, we first had the Kabalah, tarot cards, LBRP, etc.

The Kabalah is not Jewish.

We are all either fluffy bunnies who love the colour pink and any colour that's light or we are all goths and depressed all the time.

We never fit in with mainstream society, and we don't do the things that most people do (we don't play sports, don't go to clubs and bars, have sex, etc).

Sex is sacred, and the woman should be seen as The Goddess, while the guy is just the lowly mortal.

[brymble]

Women can only worship the Goddess, men can only worship the God. If a woman worships primarily the God, she is oppressed by the patriarchy, and probably a closet Christian.

[Philosophia]

That all Dianics and feminists hate and degrade men.

[Drako3]

The definition of Pagan is a common misconception...... As the definition has changed quit a bit over the years.

[Heart of All]

We eat babies.

Not only that, but we eat babies and dedicate them to Satan.

Oh, and another one I found on a facebook group I joined, but then left. Pagans are modern, lovely, earth religions and people think we're heathens, and all heathens worship Satan.

[Drako3]

We eat babies.

Not only that, but we eat babies and dedicate them to Satan.

Oh, and another one I found on a facebook group I joined, but then left. Pagans are modern, lovely, earth religions and people think we're heathens, and all heathens worship Satan.


Ha Ha
Satan exists only in the hearts of christians....._wedgie_May their underwear suddenly be too tight....:hehehehe::hehehehe::hehehehe:

[Philosophia]

We eat babies.

Not only that, but we eat babies and dedicate them to Satan.

Oh, and another one I found on a facebook group I joined, but then left. Pagans are modern, lovely, earth religions and people think we're heathens, and all heathens worship Satan.

We don't eat babies!?

Whoops. :foh:

[TheWomanMonster]

That taking energy or the ability or need to do so is automatically a bad thing.

[Russ]

That taking energy or the ability or need to do so is automatically a bad thing.

That would be Psi-Vampires, not Pagans and we already had that discussion in another thread. ;)

***

A few more of my favorites.

Common Pagan misconceptions of other pagans:

Anyone using magic to get money is pure evil and/or abusing there skills. This will result in there skills being taken away.

Any pagan male or tradition that focuses mostly on the Masculine or works for a real balance between the genders is somehow sexiest and male dominate.

Following any Ethical view other than the rede is a sign of being immoral.

Focusing on just one tradition and ignoring the others is somehow wrong.

Any pagan that express views, be they expressed strongly or weakly, against other pagan groups, religions or practices common to, or commonly found in paganism is somehow intolerant.

Any pagan being public about there faith (T-shirts, wearing religious symbols, symbols on cars) is asking for and deserving persecution.

All men really want women to be in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant.

[serenarian]

Here are a couple from me:

All Pagans are New-Agers and wear hippy clothing.
All Pagans think they belong in medieval times and therefore dress in medieval clothing all the time.
A Pagan house is always full of amethyst, as it's 'the ultimate witchy crystal'.
Pagans boycott anything Christian and are violent towards them.
Pagans are cowards - why else would we use magic?

[Nitefalle]

Here's my favorite: It's just a phase!!!! :lol: Obviously, the spiritual experiences we all have are just adolescent cries for attention and we'll soon grow out of it and "come to our senses", no matter how long we've been on the path.

Oh yes, if you don't follow the Wiccan Rede and believe in love and light, you're an evil Pagan who's obviously just using magic to manipulate and control others. Pagans cannot have moral codes of their own.

Renaissance Festivals are just hotbeds of Pagan activity because everyone who attends must be Pagan!

[CheshireEyes]

We all dance naked under the full moon, and have weekly orgies. (Don't I wish sometimes)

yeah, if you could point me in their direction, i'd be much obliged... _inabox_ :hehehehe:

[Lunacie]

Renaissance Festivals are just hotbeds of Pagan activity because everyone who attends must be Pagan!

Well, not quite everyone, but you can usually find quite a few at Ren Fests and SCA events. ;) But they are usually working at the Festival, not just attending.

[brymble]

Here are a couple from me:

All Pagans are New-Agers and wear hippy clothing.
All Pagans think they belong in medieval times and therefore dress in medieval clothing all the time.


What did medieval hippies wear? Tie-dye cotehardies?

[Ben Gruagach]

Here's another:

The Harry Potter stories were created to recruit people to Paganism, and Paganism is just a way to ease us all into hard-cord Satanism.

[Zibblsnrt]

A misconception that annoys me:

All Pagans believe they were Cleopatra or King Tut (i.e. someone famous) in a previous life.

I was once in earshot of two people who each claimed to have been Cleopatra in a past life at the same time. It was hilarious.

"Imposer [sic]!" "No, you are!"

Also met one who claimed to have been Cleopatra, who talked about her meeting Nerfertiti. As Cleopatra.

To throw a few into the topic of the thread:

* Self-described pagans have become such as a reaction to Christianity alone.
* All pagans loathe all modern science and technology. (I do notice the ones who do tend to do so online. Yeah.)
* Being pagan means that nobody's ever wrong about anything, ever.
* No pagan is ever "religious" - they're all "spiritual."

[Brandon Bee]

Here's a couple of good one I'm throwing out:

Pagans follow gothic culture.
Pagans don't care about their appearance.
Pagans aren't living in reality.
Pagans don't like anything pop culture-related or anything mainstream.
Pagans are asking for attention.
Pagans spend most of their time at home playing World of Warcraft and chanting mumbo jumbo with candles lit.

[Athena-Nadine]

I didn't go back and see if this was said, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating someone.

Here're another two of my favorites:

All pagans are broke/poor.
All pagans have emotional/mental issues.

[cheddarsox]

Pagans worship statues because we can't tell the difference between a statue and the thing it represents.

We're just in it to get a rise out of people who follow REAL religions.

It's all about Ouija boards and Tarot cards

It's just a phase.

All Pagans are relativists, have no morality and consider all religions equal, since they all lead to the same place (gag, gag)

And the biggest pagan on pagan misconception I've come across...is that we all worship The Goddess, and agree on everything, because, after all, we have to band together against "the enemy".

[Phoenix Blue]

It's okay to take gods and goddesses from any pantheon and mix them all together.

[Phoenix Blue]

No "real" Pagan would ever be right-wing (you'd get that impression if you read some of Isaac Bonewits site).
LMAO! By that measure, no "real" Pagan would be in the military, either. Sorry, Bonewits, some of us have long memories ...

[Sidhe-Ra]

Here are a few pet peeve misconceptions of mine, all related to assertions made by Douglas Monroe in his literature:

1) The potato is native to Ireland.
2) The pumpkin is native to Europe.
3) The original druids used the four element system.
4) The Book of Pheryllt is real (If anyone has proof of it, please share, it would be nice for a secret text to be real).
5) Women are the deadliest of the species (>.<)

And many more. I could go on and on, but I'll save that for another time.

Ah, yes. That man is a NUMPTY- no misconception there...

Em xx

[Ben Gruagach]

There's such a thing as a "pure" culture, and it's bad bad bad to borrow ideas, practices, or deities from other cultures (because the pre-Christian Pagans never did!)

Deities should only be worshipped in exactly the way they were back in the Golden Age of Their worship -- deities never evolve or change, because they've never changed since the first days They were worshipped.

Only Christians demonized the deities of their Pagan neighbors.

[Silverfire Darkmoon]

Nine million Wiccan women were burned at the stake by the Spanish Inquisition because the Church wanted to steal their power and hated the sway they held over the people! And their cats were burned too, which is why the plague swept Europe shortly afterward! Nine Million!!!111!!11!!one!1

[Brandon Bee]

It's okay to take gods and goddesses from any pantheon and mix them all together.
This sounds more like an opinion than a misconception.

[Shield_Wolf]

This sounds more like an opinion than a misconception.

It is an opinion(in my opinion), I do it all the time.

But one that I have heard but not all that often is that "All male Witch are call Warlocks".

[Glory]

We all worship the triple goddess, and at least one of them is called Hecate.

[Brightshores]

-Pagans are subversively trying to take over the public schools, government, culture, etc.

-Pagans don't shower and aren't really big on personal hygiene.

[Shield_Wolf]

We eat the Heart of are enemies to gain there power................no, is that just me then?hehe

[Phoenix Blue]

This sounds more like an opinion than a misconception.
If I didn't think it was a misconception, I wouldn't have posted it.

[Nitefalle]

All women fit into the category of either Maiden, Mother or Crone - because of course, all goddesses fit into that mold and that's what the ancients believed in, too!

[~*Sacred*~]

That it's NOT okay to take Gods and Goddesses from different pantheons.

[Phoenix Blue]

That it's NOT okay to take Gods and Goddesses from different pantheons.
Is that with or without their cultural context?

[Brandon Bee]

If I didn't think it was a misconception, I wouldn't have posted it.
But this is more just your belief, rather than a misconception against Pagans. There are definitely Pagans out there that believe it's okay to mix pantheons.

Or maybe you meant "All Pagans believe that it's okay to mix pantheons."? That would be a misconception.

[Zibblsnrt]

But this is more just your belief, rather than a misconception against Pagans. There are definitely Pagans out there that believe it's okay to mix pantheons.

Or maybe you meant "All Pagans believe that it's okay to mix pantheons."? That would be a misconception.

Mind the nitpicking; this thread is supposed to be about straw men. ;)

[Ben Gruagach]

Here's a big misconception that shows up a lot among Pagans:

The X publishing company only produces fluffy crap.

(You can substitute the X with pretty much any publishing company name -- I've seen that sort of statement made about pretty much every publishing house.)

[Naroddrec]

Anyone that does not spell "magick" with a k is clearly a fluffy.

(I prefer it with a k, but that is just out of habit. Just because someone says "magic" does not mean they don't know what they are doing.)

[Athena-Nadine]

Pagans are more tolerant and open-minded than everyone else.

[David19]

Pagans must all choose our political and ethical choices just so they oppose Christianity or related religion (e.g. being pro-choice only because Catholics are against it, etc).

We are tolerant and accepting of other religions, but the world would be so much better if it was Pagan.

[Phoenix Blue]

There are definitely Pagans out there that believe it's okay to mix pantheons.
Yes, there are. And they're wrong.

[Shield_Wolf]

Yes, there are. And they're wrong.

Now that is your opinion.

[~*Sacred*~]

Yes, there are. And they're wrong.


Now that is your opinion.
I think this covers it:


Pagans are more tolerant and open-minded than everyone else.

[Phoenix Blue]

I think this covers it:
Fancy that. Did I miss the Pagan Commandment that said I had to be so open-minded my brains fall out?

[Shield_Wolf]

I think this covers it:

guilty


Fancy that. Did I miss the Pagan Commandment that said I had to be so open-minded my brains fall out?

No I was just make small talk..... and make my own Opinion.

[brymble]

phoenix blue, please forgive me if i seem rude as that is not my intent, but i'm just a little curious to know how what shield wolf does or does not do in ritual affects you in any way?

i think a misconception about pagans is that we all have the same, similar, or even compatible concept of god/dess. not just about pantheons and what you do with them, but the very nature of god/dess.


for exapmle, if god/ is a state of conciousness and not an anthropomorphic external enity, pantheons are completely irrelevant, whether you mix them or not.

not all pagans even bother with pantheons.

[Phoenix Blue]

phoenix blue, please forgive me if i seem rude as that is not my intent, but i'm just a little curious to know how what shield wolf does or does not do in ritual affects you in any way?
I see it as disrespectful, not necessarily to the gods but to the cultures from which they came. The gods were (and are) worshipped in a cultural context, and robbing the gods of their context robs that culture of its meaning.

What I would ask is this: If someone's calling a god because it fits some aspect they're seeking, and they don't want to be bothered with the cultural context, why don't they make up a deity?

[~*Sacred*~]

Fancy that. Did I miss the Pagan Commandment that said I had to be so open-minded my brains fall out?

I haven't bought that one yet. It must be the same one that says pantheons can't be mixed.

[Fairy_Princess]

Pagans are more tolerant and open-minded than everyone else.

That has to be the biggest misconception of all time.

[Shield_Wolf]

I see it as disrespectful, not necessarily to the gods but to the cultures from which they came. The gods were (and are) worshipped in a cultural context, and robbing the gods of their context robs that culture of its meaning.

What I would ask is this: If someone's calling a god because it fits some aspect they're seeking, and they don't want to be bothered with the cultural context, why don't they make up a deity?

Because it's between me and the Gods and not the Culture that came from. Really if the Gods don't like it let them tell me, and since no God or Goddess yet has told me to stop I won't.

[Fairy_Princess]

Ever consider that those gods created the cultures they came from or *gasp* (more likely) the cultures that those gods came from created them?!

Taking a god out of it's culture is like taking a phrase randomly out of context....


Misconception: A god will bother to "tell" you if they disapprove of your actions directly. Like Athena will just email someone and ask them to stop....

[brymble]

i myself don't work with pantheons, so i can sort of see both sides of the issue.

as far as the gods creating the culture or the culture creating the gods, that's kind of a chicken-egg question in one sense. but usually in popular practice, even in history, there was no "pure" form of either the god or the culture, mixing pantheons is nothing new. it's almost like the human collective consciousness scrambling up the rublk'x cube to see what new patterns it gets. there are examples in art history of religous art that mixed pantheons from centuries and centuries ago.

the specific example that leaps to mind is an early christian painting of christ from a catacomb that combines symbols of dionysius and the egyptian concept of spiritual leader as shepherd. (christians still refer to "the good shepherd" today, but this was originally a borrowed concept.) very early christianity, like modern wicca, had little or no symbols of its own, because it was illegal and underground (literally, in the catacombs) so it borrowed bits and pieces from other faiths.

myself personally, i don't find the concept of pantheistic ritual useful to my specific spiritual understanding, so it's not something i do, mixed or unmixed. but the neither the idea of cultural purity or mixing bothers me. they both have their historical contexts at any rate.

[Shield_Wolf]

Ever consider that those gods created the cultures they came from or *gasp* (more likely) the cultures that those gods came from created them?!

Taking a god out of it's culture is like taking a phrase randomly out of context....


Misconception: A god will bother to "tell" you if they disapprove of your actions directly. Like Athena will just email someone and ask them to stop....

Ether way I'm done with this. This is not a debate and we have Hijaked the thread from the OP. I believe the way I do and you believe the way you do okay, If you don't like the way I work with the God then all wells. I will say one thing, though I do work with Gods from all different believe, I don't use Gods from Different culture in one ritual. But I do mix them in my faith and spirituality. Tiss one of the way of a Chaos Magician :nyah:

[brymble]

perhaps it's a misconception, or at the very least an assumption, that it really matters quite so much in the big picture.

[Lunacie]

... not included in the misconceptions... just my opinion...

Some Pagans can and do mix pantheons. Some of the time they are so bad at it that nothing happens. Some of time they pick gods/goddesses that get along okay despite being from different pantheons. But sometimes things go very badly indeed.

Personal choice and personal risk, eh.

[brymble]

see here we're dealing with an assumption (underlying misconceptions) of how ritual works and the nature of the dieties in question. is it the gods and goddess who get along or not, or our understanding of them? i think the answer to that question is going to be unique to the pagan and what their specific understanding of the nature of ritual and diety is.

i think the essence of deity lies not in the goddess or god, but in our understanding and experience of them. but there's assumption in that, too: that's a mystic (seeking direct experience of god) approach, not a theological or ritualistic approach. the approach you take to ritual and your understanding of the nature of diety and ritual is a rather personal thing, and is going to vary from pagan to pagan.

[coeur]

Is it possible we are forgetting to factor in time here? Time changes and morphs everything, even deities and especially cultures and religions. You can both respect a culture's original state and recognize that times have changed. Just because ancient druids lived and worshipped a certain way doesn't mean that you have to live and worship that exact same way several thousand years later to be a druid.

Consider also there was pantheon mongrelization even while these pantheons were in common practice and acceptance. There is a definite intersection between Greek and Roman mythology, for example. Religions and rituals change all the time and they change to accomodate the circumstances of the times. Hellenism changed a lot even while polytheism was popular in the Greek empire. If you look at Helios, you will find that he disappears as time progresses, eventually getting absorbed into Apollo. Human culture does not stay the same and I am sure deities can understand that. Their worship changed all the time even when they were commonly worshipped, after all.

Saying that combining pantheons is flat-out wrong is like saying interracial marriage is flat-out wrong. Just because you choose to marry someone of a different ethnicity doesn't mean you are disrespecting either ethnicity/race/nationality--it just means you are doing what you have to do to live your life. Some people feel like joining pantheons is what what they have to do for their spiritual wellbeing. Some people protest and say that this is very dangerous--but the fact is it doesn't have to be. You can work with deities of different pantheons and not have everything blow up in your face. Perhaps you must approach the matter with more care than otherwise, but working with deities period is can produce dangerous results anyway.

Hell, crossing the street can produce dangerous results. Take a chill pill and relax.

[Naroddrec]

I'm not Wiccan, but here is one that bugs me:

"All Wiccans are fluffies."

To say that any group of people are all fluffies is judgemental and wrong.

[Ben Gruagach]

Here's another misconception that annoys me to no end, and it is common in most religious communities:

There is absolute right and absolute wrong. And as a corollary of that, there is such a thing as a One True Way (or One Correct Way as some Pagans express it.)

[Son of Deborah]

Here are some choice favorites I've heard:

All Pagans have terrible interpersonal relationships, they see enemies around every corner, and only learned "magic" to get revenge.

No Pagans are interested in theology or serious religious study.

All Pagans are just disaffected Christians trying to "stick it to the man".

[Zibblsnrt]

Here's another misconception that annoys me to no end, and it is common in most religious communities:

There is absolute right and absolute wrong. And as a corollary of that, there is such a thing as a One True Way (or One Correct Way as some Pagans express it.)

I find that and its inverse equally annoying, actually. ;)

[Silverfire Darkmoon]

Pagans are more tolerant and open-minded than everyone else.

That, madam, is a vile and odious lie!
...I am *terribly* intolerant and close-minded to more things than I can think of!

[Twinkle]

Now that is your opinion.

Maybe it is. But he's right.

[Ben Gruagach]

Maybe it is. But he's right.

If you mean he has a right to his opinion, you are correct.

[Shield_Wolf]

Maybe it is. But he's right.

And that' your opinion. I don't need people telling me what I do is wrong okay, then all it sound that to me is that you are pushing you believe and me and calling mine false and I get that enough on another site in debates and dealing with it but it get tiring after a while.

[Fairy_Princess]

Common Misconception:

Pagans are dirty hippies who hate modern conveinances and would rather live in the woods than in the city.

[Pythagoras_FD]

Misconseption among Pagans

Organized Religion inherantly produces Orthodoxy.

[Vigdisdotter]

And that' your opinion. I don't need people telling me what I do is wrong okay, then all it sound that to me is that you are pushing you believe and me and calling mine false and I get that enough on another site in debates and dealing with it but it get tiring after a while.

Woah, hang on here. No one can force anything on you, beliefs or otherwise. So getting defencive about it is a choice you make, just as which gods you will or won't work with is also your choice.

What I believe is just that, what *I* believe and the credence of such is only of any real value to me. If other people find value in it, well bonus, if not then oh well.

the point of this is that we are seeing another misconception here: That someone can force another to be a given way.

If you're happy with the way you do things, then what does it matter what anyone else says?

[Russ]

Misconseption among Pagans

Organized Religion inherantly produces Orthodoxy.

Thanks for jogging my memory on this one.

Misconception:

Orthodoxy is ALWAYS bad. Ditto for dogma of any kind.

[LostSheep]

Pagans are happy for people to believe what they want to without trying to tell them what they should or shouldn't believe.

:hrmm:

[Glory]

We all adopt the pentacle as a meaningful symbol.

[TheWomanMonster]

that as a Pagan you have to love every other Pagan that exists and feel a strong connection to them....

[David19]

Being Pagan means you never want to improve your body 'cause it's all a gift from The Goddess, so lets all be obese.

Hating everything mainstream - wearing clothes just so people will notice you, in High school, hating the Jocks and cheerleaders just 'cause their the popular ones and the mainstream ones (and gods, no Pagan can ever be a footballer or a cheerleader).

[Nitefalle]

All Pagans are vegetarians because we all think plants come from the Goddess :lol: And no self respecting Pagan would EVER think of hunting for their own food, because killing animals is a no-no! That would bring bad karma back to you times three!

[Athena-Nadine]

A Pagan cannot have a happy, healthy marriage with a Christian.

Pagans who choose marriage and/or monogamy are only Christians in disguise.

[David19]

All religions are equally valid, unless of course there founder is a Middle Eastern Jew.

No Pagan, in the past or present, has ever hunted or sacrificed an animal, and any that did were really mean Christians or Jews in disguise.

Any Pagan that accepts or revels in the dark side of nature and/or life is actually a Christian or a Satanist sent to convert Pagans.

We don't have a bible, but Llewllyen's books are the words of The Goddess.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam's history is mostly mythic, but Pagan religions, especially Wicca, is all literal history (I've heard similar things to this).

[Xentor]

It is written thus it must be false.

[Ben Gruagach]

Oral history is automatically more true than written history.

[Windsmith]

Anyone that does not spell "magick" with a k is clearly a fluffy.

(I prefer it with a k, but that is just out of habit. Just because someone says "magic" does not mean they don't know what they are doing.)Also its inverse: Anyone who spells "magic" with a k is automatically a fluffy.

[Vigdisdotter]

If you cast a binding, you are irrecoverably bound to your target.

[Ben Gruagach]

We all wish we were living in something like:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charmed
The Craft
Lord of the Rings
The Mists of Avalon
Harry Potter

and can't separate fantasy from reality.

[Phoenix Blue]

Alternate, "Gaelicized" spellings for Wicca are by definition ancient, pre-Christian faiths.

[LostSheep]

The more extra letters you put in the word "magick" or "magickal", the more likely it'll be that it follows in an unbroken tradition stretching back to pre-Christian times.
Spelling it with a j instead of a g gets you extra points.

[Ben Gruagach]

If you use archaic words or spelling then your tradition must be old.

[David19]

We all wish we were living in something like:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charmed
The Craft
Lord of the Rings
The Mists of Avalon
Harry Potter

Maybe you don't but I wish I lived in Sunnydale! (no wait actually I want to live in the Supernatural universe with Sam and Dead ;)).

[Fairy_Princess]

If you use archaic words or spelling then your tradition must be old.

Perhaps their spellchecker is just stuck in pretentious mode...

[Mitsuko]

"All Pagans read tarot cards, and all the card decks are alike, no matter what they tell you"

I was told that earlier today when showing someone my Shapeshifter deck. *sniffles* I love that deck, and it is too special! To me, anyway...

[Fairy_Princess]

Technically they are correct, the Cards are all the same in any given Tarot Deck. Same number and make up of cards.

Sentimentality doesn't enter into that assertion. Just like all Decks of Standard Poker Cards come with the same cards, all Pinochle Decks are the same and all Uno Decks are the same.

[Phoenix Blue]

Indeed. If it doesn't have the traditional composition of a Tarot deck, it's not a Tarot deck. :) And that's no misconception.

[Ben Gruagach]

Technically they are correct, the Cards are all the same in any given Tarot Deck. Same number and make up of cards.

Sentimentality doesn't enter into that assertion. Just like all Decks of Standard Poker Cards come with the same cards, all Pinochle Decks are the same and all Uno Decks are the same.

That's not exactly true.

In tarot decks prior to the popular Rider-Waite one, there was quite a bit of variation in the number of cards, the ordering of the major arcana, the actual cards in the major arcana, and even the names of the four suits.

Some of the better books on tarot history, like Paul Huson's "Mystical Origins of the Tarot," cover how the tarot has changed over the years.

And in the years after the Rider-Waite deck we've had a real explosion in variations of the tarot.

[Glory]

Mm. And I read somewhere that the numbering of the Major Arcana is a modern addition.

[Nox_Mortus]

That's not exactly true.

In tarot decks prior to the popular Rider-Waite one, there was quite a bit of variation in the number of cards, the ordering of the major arcana, the actual cards in the major arcana, and even the names of the four suits.

Some of the better books on tarot history, like Paul Huson's "Mystical Origins of the Tarot," cover how the tarot has changed over the years.

And in the years after the Rider-Waite deck we've had a real explosion in variations of the tarot.

yeah from what I've seen a lot of the older decks where Tarrochi decks or more closely based on them, and even those had a few major variations from country to country, even newer ones will sometimes have variations in the way the suits are named.

Also when it comes to divination, the symbolism in each of the cards can vary widely, if you compare Waites Pictoral Key to the Tarot with Crowleys Book of Thoth (each written with the authors own decks in mind of course) you will notice that the symbolism and interpretations can very quite widely, so yeah Tarot decks aren't the same even with the same number of cards.

[Twinkle]

And that' your opinion. I don't need people telling me what I do is wrong okay, then all it sound that to me is that you are pushing you believe and me and calling mine false and I get that enough on another site in debates and dealing with it but it get tiring after a while.

I said two sentences. It's amazing to me how you are able to discern that I pushed my beliefs on to you or told you that anything you were doing was right or wrong.

I don't know you, I don't know how you practice, I know absolutely nothing about you.

It amazes me to no end that people can take two sentences and tell me what I think, what my intent is or that the comment was specifically directed at them.

Defensive much?

Geesh.

[Sobeq]

All pagans follow unstructured, free-form religions and shun organization and hierarchical systems because they're too close to Christianity.

[Vigdisdotter]

Real Pagans (male and female) don't shave......EVER.

[Lunacie]

You should only use magic as a last resort after everything has failed.

[RoseKitten]

Real Pagans (male and female) don't shave......EVER.

*snorts* OMG... eww.

[RoseKitten]

You should only use magic as a last resort after everything has failed.

But majick(tm) is only for good and light! Mundane should always be done first! To use magic makes you ebil and stuff!!!!!!11111oneone

*rolls eyes* If you know how to use magic, why should it matter what you use it for? Personal choice and all that.

One misconception I love: all pagan chicks are easy.

[Xentor]

On a similar note: all pagan men are machos, but all Wiccan men are gay.

[Libris]

We're all Wiccans

We're all easily deluded teenagers with way to active imaginations

We're all dirtworshiping treehuggers (well, I am... but that's just me)

We're all satanists

We're all poor

We're all sex crazed ;-)

We're all rabid feminists

[~InTheDarkness~]

You should only use magic as a last resort after everything has failed.


Hey! you stole my quote!!!:lol: But surely it should read .... I believe...........

[Lunacie]

I thought that was a given in this thread, that these are various beliefs, generally ones we take exception to.

[RoseKitten]

We're all sex crazed ;-)



Oops :bigredblu

[LostSheep]

We're all Wiccans

We're all easily deluded teenagers with way to active imaginations

We're all dirtworshiping treehuggers (well, I am... but that's just me)

We're all satanists

We're all poor

We're all sex crazed ;-)

We're all rabid feminists
Well, I'm at least two of those. I'll leave you to guess which they are.
_wedgie_

[coeur]

We all look like we just crawled out of the counterculture hole and are incapable of wearing crisply-pressed button down shirts.

[Eternal Night]

[quote=Libris;3164636]We're all sex crazed ;-)/quote]

Does that mean I'm in the wrong religion?!:lol:

[~*Sacred*~]

We're all Wiccans

We're all easily deluded teenagers with way to active imaginations

We're all dirtworshiping treehuggers (well, I am... but that's just me)

We're all satanists

We're all poor

We're all sex crazed ;-)

We're all rabid feminists

Love my trees.
Poor at times.
Future feminist, but far from rabid. LOL!

[David19]

We're all sex crazed ;-)

For me, that's not a misconception, it's true!.

[David19]

Does that mean I'm in the wrong religion?!:lol:

I guess I am too :lol:.

[Libris]

Well, I'm at least two of those. I'll leave you to guess which they are.
_wedgie_

DEVIL WORSHIPER! :awilly:... and sex crazed? Those two seem to fit nicely together :hehehehe:

[Libris]

We're all Wiccans

We're all easily deluded teenagers with way to active imaginations

We're all dirtworshiping treehuggers (well, I am... but that's just me)

We're all satanists

We're all poor

We're all sex crazed ;-)

We're all rabid feminists

Yeah.... OK so I'm about four of those now that I think about it...

Libris --> sex crazed, dirtworshipping-treehugging feminist, non-monetarily affluent pagan (and proud!) :boing:

So, are there pagans who aren't sex crazed?

[Son of Deborah]

So, are there pagans who aren't sex crazed?

*raises hand, ducks tomato*

[Heart of All]

So, are there pagans who aren't sex crazed?

I don't think there are many PEOPLE who aren't sex crazed, just most of them repress it.

I especially think people who go around accusing groups of people of being sex crazed are repressed sex-crazers.

[Philosophia]

So, are there pagans who aren't sex crazed?

*raises hand*

[Glory]

So, are there pagans who aren't sex crazed?

:wave:

[brymble]

oh! oh! over here! pick me! pick me!

...oops, you said aren't not are didn't you?




*sighs* never mind...

[Libris]

So I guess all pagans being sex-crazed is a misconception after all. I better let Hollywood know, they've got it all wrong ;-) While we're at it I should inform them we're not all female sexy "bombshells" or brooding vamps either (at least I'm not a bombshell!)

[cheddarsox]

I don't consider myself sex crazed...just a sex afficianado!

My hubby reaps all the benefits.

I'm not a vamp or a bombshell...I just play one when the mood strikes.

[SwordsFlameSong]

Atlantis was inhabited by an enlightened people who left us the Akashik (wrong spelling?) and we can all meditate back to that most wonderful time and tap into this knowledge...........

And wea are all ancient Atlanteans who have come back to share our wisdom with the world ................

[CheshireEyes]

*raises hand*

can i try and change your mind?_inabox_

[Voyager]

Do you do voo doo?

[brymble]

"Can you turn me into a frog? Don't go casting a spell on me now! If you're a witch make something levitate. Hey you don't really believe in that stuff, do you?"

[Ben Gruagach]

"Can you turn me into a frog? Don't go casting a spell on me now! If you're a witch make something levitate. Hey you don't really believe in that stuff, do you?"

You hit the nail on the head.

The best comeback I've heard for the "can you turn me into a frog?" question is to reply, "But that would be redundant!"

[Philosophia]

can i try and change your mind?_inabox_

:lol: You can try....:)

[Lunacie]

You hit the nail on the head.

The best comeback I've heard for the "can you turn me into a frog?" question is to reply, "But that would be redundant!"

The comeback I've always liked best to "Can you turn me into a frog?" was, "Even worse, I can turn you into a vice president!"

[Libris]

The comeback I've always liked best to "Can you turn me into a frog?" was, "Even worse, I can turn you into a vice president!"


ROLF I'll have to remember those!

[brymble]

The comeback I've always liked best to "Can you turn me into a frog?" was, "Even worse, I can turn you into a vice president!"

BWAHAHAHAHA! oh that's just awful!

my personal favorite is to sweetly tell them i sorry, but they'll have to work on their own personal development.


the shopkeeper i used to work for would always respond with "now why would i want to do that to the poor frog?"



on that note, i do know someone with a closeted interest in paganism whose spirit animal just happens the frog, and who probally could be greatly benefitted by ritually or shamanically "turning into a frog"! oh, the irony!

[SwordsFlameSong]

I have a good story. Had this co-worker who thought I cursed her. She made my life at work miserable for almost a year (trying to get me in trouble, spouting off to all who would listen that the devil worshipper had cursed her etc) until she was finally fired.

Anyway, I flippantly said the following to my boss who thought it hilarious but said that it was probably best if I didn't say it to the co-worker, "Why would I curse you? ? You're already stupid and I can't top what you have done to yourself."

[~*Sacred*~]

I have a good story. Had this co-worker who thought I cursed her. She made my life at work miserable for almost a year (trying to get me in trouble, spouting off to all who would listen that the devil worshipper had cursed her etc) until she was finally fired.

Anyway, I flippantly said the following to my boss who thought it hilarious but said that it was probably best if I didn't say it to the co-worker, "Why would I curse you? ? You're already stupid and I can't top what you have done to yourself."
:yayah:

[Tanya]

besides the gay and/or promiscuous thing (which is pretty annoying for those of us who are neither)

1. We are all Goths and/or EMOS
2. We murder babies (mmmm... baby fat...love that!)
3. Are all into piercings and tattoos (ok, I have some... but we don't all look like we had a run in with a barbed wire fence at a biker rally either!)
4. Smoke pot and do LSD and Shrooms (cause I don't.. I like my brain cells, thanks!)
5. We are brain damaged (beyond the self inflicted above)
6. We can magically make money and compell love
7. We don't have serious jobs, pay taxes, have spouses and ex'es and children and deal with all the crap everyone else does
8. We all were abused children now reveling in our victimhood... (Ok, so some of us have been hurt, like the rest of the population, but thoose who have are mostly survivors not victims..the difference being, a survivor gets themselves back up and re-engage s in life despite having been slapped down.. and does all the living crap in #7)

that'll do for my little rant I think... :)

[Phoenix Blue]

The comeback I've always liked best to "Can you turn me into a frog?" was, "Even worse, I can turn you into a vice president!"
This was truly frightening in the early 90s when Dan Quayle was veep. :p

[Son of Deborah]

4. Smoke pot and do LSD and Shrooms (cause I don't.. I like my brain cells, thanks!)


I like my brain cells, too! I like them so much that I want to give them entertainment every now and again :devil:

[SwordsFlameSong]

Sadly enough, though we all know most of what has been listed is stereotypical and false for most.......well, there are some that do fit the bill.

About 8 years ago there was a HP out in the center of the state. She was charged with statutory rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In a nutshell, she was having sex with a 16 year old boy and providing him with booze and drugs. He was a member of her coven.

She was found guilty and then tried to appeal the conviction with the state court of appeals. She claimed that these actions were allowed by her religion and she was being discriminated against.

She lost the appeal.

But, a number of pagans did raise a hue and a cry stating she was being discriminated against.

I fail to see how engaging in sexual relations with a child less than half your age and buying him booze and drugs is part of a religion.

For a while afterwards, the cops across the state took some special interest in other pagan groups.

She did the pagan community around here no favors.

When the valley flooded horribly ten years ago there was a group claiming it was god punishing the citizens for allowing us devil worshippers to roam about the valley.

Then a few years later we had some bad overland flooding and parts of the city were impacted. There was a new age store down in the old commercial area that wasn't impacted though businesses around her were. She was on higher ground but the cry went out again that she was godless and the Christian god was punishing her neighbors for allowing her to have a store there.

BS. But there it is.

[CheshireEyes]

:lol: You can try....:)

and i'm damned good at succeeding. I'm in sales, M, and i'm VERY good at what i do....be afraid, be very, very afraid....mwahahahaha


*books flight for australia*:hahugh:

[Philosophia]

and i'm damned good at succeeding. I'm in sales, M, and i'm VERY good at what i do....be afraid, be very, very afraid....mwahahahaha


*books flight for australia*:hahugh:

:lol:

You always make me blush. :hugz:

[CheshireEyes]

:lol:

You always make me blush. :hugz:

I'll make ya more than blush....:viking: :hehehehe:

[Merilwen]

She was on higher ground but the cry went out again that she was godless and the Christian god was punishing her neighbors for allowing her to have a store there.

Wouldn't it be easier to get rid of the temptation? Or take her out along with the rest of them?

:yayah: I love listening to flawed logic

[Fairy_Princess]

Misconception:

All Pagans think Earth is their "Mother" and care more for the Earth than for humans.

All Pagans are whiny Teenage Female Vegans

[Aidron]

"If your magic is so great, how come your life isn't perfect?"

"I'm a masochist. My magical expertise has nothing to do with me getting off on the fact that life often is tawdry, stupid, and humiliating. Kindly leave me to my sexual perversions, if you please."

[Zibblsnrt]

Atlantis was inhabited by an enlightened people who left us the Akashik (wrong spelling?) and we can all meditate back to that most wonderful time and tap into this knowledge...........

And wea are all ancient Atlanteans who have come back to share our wisdom with the world ................

Building onto that one, another misconception is that Atlantis existed at all, and that there's scads of evidence for this.

[Greybird]

"If your magic is so great, how come your life isn't perfect?"

It is a side effect of having active gods whom we ask for enlightenment. Nobody ever achieved any wisdom living a perfect life.

Now, a misconception that bugs me:

The 'stuff' that magic is made of has anything whatsoever to do with 'vibrations.' There are plenty of words for what we work with - we don't need to use a term that, were it accurate, would be fully measurable with current instruments.

[Phoenix Blue]

SFS, your story reminds me of something wildly different ... but still related. A few years back, an Airman got his tongue split and tried to claim it was part of his religion.

*snorts* Fortunately, most military Pagans (and a good majority of military non-Pagans) agreed that there was nothing in any Pagan faith that would allow someone to split his tongue. His superiors ordered him to let his tongue heal and made the order stick.

[aluokaloo]

all pagans are accepting and tolerant of others.

[aluokaloo]

It is a side effect of having active gods whom we ask for enlightenment. Nobody ever achieved any wisdom living a perfect life.

Now, a misconception that bugs me:

The 'stuff' that magic is made of has anything whatsoever to do with 'vibrations.' There are plenty of words for what we work with - we don't need to use a term that, were it accurate, would be fully measurable with current instruments.

I dunno...some vibrations are mighty goo!:nyah: hee hee hee! Yes I'm being perverted!!

[ShadowStalker]

"All pagans are goths."

I don't know why this is the one I get the most. I'm most definitely not (well... on the very rare occasion, but that's beside the point)...

I guess maybe I get this one because I'm not a goth... so people look at me and go, "but....". Or something. I dunno. I'd probably give myself a headache trying to figure it out. :lol:

[brymble]

we could extend that misconception to include "all pagans are hippies."

ok, so maybe that one fits me. but it's just a coincidence.

[ShadowStalker]

we could extend that misconception to include "all pagans are hippies."

ok, so maybe that one fits me. but it's just a coincidence.

:yayah:

Or tree-huggers.

[Fairy_Princess]

I hate a hippies!

[brymble]

:yayah:

Or tree-huggers.

WHAT?!? so i hug trees, big deal! :nyah:

i mean it was just a little hug ok? nothing serious.


we're just friends! really.



i mean its not like i need to go get myself tested for dutch elm disease.

[Russ]

:yayah:

DAMN DIRTY HIPPIES GET IN MY BASEMENT!
-Eric Cartman. Hippie hunter.

:hahugh:

[ShadowStalker]

WHAT?!? so i hug trees, big deal! :nyah:

i mean it was just a little hug ok? nothing serious.


we're just friends! really.



i mean its not like i need to go get myself tested for dutch elm disease.

:rollingla

[Xander67]

Dutch WHO?? WHAT?? lol

well, in my book.. trees are wonderful and should be hugged :hugz:
they shelter us from the storm, they give us air, and they are pretty to look at in the fall...

so yeah, Hug em, fine with me..
just watch out for the sap :nyah:

[RenDjembe]

We're all Liberals

[~Belladonna~]

Probably already been said, but we're all "love & light" :rollingla

[~Belladonna~]

Oh, how could I forget.... we're all bi-sexual and have weight issues. One particular YouTuber has a lot to answer for this one :eyebrow:

[patch]

We're all thick and live on the edge of society.
We're all goths with black hair
And/or hippies.
We're all called ravenwolffirecircle or andromeda.
We all worship nature.
We all worship the one great universal sooper gawdess.
We all hate christians.
We all hate scholarly sorces.

There's so many! :'(

[~Belladonna~]

SRW is our hero