Witch Hunts.........

[Tiana_Ecarias]

I have a question for everybody here.... Does anybody have the problem of being treated like crud because of your beliefs in Wica, Druidism, stuff like this?

Around here, it's a marjority of people who will pin you a witch, and tehn try and prosecute you. I was just curious if it's just where I'm at, or perhaps just me.

Tiana

Live life with no regrets, when you make a mistake, learn from it, and make what ever you learn work for your benifet.

[Myst]

There are many threads on this, perhaps most notably in New Pagans. And no I have never felt that way. My family knows, my fiance's family knows, and I have a few dozen Pagan friends, so it's all good here. Tho I do know a lot of people find that.

[Tiana_Ecarias]

My apologies if I offended anyone posting this here, I'm new, so don't know where to post what.... :ack:

Tiana

[Myst]

Don't be upset, you are more then welcome to post whatever you like. I only mentioned that as a point of interest so if you feel, you can look them up to see that others have felt that way.

:)

[Tiana_Ecarias]

*look of relief* Oh good, I appreciate the heads up on the threads.

Tiana

[flar7]

also the search engine!

[pitchafit]

Nobody can really tell by looking at me, unless they yank out the pentacle hanging on my chain. I actually prefer when they're amazed that I don't fit the stereotype of the wierdos they see on TV.

[Fire_Crotch132074]

yep happens when somebody asks me if I'm Southern Baptist (majority of people here are) and I tell them I'm Pagan. They freak out. But ohwell I now let in one ear and out the other. My town is very religious, but a lot of my Christian friends leave it alone because they could care less about my religion. Well all except one but I just tell her to quit her bitchen.

[Nissala]

I live in small town in the bible belt and feel I have to keep my beliefs to myself except for a select few. There are only a few in my family that know, and one of them (my 16 year old son) who is confused about religion all together and doesnt know what to believe but is leaning to chirstianity because of his girlfriend and her family knows about my beliefs and is scared I will burn in hell because of them, but does not condemn me or run around calling me a witch.....its hard, especially working in a university with so many so called christians who would not understand my beliefs....
The only advice I can give is they are your beliefs and the constitution gives us "Freedom of religion" it doesn't say "Freedom to practice the religion of the majority and only that religion"

So, hang in there and let no one tell you what you feel in your heart ...what is right for one may not be right for another, that is why we are all "individuals" ;)

Love&Light
Nissala

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Keep your chin up! Those Christian folk who are judgin you aren't following thier relgion for they should have been taught not to judge. I remember at one of my son's rodeos, in Oct., I was wearin a chocker that didn't have any real meaning, it was just a black ribbion with a silver spider on it, I was dressed all in black, it was just a Halloween thing and one of the pick-up men, who at the time was a good friend of the family's rode over and ask me if I knew I was going to hell for that? I simply said no, I didn't know that and walked off.
Keep your defenses up too and don't let anyone harm you.
Many Blessings

[Eudaimonia]

hee hee.. aunt Roni told me I was going to hell. But ya know, It gets rid of the Jehova's. Easier than having my bf pee off the porch!

[Azure]

I live in a major city that happens to be the center of the fundamentalist publishing industry and the "Christian" music industry. Yeah, I get a lot of zealots, and even though my family knows and is okay with my choice, it's still a don't ask, don't tell situation.
Ironically enough, I'm still the person my Christian friends call to bless their houses, or help deal with a ghost problem - whether I'm qualified or not. Another very conservative Christian friend cornered me to ask about reincarnation one day, because of series of strange dreams she'd had.
The big advantage to also being a scholar, and well informed not only about my own faith and other types of Paganism, but about the varieties of Christianity and other more mainstream faiths is that at this stage it's easy to show them parallels in religion, to discuss history, and to generally refute the few claims and comments that are truly rooted in bigotry.
Yes, there are bigots out there - but the majority of the people who point you out or make comments are just ignorant. A little kindness and rational discussion clears up 8 out of 10 such problems, in my personal experience. The rest are usually things you've just got to let go of.

[Danustouch]

I've had more than a few bad run-in's with religious Zeolots. In my old town, there were alot of Pagans. So I never really felt like I was sticking my neck out alone. But even then, I had some problems. There was an organization in our town called "Cops for Christ" which was an Organization for Police officers, and retired police officers who were born again christians. I befriended this girl who used to go to a Church where the leader of "Cops for Christ" attended, and she took an interest in Wicca. Her family found out, and had this cop following me around for a year, hoping to find me doing something illegal, so I would be arrested. I never did though. And nothing ever came of it. But..it was annoying none the less. I also had several problems on the work front. People who would notice my pentacle, or a book I was reading on break, and start gossipping behind my back, the usual "shhh..she might place a hex on you" type stuff. Blah.

Here, I keep pretty much to myself. I wear my pentacle out, and I do have a t-shirt with a pentacle printed on it from Salem Mass. I've heard a few comments here and there, nosy people mostly..but since I'm so solitary here, and don't interact with the rest of the town often, It generally just doesn't come up. When I was doing Tarot readings locally, it came up several times, but...then....the people who were asking me, were coming to me for readings, so they didn't make a big deal of it.

Generally, I'm another one of those who much of the time, you wouldn't know was Pagan, unless you asked, or new what a Pentacle was. I don't make a big deal of broadcasting it. Not that I'm not proud, but because being Pagan is only ONE aspect of who I am. Not the whole ball of wax as far as who I am. I'm also a nature lover, a wife, a housekeeper, a music lover, etc. There's so much else to talk about when I meet someone, that often the topic of religion is the "last" topic to be brought up :)

[Grey]

Where I live theres a church every two blocks intown. Everyone is very tolerant as long as your of a christian denomination. I'm not usually subtle about my ideas for any length of time and so have made a few enemies. Many people simply ignore the fact that I have "heathen" practices in a form of deniall/thats-funny attitude. Infact many people slander the "plague of sin" that they believe is beyond our valley and in every town. Drugs, gangs, and witchcraft. Funny thing is though the people born and raised before everyone started moving here are much better and less caring about it.

He he he.... and when I first told one of the covens at my school (theyre two and they didn't even know each other existed!8O) theyre eldest (and leader- Hi Drakklin!) was supprised that I even knew it existed.

Ahh well who can guess who'll pop up next?:devil:
:boing::boing::boing::boing::boing::boing::boing::boing::boing:
But I still can't tell anyone as i said before. I was walking througth the middle school to do a presentation to the sixth grade class (having just finished the middle ages) on magic and paganism and three teachers stopped me and gave me a tonguelashing for fifteen minutes until I told them to shut up and gave them a sheet on how to recognize a cult. Theyre some suprising similarities between it a christianity... Leader claims to be related to or god itself, zealotis followers willing to kill, all other ways are evil, he can do things by the power of god while all othersuse evilness, try to get as many people to come into it as possible for "there own good" well I'm rambling now:dis: so you can see why the local pagans are very secretive......
I have had to tell my mother (who also claimed to be "open" and originally said "as long as theres no animal sacrifice") that I'm only researching it instead of practicing because she started gettin upset about the idea a month ago...:ghost:

[Tiana_Ecarias]

I know what you mean, here, there's a bar for every chuirch, but if you are even interested in anything non-christian(i.e wicca, pagean, etc.) you are a heathen and should be damned to the deepest darkest hell for your sins and such. :scream:

It drives me nuts, :meanhead: they drink and drive, beat their wives(or children) or will sexually abuse them and do drugs, which are all sins, but they are holly children and will not be damned.

My Mom knows what I am, my dad doesn't, my friends do, and accept it, my husband does as well. It got to the point here that while I was walking to my bus just after school got out, I nearly was lynched because they believed(students) I was a witch. :flamer:

Ah well, I don't let it bother me, and just try to make sure they don't get close to my family to hurt them is all.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has probs with this.... :sunny:

:confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash: :confused: :smash:

Tiana Ecarias

If you live today like it was tommorow, and remember yesterday like it was today, and think of tommorow like it will be one more day, you'll master life.

[FireBird]

I know what you are talking about. I live right in the middle of the bible belt. I keep it to myself. Only a couple of friends and a couple of family members know what my beliefs are. Just keep to yourself and only tell the ones that you know that are open minded.
Blessed Be!!