What is the one thing that every single religion that has ever existed, on the face of this planet, had in common? Persecution. No, really. All this love and light, peace and happy blessings to the point of allowing people to become insanely blind to the reality of things is the very thing that makes all that love and light nothing more than a bunch of bullshit - at least half of the time. Here's why. Do we remember what happened in Egypt back in 2011? Sure we do. There were more memes popping up about that than there were LOL Cats for a few months. One meme in particular read: Egyptians: Just because they're some of the happiest people on the planet, doesn't mean they're not willing to step up and bitch slap a dictator when they have to. In the same (the exact same) location that this meme's photo was taken, there was something far more profound taking place, every day, like clock work. Christians would form a circle around Muslims while they worshipped. In turn, Muslims would form a circle around Christians while they worshipped. What struck me was how everyone was saying how loving this was. How we can all co-exist. That this is what true practice of a person's faith is supposed to look like. Really? It was a freaking war zone out there!! They weren't practicing love and light. They were saving each other's asses from being killed. Before y'all try and call yourself ANYTHING, regardless of which religion you choose to practice, make sure you understand that you WILL, at some point, feel at least a slight bit of persecution....from someone, at some point, in some way. There is no getting away from it. It boils down to the 'my god is better than your god' theory, and unfortunately, it happens to work (look up the Crusades for one of humanity's finest examples of religious persecution....or the Spanish Inquisitions....Mallus Maleficarum.....pick one....all of them....etc.).
There are two religions that are so misunderstood, that every time I hear anything about it, I want to puke peas in a puddle. The first one is Voodoo, and the second one is Satanism (YES, I said it. NO, I'm not going to a Hell I don't believe in). First of all, Voodoo, as described by various religious texts and encyclopedias (meaning, real books - not wiki-mostly-a) is a religions that is based loosely upon the ROMAN CATHOLIC faith. Yes, you read that correctly. No, I am not making it up. Pick up a book, figure it out for yourself. Better yet, go to the French Quarter in New Orleans and ask a Voodoo priest or priestess. Now then, onto the 'religions from Hell'. How many of you have actually picked up the Book of Satan and read it cover to cover? If you have, I ask you to find one single reading that will even so much as HINT to 'god being bad' or 'torture, maul and murder' anyone, or anything. I will also ask you to find one passage referring to the slaughtering of animals for religious sacrifice, as well as the brutality towards women and/or children. If I actually chose to wait....I'd be waiting on you for the rest of my life. Why? Because you will not find one. Satanism revolves around the physical, monetary and tangible pleasures and luxuries in life. It has absolutely nothing to do with hating any particular God, treating people poorly or killing anyone in the name of Lucifer (which, according to the Christian Bible, was God's first and almighty Angel). Get your facts straight.
Love, and light, and happiness, and peace, and joy, and faith, and hope are all wonderful....until you get persecuted. These days, people cower in a corner. I see the posts all the time from all over the world. "My family hates me", 'my co-workers make fun of me', 'boo hoo hoo hoo hoo my life sucks now because I told someone I'm pagan/wiccan/voodoo - whatever'. This is when you're supposed to put your big person pants on, yank them up high, strap on your big person belt and turn around and give them a flat out 'kiss my ass'. I swear, Elders read that shit and our eyes start rolling so far into the back of our skulls that we can see France from nape of our necks. It's not because we don't care. It's because we see you, and think "If you're an adult, and on your own, and have no one to answer to but yourself....then what's the fucking problem?" Depressed? Drink some tea. Go for a jog. Get out into Nature. Go swimming. Read a book. Wear a bucket on your head and dance naked in the moonlight while drinking midnight margaritas. Do anything, just stop throwing pity parties as if you need someone else to tell you that you're ok, this is just a phase and this too shall pass. Guess what? NO, it won't.
If you're going to be frank, and open, with the religion your practice, then you're going to have to grow some thick skin, believe me. As I stated above, it doesn't matter what religion you practice, they ALL get persecuted against. Every, last, one. Humanity has not developed hundreds, if not thousands, of different religious belief systems just because it seemed like the cool thing to do that century. It was an attempt to get away from religious persecution. Heck, almost every single nation on this planet was established for one of two reasons (or both). Either to get away from religious persecution, OR, they were tired of where they were living, and needed to establish a new community, where they could all hopefully life happily ever after, under a ruler that they thought was going to help bring them 'love and light', 'prosperity and happiness' for all of the days they lived. Reality check: Never happened. Never will. Get used to it. Christians tell us the story of Adam and Eve...who lived in a place called Eden. Hmm....reality, or just a really well written fairytale? The answer? Both. Y'all need to pick up some history books and start learning to figure things out for yourselves. Adam and Eve were not the 'first two humans' on the face of this planet. They are claimed to have been the first two humans who believed in a one god type religion. Reading history tells us that just about 75,000 years ago, a super volcano on the island of Sumatra erupted. It was, and still is, considered the largest super volcano on the entire planet. It plunged the planet into a volcanic winter, unlike anything humanity has ever witnessed. At the time Toba (the name of the volcano, which is now a large lake - by the same name) erupted, there were fewer than 1,000,000 people on the entire planet (based on the best scientific information currently available). Less than 20% of that global population survived to carry on the species of human (homo sapein) that we know today. 75,000 years ago, science tells us that there was not 1, but rather 2, species of human. One was the earlier form of homo sapein, who looked much like you and I do today. They other was a species of human that we now understand to be a 'Neanderthal'. Which means that, at the time that the Christian Bible was written (over the course of 1,000 years), and based on what scientists now know to be FACT, that Adam and Eve could have very well been remaining descendants, that lived through that last volcanic winter, and while one was a homo sapien, the other was a neanderthal. But you wouldn't know that unless you actually studied a bit more in depth into the realm of science and human history. Most elders already know this. So when we hear religious stories (including some from our own religion) about 'how humanity came to be what we understand it to be in today's realm' - one of the first things we start doing, is piling through our history books, and really learning fact from fiction - and holy shit is there a lot of fiction to pile through! WOW!
I hear kids all the time talk about how people wear symbols as jewelry, and they have no idea what those symbols really mean. Oh really? Most people don't even know the real symbolism behind the Star of David, much less the Christian Cross, Pagan Green Man, Voodoo Protection, Hindu gods or the Muslim/Islamic Crescent and Star....and they're worried about someone wearing a piece of jewelry?!? Seriously? Be still my beating heart! I had no idea that a piece of decorative metal could cause you to become so bloody offended. One brave lass saw me wearing my pentagram necklace. It has a moonstone in the center. She said "Pardon me, but are you a witch?" I said: "No, I am not. I am a Celtic Pagan." She said: "Ooooh! Very cool. Did you know that your necklace is a Wiccan symbol?" I said: "Did you know that you are incorrect about that?" She asked me to explain, and I did. I explained that while the Pentacle and the Pentagram are very closely related, both are pagan symbols, and are usually worn interchangeably between Wiccans, as well as all other members of the Pagan belief systems. I also explained to her the meanings of each start point, as well as the symbolics behind the center. I noticed she was wearing a necklace of the Christian cross. I asked her if she knew the meanings behind that cross. She said that is was symbolic of God. I said "You are incorrect." I explained it to her. By the time we had finished talking, she had a better understanding of not only my belief system, but hers as well. It is the ignorance given to us by media and entertainment that makes many young people think that there is something hocus pocus about being a Pagan, and that we all are love and light abound, and that anything is possible with a little magik. WRONG.
If you want to understand religious persecution, start off by asking the Muslims, who were repeatedly persecuted by the Christians (refer to Holy War and Crusades books for further detail). Try asking the Jewish people, if they ever felt persecuted against (or, just go read the historical context from WW1 and WW2). Now ask a Christian if they feel they have ever been persecuted (or, just go read up on the Inquisitions, witch hunts, reformation....read the Bible....etc.). The hard truth is, every single person on the face of this planet that breathes, will have someone try and persecute them, simply because of what they hold to be their personal religion. Every. Single. Person. This includes the highest standing members of every religion on the planet. If you feel that the Christian God is the Lord Almighty, and that Heaven is where good people go when they die, and Hell is where bad people go when they die....then so be it. I'm happy for you. Heck, I might even buy you religion-based gifts, if that's what you're in to. If you believe that Nature itself is the almighty supreme, and that for every illness there is a natural cure....then more power to you. I'll even save feathers, rocks and herbs for your altar(s). If you feel like kneeling on a map, facing to the East, and praying to Allah, thanking him for bountiful joy and goodness within your life, then by golly, you just go right on ahead and may Allah Lord of you all praise you and bless you just for being a happy person. HOWEVER, if you are going to do this, don't you dare even so much as think of approaching a Pagan Elder with anything less than equal respect. Although we will back you 150% when it comes to your personal belief system, we expect that you do the same for us in return. Anything less, and you will be proverbially cast out of our lives. We have no time for double standards. Life is not a double standard. You are born. You live. You die. That is the entirety of the basic life cycle for Pagans. Everything else in between? Nothing but pure, unadulterated, life.
As I stated in a few previous articles, Pagan Elders are NOT people to be messed with, on any level, under any circumstances. No, we're not going to cast some evil eye spell upon you, thereby turning you into a toad from hell that spews acid out of your eyes for all eternity. We simply will end up not bothering to give you the time of day. Unless, of course, you are sincere. We know the difference between bullshit, and an honest question. We already can pick up on your under-tones of jealousy and hatred. We see your fear and we can hear your lies. We've been persecuted beyond normal understanding, and at the point we are now, we've grown thick skin, have a permanent set of big girl panties firmly in place, and we flat out are not going to lower our IQ levels, our patience, nor our tolerance, just to answer the never-ending question of: "What is a Pagan" and "I think I've been seeing ghosts lately - does that mean anything?" If you're claiming to be a Pagan, and you have no idea what it is, chances are, you're not a Pagan. If you've been seeing ghosts lately, and want to know what it means? It means that you've been seeing ghosts lately, and you should probably try and figure out why. We can't help you figure out why, only you can. We will support you. We will help you in any way we can. We will not, however, give a rat's ass as to what kind of day you're having, and how screwed up the environment is. We already know how the environment is. We live in it just like you do, and we're not blind. The only time we care about what kind of a day you're having, is if it involved some bodily harm to you, and you are in need of a practitioner's aide in order to regain your overall health and strength.
We also don't care what other religions you practice. We will pray to God with you, and for you. We will praise Allah with you, and for you. We will meditate with you, and for you. We only ask that you start really taking a closer look at the very things your specific religion preaches. You show us these images of people in the cancer wards, maimed up on life support systems and even being run over by any number of vehicles and/or animals....and you want our pity. Well, you're not going to get pity. When we hear someone say "I feel so bad about some of these homeless people - but there's really nothing much that can be done". Really? How about you go roll up your sleeves and volunteer in a homeless shelter, or a soup kitchen, or buy that person what might be their only good meal for a month...you pretentious ass. In other words: Stop talking about it. Stop showing these memes about 'oh poor them'. Stop speaking with a pitiful, empathetic or sympathetic tone. Start helping people in the manner that your religion that you love and practice oh so very much, and get out there and actually practice what you preach. Don't tell an Elder. Just go out there and do it. Quite bluntly speaking, you're doing no one but yourself any good at all by hiding in a broom closet, under the bed, behind locked doors and away from prying eyes. Hey, if eyes are prying...give them something to look at...instead of something to look away from. Practice the love and light that you speak so intently about. And, if you are persecuted, just remember: They're not persecuting you because of your religion. That's just an excuse for them. Rather, they're persecuting you because they can not control you. Don't think outside of the box. Throw the box away all together.....and start living true to yourself. Besides, no one needs to approve your way of living.
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