When anthills (molehills are too big) are turned into mountains it’s best to step back and take a deep breath. Today I did just that, spending a few hours near the ocean. I connected with other people, connected with my deities, and connected with the earth. Instead of letting myself be consumed by anger and outrage I chose to do Pagan stuff and my heart is all the lighter for it.
Being a Pagan is life-affirming. Being a Witch is transformative. Having a relationship with deity is satisfying on an inner level that’s nearly impossible to put into words. Instead of focusing on outrage and what everyone else is doing I like to focus on what’s going on under my own two feet.
Want a more Pagan life? I offer these four simple steps.
Be Nice to People.
This is often very hard to do because people make it as difficult as possible, but as my Grandma used to say “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with others, only that our arguments need to be more than “You are wrong asshole.” There are all sorts of people I don’t agree with in the extended Pagan blogosphere, and some of them I like despite our disagreements. I might think they are wrong but I don’t see the need to shout that out like a seventh grader in a blog post.
There are other people out there that I actively dislike, and I do my best to ignore those people. It’s not always easy, and sometimes I fail, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it. If someone doesn’t want to be nice to me, so be it. My life will go and will continue to be great because I’m not a rage monster seven days a week.
Do Your Shit.
I’m a Witch, I cast circles, call quarters, honor deity and work a little bit of magic. I do ritual about every two weeks, and when I’m actively between the worlds I’m involved with my Craft in other ways. I talk to my peers about what I practice, write rituals, celebrate the Wheel of the Year, and work on being the best partner to my High Priestess and wife that I can be. If I spent most of my waking hours bitching about people in other Pagan traditions I wouldn’t have time to do my shit. I like my shit, I want to do my shit, I don’t have time to be constantly offended by other people’s shit.
There are five hundred different kinds of Paganism, along with five hundred different definitions of the words Pagan and Witch. Polytheist has a few definitions now too, and that’s fine. No one is ever going to mistake a Hellenic Reconstructionist for a British Traditional Witch, and if you are happy to be both at the same time, that’s cool too, but I bet you don’t do Greek Recon rituals in the middle of your Witch circle.
Honor Whatever You Hold Sacred.
There are several goddesses and gods in my life and I honor and worship them both in circle and without. I hold them sacred and have built much of my Wiccan practice around them. Because they are deities I don’t think they need me to fight their battles. I’d much rather spend quality time with Aphrodite at the beach than argue with someone who holds a different conception of deity than I do.
Do you love the Earth? Go hug a tree! Do you love the Goddess? Tell her so! Do you honor a specific pantheon of deities? Then pour them a libation! Many of us write and whatever else, and it’s important, but it’s less important than the powers we honor.
Should we talk about deity? Of course, I love theology. Should we feel threatened by those that disagree with us on that subject? I don’t think so.
Change the World.
Paganism and Witchcraft have made me a better person and they’ve certainly influenced my world view. I’m not sure my rituals are political in the classic sense of the word but they are concerned with honoring our planet and treating those around both me and my coven in a positive and life-affirming manner. And after ritual we take that energy and put it out into the greater world. I hope it makes a difference.
There are Pagans who are Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Socialists, and Anarchists. The Pagan world is far more diverse politically than the blogosphere lets on, but most of the Pagan folk I know are good people who are trying to make the world a better and more inclusive place. We may not all agree on how to get there, but I feel that most of us are headed to the same place.
Is greater Pagandom in danger of being taken over by radical right-wing politics? Not even close, though if someone is a racist or transphobic asshole we should certainly call them all on it.
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