"Race With the Devil"
"Wicker Man"
"Bay Cove"
Imagine for a moment that Hollywood did a bunch of movies portraying Jews as eating children or raping neighbors. It's not going to happen, is it? Well, why then does it seem okay to pick on Pagans and those who perform witchcraft? There has been such a corruption of the concept of an entire religion that it's staining everyone's viewpoint.
Popular culture, such as Hollywood's portrayal of a religion, can greatly color those who are uneducated about it. Just remember what fundamentalists did to color most people's views of Muslims and Mormons.
Now, let me clear up a few things:
Witches are not like 1970s movies who perform sacrifices and worship the devil--they do not even have a devil in their concept.
The pentacle is not an evil sign, but if inverted (turned upside down) it has been used to represent bad things, just as the cross upside down is used for the same purpose--a corruption of a sacred symbol--now representing the opposite of that loving practice.
Witches believe that what they send out comes back to them many times over--a powerful form of the "golden rule."
They do not rush about looking for people to rape with a horned mask on (rolling my eyes and sighing).
They believe in the forces of nature and that they work to heal and to empower. Every time you take an aspirin or eat your kale, you are reinforcing what they already know--that nature works and if we work with it, our life is more beneficial and rewarding.
At one point, all of our ancestors were Pagan and most of our religions today incorporate many Pagan symbols and practices. Stronger more powerful and wealthy religions turned us away from nature and our synchronicity with it in order to bring us indoors into places of worship we paid for with gold from the worker's pockets to create idols and "market" religion. The majority of pagans practice solitary with nature and no need for a paid for intermediary. They are the purest form of religion with an ancient knowledge we should all pay high respect, just as Christians pay Jews respect for their adherence to the Old Testament.
So, for the sacred time of Samhain and all the compassionate, earth-loving pagans out there, Merry Samhain.
Ultimately, let's just remember the evil by the Nazis, not because of Jews, but because of those who feared their belief system. It was perpetrated on those who were innocent by those who were ignorant. Learn more about Pagans and rid yourself of Hollywood's desire to make money with titillation. After all, they are the same ones who think we need Kardashians 24/7 and women who are size -1.
Hollywood stop screwing with people's views of Paganism and equating it with Devil worship!
I'm not familiar with the other two movies, but the original Wicker Man is one of my all time favorites. In some past cultures, human sacrifice did indeed occur (and was even considered an honor by the chosen sacrifice in some cases), as they felt that such an offering would heal them of their agricultural woes. It wasn't necessarily a regular thing, but one used in times of strife to ensure survival of the community. In fact, if I recall correctly, there were Pagans involved in the making of The Wicker Man. I see nothing wrong with recognizing that part of our heritage (and, of course, acknowledging how far we've come since then), since disavowing the truth is simply ridiculous. It happened, but thankfully, is all but gone (there will always be sick people out there, regardless of spiritual beliefs). Most religions the world over have indulged in human sacrifice sometime in their history, and Pagans are no different.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the inverted pentagram is not always utilized for dark or evil purposes. For some, it symbolizes the priority of the self over the spiritual in their beliefs. I know many good folks that embrace the inverted pentacle for just this purpose.
Not all Pagans revere nature, nor are they healers either. There are as many diverse and unique paths in Paganism as their are grains of sand on a beach. Ask any 10 Pagans what it's all about and you will get 20 different answers! :D
I totally agree with your overall statement in this post, about Hollywood really pushing the persecution envelope as it pertains to Pagans, but not everything is, nor was, all sweetness and light among Pagan faiths. Good, bad, and ugly, it is what it is and has more in common with most religions than the majority know or will admit.
Thanks for another thought provoking and entertaining post!
From one of your Witchy fans. :D
But but... we don't fully understand something. That means we HAVE to make fun of it and persecute it!
ReplyDeleteStereotypes make the world go round.
It's easy for hollywood to vilify a religion because they don't want to waste time and money creating a good story. It is far easier and cheaper to have a crazy pagan or christian as the villain. Motivation --- simple --- crazy religious person(s)
ReplyDeleteignorance is bliss , thank you chathic church
ReplyDeletewhy i say taht is whe in dark ages the plague ravaged europe and other places.the pagis and wiccans were healing with herbs and being clean the cchurch was saying pray then when they lost people to the pagins and wiccans. so the church desided to have a witch hunt .. thats why i say thank you chathlic church
ReplyDeleteWicca didn't come about until the late 1940s/early 1950s. It's a relatively modern religion based on fragments of ancient practices and lore (which, incidentally, was preserved by monks).
ReplyDeleteThis has always been an especially touchy subject to me because I was raised in a Pgan/Wiccan family. My great grandmother was a TRUE witch, and passed on much knowledge to me before she died in 2006. She was a very amazing and wise woman.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this, it makes me happy that there are some people who understand what we as pagans/wiccans/witches go through as far as persecution is concerned. The media has played a huge role in making us look evil- the movie "Rosemary's Baby" instantly comes to mind. I pray for a day this this comes to an end, but sadly, it doesn't look like it's happening any time soon.
Thanks for this post. <3
Loli; I am a Celt and a Norsewoman, a Sami as well. We are all from a very long line of pagans of one kind or the other from indigenous peoples to Norse to Celts. The family tradition is to be cherished. My Sami culture has lost much of their pagan heritage and it is so distressing to see what assimilation did to a people's belief system. Belief systems are often based on the location. Just look at the Icelanders who believe in elves. In the land they live in, that legend makes as much sense as Thunderbirds do to Native Americans. It is a time and context and a way of being that should be preserved and cherished. I consider these things as I am a pagan myself hoping to evolve to shamanism. It is much like being psychic, something I've always wanted to hide. A lot of assumptions are made about pagans, but I have yet to meet a pagan who was not open-hearted and open-minded which is better than I can say for man other practices.
ReplyDeletethe wicker man used to always freak me out as a kid when I watched it for the first time. lol
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. It's hard living in a small town where you feel you have to hide your true self. Blessings to all!!!
ReplyDeleteVivienne, we all feel it. It's terribly isn't it? Christians have no trouble at all shouting it from rooftops, getting high on their religion and then feeling they're saving others by pushing their beliefs on them in an intrusive manner. I once told a solicitor of religion at my door, "sure, I'll talk to you about your God, if you talk to me about your sex life. They're just about as private." hee hee
ReplyDelete