Are we separating ourselves?

[Corva]

I read this in a Witchvox article (http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usme&c=words&id=13747)this morning.

"The feminist views of women have been the main driving force pushing Wicca to be accepted as a religion. Not all Wiccan groups are feminist though. Most Pagans and Wiccans have a more moderate view of the feministic ideas. Feminist Wiccan groups have dropped a lot of common beliefs in the Pagan community in favor of an all female belief system. By doing such things as only recognizing the female deities and eliminating the male deities, they are alienating themselves from the rest of the Pagan and Wiccan community. (Adler 180 – 81)"


I haven't "eliminated" male deities in my practice. I have only been drawn to one in the past, and that relationship is over due to the fact that I am no longer working in a particular magical system. I am certainly not going to force a relationship with a male deity just to "fit in."

Besides, where does it say in any definition of Paganism that worship of a male and female deity is required?

I will say that last year, I decided to drop the label of Pagan because I was not focused on nature veneration, connecting with the old gods, or the reconstruction of ancient belief systems. The only labels I really like are Goddessian, occultist, and my own made-up word - magystic. but even those do not preclude Paganism.

Do any of you feel that you are separate from other Pagans? Do you consider yourself to be Pagan?

[Snapdragon]

This is one viewpoint (the thing from Witchvox), and at least the extract provided, is pretty incomplete. Obviously, 'feminist' wasn't defined, and the author seems to feel that 'feminist' and 'Diannic' (not mentioned or defined) are equivalent. It's a fairly useless piece, IMO.

What I have read a fair amount about, over the years, is how the Festivals and other public-contact events are becoming noticeably populated by women far more than men. I don't know whether that represents a change in the composition of the Wiccan community, or whether that's just happenstance. In any case, as one who is in fact Diannic in his worship, I think it's fine that Wicca is, first and foremost, a religion that is congenial to and honoring of the sacred feminine. And that, in real-life terms, typically means women.

[Corva]

This is one viewpoint (the thing from Witchvox), and at least the extract provided, is pretty incomplete. Obviously, 'feminist' wasn't defined, and the author seems to feel that 'feminist' and 'Diannic' (not mentioned or defined) are equivalent. It's a fairly useless piece, IMO.



I agree that the article is only one opinion. I was just looking to see if any of the others who view themselves as Goddess-oriented feel that the Pagan label doesn't fit so well.

Here (http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/is-goddess-religion-still-pagan.html#idc-container) is something else to read.

[Snapdragon]

Whether a given term is "useless" or not will, of course, depend upon the evaluation of each user. What is definitely and universally useless, is a term that is used but never defined.

A good place to begin, therefore, is to define what one means by 'pagan.'

Having said that, let me ask you: after you've produced your definition, (whether inwardly, to yourself, or outwardly, in conversation) what then to you have, exactly? Definition helps with clarity in communication and internal coherence, but it still doesn't touch the question of "what is."

So...are you just after some verbal clarity and consistency, or are you seeking something else? If it's something else, then definitions are going to be possibly helpful...but definitely insufficient.

[Terra Mater]

Separating ourselves? Of course, but its not simply along gender lines. Every time a group has a schism within it, you end up with from two to ten new groups splitting off from it.:toofless:

[Caelestis ♥ Raven]

That is absurd and alittle offensive IMHO.

Yes I am pagan. Now on the other hand I am not Wiccan and I tend to agree that Goddess focused paths are not Wiccan. (note- I don't care what label people give themselves)

What annoys me is that people seem to think paganism = wicca. Paganism is a vast term which so many people of different paths connect under. Some very different from one another.

Yes our path is unique and all our own- why is that a bad thing?? lol yet that doesn't mean that we can not connect to others through the things we have in common (paganism as a whole).


I also want to mention that I don't like the thought that I am somehow eliminating the male deities. I am not picking through and throwing stuff out the window as I go along. I am shaping my own path that is focused on the Goddess. My path doesn't have any male deities to eliminate.