Yeats, and all that crowd. Magick, alchemy, the craft of the wise, are all long practiced spiritual paths, certainly as valid, probably even more, than christianity."
Well, I think there's an obvious disconnect on this issue. Clearly, pre-Christian religious practices survived Christian persecution throughout the ages. From the little I know, some of the practicing Druids actually have received a nearly unbroken chain of tradition.
As for the modern movement of "wicca", I had assumed that was more of a recent invention: some dude basically read about pagan practices/ideas and synthesized something more highly consumable by westerners/Americans. Kind of the Pagan version of Mormonism.
But the fact that "Wicca" (as the movement is known today) does not necessarily represent anything authentic doesn't mean that authentic practicing pagans don't exist today (which was Harmon's main point, I believe).
ALeister Crowley, though, I understood to be a little more on the synthetic side, but Crowley never seems to have fully intended that anyone take what he was doing as an inherited tradition. I put Crowley in the Blavatsky category: a real unique, free-thinker with perhaps a drop or two of quackery, who borrowed heavily from existing traditions but giving them a modern spin. And of course, often misunderstood by many of his supposed followers (ie, bored suburban headbanging teenagers), and critics alike as being some form of "devil worship" or other chintzy Hollywoodish crap (like that laughable "Church of Satan").
-TD
From: Harmon Seaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Silly wiccan, tricks are for kids! Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 20:06:43 -0600
On Mon, Mar 31, 2003 at 07:44:43PM -0500, stuart wrote: > Yes, wicca is a word with old roots. > > The inventor of wicca, Gerald Gardner, had a very good idea looking up > the old english word for 'witch' when he concocted his story in the > 50's.
I have no clue who Gerald Gardner is, but you seriously need to do some
research on the subject if you think he "invented" anything. He may well have
started his own coven from scratch, but there are definitely wiccans and druids
who can trace their lineage far back into antiquity. You might find it
interesting, for example, to know that William Blake was the Arch-Druid of his
time, in fact testified in court about it.
For that matter, you might take a look at the spiritual activities of the
Third Reich. "Those of you who think National Socialism is a political movement
know nothing about it. We are establishing a new religious order, and the SS are
the high priests."
Adolph Hitler
Or perhaps a little closer to home, check out Aleister Crowley, William
Yeats, and all that crowd. Magick, alchemy, the craft of the wise, are all long
practiced spiritual paths, certainly as valid, probably even more, than
christianity.
How about vodun and santeria -- do you consider that to be just bullshit as
well? I suppose it's pretty easy to say that about any and all religions,
especially those you don't know anything about. Just because you've met people
professing to be "wiccans" who don't seem to have any spiritual power is pretty
irrelevant -- how many professed christers have you met who are exactly the
same?
-- Harmon Seaver CyberShamanix http://www.cybershamanix.com We are now in America's Darkest Hour. http://www.oshkoshbygosh.org
hoka hey!
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