Ask a Neo-Pagan Wizard anything!

[nguemo]

I really hope that I did not take part in the offense. I didn’t mean any harm and thought the jokes were rather good natured pokes at the very open ended nature of the invitation. I believe that nobody here meant real harm (not that that is an excuse) and apologize to the OP for any perceived slight or ridicule of his beliefs.

I agree with you waanju,i also want to apologize i meant no ridicule.:hug3::grouphug:

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

HappyPagan, thanks for responding. I will sincerely be quoting you on a lot of threads that will likely pop in relation to your religion.

Such threads tend to deal with the following subject…

Oh! I almost forgot…

This is sure to send this thread into the stratosphere!

Harry Potter: Yay or Nay?

In the words of one who also frequents such threads, “Oh dear…”

 

[x1980x]

…
My creed uses everything, it doesn’t just steal or borrow, it runs down ideas and concepts into dark allies, knives them in the gut and rummages through there pockets (Anyone get the reference?)
…

This refers to a quotation about the English language mugging other languages and rummaging through their pockets for new vocabulary.

And come on people, a lot of the questions seem, well, inappropriate.

1. Could you tell us a little about your path? Specifically, were you ordained as a Wizard as part of an initiation for clergy in your tradition or are all followers of your path considered to be Wizards?
2. How compatible do you find your path to be with other Pagans? For example, will you do rituals together with Wiccans or do you consider Wiccans to be rivals?

 

[TimeEntrance]

So someone commented there are not enough Non-Catholics. So I decided to start this thread after reading it.

Ask me anything!

You wouldn’t be affiliated with this group would you?



(Source: Wikipedia)

 

[pig]

I can make some yummy sweet tea and a great chicken bog! As for the more Wizardly aspects I am good with tarot cards and my sigil spells tend to work 90% of the time.

I gave up sweet tea many years ago, it pains my stomach now. But chicken bog piques my interest, bog over here means toilet, if you have the recipe handy.

Yours affectionately
pig

ps. I don’t know what sigil spells are or what they do.

 

[TimeEntrance]

You’re interpretation of the different supernatural intelligences competing in the word, each bestowing blessings and desiring worship is very interesting. Thanks for expounding on that. I believe most Christians believe this as well, but call most (or all) of these entities “demons”, saying they are basically evil and manipulative.

Protestants sometimes accuse Catholics of worshiping Mary. But Catholics don’t. Catholicism holds an ancient view of the concept of worship. For Protestants it’s their contemporary view of prayer. For Catholics it’s offering sacrifices.

So, the importance of the sacrifice of the Mass.

Catholicism says sacrificial offerings are only to be given to God. Hence, the early Christian martyrs killed in pagan Rome for refusing to offer sacrifices to pagan gods.

 

[SeekerDude]

As a member of Ar nDraiocht Fein, why do you identify as a Wizard as opposed to a Druid?
Why Jupiter instead of, say, An Dagda Mor? I understand the ADF is a Pan-Indo-European reconstruction that goes by the title Druidry (which, as an Irishman, I disagree with), but why a Roman deity specifically?
How does one make an opening or a closing triskele, as put forward by ADF? (I’ve never seen that explained) Is it similar to how a Wiccan would invoke elementals by tracing the appropriate pentagrams? And if so, what is the motion for opening, and what is the motion for closing?
How does ADF define sigil magic(k) as opposed to, say, a Chaote?

 

[Dale_M]

I practive Druidry as a member of ADF but I consider myself a more general Pagan as in I’ll honor almost many god or goddess depending.

This is just a guess, but does adf = Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship?
adf.org/core/index.html

 

[Razanir]

Oh! I almost forgot…

This is sure to send this thread into the stratosphere!

Harry Potter: Yay or Nay?

If the equation -x^2 + 2(k+2)x - 9k = 0 has two imaginary roots, what are the values of k ?

(this is fun!)

1 < k < 4. And for the record, you don’t need to specify two imaginary roots. Imaginary roots only come in pairs, so for a quadratic equation, both would be imaginary.

The fact I practice magic and prefer the title of Wizard to Witch. Tends to annoy the Wiccans however…

Not a whole lot. Mostly it is like saying you are a Catholic Christian.

That analogy’s interesting. Some Christians don’t actually consider Catholics Christian Is it the same among different groups of Pagans?

 

[nguemo]

Hey good to hear from you.thought we’d scared you off.Great sense of humour.
At some point you said you are “…almost convinced Satan exists.” Are you saying your religion doesn’t identify with Satan or acknowledge his existance? Pardon my ignorance but i would really like to know.

 

[SeekerDude]

That analogy’s interesting. Some Christians don’t actually consider Catholics Christian Is it the same among different groups of Pagans?

No, all Pagans consider other Pagans Pagan. It’s just a matter of denomination. Modern polytheism is a little more lax on denomination.

HappyPagan is merely setting him/herself apart from Wiccans, it seems, since Wiccans make up a vast majority of Neopagans.

 

[SeekerDude]

Hey good to hear from you.thought we’d scared you off.Great sense of humour.
At some point you said you are “…almost convinced Satan exists.” Are you saying your religion doesn’t identify with Satan or acknowledge his existance? Pardon my ignorance but i would really like to know.

Paganism, Paleo-/Meso-/Neo- does not accept the concept of the Adversary.

What one must always bear in mind about Paganism is that it is a nature based theology. From the Pagan perspective, good and evil are merely human constructs. Perhaps I’m not explaining this well, but, people like, for example, steak. This would seem evil to the cow, but not for the human. It is evil for the cow because it kills the cowl It is not evil for the human because the human is a predator who also happens to farm.

The only common theme among Neopagans as far as morality is concerned is that if it doesn’t harm anyone (anyone being humans in the most agreed on sense) then it is ok. Some Pagans take this to be an injunction against killing animals. Not all Pagans agree on that. Again, because it is nature based, and humans are omnivores.

Further, there is recent scientific evidence that even plants feel fear. If that is true, then humans still need to eat, and at that point its a matter of where are you in the food chain.

 

[SeekerDude]

No, all Pagans consider other Pagans Pagan. It’s just a matter of denomination. Modern polytheism is a little more lax on denomination.

HappyPagan is merely setting him/herself apart from Wiccans, it seems, since Wiccans make up a vast majority of Neopagans.

It should be noted, however, that with Wiccans, there is a lot of overlap. A Wiccan may also consider themself a Druid. However, a Druid may not necessarily consider themself Wiccan, and even abhor the description.

I have also noted that Pagans who have started off Wiccan but who stay Pagan tend to distance themselves from Wicca after a certain time. Not out of any disapproval of Wiccan theology or practice, but usually out of a latent loathing of Wiccans (read “fluffy bunnies” which is a disparaging term for new Wiccans who don’t quite get it)

 

[Elisabeth51]

The fact I practice magic and prefer the title of Wizard to Witch. Tends to annoy the Wiccans however…

Observing the world and interacting with the spiritual side seems to suggest that there are multiple competing powers of independent intelligence and will. These beings seem to desire worship and often exchange blessings for offerings.

I practive Druidry as a member of ADF but I consider myself a more general Pagan as in I’ll honor almost many god or goddess depending. Some I hold close relations with, others I pay a minimum of attention to during rights, others I only interact with during spells and still others I have no relationship with.

For me it is separating yourself from the divine, the punishment for separating oneself from the divine is… Separation from the divine.

36i

Not a whole lot. Mostly it is like saying you are a Catholic Christian.

A Pagan who practices magick and calls themself a Wizard. Although not all Wizards or users of magick are Pagans, the three greatest teachers I know of are a Protestant lady in California, a Calvinist in Maryland and a Catholic Wondering Bishop in New Jersey (his line is legit and he is valid if illicit in the eyes of Rome).

Male

Short, brown hair, hazel eyes, a bit scrawny.

Rather miserable.

Not really

It was a broken home with both parents living there.

Straight

I’m single ladies!

Zero I want an iPOD however and am considering an iPHONE I also use many iWORDS like iTIRED or iHUNGRY,

One, my rat Maxwell (Named for Klinger on MAS*H

Negative, I <3 meat!

Highschool

No car, my old one died looking for a new one.

Obama, Romney didn’t seem very Pagan friendly. (Dear GOP, you WANT the Pagan vote!)

Most Pagans I know own at least an iPOD, iPHONES are well loved. Most however prefer PCs to MACs. I use a Mac as it is a loan till I can get me a PC.

Well, of course you’re a Wizard if you’re male…witches are female. So, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff? And yes, I am serious, not making fun.

 

[epan]

What is the square root of negative 36?

Mary, you already know the answer:

±√(-36) = ±√(6^2 * i^2) (i^2 = -1) = ±6i

 

[SeekerDude]

36(36+1)/2=?

 

[HappyPagan]

Just got back from a break for Thanksgiving and the craziness of Black Friday!

And as a Neo Pagan- I assume you are following a tradition that is reviving one of the older Pagan traditions. Do you worry that anything important has been lost due to the break in passing down tradition?

I have read some interesting work done by John and Kaitlin Mathews- yet I always got a feeling that they were ’ reinventing the wheel’…Do you feel that your religion is mature, fully evolved and complete at this time?

I think a lot was lost, but I also feel the Gods, Spirits and Ancestors are giving it all back to us bit by bit. We have a ways to go as far as maturity goes as well as growth especially in an era wherein religion is treated like a venereal disease (thankfully atheism and materialism are intellectually untenable positions.) in my own Church for example we get announcements of new Groves (think congregations or parishes) forming every month.

Forgive me if this shows my ignorance, but what is the difference between Neo-paganism and Wicca? I have a friend that’s a neo-pagan, but she seems to have a lot in common with what I know of Wiccans?

Wicca is like a denomination, one issue in the Pagan community is that many Wiccans think all of Paganism most conform to their teachings.

Do you wear a cape?

Nope, would love to own one.

Feel free to pm me the subsequent winning lottery numbers for powerball…
…That’s my question.

I got a feeling that would go against Forum rules. Also a decent Crystal Ball would run my $800+ and well I have yet to figure out how to create gold outa thin air, trust me not from a lack of trying!

What led you to paganism?

An encounter with the Gods.

Believe it or not but my question IS serious. If you ever seen some of the threads I go to, some of the beliefs of so-called “Christians” tend to paint a pretty whacked out, downright delusional idea of what actual paganism/witchcraft is.

This is true, look at the human sacrifice reports.

 

[HappyPagan]

I’ve seen a lot of request on Sigil Magick but not sure how to explain it WITHOUT breaking Forum Rules, might ask a Mod for advice.

I am a Slytherin and Harry Potter, oh I could go on forever about it’s Occult content. But long and short it is about the Pagan / Occult equivalent to Narnia or Lord of the Rings.

 

[ValPal]

What is the square root of negative 36?

You don’t have to be a Neo-Pagan wizard to know the answer to that one.

The answer is 6i

 

[Candescent]

Which begs the question…do you incorporate Alchemy in your practice?
I’ve noticed that a lot of Neo Pagans do path working and meditations based on their interpretations of Kabahlah. When I was looking at the Pagan movement, it seemed to me that a lot of the ‘bones’ of the new traditions were being hung on Rosicrucian and Kabalistic teachings- ultimately leading back to the Judeao- Christian path…what do you think?
( I ask this with sincerity, not sarcasm )