Is wiccan the same as voodoo?
Curiosity dictates a question like this...
by Juniper 22 Replies latest jw friends
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crazyblondeb
There are actually quite a few here that are involved with your less... Christian systems of practices and beliefs.
Yes, there are quite a few of us here!
And no, wicca isn't anything like voodoo!! It's all good and positive!!
blessed be!!
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jaguarbass
Have any of you out there ever taken the "opposite route" and studied paganism or Wicca?
I read a book on black magic. But personally I'm not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. What I have left after 31 years in the watertower society is my life. I'm not giving it to anybody else. Organization man spirit or demon. And up to this point God hasnt contacted me.
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JWdaughter
I am exploring everything. I think I will take wisdom, kindness, love and generosity where I find it. I am not going to be a evangelist for anything. I think that most religion/faith/belief systems have some good to offer. I will take the good and leave the stupid/ridiculous/insane stuff alone.
Wicca is not the same as voodoo or Satanism( two things I will not explore, btw).
Does anybody else here feel kind of jealous of people who have a simple faith and never got hooked up with doctrine/theology to the extent that they felt compelled to talk and debate about it? Just simply going to a nice ordinary(are there really any???) church on Sunday, believing in God, being a nice person and not taking the rest of it so seriously? Or are those the people that join the JWs? I wish sometimes I was just a church on Sunday, and leave me alone kind of person-choosing how to believe about creation, womens rights, anything political w/o putting a bunch of religious hooha in the middle of it all, just a conscience of what is really intrinsically right and wrong and an openness to consider things that aren't necessarily right and wrong (religiously) for what they are, instead of putting them to some christian 'values test'.
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Sunspot
About the same time as I left the WTS, I discovered that I had some Native American blood in me (North American/Canadian Abnaki heritage). I had always admired the NA culture in books and movies and did some research into the "religion" end of things too. I found it all extremely fascinating!
From what little I have learned about Wicca, it too, seems to have a lot in common with "Indian lore" for lack of a better term.....and its focus on Nature, trees, earth, fire, etc are all co-dependent and in harmony or balanced with one another.
For some reason though, I appreciate the beauty and meaning of both these religions, but I kept being drawn back to (and into) Christianity and felt like I was "fighting" with myself trying to keep delving into the other beliefs. I guess they just weren't for me, in the long run.
I still get little twinges of feeling that I may have "missed something" by not trying harder, to make more of an effort to learn more especially on the NA beliefs and culture since I feel so strongly about it....I simply just don't know.
I DO feel that I am free to search and look into ANY religion or set of beliefs I care to.....and that means a whole lot to me.
Annie
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GentlyFeral
crazyblondeb,
no, wicca isn't anything like voodoo!! It's all good and positive!!
"Voodoo" has gotten an unnecessarily bad rap, just because it is possible to
hexcurse peopleinvoke divinewrathjustice. There is also a lot ofmagicalspirit work about love, healing and success.And then there is a whole complex religion. Check out, for instance, this Haitian Vodoun Culture website.
Or try my fellow magician Mike Rock's page at tribe.net. Click on "Voodoo Resources."
gently feral
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Juniper
Thanks for the info, all! :)
I have some friends that are Wiccans, and to be honest, it definitely intrigues me. Mostly because of the crede about bringing no harm to others. Apparently, the base "rule" of wicca, although I may not have that right. I don't know much.
I thought this would make an interesting question to post, as witnesses definitely villainize such things. OK, they villianize everyone, but ESPECIALLY those with pagan beleifs.
I'm thinking about giving it an honest try - as I definitely find the path appealing. What better than to follow a beleif that will teach you to truly do good for all? :)
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daystar
Juniper, if you're interested in the Wiccan rede "an' it harm none, do what thou Wilt", you should also know that the last part of that is the primary basis for Thelemic thought and practice.
Gerald Gardner primarily creating this re-imagination of Witchcraft was a loose associate of Aleister Crowley, who was the primary contributor to current Thelemic thought and practice, and indeed is among the most influential magicians of the last century.
So, basically, Gardner took Thelema, "Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law; Love is the Law, Love under Will", and added a humanistic restriction on to what extent a person should follow their Will, whereas Crowley did not.
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Brigid
Juniper,
Daystar is correct regarding the Wiccanization of the Thelemic "crede" (though, it's more of a recognition of the freedom and potential for good and evil that lies in all of us than a crede on behalf of Thelemites).
One, in every day life chooses (whether consciously or not) whether or not to "harm" others. Though, it really is impossible to "harm none" with our wills most of the time or at least try to covertly manipulate others around us all the time. I think the Wiccans just make the suggestion not to overtly harm others with the vast potential for harm that we all possess. And that kind of works for me. As far as I can tell (and I have truly made the effort to "know mySelf"--my true will) and I find harming others grossly distasteful to my very soul. But the worst
"crime" against the Self is going against your true nature or Will.Just 2 cents from a person who the further she delves, finds the less she truly knows.
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daystar
From my point of view, theoretically, it is very difficult to tell whether an action will ultimately be harmful to another or not. Even actions which seem good initially could end badly and vice versa.
I'll give an example. You see a homeless person on the corner and hand him a $20. Seems like a good thing to do to some. He takes that $20 and either buys or cooks up some crystal meth, perhaps increasing the feel of parasites upon his skin, perhaps ODing.
Was your action for good or bad? How much responsibility should you take?
Another example: I have a friend who moved to NY state to be with a guy who said he loved her. She got pregnant. He turned out to be a useless drug addict and so she moved back to TX. She had very few friends she could trust, no friends she could live with who she felt comfortable eventually having a child around.
At one point she was even facing homelessness. She was not doing drugs or alcohol. She actually was quite responsible other than her bad choices.
I was one of the first people she called when she got back into town. She never asked for anything. A part of me wanted to help her out, wanted to give her a safe, comfortable place to stay to prepare for her child being born.
I didn't. Why didn't you, Daystar? OMG!! A new mother, all alone, with not even family to help...
Well, sometimes we need to struggle through the situations we get ourselves into. If I had let myself be overly sentimental about things in this case, how would she ever progress? She needed to deal with the situation rather than be coddled.
It was the right decision. She now has a house of her own living down the street from her grandparents, has a good paying job in a dentist's office and is on her way. And she did it on her own. And she thanks me profusely for being a friend to her, for being emotionally supportive and someone to lean upon while she was trying to work through this.
Her character, with little doubt, has been strengthened.
Very grey...