The Perversion of my Religion
If you were to see the five pointed star in a circle somewhere, what would you first think of? If you said (or thought) Satanism or Satanic, you would be in the unfortunate majority. You see, the shape that many call a pentagram and associated with Satanic things and rituals is actually a religious symbol in Paganism known as the Pentacle. It represents harmony, equality, and the five elements working together to create the world as we know it. The Pentacle slowly became known as the pentagram when Christianity began to santanize the Pagan religion and practices, perverting one of the most peaceful religious symbols we have into something associated with horrible crimes and rituals that Pagans don't practice or have a hand in at all. Because of this perverting of paganism, a lot of people hear me say “Oh, I'm a Pagan Witch '' and immediately think that I worship Satan and hurt animals as sacrifices (Note: I do not do these things. The worst I have done is yell at a bowl of water for not cooperating with me). There is so much negative media and stereotypes around my religion that makes it hard for me to be open about what I practice and why. It so quickly changes people's perceptions of me when I reveal my religious affiliation, and oftentimes it changes it for the worse.
When someone tells you “I am a witch” or “I practice Witchcraft”, what is the first thing that comes to mind? If you said (or thought) witchcraft isn't real, they’re a big harry potter nerd, or something off of those lines you would again be in the majority. People don't take Witchcraft seriously, and I'm not really surprised. With the stereotypes made by popular media such as Harry Potter, people no longer really consider it a religion. People mock me for saying “I am a witch.”, Which I am. I practice witchcraft, I cast spells, hold rituals, speak to those in different planes, I am a witch. But so many people just see that as me saying “I love Harry Potter so much that I made it my whole personality!”, which isn't true at all. Paganism and Pagan Witchcraft have been around for much much much longer that Harry Potter has. And while witchcraft (or stories of it) did inspire works like Harry Potter, the series did not accurately represent what Witchcraft really is. And that's fine, things like that are fantasy works, full of whimsy and magick (like a fairytale) and it's not bad for them to show witchcraft and magic in that way. What's bad is that people are no longer able to separate Magic (fairytale stuff) from Magick (Witchcraft stuff).
I just wish that I could say “I'm a witch” or “I practice Pagan Witchcraft” without people herding their children away from me in fear and disgust or laughing and mocking me for being an idiot. I just want to practice my religion and be open about it, like many others about their religion. I feel that through many centuries and through various mediums, my religion has been perverted into something to be mocked, joked about, feared, and shamed for.
Witchcraft isn't bad or evil, it's good and I do good things with it. I cast lucky spells to help with getting a job or passing that test, focus spells to help my friends study. I don't cast spells on people without their permission, and many witches don't curse or hex or jinx people. Witchcraft is powerful, just as other religions are. Witchcraft is good, but it has the potential to be bad if used incorrectly, exactly like any other religions in this plane. I do all I can to try and change the perverted mess that witchcraft has been seen as and show it as the good that it truly is, but sometimes those efforts feel useless.
I just want to practice my religion and be open about it.
Signed
- A Magick Moki-Mori