True...
but what if I were just wearing it because I thought it looked cool?

Another rant: the so-called pagans who go around like something out of a bad Stevie Nicks video, wearing the strange clothes and chirping "Blessed Be!" and making sure you see their pentacle. They're imitating the trappings of a religion, and may even claim to be a member of said religion, but usually really have not studied that religion and don't have any idea of what they're doing. Worse: often they'll start worshipping gods from other pagan religions (pagan meaning non-Christian in this case) without really knowing anything about that other religion. Is it really appropriate to call on Diana as the Goddess and Thor as the God? How 'bout Brigid and Ra?

Believe me, I've seen a LOT of that. And it gets under my skin like a bad case of scabies.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 17 Oct 2008, 14:33, 2 replies)

I get what you mean
If you're going to choose a pantheon, it's not like bloody fusion cooking.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Fri 17 Oct 2008, 15:16, closed)

Exactly!
I always saw it that if you're not a Druid or practicing classical Greek, Roman or Egyptian religion, you should leave the God and Goddess unnamed- or else assign them their own names.

Actually, I kinda like the idea of calling them Fred and Wilma.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 17 Oct 2008, 15:24, closed)

I don't bother with the eternal verities too much at the moment
I just keep a piece of amethyst with me at all times for some reason I have yet to figure out, but there we are. Still jealous of you seeing the sidhe though! Incidentally, Fred and Wilma- bloody good idea.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Fri 17 Oct 2008, 15:28, closed)

The sidhe
was a very strange experience. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Apparently there's a kind of firefly called a "blue ghost" that behaves like what I saw- but they're very rare, and only live in one small area in the southern US. What they would be doing in the Adirondack Mountains is beyond me.

The last time I saw them up there I was standing at the edge of a swamp. As I stood there a tiny blue pinpoint of light appeared less than three feet from my foot, and very slowly moved across the ground. I watched it for about five minutes, and so did my girlfriend.

Very strange and wonderful.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 17 Oct 2008, 15:44, closed)

My american friend refers to this as
"Buffet style"

:)
(Turn that bloody gramaphone down has incorrect spelling in her username *WINS*, Fri 17 Oct 2008, 16:37, closed)

Heh.
Here's a pretty good take on the whole thing, really. I especially like the "Misconceptions" part myself.

"I found this Wiccan book and it's everything I've always believed in! Even the paranormal stuff that Christianity refuses to admit exists!" (Wow, you finally read a book? Maybe two, even?) If Wicca vaguely fits your beliefs, then it must explain everything supernatural and non-Xian, too -- even if the religion itself doesn't say anything about spirit animal guides or ouija boards or runes.
We all know that Wicca applies universally to everything, so everything must apply universally to Wicca, too! That's why we can put unicorns, dragons, faeries, and various other mythological creatures (which actually exist, and are friendly and helpful despite all the legends) on our webpages. So break out your wiccan I-Ching set, your wiccan Amerindian totem pole, and your wiccan Egyptian ankh, and put 'em all on your altar to Athena (or Bast, or Kali -- any Goddess will do).
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 17 Oct 2008, 17:02, closed)