Blog of an Obscure Pagan

((Caution: This blog will contain profanity. Do not read if you are easily offended by such things.))

Brightest Blessings everyone,

I apologize profusely for not having updated in a very long time. This semester of college has been especially busy for me and as such I have not had near as much time as I used to have to devote to blogging.

Anyway, the purpose of this blog today is to inform you all of another situation on YouTube. I'm not one to get reeled into video drama, to attack people, or anything of that nature. For the most part, I stay out of it because I see no benefit in becoming involved unless some greater ideal or our civil rights as pagans are being threatened. However, I can't stay silent on this issue. It has upset me far too much.

Recently, a YouTube user named MagickalHummingbird posted a video called "Be Aware." MH claims that she is a "Green Celtic Wiccan Witch," a strict Organic Vegan, and has studied in and under many different well-known pagan organizations, the majority (if not all) of which she mentions first and foremost in her video. I see nothing wrong with this whatsoever. Her religious choices, her lifestyle choices, and the groups she says she is a part of are all a part of what makes her who she is, and I have no reason to even be concerned with that.

However, what DOES concern me is the major claim being made in this video, which she has since made private as a result of the plethora of video responses made by angry fellow pagans who were offended by it. Her claim is that any pagan who associates with Satanists, Atheists, Agnostics, or Skeptics is harming the pagan community, and that paganism has nothing to do with skepticism. In addition, she claims that out in the "real world" people agree that we should not associate with them, and that the group of people on YouTube who do so are basically part of an isolated, misguided group. Allow me to be frank- this is complete and utter bullshit.

She claims that Satanists are not pagan, and that skepticism and LOGIC (yes, in one of her other videos she says this- go watch them to see what I mean) INHIBIT "mystical and magickal" growth and that one cannot move forward in these ways until they ABANDON LOGIC and skepticism. Ladies and gentlemen- this floors me beyond belief. Without logic and skepticism, one accepts all they hear as fact and does not QUESTION. Another way to describe this is "blind faith." Is this not what many of us were seeking to be RID of when we left Christianity? To be FREE to question, and to make our own logical, sound decisions in regards to WHERE we put our faith and WHY? It absolutely astounds me that there are pagans in the community who would tell us we need to abandon logic. If Miss Hummingbird wishes to abandon logic and reason, it is her very right to do so- she's already done it and showed it beyond question. However, to tell the rest of the pagan community to follow suit and hop on her weak and unsubstantiated bandwagon is quite frankly insulting.

In addition to that, she is attempting to divide our community. Our community, which is SMALL ENOUGH, she is trying to separate by pushing out Satanists and telling us not to associate with them, Atheists, Agnostics, etc. She is doing the same thing to the Satanic community that Christianity has done to the pagan community as a whole in the past. When the Christians were trying to convert the pagan country-dwellers of Europe, what did they do? They demonized their religion, called it evil, and touted their faith as the TRUTH. Why? To separate and elevate themselves to a higher seat of power. For we as pagans to throw Satanists under the bus is doing the exact same thing. Pagans are constantly judged for the MISCONCEPTIONS perpetuated about our faith. Satanists (many of whom are pagan) are as well! For Wiccans and Pagans to stop associating with Satanists, to assume that they are "evil" and not a part of the pagan community because they are "dark" is intolerant, ignorant, and elitist. Light CANNOT exist without dark. We live in a world of balancing forces, one cannot exist without the other.

Now, I get the feeling that I understand what is going on here. MH is most likely taking the approach that she doesn't want Wiccans confused with Satanists, so we should just throw them all under the bus to make OUR path look better. This is selfish and HARMFUL. I would think someone who claims to so vehemently respect all of "Gaia's creatures" would show the same respect to Satanists who have done nothing to harm her. And guess what else? No matter how far you would like to distance yourself from the Satanic community - Christians will STILL THINK WE WORSHIP SATAN. Why? ANY god who is not Yahweh/YHVH/Jehovah is the ADVERSARY according to the majority of Christians. It doesn't matter if you call your gods Pan, Cernunnos, Brighid, Jack Daniels -They are ALL manifestations of SATAN according to the Christian community at large. So, in short, such an effort would be completely useless, and just make the pagan community look like a bunch of bigoted assholes. There is nothing wrong with Satanism, just as there is nothing wrong with Wicca. It is the MISCONCEPTIONS perpetuated by other faiths ABOUT our paths that make people think they are evil. How do we fix that problem? Correct the misconceptions! If people choose to believe us, wonderful. If they don't, that's their perogative. But honestly, who gives a shit what they think about us as long as we are treated fairly under the eyes of the law? What happens between me and my gods is my business, whether or not the people around me agree with that is not my concern.

I apologize for being quite "blunt" about this topic, but I felt it was necessary. As I said before her video has been made private, but if you would like to visit her channel and hear about her views on Mysticism and Magick and how they cannot be achieved with logic, go watch some of her videos.


[ONE LAST NOTE! I have updated my website yet again. Changed the color scheme, got rid of "My Path" since I will never be able to write down EVERYTHING that influences my beliefs, and replaced it with the ObscurePagan.com Forums! There is also a LIVE chatroom in the forums that you can access through the "Chat" option on the top console with my logo in it. Please post on the forums, introduce yourself, and feel free to ask questions or add content. The only way to get the forums-a-hoppin' is for you to make your own contributions! :)]

)O( Blessed Be,

Laura