One of the things I have actually found most frustrating and I know this is going to sound crazy, is the insistence by so many people that "if it feels right to you, then you are doing the right thing, as long as you do no harm"...
At some point that concept is just a recipe for people going off the rails.
I’ve often argued that without
some central tenets, a word or title (even in Neopaganism) becomes formless and meaningless. In another thread on this forum, I’m discussing the concept of what’s central to organised Wicca, and the reality that if someone falls outside of these central tenets, then they’re not Wiccan. The reason this isn’t generally considered popular, is because it’s exclusive; and deliberately so.
The problem is that there really isn’t a definitive source for the confusion.
I mentioned
The Craft earlier, and so many people underestimate just how influential that movie was in its introduction of modern Witchcraft to a teenage audience. Unfortunately, existing Pagan groups didn’t take on or initiate minors and, in any event, weren’t even remotely prepared for the rush. In lieu of freely available material, or the guidance of experienced Wiccans, this new generation practically “made stuff up” in order to plug the gap. Authors like Ravenwolf wrote books specifically for this group of people (the lamentable
Teen Wicca being one such example), but removed almost all of the religious trappings that accompany organised Wicca.
Instead, they presented magical cookbooks marketed toward youngsters already immersed in popular culture and, thus, were unlikely to take what they were doing seriously, or consider its deeper meaning. Largely, people were presented with spellcraft “how to” material without any of the appropriate considerations or beliefs.
It’s also interesting to note that this is roughly when the terms “Wicca” and “Witchcraft” started to get used interchangeably. Wicca, as a religion, is something you believe; Witchcraft, as an art, is something you do. This new generation of “pop-culture” Witchcraft effectively used the word Wicca to describe the practice of Witchcraft, and the community has gotten confused over it ever since.
Something I have yet to hear from another pagan is, "No, I think you are wrong in that...what you just said is batsh*t crazy"..
Unfortunately, communities want to increase their membership no matter what. For that reason, the horrible ostracism of
disagreeing with something nonsensical is considered taboo. Many topics on these forums, which I happen to like, see me delete entire posts after the first proofread and simply walking away from the keyboard.
The explosion of interest in the mid-nineties, allied with a largely clueless Internet generation, has largely created forums where a lot of utter nonsense is promulgated.
As hinted earlier, I’m just not sure how this is countered. I’ve often thought that charismatic leadership is something the Neopagan community has consistently lacked, but even that needs a meaningful vehicle with which to spread information intelligently.
No such vehicle has so far made itself available.
Which is fine - but as you said: the purity gets diluted for the "masses" to "mainstream" it.
In my opinion, Witchcraft
does have a generational problem.
We know that in a capitalist society, the only thing that’s valued is the thing that’s profitable. Wicca, pre-nineties, was the opposite of profitable; the material was kept secret, groups excluded youngsters (for good reason) and its religious adherents were typically of a certain age; the average certainly being beyond mid-thirties. While this made material challenging to get a hold of, what you
did get hold of was worth the effort.
Post-nineties Wicca is a very different animal. Society has robbed young people of their identities, and pop culture allows marketing to replace them. If Witchcraft is presented in a simple, anything goes format, then teenagers will eat it up; particularly if it’s apologetic enough to avoid annoying their parents.
The Pagan community has had a good couple of decades to sort this out, and there’s still no reconciliation in sight. There needs to be some kind of bridge between a group of older Wiccans who largely despise youngsters who they see as incapable of looking beyond their next spell, and a group of younger witches who don’t want to be told what to do by a bunch of old codgers that don’t understand them. Personally, I think this is exasperated by the fact that the vanguard of Gardner, Valiente (both deceased), Buckland or the Farrar’s (getting on in years) wasn’t replaced by a younger or more vibrant version of itself; it was replaced by authors the like of Ravenwolf, who weren’t interested in properly representing Wicca, if indeed they ever knew what it was in the first place.
To me, the generational problem can only be solved by a coven or individual that can reintegrate original practices meaningfully, but in a modern format that youngsters can relate to. It’d probably need to be a labour of love, purely by virtue of the fact that it wouldn’t be particularly profitable, and would take a large amount of time and effort.
I just don’t see it happening any time soon. Every time I see a witch or warlock on TV, or hear one on the radio, I want to take an axe to it. They're either saying something mind-numbingly stupid, or boring the arse off of anyone unfortunate enough to be listening to it.
I found this distinction quite important for some reason. Still pondering why that is, and I think that's a personal thing - but this thread has definitely been very informative.