So, what does Atlantis mean to you? Total fiction, a real city but not the center of culture .. what?
What do you think of people that invoke Atlantis? Lemuria? Mu? (it is Mu, isn't it?)
Why do you think people cling to the myths of Atlantis?
Where is modern pagan witchcraft going? What will Wicca and other forms of practice look like a hundred years from now? Will they change? If so, how?
Alternatively, what is the most significant challenge (or challenges, if you foresee more than one) that modern pagan witchcraft will face in the next century?
And for those of you who aren't practicioners of some form of pagan witchcraft, substitute what you do do here and make your own prognostications about that.
Christianity has its sacraments and important holy days. What important rituals and such are in your religion? How important is participating in those rituals to you?
How does someone know the diference between a real vision and personal thought?
I'll start off by saying that I'm not a Pagan. I am a sort of universalist Christian, though that's not an entirely accurate description. Since graduating high school (in 2000), I had a very mundane, near-mechanistic view of the world, but have recently discarded it again because it's unsatisfying, doesn't sufficiently explain many reliable (but unscientific) accounts, and is, frankly, depressing.
But my education leaves me with some very unpleasant doubts. God (or gods) and souls are easy enough to reconcile logically - it is, after all, impossible to prove that a system is closed from within the system. But I still have trouble, at a "gut" level, reconciling this with science. Does science simply misinterpret the evidence, due to bias of some kind? Does it "break down" when dealing with such external factors? In short, HOW do people here reconcile things like spirits and gods with science, and explain science's lack of coverage?
I just had a very interesting thought while I was going through the teen refuge folder. While reading, I saw references to teenagers not being taken seriously because they were 14-16 etc years old. It brings to mind for me the question:
When did our sense of age vs. responsibility change?
I know no one on this board is old enough to remember girls being married at 16 in the United States but it happened. Or what about societies (Like the Roma of europe or Moon Mountain People of Africa for example) who still marry their children off at 15 years old? In many cultures a child becomes an adult when they can work and reach puberty. When did America begin viewing things differently? And why did we make this switch? Was it longer life expectancy? Industrialization?
It seems the teen went from being an apprentice/worker and potential mate, to someone to be coddled and babied until they're 21 years old.
Does any one know of any good Pagan Singles/Dating sites? Has anyone had any success with any singles/dating site?
In Wicca, the Rede states "Harm non" - I am assuming this applies to all creatures that are great and small. I was curious, what do Wiccans here do about pests or insects around the house, for example, roaches? Do you catch them and let them go outside or do you spray them with Raid?
I heard an expression today that I've found myself returning to and puzzling over: "A God ignored is a demon born."
The context of this was a conversation in which I'd mentioned, somewhat offhandedly, that the Horned One is not really part of my path. I don't disbelieve in Him, or have "issues" with Him, I just have enough Gods and Goddesses Whom I worship already.
I suppose an argument could be made for Pan filling that role in my personal pantheon, but I don't really associate Pan with many of the attributes I frequently hear mentioned with regard to the Horned One in Wiccan parlance. Anyway, that's somewhat beside the point for this question.
This fellow's argument was that if we don't give all Gods Their due, we're somehow imposing negative energy upon Them and turning Them into demons. I can see how some Gods have been demonized in some people's minds, but he seemed to be arguing for the potential to inflict actual damage on Them.
I could see an argument made that in having sufficient fear energy around a particular God, one could create a demonic thought-form to which one had attached the name of that God. But simply "not following" or "not worshipping" a particular God? That seems absurd to me. There are too many of Them.
Has anyone here ever heard that saying? If so, how do you interpret it? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
The staff and members of The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum, would like to wish everyone a happy new year! May 2006 be a good year for everyone. Last year was a great year for The Cauldron's message board -- we had 115,186 posts in 2005. TC forum members are a very talkative bunch. If you haven't joined us on the message board lately, you really ought make a new year's resolution to join us soon.