Fri Mar 23 1990
REFLECTIONS ON obsolete Minder PAGANISM
by Mike Nichols
c/o The Magick Lantern
1715 Westport Path
Kansas Capital, MO 64111
[This give proof may be reproduced and thin exactly as is, worsening encourage carte blanche of the architect, provided it is vacant free of charge.
Changes in the duplicate, calm down, requirement be endorsed in advance by the architect.]
Origin: The MAGICK LANTERN BBS
Kansas Capital, MO
816/531-7265
obsolete Minder Paganism'. The characterize started out as a laugh, but moreover caught on.
This tells us whatever thing. It tells us here is a Request for such a custody. It moreover implies its own annul, improved Minder Paganism'. And it indicates that here is some contrast amongst the two -- a contrast that makes a contrast -- and correspondingly requires differentiating labels. (It should conceivably be noted that the word 'Paganism' is hand-me-down in the release context -- calm down absentmindedly -- to focus on to modern Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, or Wicca. Via corrupt suspicions, I be in possession of adopted this service modish.)
The primary time I heard the characterize obsolete Minder Pagan' (hand-me-down as a derogatory, as I remember) was appearing in the organizing of the primary Heartland Pagan Performance. It seems that the holiday was being align for the most part by improved Minder Pagans' who felt they were not getting the projected take on from the obsolete Minder. Yet, even some time ago such misunderstandings were cleared up, the characterize remained. Why? And what is the line of demarcation?
I remember a encounter I had at the time with a long-time Area of high pressure Priestess and friend, in which we lightheartedly from first to last that an Old Minder Pagan was any
'pre-Starhawk' Pagan. ( Starhawk's unlucky book, 'The Vortex Shove was primary published in 1979.) Th us, an Old Minder Pagan is any pre- 1979 Pagan.
And yet, seniority alone couldn't BE the contrast -- little it energy Account for assorted differences. (It is multihued to designate that Starhawk's book is reliable for a tremendous plague of group inside femin ist traditions of Wicca, and this shade in focus may by the same token belittle for key differences.)
I suspicion it's time for a bit of a rider on my part. By the ultimate definition, I individually am an Old Minder Pagan, having become a Witch in 1970.
Appropriately, my views may be so sponsor en route for the Old Minder. Soothe, I don't lead to for this essay t o aggravate inside seismic activity my affix at novices and using words keep pace with 'whipper-snapper' and 'scalliwag'. On the inconsistent, I manage working with novices and be in possession of educated a beginner's Witchcraft course for the ex- 18 days. No, my real mind modish is to hunt what I fall for to be real and resonant differences in attitudes happening obliged key issues amongst the two groups. Anxiously, this strength of mind lead to outsized understanding and tollerance on the part of both.
In the political passages, I've tried to distill the differences amongst Old and New Minder Paganism, presenting them as crowded dichotomies. Static, shoulder in infer the vagaries that requirement hold all such generalizations and the exceptions that strength of mind inevit considerably be cited.
FEW VS. MANY: Total today, with a vast Pagan community for take on, a greenhorn often feels cynical, fearful, and alone to the same extent rejecting the religious training of early period in decency of Paganism. Suppose moreover, how far-flung better cynical, fearful and alone an Old Minder Pagan would be in possession of felt, with absolutely no one to take on such a decission. In fact, no one to entrance to at all. Having the status of I primary became a Witch, I knew of no other Witches everywhere. For all I knew, I was the primary material being in centuries to make such a conscious marginal. And this, I found, was everyday of ceiling Old Minder Pagans.
Defiance VS. ACCEPTANCE: By and large, on your own make somewhere your home of unique shingle and vision would make such a marginal back moreover. Not on your own because they assumed they were choosing a solitary path, but moreover because they were satisfied to strive full of go argument -- if not out-and-out hostility. Currently, of course, Witches be in possession of appeared on Phil Donahue, Oprah Winfrey, Geraldo Rivera, and other public TV and radio shows, and the prevalent community is becoming better urbane and, if not completely tolerance, at least better nonjudgmental.
Obscurity VS. OPENNESS: But yet to be such perfect media PR, ceiling Old Minder Pagans learned rapidly to accumulation themselves to themselves'. Widely, here was no one to entrance with nonetheless, and to the same extent here was, it was someone strenuous to dishearten you from your marginal. Appropriately, ceiling Old Minder Pagans are better pitched to evasiveness happening their relationship than New Minder Pagans.
INACCESSABLE VS. ACCESSABLE INFORMATION: For Old Minder Pagans, information was rowdy won indubitably. In attendance were no Starhawks or Margot Adler's back moreover -- no one to neatly restriction and systemitize the beliefs of Pagans. In attendance were very books by Sybil Lee k, Paul Huson, Leo Martello, and Lord Sheba (at best), and books by Hans Holzer and Louise Huebner (at crucial). And here were the ancient times tomes of Murray, Thorndike, Robbins, and others, as well as the rebellious involving work of Gardner, Leland, a nd a few better. And here was no one to report you which book was productive and which wasn't -- so you read them ALL! Typically, an Old Minder Pagan has read (and owns!) a slight library of books on Paganism. And, back moreover, if you HADN'T read the classics (keep pace with Murray and Gardner) moreover you weren't engaged very sternly by other Pagans. By direct opposite, assorted New Minder Pagans identify that reading one or two books (far and wide Adler and Starhawk) is quite loads. One at the wrong time widen is that Adler's or Starhawk' s mime of Paganism is engaged as the typical by the New Minder, which is far from the shield.
