Most FB Support Pagan/Witch Groups Are Vile Swamps of Dysfunction

Blessings Darlings!

I enjoy discussing religion, politics, magic, gardening, prepping, cooking, food, science, and a whole lot of other stuff.  And if there is a topic, there are probably hundreds of Facebook groups for that.  Some of those groups are good, and promote great discussions, and everyone learns new things and grows.  But those groups are really bloody rare.

They seem especially rare for Pagan and Witch topics.  Discussion and citing sources and backing up claims of history and, OMGs, asking for success stats with a magical technique! are almost universally frowned upon.  Instead of having groups aiding in folks maturing,David Wolfe getting a real education (David Wolf and Natural News, etc, being considered really fucking BAD sources of info), aiding folks in setting goals and holding them accountable for taking (or not taking) actions towards those goals, the bulk of the groups are termed 'support groups'.

In these groups, every claim, every fleeting thought ever random dream or day dream, is unquestioning accepted as capital T Truth.  David Wolfe and his ilk are believed.  Alistair Crowley's spirit IS living tn the tree in front of your house.  Disagreeng or challenging things that are not factual (like, history or chemistry) is called 'being negative' or 'being argumentative' or 'attacking'.

And both plagiarism and down right piracy of the work of others Pagans and witches is allowed, hell, in some it's even encouraged.  Certainly those who speak against the practice (yup, like Yours Truly) get booted from the group by folks who misquote the laws about those topics to cover their pasty white plagiarizing asses. 

Instead of promoting growth and maturing of the people in those groups, they are enabling disconnect from the world that they need to be living and doing magic in.  Dismissing science, the herbal concoctions some folks prescribe are risks to life and health.  By pretending to be sharing information but hiding the source of it, the leaders of those groups are controlling the people in the group and hoarding information, so that the members can't vet the sources and read more by those that are generally considered to be actually good. 

Such groups are made by admins who pretend that their members will gain strength by being kept in a play pen and spoon fed their entire lives.  Now, as above so below, right?  If you take a 30 year old adult, limit them to a 'safe' playpen, spoon feed them random pureed and always pre-cooked food ... what efect is that going to have on the human body?  Confine it, deny it raw food, exercise, the cleansing effect of sunlight (hush, Amorella, we know YOU don't need sunlight, but you work nights), and fresh air, 

The result isn't going to be pretty.  And certainly not strong and healthy.

Are there good FB pagan and/or witch groups?  Yes.  They are rare.  The Morrigan's Cave group is very different than the Answering Her Call....the lore of the Morrigan group.  You will have to join many and dump virtually all of them, to find great groups. 

It's worth the effort to be an actualized adult rather than a controlled child.

Frondly, Fern

Put On Your Big Girl Panties.

Blessings Darlings!

I have typed that phrase, "Blessings Darlings", in almost 500 posts now.  It's not that I'm blessing you, you know - it's more like the Irish concept of "Catch the Blessings Already Sent Your Way."

But it's becoming more and more apparent that what my view of a 'blessed state of being' is is different from how others see it.  And we differ primarily in the role of the God/dess/es in achieving that state.

I see being blessed as being an adult, handling the every day events of life yourself.  Many every day events of life are great - birthdays, graduations, getting jobs, etc.  Some aren't great - deaths and diseases, money issues, etc. 

Being blessed, to me, is being able and WILLING to handle those things yourself.  Get a splinter?  Remove it (yes, own tweezers, and face the discomfort, and get it done), wash the area, maybe slap on some antibiotic ointment and a band-aid, and go one with life. No need to ask anyone else for tweezers you don't have and get your body fluids on their stuff, no need to get paranoid and make offerings to the God/dess of your choice that you don't get an infections.  And I DO assume your tetanus shots are up to date.  Because as a functional adult, you should be able to handle this.

So, too, most aspects of, say, storms.  You'll have homeowners insurance, flood insurance if necessary, know where you can evacuate to if needed, have the sense to get out in time to get to where you can evacuate to, etc. 

Others don't seems to see things the way I do.  They can't start their day without checking Tarot or some other form of divination to see what's going to happen.  They start their day asking for peace and protection, rather than for the strength and ability to handle what happens.  And, yeah, they've been doing this for so long that they do NOT have any personal strength, no personal flexibility, no ability to handle things.  And no skills at first aid. 

Functionally, they've been asking the Gods TO MAKE THEM INTO INFANTS, totally dependent on the God/dess/es and others.

Fuck that bullshit.

How about asking the Gods to send what you need to grow strong, wise, and experienced.  Ask them to send you challenges that will, over time, push you to learn new things.

In other words - ask to grow up, while you work on growing up yourself.

And, if you have to pull that Tarot card/set every day ... pull the cards in the morning, but don't look at them then.  Look at them in the evening, to see what you should have learned from the day.

Frondly, Fern