I have seen several posts around here asking if Christine O'Donnell's allegations of satanic altars and blood rites are factual, and if not, what exactly DO witches believe as opposed to these cries of "Satanism!"(tm) that are now being smeared many places. Unlike what the fear mongers in the religious right want America to believe about "witchcraft", modern Paganism is a very peaceful religion that promotes an ideal of equality between all living things. So in the spirit of religious understanding, I feel the need to present a few facts about Paganism.
1) Pagans do not worship Satan. We do not believe in him, nor do many of us believe in an outright Evil with a capital e. Good and evil are part of the cycle of life.
2) Pagans worship nature and many of us believe in ancient polytheistic Gods (Greek, Celtic, Roman and Egyptian are very common), while some prefer to worship our deities as just The God and Goddess, worshiping them as the collective powers of the universe.
3) Since there is no Satan worship, there are no Satanic Altars. While some pagans do have small home altars to their Gods, many prefer to worship outside in nature, where the elements of nature can speak to us more clearly. Places like parks and preserves are very comfortable worship places.
4) Animal sacrifice is not an accepted practice, and many Pagans are very concerned with animal rights and welfare.
5) Many Pagans identify themselves specifically as Wicca. Wiccans are bound by a religious law called the Wiccan Rede. The Rede is often used by the right to cause fear. It states "And harm none, do as ye will." Religious Right America loves to bring up "do as ye will" as a way to claim that there is no moral judgment in the Pagan community, and rarely if ever mentions that it is specifically forbidden to hurt others. The whole Rede is available for anyone who would like to read it
here for the sake of not taking up too much room in this post.
6) We cannot raise the dead, fly on a broom, physically change into animals, and are not made of wood or any other non-human-part materials. This is common sense that has escaped many of those fearful of "Satanic Panic".
7) As the recent news has shown, many religions have sexual predators hiding in them. Pagans are often the target of allegations of bizarre sexual behavior by those who do not understand Paganism, either by sheer lack of knowledge or willful ignorance. While I cannot make a blanket statement about everyone's sexual choices, the Pagan community is very against any type of Sexual abuses be it under the guise of being "ritual" or as a domestic situation. We do not rape virgins, non-virgins, cats, dogs, aliens, or dishware for any reason, especially not religious ones.
8) There is no "Witch King" or "Witch Queen". As in any religion, a few bad apples turn up every once and awhile and claim to be some sort of Pagan royalty. This is not how it works. A religion which is very much founded in freedom of mind and spirit has no need of royalty. These are people with delusions of grandeur and are in need of help, and their publicity stunts are very worrisome to true believers, much like the recent situation in Gainesville were worrisome to true Christians.
I hope this has cleared up any questions that might have surfaced in the wake of these recent news articles about O'Donnell, and hopefully will address any that might come up if (when) she gives an inevitable statement about all the "horrible things" that went on while she "dabbled in witchcraft". Please send me a message if you have any unaddressed questions as I would be glad to answer them.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this.
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