Witchvox Article

Author: Bliss Diva
Posted: August 8th. 2010
Times Viewed: 4,563

I doubt there is one person in the school I go to that doesn�t know that I�m a Pagan�or, as the part of the student body that don�t like me call me, �witch bitch.� This just past school year, my junior year, I made an attempt to clear up rumors by being interviewed by the school newspaper about my spirituality. I explained it (excluding words such as witchcraft, spell, magic, and Wicca of course) and hoped that it would make people see me in a new light. Unfortunately, because the aspiring journalist wrote it in such a way that made me sound very melodramatic (and put quotes around things I didn�t say!) I think it just added fuel to the fire.

But anyway, now that the background is out of the way, let�s get back on the subject at hand.

I like to view myself as a very intelligent, well-rounded, open-minded individual. Since day one, I�ve researched and researched and researched everything I could. Within the first week, I knew what a �fluffy bunny� was, and I was determined not to be one. Right from the get-go, I knew magic wasn�t like in the media. I knew vampires and werewolves and dragons and other fantastical creatures like that weren�t real, although I certainly wished they were.

I had my fluff moments here and there despite all the research and work I put in, but don�t we all? I�m past that now, and although I don�t really self-identify as a Wiccan or a Witch any longer, that�s the label that�s stuck because I used to be very�. out there. Hence the fluff. So, rumors were thus spread, especially when I got to high school, and I became known as �witch bitch� to some, �the witch� to others, and still others just didn�t care. ( I appreciated those still others.)

So, anyway, in reference to the title. First, it was The Craft. My buddy Kat introduced it to me first, since she adores it. And I really liked it, too. Sure, many people think it�s a terrible movie, but I thought it was really good. Besides, you can only expect bad graphics and actors from a 90s movie about witches.

After The Craft was the lovely Practical Magic. Who doesn�t love this movie? Not only does it have great actresses, but also it�s a great love story and a great example of the fact that things like curses only work if you believe in them. The whole placebo effect thing.

And of course, there�s Charmed. I�m almost finished watching the entire series---I�m on the fifth episode of the eighth season now. And I love it. I think it�s hilarious. And even though the graphics and actors/actresses are even worse than in The Craft, it�s so addicting that you can�t help but love it. My mother and my 8-year-old sister love it as well.

Now, like I�ve mentioned, I like to view myself as a very intelligent person. I�m no longer �out there� about my spirituality. I don�t even wear a pentacle anymore: I wear a pretty little triskele. I get complimented on it all the time. If someone asks me what religion I am, I tell them I don�t like to put a label on my beliefs, but I do believe there is a divine out there, that it�s called by many names, and that I basically try my best to work in harmony with the earth and the universe.

If I know for a fact that the other person is of a like mind, I tell them that I�m an Eclectic Neo-Pagan. I don�t bring Neo-Pagan or New Age centered books with me to school unless I�m passing them on to a friend who wants to borrow it. I don�t talk very much about it, either, simply because there�s nothing to talk about. My experiences are my own and I don�t need to share them. I don�t shout my thoughts and feelings from the rooftops like I used to. I�ve become a much quieter, peaceful, and�because I�ve settled down with my spirituality�much more confident and centered. People respect me a lot more now, and even the rumors have seem to have settled down.

So, one day I was talking to a friend about TV shows we like, and I said my and my family love to watch Charmed. He snorted and said, �Yeah, �cause it�s about witches, right?�

Huh?

I ignored the comment and mentioned another TV show I like (House, but that�s not the point here) , but it left me wondering what people think of me when it comes to the kind of media I like. Do people really think I only like The Craft, Charmed, and Practical Magic�and Harry Potter, but who doesn�t love Harry Potter? �because they�re about witches? Do I come off as fluffy bunny simply because I don�t hate the fantasy genre that is filled with vampires, witches, wizards, fairies, and other creatures?

I know there�s really nothing I can do about besides not mention the kind of media I like, but it still irks me. And it really gets me thinking about assumptions within the Pagan community, too. But here, it�s almost reversed. You�re ostracized if you DON�T love those kinds of things. Oh, but you can�t be �out there� with it. Except if you�re at a Pagan gathering. Then you can be �out there�.

But you all know what I�m talking about. It�s been discussed in several different articles on here before. I don�t need to go over the whole thing again. I really just wanted to blow off some steam.

I�m really just tired of the fluffy bunny thing. Okay, I admit, I used to use the fluffy bunny label all the time. Sometimes I still slip up and use it. I�m really trying not to, and it�s because I�m trying to get rid of that assumption that I�m fluffy bunny because of the kinds of TV shows and movies I like. Or books. Because I love the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan, too.

They�re fiction, people. We all know they�re fiction. Granted, there are those out there who don�t think they�re fiction, but those people are much more few and far between than we think they are. We aren�t like rabid Twilight fans that convert to Cullenism and think that they�re vampires, too.

Just because someone loves The Craft, Charmed, and Practical Magic DOES NOT mean that they believe witchcraft is just like that. I wish more people would understand that.

Brightest Blessings;

Celeste

Footnotes:
The Craft
Practical Magic
Charmed
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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Bliss Diva

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