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Rants

If you have ever been on any Yahoo groups with me you know how "ranty" I can get. Anyway to keep things less cluttered I thought I would put my rants on a seperate page. I am also thinking of adding any added rants or responses others might have as well. So if you see something here you want to put your 2¢ to just send me an email with your rant or response (**please include wether you want it posted to the site and whether or not you want your name included**) and I will post it to the site.

Well on with the rants....


The "you can't do that because I say so" rant....

This rant is based on several online attacks I have been part of...as the "attackee" by the way not the attacker...Basically this attack seems to be based on a few things, believe it or not one of those things is that I am white. The fact that the Gods I choose to worship are black seem to be what triggers this attack...Apparently this is an insult to many African Traditions, not so much that I am white (though that is one of the first comments thrown at me) but more so that I do things my own way. Now let me say right off (and this statement is often ignored during these battles) I am not, nor have I EVER claimed to be a practitioner of Vodou or Santeria,...that said I do however feel an affinity with the Vodou Loa (Lwa)...I can't give you a reason, I have no known liniage or physical ancestory that I know of (though my mother was adopted and her birth parents are from the deep south)...I have been accused of being disrespectful of not only the traditions of Vodou and Santeria but of African American as well..(all this from people who don't truely know me)...So I began to wonder, why such a vicious attack on the beliefs of others,...and when I asked my answers where pretty much standard...

"You are being disrespectful of "our" ways"...(my response).."how so?, because I am honoring a diety that I feel close to?

"You are NOT honoring "our" deity as we say they should be honored"....(My response).."I honor them the way the Spirits move me"..."many traditions are wonderful but some are best forgotten (human sacrifices, torture, un-concentual ritual mutilations ect) Just because something is a tradition does NOT make it a good thing."

"you are nothing more than a "culture vulture", stealing "our Gods"...(my response)..."Gods aren't something that are owned, a culture is simply the way a particular social group of people react, deal with, act, believe,ect ..it doesn't nessesarily mean they have sole rights to those believes or actions. To claim behavior as a right that others are forbbin to is at the least unrienforcable, and at the most hypocrytical. To me and for me belief especially spiritual belief transends religous and even cultural boundries.

Now don't get me wrong, I am in COMPLETE agreement that if you are NOT a recognized member of any particular religous group then you shouldn't be claiming any titles that are recognized by that group. In the same way that you wouldn't claim to be a Catholic Priest if you were NOT Catholic and had NOT gone thru the Catholic accepted procedure to attain the title Priest, nor would you claim the title Mambo or Santero if you had not gone thru the trials and requirements of achieving priesthood in the religions of Vodou or Santeria,......In the same respect however it is my belief that a Catholic Priest could no more tell a non-Catholic that they could NOT pray to the Virgin Mary or Jesus or that they would NOT answer your prayers if you were NOT Catholic any more than a non-practitioner of Vodou or Santeria could not worship or honor the Loa or Orisha, that THEY would not answer anyone who has not been initiated or adhears to the man made rules of those organized religions. I believe that IF the Loa or Orisha don't like what you are doing then THEY will be the ones to let you know, not some "online warrior" who thinks they know everthing and can call the shots of Gods. I believe we all find our way individually and those of us that don't follow someone elses rules and doctrine simple scare or piss off those who do. And on a last note and maybe because I have been involved in these arguements I have to say to those who think I and others like me are "stealing" something...you couldn't be more wrong,...how is honoring stealing? How is devotion stealing? ...It is only stealing because you see it as something you own, and simply speaking none of us own the Gods, none of us own the Spirits. That is my belief anyway and my personal experiences and blessings solidify that belief for me.


The Craft vs. Practical Magic Rant

Ok kids, new rant. Actually this is an old rant, but after visiting another website I felt compelled to bitch a bit more about it. Well this little drama revolves around a couple of movies,...namely "Practical Magic" and "The Craft". So what is my bitch you ask? Well it's this....most people..(Witches) claim to LOVE "Practical Magic" but HATE "The Craft",..which is fine we all like different movies right??.....but is it just personal taste or is it more? I have found it to be rediculously more. Namely that "Practical Magic" is "soooo good", "what a great portrayl of Witchcraft", "now that is what REAL Witchcraft is truly about"...where the hell are these people from?? Hello???...kids blowing flame into an unlit candle?,..manipulation and murder thru herbology??....raising the dead??,..only to re-murder the guy later...what happened to the "harm none" stuff??....an ancient curse to causes the DEATH of several innocent men who happened to LOVE these women?,...Flying?,..Spirit possession?,...an exorcism?...Oh yeah that is really what it's like...HA!! Now lets look at "The Craft",...bunch of teens (covering a variety of ethical and socio-economical backgrounds,...(many of US Withces started to dabble as teens afterall),...ok lets look at the spells,..a scarred teen who wants her scars gone, a poor teen who doesn't want to be judged based on what she doesn't have, another teen who wants to put a stop to racist torment by a school mate, and a fourth teen who is slandered by a guy and wants him to know what it feels like to be on the other side of the coin,..so far sounds pretty damn normal to me. Ok so on to the next claim.."those spells are not real"...well excuse me but the hell they aren't , the spells portrayed in that movie contain ALL the elements of any good spell, including the fact that the outcomes are within the realm of natural laws AND are often combined with mundane or real life actions as well, the girl with the scars uses a new medical treatment as well as a spell, the girl who is dealing with the harrassment in school, is good at diving and given the chance was able to prove that, the binding spell?..totally on target. Ok but then they start floating and acting all crazy,..well think back...the crazy one IN-voked a God into herself, she invited him in,..is the power of a God so little that it wouldn't totally consume you? I am not saying it would happen but in some, esp some with a weak mind or Spirit, of course it's a possibility that the outcome would be just that, mental breakdown. I think the movie did great by making that such a big deal, you don't call a God into you for the hell or fun of it, it's a major deal. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the girls do a ritual in a field and afterwards dozens of butterflies swarm around them, now THAT is the sort of "gift" the Gods send,...maybe not as cute as dressing in classic Witch garb and jumping of the roof of your house on Halloween and floating to the ground but hey, we are looking for acuracy here aren't we????? So why is it so many choose to hold up "Practical Magic" as a public banner for Witchcraft and not "The Craft" ?? Is it that Sandra Bulock and Nicole Kidman are prettier? Is that they live in a "neat" house? ..have an herbal store?? What is it?? And better yet WHY do we look to movies to "show" what we are about? Unfortunaltly but not surprisingly my conclusion is that like sooooo many other things, this movie is being used to paint yet another pretty "aren't we lovely" picture of generalized Witchcraft for society. Anything to be accepted I guess. ...End Rant....;-Þ


Again, if you would like to add your rants to any rants here please email me and I will add it,...be warned though "attacks" without valid points will not be posted here.... :-)


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