Experimenting: AWitch's AMA

[awitch]

I know it's human nature for us to look for patterns and categorize things, but I imagine it can be a serious obstacle in a religious context; especially online when our limited information about each other is framed in preconceived biases.

While addressing misconceptions about theology is cool, I thought I'd try this thread as an exercise in remembering that all of the members in this forum are actual, individual human beings and not just some part of an ambiguous ideology cloud. I wonder how religious discussions would change if we kept that notion in the forefront of our minds.

While we've seen "Ask me about my faith" threads before, and while I'm happy to entertain such questions about my personal faith, this thread is a little different in that it doesn't limit questions to religion.

In other words...Ask Me Anything.

 

[WoodrowX2]

I see you live in Joisey. Do you know Archie Bunker?

Did you every work for Tony Soprano?

Now an actual Question: Are your beliefs similat to any of the Native American Beliefs or are your beliefs more Celtic in Nature?

 

[awitch]

I see you live in Joisey. Do you know Archie Bunker?

<Sound of toilet flushing>

Did you every work for Tony Soprano?

No, Tony Soprano worked for me.

Now an actual Question: Are your beliefs similar to any of the Native American Beliefs or are your beliefs more Celtic in Nature?

I wish I knew more about Native American beliefs. I make room for animism but it's mainly Celtic, and probably highly Westernized too.

 

[MehGuy]

What is a witch?

What do you believe exactly?

 

[awitch]

What is a witch?

One who practices witchcraft. What that encompasses is going to vary by culture but it may or may not include divination, magic, and honoring any number of various deities mentioned throughout history.

What do you believe exactly?

That covers a lot of ground, but basically that there are multiple deities with distinct personalities who are not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. Generally speaking, the Neopagan paths are not so much about a list of rules and regulations one needs to follow to get a reward or dodge punishment. It's about holding an appreciation for the Universe.

 

[WoodrowX2]

That covers a lot of ground, but basically that there are multiple deities with distinct personalities who are not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. Generally speaking, the Neopagan paths are not so much about a list of rules and regulations one needs to follow to get a reward or dodge punishment. It's about holding an appreciation for the Universe.

Similar to what I find among the Lakotah

 

[Armoured]

Similar to what I find among the Lakotah

Most religions that can trace their origin to pre-agrarian cultures have similarities. The concepts of authority and law didn't emerge until after people started living in permanent settlements, thus these concepts were absent from early religion.

 

[cloudyday2]

I've been curious about several things so here is my chance to ask.

- How and why were you attracted to Uncle Scrooge?

- What type of religion did your parents teach you (if any)?

- This last question is harder to explain: How much of your religion do you actually believe? I can understand believing in pantheism or Taoism or something vague, but paganism seems to imagine very specific and discrete gods and rituals and people at least pretend to believe these things. Or taking the magic issue, I would approach it more though psi or tao or something and leave out all the pentagrams and so forth. So I don't understand the appeal of neopaganism, kaballah, hermeticism, etc. with all the specificity where there should be vagueness IMO.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

How much are you indebted to the Western Esoteric tradition, i.e. the late 19th century resurgence of Renaissance magic and everything that followed in its wake (the "Golden Dawn", Thelema, Gardnerian Wicca, etc.)?

Does your practice contain rituals such as the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram (perhaps more commonly known in neo-pagan circles as "calling the quarters")?

Do you conceive of your deities as literal persons, or are they more to be understood along the lines of panpsychic phenomena?

Finally, did you enjoy Darkwing Duck? ("Let's get dangerous!")

 

[Supreme]

Have you ever been to the UK? If so, where? If not, would you like to visit us?

 

[awitch]

I've been curious about several things so here is my chance to ask.

- How and why were you attracted to Uncle Scrooge?

I first saw Scrooge in Disney's Christmas Carol, an animated tribute to the Charles Dickens classic, but it wasn't until September 18, 1987 when I saw the world premiere of DuckTales: The Treasures of the Golden Suns that I became a real fan. I thought it was so cool; a kid version of Indiana Jones starring Scrooge McDuck. The series was wildly popular and was key in the animation Renaissance in the US of the late 80s early 90s.

- What type of religion did your parents teach you (if any)?

None. My mother was/is agnostic and my father was/is an atheist. We did a non-religious Christmas and Easter (so we didn't feel left out), but they said I could be whatever religion I wanted.

- This last question is harder to explain: How much of your religion do you actually believe? I can understand believing in pantheism or Taoism or something vague, but paganism seems to imagine very specific and discrete gods and rituals and people at least pretend to believe these things. Or taking the magic issue, I would approach it more though psi or tao or something and leave out all the pentagrams and so forth. So I don't understand the appeal of neopaganism, kaballah, hermeticism, etc. with all the specificity where there should be vagueness IMO.

I would say the majority of the beliefs/practices are symbolic or exist only in my mind's eye. Some of the branches of Neopaganism can be very specific where everything is scripted and methodically set up. I tend to be much more relaxed about it. My rituals are pretty simple and I rewrite them each year just so they don't become monotonous and they are kept relevant. It's easy to get lost in the tools and motions and stuff like that, but I say it's not that important.

 

[awitch]

How much are you indebted to the Western Esoteric tradition, i.e. the late 19th century resurgence of Renaissance magic and everything that followed in its wake (the "Golden Dawn", Thelema, Gardnerian Wicca, etc.)?

Not very much. Wicca was a starting point but I mostly forged my own way from there.

Does your practice contain rituals such as the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram (perhaps more commonly known in neo-pagan circles as "calling the quarters")?

Yes to calling quarters, but I don't do the LBRP. I've been to rituals where it was done and just didn't understand what the Biblical archangels had to do with anything.

Do you conceive of your deities as literal persons, or are they more to be understood along the lines of panpsychic phenomena?

Yes.
I would say individual personalities, but not literal persons/beings.

Finally, did you enjoy Darkwing Duck? ("Let's get dangerous!")

Darkwing Duck was the spinoff to DuckTales and was also awesome.
Here's Jim Cummings reading the script to Star Wars as DW and Winnie the Pooh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLXTDirrQ5w

 

[awitch]

Have you ever been to the UK? If so, where? If not, would you like to visit us?

I haven't but would love to visit Newbury, Berkshire, England; that's where Watership Down the novel/animated movie and series took place. I understand Andrew Lloyd Weber bought the property to prevent human development.

I'd love to tour London and Glasgow, Scotland.

Closest I've been was 3 days in Paris, France and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

 

[danny ski]

Do you have a lot of tattoos? Dated a self professed witch a while back(no I did not enquire) and she was covered in ink that had some significance to her.

 

[gord44]

What's your favourite non-animated movie? If you can't pick one, name a few.

 

[awitch]

Do you have a lot of tattoos? Dated a self professed witch a while back(no I did not enquire) and she was covered in ink that had some significance to her.

I have no tattoos or piercings.

 

[awitch]

What's your favourite non-animated movie? If you can't pick one, name a few.

"Aliens" has to be pretty high up on the list as well as "The Prestige" and "Ghostbusters"

 

[MehGuy]

What kind of music do you enjoy listening too?

 

[awitch]

What kind of music do you enjoy listening too?

It's definitely varied...lately I've been on a symphonic rock/metal kick and independent stuff from people on youtube. Brent BrentalFloss Black, Ninja Sex Party, Starbomb, and Adam Warrock,

 

[awitch]

- How and why were you attracted to Uncle Scrooge?

Oh, forgot to add this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxpDSeFS5ZU