Category: Articles
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Dechristianizing Yourself: Addressing Church-Related Trauma
Categories: ArticlesTags: dechristianizationSome people leave the Christian faith because they have been traumatized by the beliefs of the church or by leaders or other trusted people within it. These traumas can affect people for years afterward if left unresolved, even if they seek a new faith path in the Pagan movement. While healing from these traumatic experiences…
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Revealing the Mysteries: Open-Sourcing the Craft
Wicca is an experiential religion. For a long time, this meant that people didn’t talk about the mysteries central to its practice. There are a variety of arguments for this. First, some people believe that talking about the Mysteries, or the experiential truths that practitioners become aware of through practice and initiatory rites, cheapens them…
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Dechristianizing Yourself: The Difference Between Belief and Practice
Categories: ArticlesTags: dechristianizationMost people who come to Paganism from a Christian context are familiar with the idea of unified belief. Some of them are attracted to Paganism because the movement lacks a strong core of shared beliefs; others find this concept unsettling in its unfamiliarity. What differentiates Paganism from Christianity is its focus on practice rather than…
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Personal Sovereignty: Exploring Your Power
Categories: Articlesn Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) utters important words to a young Will Turner (Orlando Bloom): “The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can’t do.” This philosophy is of utmost importance in realizing your personal sovereignty…
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Cakes and Wine: The Witches’ Communion
The ritual of Cakes and Wine (also called Cakes and Ale or the Simple Feast) seems like it was ripped directly from the Christian Eucharist. And to a certain extent, it was. The early practitioners of Wicca were brought up in the Church of England, where weekly Communion is a hallmark of the faith. But…