-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
How did being a "witch" become popular?
- Thread starter jwk94
- Start date
- Status
Yes he did say so lol. He said that for a while he would smell a particular kind of incense in the air out of the blue, like when he is walking or on the bus, and even at home. He describes the smell as being similar to the incense that we Chinese offer to deities, ancestors or spirits. So he thinks he could have been followed by some supernatural entities. I told him it could be a health issue that is causing phantom smells but he didn't want to listen.
So far he thinks the sage is helping as he no longer smells incense in places that shouldn't have them🤷‍♂️
Yup.. I told him the smell and the ritual itself is probably making him feel more calm and at rest, leading to better sleep and less negative emotions and stress.
The dumbest thing is that they thought they could defeat Allah of all gods. Like start small. Fight some gods with a limited amount of believers like the roman gods.
Last edited:
User Banned (1 Day): Concern Trolling; Inflammatory Generalization
I feel there is a weird amount of respect for what appears to be complete nonsense or at best some teen fad around here.
Believing shit that has no basis in reality is a gateway to crystal-grasping conspiracy theory spouting antivax life.
Believing shit that has no basis in reality is a gateway to crystal-grasping conspiracy theory spouting antivax life.
Era users learning about a thing doesn't make the thing itself new or a fad.
You really think that all faith/religion inherently leads to conspiracy/antivax thinking?
Wow, this thread is something else. Wicca in the US has been a recognized religion since 1968. There is a Wiccan Army sergeant who died in 2005 and there is the pentacle on his gravestone. The VA initially denied the family to have the stone engraved with the symbol which resulted in a lawsuit and they won. Now, the pentacle is one of the religious symbols the VA can engrave on the gravestone of fallen veterans officially. I remember this making the news back then and evangelicals getting all up in arms about it.
If Wicca is weird, what do you consider drinking the blood and body of a 2000 year-old God that is supposedly immortal, born of a virgin, and was resurrected 3 days after he died? Oh, and what about the fact he'll come back and save us and the bad people will burn in hell forever. Give me a break, we all have our beliefs (or not) but lets not judge other people's before we take a hard and long look at our own. Paganism predates Christianity in most of the western world by a lot, Wicca from what I remember is just a modern form of Paganism. The world has ridiculed and persecuted them so much they practice their religion in secret, and yet here we are doing more of the same in 2021.
Now, I am not saying the woman/women OP is talking about is a devout Wiccan, could just be someone saying they are a witch cause it's the "in" thing to do now, but let's not generalize just because that religion doesn't fit our idea of a modern belief system. I'd rather date a Wiccan than anyone in any of the modern day cults such as Scientology or Jehova's Witnesses, the latter of which has claimed half of my extended family as members nearly resulting in the death of one of them.
If Wicca is weird, what do you consider drinking the blood and body of a 2000 year-old God that is supposedly immortal, born of a virgin, and was resurrected 3 days after he died? Oh, and what about the fact he'll come back and save us and the bad people will burn in hell forever. Give me a break, we all have our beliefs (or not) but lets not judge other people's before we take a hard and long look at our own. Paganism predates Christianity in most of the western world by a lot, Wicca from what I remember is just a modern form of Paganism. The world has ridiculed and persecuted them so much they practice their religion in secret, and yet here we are doing more of the same in 2021.
Now, I am not saying the woman/women OP is talking about is a devout Wiccan, could just be someone saying they are a witch cause it's the "in" thing to do now, but let's not generalize just because that religion doesn't fit our idea of a modern belief system. I'd rather date a Wiccan than anyone in any of the modern day cults such as Scientology or Jehova's Witnesses, the latter of which has claimed half of my extended family as members nearly resulting in the death of one of them.
It's harmless, fun, and makes them feel special. Not something to knock. I know a couple women who have flat out said they got into it as a way to counteract feeling powerless as the world around them just gets worse, too, so there's always that possibility to keep in mind as well.
There's also those who are into it as a legitimate religion rather than just a hobby. As someone who spent most of their middle school/high school life as a goth and among goth friends, this has definitely been a thing for a LONG time. People are just more vocal about it now that shit like the Satanic Panic are relatively a thing of the past.
The more I see it piss of evangelical types, the more happy I am that Wicca and other forms of witchcraft are gaining more and more popularity as time goes on…
There's also those who are into it as a legitimate religion rather than just a hobby. As someone who spent most of their middle school/high school life as a goth and among goth friends, this has definitely been a thing for a LONG time. People are just more vocal about it now that shit like the Satanic Panic are relatively a thing of the past.
The more I see it piss of evangelical types, the more happy I am that Wicca and other forms of witchcraft are gaining more and more popularity as time goes on…
Not all witches are Wiccan or Pagan, either. I am animist, I feel like there is spirit in all things and honor the spirit of the land through ritual and offering, and what I study is more about folklore than about crystals or dieties or spells. "Witchcraft" is a huge umbrella term.
Eh, I don't see it as any different from other forms of spiritual beliefs. People just tend to look down their noses at those who don't conform to the more traditionally accepted and financially-backed ones like Christianity.
If someone sees themselves as a witch, or something else like a wolf or a dragon or something in the case of otherkin, I think that's just fine. They're certainly not being as harmful to others as the followers of some other beliefs are.
If someone sees themselves as a witch, or something else like a wolf or a dragon or something in the case of otherkin, I think that's just fine. They're certainly not being as harmful to others as the followers of some other beliefs are.
As opposed to believing in the Christian God, which is much less ridiculous and has much less ridiculous rituals that are totally not a Pagan ripoff, right?
It's definitely a cultural thing. Not sure where most folks in this thread are from, but a lot of people in the Caribbean and Latin America fully believe in witchcraft.
Yeah. Sorry, this shit is dumb and believing it reflects poorly on your intelligence.
My daughter is currently very into the style and crystals and stuff. Harmless, positive influence kind of stuff that gets her outside and to the beach looking for perfect stones and feathers and shit? I'm in.
A billion times less culty and weird than church every sunday imo - i'd rather buy her 100 crystals instead of escorting her on a nice morning to an organized religious.... anything.
A billion times less culty and weird than church every sunday imo - i'd rather buy her 100 crystals instead of escorting her on a nice morning to an organized religious.... anything.
Yup, here in the Appalachian Mountains the "witchcraft" is a big mixture of old Scots-Irish, Native American, and African folklore. Immediately and profoundly distinct from people I know who are mainly appropriating this stuff into their pop-astrology/homeopathy/Eastern philosophy to be counter-cultural
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/senior-woman-on--summer-day-picking-up-yarrow-achillea-flowers-on-alpine-pasture-1094382688-1f8befebcda440a995db55b2791e6ab0.jpg)
Appalachian Folk Magic and Granny Witchcraft
A combination of folk magic, faith healing, and mountain traditions, granny magic is experiencing a resurgence. Learn about Appalachian folk magic.
There's a treasure trove of beliefs within that tradition, I unfortunately have lost most of the links to granny blogs passing it all down that I used to have. I know a lady who runs an "Apothecary" and I wish I felt comfortable sharing her business but she's been really in on some anti-SJW shit soooo 🤷🏻‍♂️
I think for most, they like the aesthetic and the rituals. A lot of them seem to do the rituals, spells, w/e as a comfort mechanism and/or for spirituality. It's also one of the few things where it gives women a position of power, so I think it especially attracts women and girls that way.
My internet "youth" was when being an edgy, obnoxious atheist was the thing (was guilty of it myself), so seeing some communities nowadays veer the opposite direction in terms of spirituality has been so strange to me.
My internet "youth" was when being an edgy, obnoxious atheist was the thing (was guilty of it myself), so seeing some communities nowadays veer the opposite direction in terms of spirituality has been so strange to me.
Same-ish (re: when I grew up) except I was religious in my youth.
I believe it's more that we're starting to respect marginalized experiences more than reversing anything. So predominantly white, male-focused religion is still mocked (in less edgy ways), but religions from other racial or gender groups are more respected.
I believe in part to respect those groups of people, as identity and spirituality have a way of becoming inextricably linked.
When people started believing you could never catch diseases if you eat the right food and that astrology is legit.
This is one of those things I'd suggest going into with an open mind... not an open mind that you're going to become a "witch" or whatever this involves, but it may just be a thing that's working for the other person right now. I used to judge stuff like this and make myself feel superior, but if someone gets enjoyment from it and it's not hurting anyone (e.g. makes me think of astrology, some of the wellness concepts, heck even some recovery which I do) don't ruin it for the person. Also don't close yourself off to what still could be a good relationship. I had a really good friendship with this girl who was really into Yoga and spirituality and all that and she was certainly a little cooky but she was an awesome friend.
Missed an opportunity to make that "I put on my robe and wizard hat"
Wiccan people I met were cool. It's fun to listen to their nonsense. I am pretty sure that religion has caused less harm in the past century than practically any other religion in America today.
But I will not respect someone who judges me or picks relationships based on astrology. That's actually harmful.
Generalisations obviously never work. But in my experience, heavily spiritualist/naturalist (not talking about witches specifically here), circles are very sceptic of modern medicine in general. And that includes vaccines. Before right wingers discovered their anti- vaccine stance during covid this was one of the primary scources of antivax sentiments around here (central Europe).
I don't think the witch thing mentioned in OP is directly linked to that though. Fascinations with witches and their rituals is really nothing new and ebbs and flows in popularity.
I really love the idea of walking into a room, and seeing someone posing dramatically with crystals and incense and what have you.
"Hi hun.... whatchya doing?"
"Fighting the Taliban!!!!"
"Kay. Want me to make you some coffee?"
Meanwhile if Afghanistan someone just suddenly starts swatting at the sky angrily, and their friend walks in, "hey... whatchya doin'?"
"Damn witches at it again, trying to hex me!!!"
"...kay, you want me to make some coffee?"
"Hi hun.... whatchya doing?"
"Fighting the Taliban!!!!"
"Kay. Want me to make you some coffee?"
Meanwhile if Afghanistan someone just suddenly starts swatting at the sky angrily, and their friend walks in, "hey... whatchya doin'?"
"Damn witches at it again, trying to hex me!!!"
"...kay, you want me to make some coffee?"
Yup, here in the Appalachian Mountains the "witchcraft" is a big mixture of old Scots-Irish, Native American, and African folklore. Immediately and profoundly distinct from people I know who are mainly appropriating this stuff into their pop-astrology/homeopathy/Eastern philosophy to be counter-cultural
Appalachian Folk Magic and Granny Witchcraft
A combination of folk magic, faith healing, and mountain traditions, granny magic is experiencing a resurgence. Learn about Appalachian folk magic.www.learnreligions.com
There's a treasure trove of beliefs within that tradition, I unfortunately have lost most of the links to granny blogs passing it all down that I used to have. I know a lady who runs an "Apothecary" and I wish I felt comfortable sharing her business but she's been really in on some anti-SJW shit soooo 🤷🏻‍♂️
Fortunately folk witchcraft as a whole and Appalachian Cunning Man craft in specific has started getting more published books, so people don't have to rely quite as much on oral tradition or blogs that appear and disappear to start learning about it anymore.
THANK YOU for this. As a practicing witch and pagan this thread is incredibly insulting.
No different than participating in a mainstream religion. Do what empowers you or at the very least helps get you through the day.
- Status