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Why I don't like the Wicca movement

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TwilightPrincess
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23 Dec 2023, 5:54 pm

I’ve not seen any compelling evidence to support it.


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Mona Pereth
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23 Dec 2023, 5:58 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
I would dismiss it based on the fact that it's a bunch of horses**t cooked up by an attention-seeking liar who made everything up.

I rather suspect that nearly all religions got started that way.

Nevertheless, they evolve into meaningful ritual practices which, among other things, help people form social bonds better than just about anything else in today's world.

And that's a big deal, given today's loneliness epidemic (among the nonreligious).

And, despite Gardner's homophobia, Wicca-based neo-Paganism was one of the first modern Western religions to embrace LGBTQ+ people.


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Last edited by Mona Pereth on 23 Dec 2023, 6:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.

RedDeathFlower13
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23 Dec 2023, 5:58 pm

TwilightPrincess wrote:
I’ve not seen any compelling evidence to support it.



Even though any practice like this wouldn't technically qualify as cult behavior, it can't be healthy for people with mental illness like myself...

My mom has tried telling me this for years (and she's a licensed child therapist). So I need to start listening to her...


But I've collected so many tarot cards it's just hard to break away from that. :|


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funeralxempire
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23 Dec 2023, 5:59 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
So, it was a religion? </atheistsnark> :lol:


Haha touche, maybe all witchcraft is bs too? Why do I cling to it so much? :lol: :oops:


I'd be willing to bet comfort, desire for a sense of control, desire for knowledge, etc are factors.

Most people cling to something for similar reasons, no matter what that something might be.


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TwilightPrincess
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23 Dec 2023, 6:00 pm

Do you think tarot cards have caused problems for you? You seem to enjoy them, so I might not give them up unless it’s been a problem for you in some way.


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funeralxempire
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23 Dec 2023, 6:01 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Even though any practice like this wouldn't technically qualify as cult behavior, it can't be healthy for people with mental illness like myself...

My mom has tried telling me this for years (and she's a licensed child therapist). So I need to start listening to her...


But I've collected so many tarot cards it's just hard to break away from that. :|


As long as it's contributing more positive than negative, you probably don't need to break away.

But, I can see how it might become both addictive as well as possibly reinforcing fears and anxieties you have.

Mania and what I'll lump together as superstition can be a very dangerous combination.


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Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


Mona Pereth
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23 Dec 2023, 6:05 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Even though any practice like this wouldn't technically qualify as cult behavior, it can't be healthy for people with mental illness like myself...

My mom has tried telling me this for years (and she's a licensed child therapist). So I need to start listening to her...


But I've collected so many tarot cards it's just hard to break away from that. :|

Maybe try a church-for-atheists group like the Ethical Culture Society, the Sunday Assembly, or humanistic Buddhism? No supernatural/paranormal beliefs required.

Or maybe withdraw from religion/spirituality altogether for a while, and then find something you can get into without endangering your mental health?


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RedDeathFlower13
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23 Dec 2023, 6:09 pm

Yeah the Mania and psychosis can make me take not only tarot but witchcraft in general too seriously at times...

I wish I could just look at it as "harmless fun". :|

Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.


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funeralxempire
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23 Dec 2023, 6:17 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Yeah the Mania and psychosis can make me take not only tarot but witchcraft in general too seriously at times...

I wish I could just look at it as "harmless fun". :|

Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.


You're not the only poster here who has described interaction between religion as a special interest and it impacting their manic and psychotic symptoms.

In her case it was more interacting with angels than using magic, but it seems to have some similarities. I wonder if on some level it's learning to hijack one's brain's reward system and then the elevated dopamine contributing to changes in mental state.


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Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


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23 Dec 2023, 6:18 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.

Personally I never called myself a "witch." To me that word always struck me as too much of a claim of magical power, leaving a person vulnerable to ridiculing challenges like "You say you're a witch! Turn me into a toad!" and "Why can't you cast a spell to make yourself win the lottery?"

I usually just said I was into "Goddess religion."


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Last edited by Mona Pereth on 23 Dec 2023, 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

funeralxempire
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23 Dec 2023, 6:20 pm

Mona Pereth wrote:
RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.

Personally I never called myself a "witch." To me that word always struck me as too much of a claim of magical power, leaving a person vulnerable to ridiculing challenges like "You say you're a witch! Turn me into a toad!" and "Why can't you cast a spell to make yourself win the lottery?"


She turned me into a newt.

A newt?

—I got better.


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If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


RedDeathFlower13
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23 Dec 2023, 6:29 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Yeah the Mania and psychosis can make me take not only tarot but witchcraft in general too seriously at times...

I wish I could just look at it as "harmless fun". :|

Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.


You're not the only poster here who has described interaction between religion as a special interest and it impacting their manic and psychotic symptoms.

In her case it was more interacting with angels than using magic, but it seems to have some similarities. I wonder if on some level it's learning to hijack one's brain's reward system and then the elevated dopamine contributing to changes in mental state.


I suspect a lot of fanatic-types suffer from mania and psychosis which does this... just like I do. And I seem to go back and fourth between the extremes of being all into it or wanting to completely reject it.

I can't tell you how many times I've built myself an altar out of junk in my closet only to throw it all in the trash telling myself im done only to go back to building a new altar. :(

I wonder if I need serious professional help for this? Medication doesnt seem ti be enough. :|


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funeralxempire
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23 Dec 2023, 6:32 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Yeah the Mania and psychosis can make me take not only tarot but witchcraft in general too seriously at times...

I wish I could just look at it as "harmless fun". :|

Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.


You're not the only poster here who has described interaction between religion as a special interest and it impacting their manic and psychotic symptoms.

In her case it was more interacting with angels than using magic, but it seems to have some similarities. I wonder if on some level it's learning to hijack one's brain's reward system and then the elevated dopamine contributing to changes in mental state.


I suspect a lot of fanatic-types suffer from mania and psychosis which does this... just like I do. And I seem to go back and fourth between the extremes of being all into it or wanting to completely reject it.

I can't tell you how many times I've built myself an altar out of junk in my closet only to throw it all in the trash telling myself im done only to go back to building a new altar. :(

I wonder if I need serious professional help for this? Medication doesnt seem ti be enough. :|


Do you have a mental health doctor of some sort? If so, it probably wouldn't hurt to bring it up with them.


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The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


RedDeathFlower13
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23 Dec 2023, 6:36 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
funeralxempire wrote:
RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
Yeah the Mania and psychosis can make me take not only tarot but witchcraft in general too seriously at times...

I wish I could just look at it as "harmless fun". :|

Also I think I did start embracing witchcraft because it gave me a false feeling of power... as it probably does everyone who practices it.


You're not the only poster here who has described interaction between religion as a special interest and it impacting their manic and psychotic symptoms.

In her case it was more interacting with angels than using magic, but it seems to have some similarities. I wonder if on some level it's learning to hijack one's brain's reward system and then the elevated dopamine contributing to changes in mental state.


I suspect a lot of fanatic-types suffer from mania and psychosis which does this... just like I do. And I seem to go back and fourth between the extremes of being all into it or wanting to completely reject it.

I can't tell you how many times I've built myself an altar out of junk in my closet only to throw it all in the trash telling myself im done only to go back to building a new altar. :(

I wonder if I need serious professional help for this? Medication doesnt seem ti be enough. :|


Do you have a mental health doctor of some sort? If so, it probably wouldn't hurt to bring it up with them.


I do have a nurse practioner who I talk to every few months about my medications. I guess it won't hurt to ask her about this...


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funeralxempire
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23 Dec 2023, 6:38 pm

RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
I do have a nurse practioner who I talk to every few months about my medications. I guess it won't hurt to ask her about this...


Absolutely. Hopefully she'll have good insight into how to strike a healthy balance between maintaining an interest that means a lot to you, without having it harm your mental health.


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The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X
Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.


RedDeathFlower13
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23 Dec 2023, 6:45 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
RedDeathFlower13 wrote:
I do have a nurse practioner who I talk to every few months about my medications. I guess it won't hurt to ask her about this...


Absolutely. Hopefully she'll have good insight into how to strike a healthy balance between maintaining an interest that means a lot to you, without having it harm your mental health.


I certainly hope so...

The thing is I do like my playing cards. And the whole history of the cartomancy thing is fascinating to me.

Maybe she can help me keep the interest but on a healthier level like you said?


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