Fear

Yikes! I really need to start posting on a regular basis. I've been avoiding it out of fear. I don't want to post anything on my mind, turning this into some kind of weird showcase of my bizarre life... Yet, when I think about it, I realize that might be a more realistic representation of what it's like being a Wiccan. A person. Alive.
Being a person is difficult. Being a nice one is even more so. Being a happy, well-balanced person is quite possibly the most difficult thing in the world. Many of us are at a loss of what to do in this department. Most only have a good handle on our sanity some of the time. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Why? Because we're all struggling. And that's okay. We're complicated creatures. Besides, what would we be without a little struggle?? It builds character, in the very least.
Sometimes, when I think about death and reincarnation, I get all worried about whether or not I'm "doing it correctly." There are so many strange and silly things with this thought, I'm almost embarrassed to put it out there... But it must be said, all the same.
Sometimes I think that maybe we reincarnate to learn something. To make up for something that we have done in another plane. To learn our lesson. Such thinking is rather unproductive if you get hung up on figuring out what you did and fixing it immediately. When I really reflect upon this, I tend to realize that it probably doesn't work like that. Frankly, I think that this line of reasoning is dumb if you get hung up on trying to fix something.
I don't know if we reincarnate, or how or why. I don't think that we're here to fix or make up for something. I used to follow this line of thinking when I was little. I would worry and obsess over it until I stayed up all night repeating badly-rhymed pleas to a silent god so that a ridiculous figure with red skin din't come and steal my soul when I wasn't looking. (Yes, that really happened. Many times.)

My point is, we all (and by this I mean me, specifically) need to stop getting hung up on whether or not we're doing The Right Thing. As much as I am confused by this world, I know some things: no one cares if all I post is rambling nonsense. No one is looking into our minds as we mull over the cosmos and pulling out their little red correction markers... And no one, no one is going to pull our souls out from under us.
As long as I know these things, I can relax into being myself. Which is what I was actually striving for the whole time.


...Which reminds me! Here are two links.
This Vlogbrothers video illustrates what I was just talking about beautifully.
This page is chock full of herbs and their magickal uses. Does it have anything to do with what I was just talking about? No. Is it awesome none the less? YES. =)


So remember. Don't be afraid. We'll all still love you.
Blessed be!
-Gwen <3

Demographics

I'm beginning to wonder just how many Wiccans there are in the world. Luckily, Wikipedia is amazing and always humors me in my strange searches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca#Demographics

DemographicsThe actual number of Wiccans worldwide is unknown, and it has been noted that it is more difficult to establish the numbers of members of Neopagan faiths than many other religions due to their disorganised structure.^[95] However, Adherents.com, an independent website which specialises in collecting estimates of world religions, cites over thirty sources with estimates of numbers of Wiccans (principally from the USA and UK). From this, they developed a median estimate of 800,000 members.^[96] In the United States population alone, there have been many attempts at finding a figure, with the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey estimating that at least 134,000 adults identified themselves as Wiccans, compared to 8,000 in 1990.^[97] Wiccans have also made up significant proportions of various groups within that country; for instance, Wicca is the largest non-Christian faith practiced in the United States Air Force, with 1,434 airmen identifying themselves as such.^[98]
In the United Kingdom, census figures do not allow an accurate breakdown of traditions within the Pagan heading, as a campaign by the Pagan Federation before the 2001 Census encouraged Wiccans, Heathens, Druids and others all to use the same write-in term 'Pagan' in order to maximise the numbers reported. For the first time, respondents were able to write in an affiliation not covered by the checklist of common religions, and a total of 42,262 people from England, Scotland and Wales declared themselves to be Pagans by this method. These figures were not immediately analysed by the Office of National Statistics, but were released after an application by the Pagan Federation of Scotland.^[100]

Well that's interesting. I had no idea it was largely practiced in the air force! Quite fascinating really. I wonder why.

Oh! Now that we're on the subject of demographics, stats came to mind. Lady Elk is only being found through random searches, so if you find my blog interesting and know someone who would like to learn more about Wicca, by all means, share my link!
I would be much obliged. =)
Blessed be, amazing humans!
-Gwen <3

Jesus + Me = BFFs?

You know, it's really pretty tragic to me that so many people I know claim to not like Jesus.
He and I don't share the same religion. He lived thousands of years before me, --if he even lived at all-- and yet I know that I would have loved the guy if I ever met him. He's just so agreeable!
On the other hand, we have Christian extremists who twist his teachings and spin webs of guilt in his name. Now I know that most Christians aren't like this, and I even know that my religion has it's fair share of loonies! It's just strange to me that a group of people who follow the teachings of a pacifist can be so violent when defending their viewpoints.

Wicca is a pretty peaceful religion too. Why can't we be friends?

I think that the world would be a better place if we delighted in who people are, not judge based on what we think they should be.