Paganism - The Untold Truth

[irdamage]

I personally think alot of ppl are put off of those types of relegions and cant take them seriously becuase of all the retarted goths out there. (you kno the ones i mean) the kids in grade 7-10 who are just pansis about it and say there part of these relegions, but yet have no clue what there talking about. I think cuz of that, pagans, druids,voodoists and etc wont b takin too seriously by alot of people because of those ignorant kids. Odley enough ppl like budihsts get alot of respect bcuz they do similar things as pagans, kinda weird.

[Speedy]

I was raised a voodoo child. Seeing as how vodun (voodoo is what most people call it) was very popular with african americans in the 70's, especially down in Lousiana where my aunt is from. My aunt believed it should be passed on to me.

Unlike in the movies voodoo dolls were not considered 'real' to voduns. They were used to scare people, same with those wierd rituals that hollywood likes to use. So far the only close to correct movie i've seen is serpent and the rainbow (about to the serpent spirit Damballa and the rainbow spirit Aida).

We follow a spirit path (pantheon) called Loa. There are too many spirits for me to name. But unlike other cultures, these are not veiwed as gods, they are spirits that we thrive on. The only true 'supreme being' is Olorun. The only rituals still practiced are chanting and dancing on the veve, which I believe calls upon the spirits. We call it white magic. The hungan and mambos (male and female 'priests') are what collects the force. I, being as lazy and unwilling as I am, have not been to one of these in years since my aunt took me.

Now heres what hollywood gets their plots/stories from. The only phrase that can simplify the rest of this paragraph is: "The bad news makes the news.". Unfortunatly this is all too true. Bokors, are the people that use voodoo dolls, which now is only <usually> only done in south america. They center on black magic. Some hungan switch between black and white magic. They are not pure, however.

I hope this has cleared some stuff up... I have very bad grammar so i'm not sure if you will under stand half of this. >.>

[jd-inflames]

I absolutely love your post Gedrin. It allows me to clear up one more thing.

Another thing we believe, which Gedrin's post points out very well, and this isn't really only pagan, but should be held for everyone...during meditation, or just when you think it's only your mind...the first thing you see or feel is always true...after that it's just what your mind is wanting you to feel.

I don't think I worded that very well...oh well, hopefully at least two of you will understand that

[Jason the Destroyer]

I understand. I'd help to explain it, but I'm not sure how to word it myself.

jd-inflames, would you kindly PM me a link to a site that explains paganism? I would like to know more, and I am thinking of converting.

[jd-inflames]

I don't really know of any particular site...but I know that there are several. Most of what I have learned either came by instinct or from my sister and a few others. The internet helps a lot...but if you go by just one site alone, then that would ruin the point...Pagans believe what they believe is real...some people believe differently than others.

[Roach Of Discord]

Search google . It's an amazing tool.

[Jason the Destroyer]

I am simply interested in the history. If I want to actually follow this spiritual 'path', I think I'll search with my instincts. We are, after all, still animals of the Earth, and we still have instincts.

[jd-inflames]

If you want history, just search for what the old greeks believed in, research about norse, old voodoo, anything you can think of such as that.

[ORC-r0x0r-ROC]

Nah, I'll take your post to heart. But like a few others, you misinterpreted a lot.

I might aswell ask, nothing happens in this forum no more, but how did I misinterpret it exactly?