on pagan childhood
Oct. 30th, 2024 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kossaias say before , kossai grow up pagan . come to think that others might be curious , so , here is little about experiences .
first , did not have more specific label to describe back then . now though would say both wiccan influences , and general new age influences . as well , both " parents " come from originally christian backgrounds , and did not shake all those attitudes off . still , did not learn much in depth about christianity , or much of other religions - anything which did learn was through peers .
grow up with faerie stories - and yes , faerie fixation . even so , parents did not quite entertain this as real identity . still not really sure of why exactly , only that come to view as somehow childish and wrong .
have memories of try to test psychic abilities , as well as walks to go look for magical things . could be faeries , could be magical objects , or special places of power . remember learn how to feel out life and potential in objects , which is still large part of views today .
did also know solstices and equinoxes - but in practise , still mostly celebrate applicable ones on christian holidays . part was convenience - already so close together sometimes - but also , familiarity . everyone else in near family was still christian : there was no way to really get away without entirely opt out .
did also learn idea that christian holidays all just bastardise pagan ones , such as yule turn to christmas , but do seem more complicate than that now .
kossai grow up with spellbooks , and remember study intensely , try to carry out ones that sound fun even if not quite able - was not until teens would start to experiment and make new spells , explore what kossai feel that magic really is .
other childhood topics include astral projection , auras , divination of many kinds , meditation and trances , reincarnation , and spirits of all kinds as truly real . learn to view sun , moon , and earth as gods , and of guardians like cernunnos .
still , not all fun . remember incidents where one of parents would get too enthusiastic about potential friends come to visit , would show something magical and pagan , for family of those potential friends to then say can not ever visit again , not even allow hang out at school . ( as if could enforce that , but , threat was usually enough to scare off . )
as well , openness of label means get exposure to other pagan and new age groups - not all of which have best interests in heart . from these experiences , kossai have very negative opinions on concepts like " vibration " , as well as western bastardisations of karma and chakras , and other appropriative concepts . some of these groups , effectively , christianity in pagan paint - never could stick around those for long .
also did not learn very well about discernment : everything that could have magical explanation always did - even if that explanation was suspect to start with . kids did not have disabilities , would be crystal children , indigo children , old souls . that century old barn was not on verge of collapse , but full of ghosts . crystals and good thoughts could heal woes entirely . want something hard enough , and will simply happen .
everything which kossai know about discernment is selves taught , and is something which try to strongly encourage in others .
if kossai could ever parent , then in terms of religion , would make discernment , ability to question , and respect for world absolute top priorities to teach kids .
there is magic everywhere , but there is also mundanity - and both equally important , equally real . mundane methods can help with magical problems , as can magical methods with mundane problems , but still have to learn how to tackle in appropriate way as well . anyone who try to fully solve mundane with magic is con artist .
and to be honest , journey is still not really over . will not be until death - that is nature of all this , and think that is wonderful .
first , did not have more specific label to describe back then . now though would say both wiccan influences , and general new age influences . as well , both " parents " come from originally christian backgrounds , and did not shake all those attitudes off . still , did not learn much in depth about christianity , or much of other religions - anything which did learn was through peers .
grow up with faerie stories - and yes , faerie fixation . even so , parents did not quite entertain this as real identity . still not really sure of why exactly , only that come to view as somehow childish and wrong .
have memories of try to test psychic abilities , as well as walks to go look for magical things . could be faeries , could be magical objects , or special places of power . remember learn how to feel out life and potential in objects , which is still large part of views today .
did also know solstices and equinoxes - but in practise , still mostly celebrate applicable ones on christian holidays . part was convenience - already so close together sometimes - but also , familiarity . everyone else in near family was still christian : there was no way to really get away without entirely opt out .
did also learn idea that christian holidays all just bastardise pagan ones , such as yule turn to christmas , but do seem more complicate than that now .
kossai grow up with spellbooks , and remember study intensely , try to carry out ones that sound fun even if not quite able - was not until teens would start to experiment and make new spells , explore what kossai feel that magic really is .
other childhood topics include astral projection , auras , divination of many kinds , meditation and trances , reincarnation , and spirits of all kinds as truly real . learn to view sun , moon , and earth as gods , and of guardians like cernunnos .
still , not all fun . remember incidents where one of parents would get too enthusiastic about potential friends come to visit , would show something magical and pagan , for family of those potential friends to then say can not ever visit again , not even allow hang out at school . ( as if could enforce that , but , threat was usually enough to scare off . )
as well , openness of label means get exposure to other pagan and new age groups - not all of which have best interests in heart . from these experiences , kossai have very negative opinions on concepts like " vibration " , as well as western bastardisations of karma and chakras , and other appropriative concepts . some of these groups , effectively , christianity in pagan paint - never could stick around those for long .
also did not learn very well about discernment : everything that could have magical explanation always did - even if that explanation was suspect to start with . kids did not have disabilities , would be crystal children , indigo children , old souls . that century old barn was not on verge of collapse , but full of ghosts . crystals and good thoughts could heal woes entirely . want something hard enough , and will simply happen .
everything which kossai know about discernment is selves taught , and is something which try to strongly encourage in others .
if kossai could ever parent , then in terms of religion , would make discernment , ability to question , and respect for world absolute top priorities to teach kids .
there is magic everywhere , but there is also mundanity - and both equally important , equally real . mundane methods can help with magical problems , as can magical methods with mundane problems , but still have to learn how to tackle in appropriate way as well . anyone who try to fully solve mundane with magic is con artist .
and to be honest , journey is still not really over . will not be until death - that is nature of all this , and think that is wonderful .
no subject
Date: Oct. 30th, 2024 10:58 pm (UTC)Christianity is hard to shake even for those who explicitly don’t participate
no subject
Date: Oct. 30th, 2024 11:08 pm (UTC)Thoughts
Date: Oct. 31st, 2024 03:12 am (UTC)Me too, my parents being hippies, although they never bothered to put much of a label on things.
>> still , did not learn much in depth about christianity , or much of other religions - anything which did learn was through peers . <<
I learned some about other religions, but not in great detail.
>>have memories of try to test psychic abilities , as well as walks to go look for magical things . could be faeries , could be magical objects , or special places of power . remember learn how to feel out life and potential in objects , which is still large part of views today .<<
I started learning magic as a toddler. Mom would pretend to be a plant while playing hide-and-seek. I could see through the illusion, but our family friend could not, even when I pointed right at her.
>>other childhood topics include astral projection , auras , divination of many kinds , meditation and trances , reincarnation , and spirits of all kinds as truly real . learn to view sun , moon , and earth as gods , and of guardians like cernunnos .<<
Yeah, we did a bunch of far-out stuff.
>> still , not all fun . remember incidents where one of parents would get too enthusiastic about potential friends come to visit <<
I don't think I had guests of my own more than once or twice when I was little, or that would've been more of an issue. By the time I had actual friends, we were in high school, so that helped.
>> some of these groups , effectively , christianity in pagan paint - never could stick around those for long .<<
Well, you're not wrong. We ran into one group that we wound up calling the Young Pagans Puritanical Society.
>> also did not learn very well about discernment : everything that could have magical explanation always did - even if that explanation was suspect to start with .<<
I do a lot with discernment because magical and mundane problems often require very different solutions.
>>anyone who try to fully solve mundane with magic is con artist .<<
And vice versa, which is a lot more common in a mostly-mundane culture. Until people hit something they just can't deny away, and then they come crying to the one witch they know. *sigh* I'll do a favor for friends, or occasionally a friendly acquaintance, but not for enemies. I learned to say "Do your own fucking homework" when I was really little too.
no subject
Date: Oct. 31st, 2024 03:53 am (UTC)I feel you on the crystals, too. I'm epileptic, I've seen online shops that sell crystal healing packages for epilesy, and I always hope that the people purchasing those crystal sets are also receiving medical treatment because seizures can be life threatening.
no subject
Date: Oct. 31st, 2024 07:52 am (UTC)which , maybe slightly hypocritical from faeries kossai who reject part of disability labels - but , at least , this is something which personally explore , think lots about , and choose . all these new age labels instead try to reach out and convince others , not just explain self .
for sure ... only so much that magic can do for mundane health problems .