> Håkan Lindgren wrote:
> Thanks for your answers to my question 'what is a Wiccan?'. I did a
> little search on the web as well... they may be into stone age
> religion but they sure like the internet!
Doesn't everyone:-)
> They're many. And they
> really seem to believe in what they're saying. Julianus, you said you
> used to know some of them - what is it that makes people attracted to
> such beliefs?
Well, what attracts anyone to any belief system? You can probably get
as many answers as there are people, if not more. I still know many
Wiccans as well as other types of occultists, pagans, and magicians and
there really seems to be no 'typical' answer. There is a lot of
sociological research being done now in the field of 'new religions' and
the surveys I have seen appear to bear out my subjective impression.
Certainly the focus on ecology and feminism has played a major part in
the spread of neo-Paganism, but you also find Wiccans for whom these
things are secondary or irrelevant.
If I remember national domain names right, you're in Sweden? Well there
are certainly Wiccans and/or neo-Pagans around, especially if you're
near a college. You can always ask them:-)
An interesting point that will sort of bring this thread back into the
list's topic (about time I suppose) is the Gypsy connection. It was
mentioned that one of Gardner's inspirations was the work of Charles
Godfrey Leland. He also wrote on Gypsy (Romany) magic and many have
noted similarities between Rom religion and Wicca. Raymond Buckland,
who was primarily responsible for bringing Gardnerian Wicca to the US,
is Romany-decended himself and has two books out on the subject. The
Romany came from India of course, and I wonder if there has been any
comparative work done on their religion and its relation to Hinduism and
IE religion as a whole?
-- John
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Nothing on the face of this earth -- and I do mean nothing -- is half
so dangerous as a childrens story that happens to be real, and you and
I are wandering blindfolded through a myth devised by a maniac.
-- Master Li Kao (Tang Dynasty)
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