My wife and sister are both witches, have been for a while now, over ten years...I'm really nothing as far as religion goes, but that's another story. But I don't know any men who are into witchcraft...I have an inkling that the emphasis on a goddess (rather than a god) and on fertility play into it, but there's probably more to it..?

Anyway, my wife is asleep right now, so I'll aske her more about it when she wakes up...

But does anyone have any ideas?

quote:Originally posted by Dirty Hippy 1969:

the emphasis on a goddess (rather than a god) and on fertility

I don't know whether that's true or not. I do know that obviously a religion focused on a matriarch is more palatable to a woman, so a woman would be more opt to become Wiccan than a man. However, "witches" are an ancient myth. Wiccans were assigned this myth back in the Middle Ages when the pagans were being persecuted.

Certainly the women were a lot less inclined to just throw their thousands of years old matriarchl religion away, so they used to hold secret midnight masses. They would often where dark clothes on their way to and from the masses to keep from getting recognized. Of course, thousands of women wandering around cities and villages in the middle of the night dressed in black and looking all suspicious caused public speculation and were eventually dubbed "evil" and the term "witch" came in. That's when you suddenly had a bunch of women getting drowned and burned at the stake.

But, before that they're were basically just considered pagan.

Cheers,

Lost

It's because during the witchunts hundreds of years ago, it was the MEN who were in power politically, and religiously. Thus, women were tended to be viewed with suspicion when something arised. Say when the plague hit. It's not going to be the single, yet poor man, it's going to be the single, poor, old WOMAN who gets blamed, due to the prejudice at the time.

You know, nobody is going to blame shitty parenting when their kid shoots up the school.. they just want an easy out, so they blame DOOM.

It's a big scapegoat effect, over what the public will believe faster.



That's why women have always been witches. Technically, men can be Warlocks, but they dont seem to get NEARLY the attention as witches do. And plus, technically a witch is someone who has sex with the devil. I find it slightly more difficult for Men to engage in the same activity, yknow?

[This message has been edited by Tru_Souljer (edited 05-03-2005).]

quote:Originally posted by Tru_Souljer:

You know, nobody is going to blame shitty parenting when their kid shoots up the school.. they just want an easy out, so they blame DOOM.

Or Rammstein. It's always the video games and the music they go after.

Yes it is true.

It's because fat bitches need a religion to go along with their new gothic look.

The largest religious organization in the US is run by all males and is opressive to women. Go figure that more women than men would turn to a religion that is women power oriented and often based on equality and an open mind.

I mean, who would've guessed.

quote:My wife and sister are both witches, have been for a while now, over ten years...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

quote:Originally posted by aTribeCalledSean:

Yes it is true.

It's because fat bitches need a religion to go along with their new gothic look.

Sad but true.

Umm... lost.... Wiccans have arbitarily decided to self identify with "burning times" (as they call it) era witches, Gerald Gardners little funky religion didn't even exist until the 1950's.

And now a bunch of money hungry trendy-new-agey calif-fucking-fornian starbucks-hippy-liberals have decided to publish hundreds and hundreds of useless bullshit books filled with garbage about how wicca was the "first religion", that they were persecuted by the "evil evil christians" and other such bullshit.

The people most loudly claiming to be witches are the ones who have the LEAST fucking idea about "traditional" witchcraft.

For gods sake, think about it, if the paranoia of the inquisition and shit didn't manage to burn, even accidentally, some family tradition of "witches", what chance does a 14 year old girl with dyed black hair and an internet conection have of finding them?

Wicca - pretending to be an ancient relgion since 1957



God damn they piss me off.

This isn't any slight on serious pagans...

many of those that follow Asatru, but fuck all others.

ohh... I might have misunderstood something in your post lost, bout the wiccans deciding they were the same as pagans burned in the middle ages...

but the impression I got was that wiccans were associated with witches in the middle ages, and I, being the pedantic fellow that I am, will always take wiccan to mean a follower of old Gerald or one of the spin off tradition type thingos.

quote:Originally posted by Tarnak:

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Well, thanks for the insightful answers to this question that has been puzzling me for a while. It's interesting to hear some of your wisdom...except for the HA HA HA guy...

yes traditionally the majority of wiccans tend to be women.

dunno quite why..

but perhaps it has something to do with smoooth polished ash broom handles?

(and before anyone grizzles i am making a serious point...)

quote:Originally posted by jackketch:

yes traditionally the majority of wiccans tend to be women.

dunno quite why..

but perhaps it has something to do with smoooth polished ash broom handles?

(and before anyone grizzles i am making a serious point...)

Smeared with halucinagens?

"let us right to the sabbat!!! ohhhuuuhhuhhhhh yeh"

Most of the witches you heard about were women--hardly anyone knows about Giles Corey, the only male accused during the unpleasantness in Salem. He was the only one not hanged (as a rule, witches were hanged, not burned--but "the hanging times" does not sound so dramatic) but pressed to death.

Sure, there is nothing really old about modern Wicca, Gardner and Crowley pretty much made it all up. Still, paganism and various types of earth-based religions are quite ancient--i.e., the Venus of Willendorf.

I would much rather hang out (no pun intended) with Wiccans than with Christians,however. They tend to be better people.

Now AM, I know that The Crucible was based on true events.

But I'm pretty sure there wasn't anyone actually named "Giles Corey".

I'm pretty sure Arthur Miller just made it up.

I could be wrong though.

Because have you ever tried to dit on a broom when you have a scrotum? Fucking awkward!

quote:Originally posted by ArmsMerchant:

Most of the witches you heard about were women--hardly anyone knows about Giles Corey, the only male accused during the unpleasantness in Salem. He was the only one not hanged (as a rule, witches were hanged, not burned--but "the hanging times" does not sound so dramatic) but pressed to death.

Sure, there is nothing really old about modern Wicca, Gardner and Crowley pretty much made it all up. Still, paganism and various types of earth-based religions are quite ancient--i.e., the Venus of Willendorf.

I would much rather hang out (no pun intended) with Wiccans than with Christians,however. They tend to be better people.

lol...

I don't think its fair to blame uncle Al for any of this mess.

Gardener was an associate of his, so while maybe indirectly he was, he certainly didn't start it.

Crowley used so much twisted pseudo-christan imagery, as well as utter opiate induced bullcrap, it's hard to see much relation to wicca, cept of course the bastadised, vaugely Golden Dawn type rituals.

Still... it is sorta ammusing that most of this "ancient pagan religion"s 'magical rites' stem from occult systems that almost completely orgininated under Christianity.