WOW! This is a surprise. Just a few weeks ago, I was applying to join this ring, and now I own it! Huh? But perhaps the hand of the gods is in this, and their purpose is not hard to discern. The description for this ring read, just before I took over:

The Pagan Unity WebRing is for Pagan sites that help educate others about Paganism and break the stereotypes of Pagans.

Good words, and I endorse them all, but not enough, I think, because the beginning of any good attempt to educate others is to educate oneself. In the past, we've often spoken of the stereotypes of Pagans, without ever asking ourselves where those stereotypes come from. A good first answer, in three words : "the Witch Wars". Outsiders see the very worst that the Pagan community has to offer taking place, without any visible sign that many of those present object, and no action on the part of the community leadership aside from an attempt to sweep it all under the rug.

What's an outsider to think? If we wish to be seen in a better light, we have to do better than this. We have to start remembering that Paganism is religion, and religion, above all else, is about relationships. Our relationships with the gods, and nature, and yes, with each other. Which brings us to a dirty word that one doesn't hear much of in Pagandom these days.



MORALITY


"You mean, who I sleep with, Paul? I don't think that's any of your business, and besides which, I have my morality and you have your morality" ... no. Wrong. Morality is not a synonym for chastity. Not exactly. Morality is about how we treat those around us, ourselves included. You may personally feel that sleeping around harms neither you nor your relationship with your gods, and perhaps a case could be made for that position. But no case can be made for the proposition that dealing dishonestly in business, spreading rumors behind other people's backs, etc., etc. do no harm. These things truly are immoral, even if the person engaging in them feels otherwise. Three words to always keep in mind : Love. Honor. Respect. These things we must expect of ourselves, and others as well, at least until others, through their own misdeeds, make it impossible for us to continue to extend these considerations to them.

There is a lot more to the subject of Ethics than that simple paragraph, but it's a place to start, and I expect those applying to this ring to get at least that far. This is not a historical Reconstructionist ring like The Delphic Oracle, and I'm not going to expect the same level of scholarship. What I am going to expect is a good heart, common sense, a path whose core values one can respect, and a willingness to intelligently pursue the logical implications of one's assumptions. One has had the experience, but has one really either sat down and thought about what it all means, or at least sought guidance from and worked with somebody who has done so? Make no mistake, reason will be prized highly on this ring and yes, I mean it, and I don't mean the postmodernist version.



Some will probably wonder why I discarded the old name "Pagan Unity Webring". Am I in favor of Pagan infighting? No, but I am in favor of Pagan honesty, and honesty begins with a lack of manipulation, something that has been seen in abundance from more than a few corners of the New Age community for some time, now. The reality that is ignored by calls for a simpleminded version of "Unity" is that not only is Paganism many religions instead of one, but as a living entity it dwells in many cultures.

We've observed among some a willingness to speak of favoring "tolerance and diversity", while practicing intolerance toward those who maintain the social institutions whose presence is needed for "diversity" to be more than an empty buzzword. Real tolerance begins with real respect for the differences that define us as distinct individuals, and distinct communities, even when that means that we have to respect the existence of a few boundaries that we don't get to cross. When we see Wiccans becoming self-righteous because they are not allowed to attend the services of non-Wiccan groups, while trying to brush past the fact that their own rituals aren't invariably open to the general public either, respect is not what we're seeing. What we are seeing is hypocrisy and the attempt to bulldozer smaller and more vulnerable religious communities into granting a privileged status to the Wiccan community, which I guess is not surprising when one notices that many of the prime offenders have taken to naming themselves "Lady this" and "Lord that". Affecting titles of lesser nobility is not exactly a sign of acceptance of the notion of the equality of all, in the sight of the gods.

We will not endorse the concept of a "melting pot", one which minorities are called on to dive into, so that they might more quickly disappear and no longer trouble the mayonnaise on white bread crowd, with their nasty distinctiveness. The only kind of Pagan Unity which we'll accept is that of a network of communities, each holding up and supporting the other, without trying to absorb its neighbors. A true rejection of aggression, not just against individuals, but against the cultures which give the context that so much of their identity is defined in terms of. As Frost wrote, "good fences make good neighbors". If some of us would like to see an end to a reality in which the so-called American mainstream is cordially hated around the globe, we might start by remembering the traditional wisdom contained in that line, and recognize that trying to barge in where and when one isn't wanted (at the moment) is a form of aggression. Smiling while one does so will only make matters worse.

Any other questions? You'll find a mailform on my Webring profile. Nothing more to see here, you might as well return to the Pagan Awareness Ring, unless you'd like to visit the rest of LewisLand, "home of shockingly little".