The Lost Ones....

[mdehners]

The mention of a Heathen fallen back into the sadness of Christianity during a flamewar got me thinking; who lasts?
Looking back a couple of decades, in Heathen, Wiccan and Pagan circles with folks I know/knew, the best indicator I can find for those that “stick it out” is a Personal Relationship with the God/desses/Pantheon of their Way. That’s PERSONAL, not Patronage., though they can at times be the same.
The personal who lasts, at least remaining in the Recon/Inspiriationalist community is one who has Personal Interaction with a God/dess or God/desses. Not “I’m Like ___so I must be a _____sman/woman”. I mean a Someone who they talk to and replies….
This can be “sticky” in all of our communities, even those with a “magickal” bent because “Personal Relationship” reminds them of Christianity. The Truth is, if you ask those Christians, they don’t mean that Jesus had actually popped in and talked to them. It was a metaphor. I’m talking about the Real Deal.
Now, it doesn’t have to be Shakespeare, it can be just Emotions, Impressions or Feelings but there is an exchange of some sort. Probably this is one of the major reasons WHY. It’s hard to “blow off” as Fake something that you’ve actually Experienced. It’s harder to say that there are no other Gods than YHVH when you’ve had Diana or Thor tell you stuff(or off;>)… esp. when YHVH and/or Jesus HASN’T.
It’s hard to be a non-Psychic person. You literally have to take something on Faith and that, esp. with cultural and familial pressure can be fragile…esp during a bad patch. While few Christians(or other Book-folk) have had real personal Interaction, they have community support. The “Head-blind” Recon/Inspirationalist often doesn’t. Even when they do have a physical community, there is a strong “Blame the Victim” in ours…whether it’s “You’ve Created Your Reality” or “You just didn’t try hard enough” or worse, “The Gods have forsaken you”. It reminds me of the New Thought churches like Religious Science or Unity. They’re all about Healing until you are sick and not responding to their efforts. Then it’s your fault.
There really is no answer to the problem. Someone who can’t See or Hear isn’t going to Hear or See the God/desses except Intellectually and when pressure comes, there’s no Buffer. There’s no Advice from Them. They could ask on of us but esp in the Heathen community, there can be almost Hatred toward the Sighted. Some of it is our fault because we often refuse to Judge or Prioritize what we See, making us all sound, well “flakey”. “I don’t Judge” is something you oft hear from some of us. Well, you SHOULD. Treat the Otherworld as you would Midgard. You don’t give credence to the utterances of every speaking thing in Physical Reality, why would you do so Elsewhere?
I don’t Know if there IS a way for those without Sight and “backsliding” to be “Saved”. Perhaps those of us who Can, should ask for help for them. Fuck Non-Interference. They are your family!
Troth,
Pat

“Visions are rarely practical. Useful, sometimes. Insightful, often. Practical, hardly ever.”-Nameless, ‘A Nameless Witch”-Martinez