To all new agers, what the hell IS this bull****?! Burning people? Devil worshiping? Magic potions? I looked at a new age book in a bookstore, and I could not read it after some of what I read. Are all new agers like this? Damn, this **** is fine for fictional stories, but not real life! If you are a new ager and can clear this up for me, do it. Be as brash and rude as you like. But help me understand why you do this.

Paint, at least you're trying to remedy your apparent ignorance on this topic by asking questions, which is commendable...so I'll do my best to break it down for you.

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To all new agers, what the hell IS this bull****?!Burning people? Devil worshiping? Magic potions? ****?!

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For starters, the new age movement has nothing to do with 'devil worship', as most new agers don't even believe in the devil. I have no idea where you got the idea it has anything to do with 'burning people', and as for 'magic potions', that is more akin to paganism than the new age movement, although sometimes the two can overlap.

I don't particularly like New Age, since its basically a very watered-down, mix-and-match corruption of traditional eastern philosophy and spirituality packaged for mass consumption by faddish American yuppies. I prefer to go to the original sources like Buddhism, Taoism and Paganism in their more original form.

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Damn, this **** is fine for fictional stories, but not real life!

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I could just as easily say the same thing about the Bible...you see, its a two sided coin.

What is Deism?

Damn yall can bicker! And I thought the denominations of Christians were the worst at that!

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I'm trying to show the inherent flaws and dangers of the traditional concpet of relgion itself.

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Religion has been around as long as man has existed. It does not make us who we are, but it is a big part of one's life. If you don't have faith in anything but science, then how can you have hope?

It's not that I'm bashing every relgion blindly. I'm trying to show the inherent flaws and dangers of the traditional concpet of relgion itself.

Ignoring my points because it's simply anti-religon is just a cop out.

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So basically, you think that all religious people are quacks? Not just Wiccans? OK, that makes you easier to ignore.

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See, that's what you call a generally ignorant and/or pointless statement.

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Whats ignorant is running your life by a set of rules you justify by unsubstantiated spirtuality rather than facts.

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So basically, you think that all religious people are quacks? Not just Wiccans? OK, that makes you easier to ignore.

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Blind faith doesn't drive those who actually feel like living a life, rather than wasting it appeasing something that might not even exist.

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Yes, however my point is that whatever thier own dogma is still affects there life long and everyday decisions. They're making choices based on false and unsubstantiated information, which is generally a bad thing. That's opposed to my faith, which is just a general philosophy based on logic and whatnot. That actually supports proper decision making.
It may be arrogant to say so, but my version of faith is much more functional, practical, and in the long run (dare I say) better. It's the greatest hindrence to using faith to control people.

Hence the reason we have people casting spells.

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Why ask me to explain something spiritual like magick to you, if you’re just going to pass it off as mind over matter? Good grief! This is a waste of time. You whined, so I answered.

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Because I wanted to see if you would come up with something different. Any harm in that?

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If you don’t understand or believe it, then whatever. But don’t run around saying that it’s all a bunch of B.S. That’s ignorant.

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Whats ignorant is running your life by a set of rules you justify by unsubstantiated spirtuality rather than facts.

How can you put so much stock in spells when you can't prove the major components of them? I know how you can, or at least how others can. It simply makes you feel better.
Deep down most religions are simply a way of simplfying our complex soceities, and the way they interact with the world. However, in a future leading towards technology and science, Wicca is hardly a smart decision. I don't know if that's the right thing to say, but it just seems horribly counterproductive to me.

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There are no mystical energies involved, and unless you prove to me that they exist, or that it even makes sense that they exist, then it's a bunch of BS.

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I knew you’d say that. That’s why I had said this:

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You think that I'm going to waste my time explaining or proving something to you that you're not going to believe anyway?

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Why ask me to explain something spiritual like magick to you, if you’re just going to pass it off as mind over matter? Good grief! This is a waste of time. You whined, so I answered.

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Your giving up awful easy... I'm no asking for you to tell me about the whole idea of it, just the basics.

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If you don’t understand or believe it, then whatever. But don’t run around saying that it’s all a bunch of B.S. That’s ignorant.

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Yes Gemini, however, it also takes a great deal of it to say that one does NOT exist. There are many properties of our universe, I've argued them to you before, that suggest there could be some intelligent design to it. But this is another argument. It's not blind faith that drives me, just an aknowledgement of the possibility.

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I, personally, have faith that there is no magic sky guy because there is no tangible evidence of one existing. No one can be 100% positive of whether of not a deity exists, so all you case base your beliefs on is faith. Regardless of dogma, you still have faith, just as Wiccans do; they're simply different forms of it. Also, Deism is quite a respectable religion. It's the most sensical of all the religions, in my opinion., and there's no doubt that the world is so perfectly synchronized that one must venture into the possibilities that something superhuman created it. BUT, with so many questionable aspects of humanity and its origination, any religion is as valid as the next. Blind faith doesn't drive those who actually feel like living a life, rather than wasting it appeasing something that might not even exist.

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I'm no asking for you to tell me about the whole idea of it, just the basics.

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All right. I'll tell you. To make magick, one has to pull energy from the universe (energy is everywhere, all around you) to him or her and charge it to fit his/her needs. We call this 'raising power'. We raise power for our will to be done, ask for the blessing of the Goddess and the God, and then we release the charged energy into the world to do our bidding. Of course, I'm giving you the basic version.

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Everything I've read about "Magick" leads me to believe it is at best a form of meditation.

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So the answer to this one is no. However, meditation is one of the ways we can raise our power. Other ways to raise power are chanting, singing, dancing, or making music with instruments.

Does this answer you question?

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And only fools put stock in things that are pure faith.

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Gods place is not to do things for us, or even for us to do things for him.

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It takes a great deal of faith to even believe that a God exists.

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Gods place is not to do things for us, or even for us to do things for him. We just are.

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My sentiments exactly, go deism.
A god who wants us to perform duties for it is one I would never consider being worthy of worship. I would consider it no better then a slave-master or a sadist.

And only fools put stock in things that are pure faith.

Your giving up awful easy. I guess since you don't have any clear and definitive evidence to even suggest the probability of it.

I'm no asking for you to tell me about the whole idea of it, just the basics.

Everything I've read about "Magick" leads me to beleive it is at best a form of meditation. Well guess what, your not harnessing some mystical forces there, it's just your own self determination. So many have told me that "it doesn't work unless you beleive in it." It's not "Magick" doing the work there, just your own mind and body. The power is in yourself, not from nature, not from God.

Gods place is not to do things for us, or even for us to do things for him. We just are. So make the best of your life, by yourself.

You think that I'm going to waste my time explaining or proving something to you that you're not going to believe anyway? No. I have to study. If you're really interested, then look it up!

Only fools deny what they cannot see with their own two eyes.

You know, you don't have to do spells to be Wiccan. Wicca is about nature. A Witch does spells. There is a lot of information on this topic, you just have to look. Yes, there is white, grey, and black magick. And it can be dangerous IF you don't know what you're doing. Magick is not meant to be played around with. But if you do know what you're doing and are of pure intent, there is nothing to worry about.

ok, um, see i believe in like reincarnation, and i don't know about the devil, but like i don't get why people are all about spells. its cool, but spells can mess up. and for me, that would be freaky. see, i almost was A Witch, but my dad new a "black" witch who had quit after a seance where the girl communicating with the spirit world opened her eyes (i thought u weren't supposed to do that) and saw 2 big yellow eyes comin. she screamed and broke the seance. so my dad's college friend stopped being a witch. my dad said its dangerous cause most witches and warlocks just want more and more power. so what's it like bein a Wiccian? answer please. and paintbucket person, be open to new ideas. it's not that bad. love y'all, tina

I'll create an all-about-Wicca board for us to chat on, ok? I'll tell you everything I can about this New Age faith.

All right. I think I got the gist of what yall are saying. But you can still tell me more anyway.