How many Halloween cards have you seen with images of witches and their cats? How many shows depict that every witch is a cat lover? How many books depict anyone even remotely Pagan as having a feline familiar? Nearly all of them. It’s a widespread belief, but there’s not as…
Depending on how you look at it, this is either entirely true, or largely false. Personally, I think that all people are freaks (defined: unusual, bizarre or unexpected) in some way, which would make it completely true that all Pagans are freaks. However, society typically uses this term as a…
Nope. Really, it’s that simple. Pagans are not generally evangelical. We don’t put out faith in other people’s faces, we don’t preach our beliefs on street corners, we don’t give out pamphlets outside your favorite coffee shop. We don’t recruit or convert. I suppose this myth is out there because…
Having a book of shadows (BoS) is indeed a common practice for Pagans who practice magick or other skills. It’s a sort of diary and reference book all in one. While many Pagans do have one, not all of us do, and by no means a requirement. A book of…
Some people have the idea that one must be initiated in order to be a real witch. This is a misunderstanding. You may need to go through an initiation to become a recognized member of a particular tradition or coven, but you don’t need an initiation to be a witch.…
If you talk to other Pagans about magick, one of the first things they’re going to drill into your head is that free will exists, and it’s wrong to mess with it. The vast majority of Pagans believe that using magick to alter someone’s free will is incredibly wrong and…
A cult is defined as: “A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.” While some may consider Paganism to be a cult, it is not. Of course, it’s a…
This ties in to my earlier post “Paganism is Expensive.” In an increasingly materialistic and narcissistic world, people want to show off everything, and everything becomes a competition to have or be the “best.” It’s sad that some Pagans have fallen into this trap, but there’s no fact in the…
Ah, the fluffy bunny myth of Paganism! Since the 90’s people have had this idea that Pagans are a bunch of tree-hugging, crystal-waving weirdos who are happy all the time, bringing white light to the world. I hate to break it to you, but magick isn’t white (or black) and…
This is another hot-button topic, but one worth addressing. In the last handful of years I’ve seen more and more people claiming that they are hereditary witches, and acting like the pagan community needs to bow down to their superiority. It’s pretty ugly, and largely false. The simple fact is,…
An unfortunate misconception fostered by those new to Paganism is that you have to do everything the way someone else before you did it. They believe that there are “right” and “wrong” ways of believing and practicing, and they fear the consequences of non-conformity. Luckily for them, this is miles…
This myth is pretty old, but there are still some people who believe it. It was once believed that only women could be witches, as men were missing some mystical aspect that would make it possible. History proves that to be untrue. There have been magickal practitioners of both genders…
This myth falls right alongside the idea that big rituals are better or more powerful than simpler practices. A lot of folks out there think that in order for a spell to work, it has to be long, involved, and probably rhymes. Like many other things on this list, this…
To my knowledge, this belief has only been getting pushed in the last handful of years. The thought is that you can only worship gods if you are from the same ethnic background. For example, some believe that it would be wrong for a Spanish person to worship Egyptian gods,…