Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
When You Really Are Born This Way

When You Really Are Born This Way

Last updated on: February 20, 2020 at 3:13 pm by John Beckett

When You Really Are Born This Way 2020-02-20T15:13:56-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Pagan community talks far too much about what we’re born with. Last year I wrote 187 Signs You’re Trying To Avoid Doing Your Own Spiritual Work, where I ranted about people who look for “signs” they were born with some hidden identity that makes them special, so they don’t have to do the hard work of developing an authentic spirituality.

Doing your own spiritual work is an absolute necessity for everyone.

Religion has nothing to do with DNA.

Spirituality is about practice.

And yet, some of us are born different.

Some people have exceptional magical talents

Almost everyone can run. You can be a sprinter and run 100 meters – I’ve done it. You can be a distance runner and run a marathon – I’ve done it. With training and hard work, you can learn to run faster and farther than you did before – maybe faster and farther than you thought possible.

But you will never sprint or run marathons at an Olympic level unless you were born with the necessary physiological traits. Those who are born with the traits to be an elite sprinter cannot become an elite distance runner, and vice versa.

The same is true with magic. While almost everyone can do magic, it comes easier to some than to others. As best I can tell, I have average magical talent. I’ve had some good success with it because I’ve worked and practiced for a long time.

Some people are the magical equivalent of that kid nobody could catch on the playground. They can do with ease what takes me a lot of hard work, and when they work hard they can do things I simply can’t do.

A few can work wonders. A few have an in-born connection to the spirit world that they can’t turn off. They can see, hear, and know things most of us can’t.

This isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Shaman-class persons

If you want to start a fight on the Pagan internet, bring up the topic of shamans and shamanism. I made my position clear in this post: “shamanism” isn’t a religion and the vast majority of white people who call themselves shamans are lying to themselves, because they don’t do what authentic shamans do.

Even when you expand the definition of “shaman” beyond its Tungusic Siberian origins to mean “spirit worker in an indigenous tradition” (which is problematic), you’re left with an unavoidable fact: becoming a shaman is difficult, painful, and traumatic.

Shamans aren’t people who take a weekend course in drumming and meditation. They’re people born with unusual traits and skills. In some cultures, they’re people who die – physically, not symbolically – and then come back. They’re dismembered and reassembled – usually spiritually, but sometimes physically as well.

This almost always renders them incapable of living an ordinary life.

Some of these people exist outside of tribal cultures. The spirits don’t know – or more likely, don’t care – that the lack of a tribal culture means they have no support system. Shamans have difficult and often short lives – these people have it even worse.

I know a handful of these people. None of them call themselves shamans, because they understand the meaning of that term and they know that without a tribe to serve and to support them, they aren’t one.

The Anomalous Thracian was the first to call these people “shaman-class persons.” They’re the people who should be shamans but aren’t, because they don’t have the community support a shaman requires. They do the best they can to deal with their gifts and to put them to good use. They all have difficult lives. You almost certainly aren’t one, and you definitely don’t want to be one.

But some people are.

“I wasn’t born human”

I used to hear this quite a bit – not so much in recent years. But in the past couple weeks I’ve heard it three times – all from people mature and informed enough understand exactly what they’re saying.

Don’t jump to skeptical conclusions here. Remember: if you aren’t entirely of sub-Saharan African descent, you aren’t 100% homo sapiens sapiens. It is entirely possible that some of us carry genetic traits from species other than Neanderthals and Denisovans, traits that occasionally manifest themselves in unexpected but important ways.

It’s also possible the non-human elements these people describe are spiritual in nature, rather than physical. Some of us believe we are spirits who have bodies, not bodies who have spirits – the more I learn the more I’m inclined to agree. The origins of even ordinary spirits are unknown – I can only speculate on what might go into making someone spiritually different in a significant way.

And while I respect the experiences and identities of people who say they aren’t human, it’s entirely possible that they’re at the extreme end of a normal distribution. That makes it feel like their differences are of kind, even though they’re actually of degree.

The dangers of othering

Everybody wants to be “different” – so long as they can take off the difference and go back to being “normal” whenever they want.

Despite significant social progress over the last 65 years or so, we remain a society where people are regularly attacked for their sex, race, religion, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, and any other characteristic that makes them stand out.

Those of us who were labeled “gifted and talented” in school remember the pressure to live up to our “potential.” We struggled to fit in. We remember the attacks from other kids (and adults) who resentfully said “you think you’re better than everybody else!” Most of this didn’t go away when we became adults. It just shifted into something more subtle but every bit as damaging.

Those who are gifted and talented in magical and spiritual ways have the same problem. They mostly hide what they are. It’s incredibly frustrating – and insulting – to see people claiming their titles when those people know nothing of what it costs and how much it hurts to actually live that identity.

Orientations and vocations

Not everyone who is “born this way” is so dramatically different. I’m convinced I was born with a Pagan orientation.

There has always been something inside me that said “Nature is sacred.” There has always been something that said “there’s more to life than what can be measured and quantified.” I’ve always known the Divine has a feminine side, that the world is full of spirits, and that magic is real.

I still had to accept that orientation and then work to develop it. But I did, and I’m far better off than I was when I was trying to fit into a monotheist paradigm where I didn’t belong, despite the many family connections. I don’t think I’m all that unique in this regard.

Some – perhaps most – of us are born with a vocation: a suitability for a certain role. Our skills, abilities, and desires match up well with a need in our communities.

Sometimes you can make a living at a vocation and sometimes you can’t. I have a vocation for engineering – it pays well. My vocation for writing pays very little. My vocation for priesthood doesn’t pay at all.

As with magical ability, vocations are not spread evenly throughout the population. The key is to find which one is your best way to make a living, and which one is your best way to make a life. Only a few are lucky enough for the two to be the same thing.

Called and claimed

Orientations and vocations are internal things – they’re part of who and what we are. Calls and claims are external – they come from someone else.

I was called by Cernunnos. As I’ve previously described, He was with me from a very early age. Then when I was ready, He called me to be His priest… in a rather dramatic fashion, as the few people who were there at the time may remember.

I had a choice – I could have said no. That might not have been well-received. Or maybe it would. We will never know – I didn’t want to say no.

Others have said no. Usually that answer is accepted. Sometimes negotiation is required.

But sometimes They won’t take no for an answer. Sometimes the Gods take what They want, and sometimes what They want is you.

At times this is a simple “you will do this for Me.” Other times it’s not unlike what happens to shaman-class persons – dismembering and reassembly. Either way, there is no real choice.

The idea that religious and spiritual choices must always be free and uncoerced is a very new idea. It reflects the morality of 21st century Western liberals for whom the autonomy of the individual is always the greatest good. This does not match reality for the vast majority of people in the vast majority of places for the vast majority of history.

And it does not match the actions of many of our Gods.

It is an honor to be called to serve a specific deity in a specific way. I am thankful I had a choice, and that my “yes” was freely given. But I recognize that not everyone had that choice.

Whatever you are, what matters most is what you do with it

I’m always reluctant to write “born this way” posts, because so many times they’re misunderstood, sometimes intentionally.

Some people desperately want to be “special” and they grab any identity they can, whether it fits or not, even if taking it is offensive to those who live with its dangers and complications on a daily basis.

Others feel left out, like they’re not a “real polytheist” because they haven’t been picked up and thrown across the room by a God.

What matters most isn’t what you are, it’s what you do with the gifts and talents you have.

It was impossible for me to ever be an elite runner, but I was able to run two marathons. I have average magical talent, but I’ve been able to produce some very nice magical results. I cannot be a shaman, or a shaman-class person, but I’ve had my share of ecstatic experiences.

I can tell you how to facilitate those experiences, but I cannot guarantee you will have one… and I must warn you that they come with serious costs and obligations. If you aren’t willing to accept those costs and obligations, be very thankful you haven’t had the experiences.

Meanwhile, what makes you a real polytheist is worshipping one or more of the Many Gods.

What makes you a real priest is serving your Gods and your community in a formal, oathed relationship.

What makes you a real witch is practicing witchcraft.

Be thankful you’re able to choose your own path.

And be respectful to those who weren’t.

Previous Post

February 18, 2020

Foreshadowing the Druid – Pagan Signs From My Childhood

Next Post

February 23, 2020 Fairy Propaganda on TV and Learning the True Sight

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What holiday celebrates Jesus rising from the dead?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Easter Pentecost Passover Christmas