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
Pagan Pet Peeves — things that make me go eck

Pagan Pet Peeves — things that make me go eck

Last updated on: September 30, 2023 at 1:15 am by Ann Trip

0 Comments

Pagan Pet Peeves — things that make me go eck 2023-09-30T01:15:45+00:00 Ann Trip

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.

pet peeves

Autumn leaves and seed packets. PHOTO BY ANN TRIP

There’s no standard set of rules for ritual since everyone does them differently. However, sometimes there are things that just don’t add up. These are some of my Pagan pet peeves. I’m sure I have more. Although there is no wrong way to hold rituals, format, quarters, correspondences and deities should make sense too. There needs to be valid reasons why something is the way it is.

Saying west is green because it makes the grass grow hurts my head. When water is green it’s stagnant. I spent all summer trying to keep green out of my pool water. Green is algae and not healthy to swim in. Therefore, this theory – only held by one person that I know of – is like nails on a chalkboard. I haven’t found this correspondence used by anyone else and I’ve searched. Also, north is not blue because it’s cold. I live in North New Jersey, do not tell me it’s cold here in the summer. Temps are in the 90s and above more than a handful of times. We get all four seasons.

One of the substantial lessons the Rev. Foxxy (Sher) Pullen, taught us in Three Fires Grove’s Magick 101 were correspondences. Not knowing them is one of my pet peeves, a huge one. We spent several months on this crucial section before we even attempted to create a ritual. After researching the four quarters we had to create visualizations for each element loading them with appropriate correspondences. Yet it seems to me that others haven’t had this training, don’t understand these concepts or just haven’t -as my elders- put it “engaged brain.”

Once while attending a Samhain ritual I got uncomfortable when we got to the direction east, seeds were mentioned. Samhain is the last harvest and the thinning of the veil between the worlds. Additionally, for Celtics it’s the Pagan New Year – from darkness comes life. It has nothing to do with seeds, seedlings or the growing season. They could have mentioned with the cool breeze you feel the veil thinning or the leaves blowing through the air. Two decent examples off the top of my head.

Most recently, at Litha someone called the direction west and they mentioned water and autumn related correspondences. While yes, these are correct associations, there are others that fit in easier. Such as, for that sabbat, the water nourishing the plants during the hot summer months.

Autumn rain. BY KOALIE

These pet peeves really irk me. I visualize each element and their correspondences clearly as the person calls them. When someone just tosses autumn in summer it breaks my focus on the ritual. I can’t be the only one who feels this way.

Another huge pet peeve which may sound contradictory to above is that the ritual was “wrong.” Granted, there is no absolute wrong way to hold a ritual. If the above correspondences work for you then people like me need to deal with it. Just as Druids use gray or purple for water and Wiccans use blue. One tradition uses pink, brown, orange, and another color to represent the quarters. It’s their tradition, and if I ever participate in such a ritual, I’ll keep quiet, but definitely ask questions later. As my elder says, the only dumb question is the one unasked. I’m sure they have valid reasons why they chose those colors.

Moreover, if someone does not read exactly what is written for them, just go with it. I’ve attended quite a few rituals under a “perfectionist” high priestess. It’s great to have everything printed out, especially if you are asking for volunteers to call quarters, etc. However, if they mess up, or do not do it exactly the way it is planned, it is not a disaster. Seriously, deity knows we are not perfect, they do not expect perfection. They do expect us to try and do the best we can, however. And sometimes these small errors become the highlight of the ritual- even almost setting the altar on fire. Yes, I almost did that once in Sacred Wheel CUUPs at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey. We all still joke about it today.

We need to learn from one another. Don’t assume one way is right because it is always done in that style. Just because someone else is doing what they learned does not make it wrong. Perhaps it is another tradition, an unfamiliar one, or it could make entirely no sense at all. Some Pagans seem to forget to be open minded, as odd as that may sound.

Once again though, follow your gut, if it doesn’t feel right, leave. Don’t sit through something that might be harmful. Weird is one thing, but if it’s a negative ritual you don’t want any part of that karma. Not many rituals require a set number of people in the circle, at least none of the ones I attended. Well, that one that had bad mojo from the start. Lesson learned the hard way, a bit too late though. My elder helped me clean that mess up afterwards.

Another one off my pet peeves is people snacking on the “cakes and ale” before the ritual even begins. I often fast before ritual, so by the time an evening ritual begins, I’m really hungry. But even if you don’t fast, the cakes and ale are for the ritual not appetizers and the potluck for community time and grounding. Besides, you never know when a car or van load of unexpected participants may show up just before a ritual, it does happen.

However, young children and pets do not have to abide by adult rules. They should not be loudly scolded if they eat or break the circle. Guide them during the ritual; explain quietly why what they were doing was not appropriate gently afterwards. A five-year-old raised as a Pagan may handle ritual fine. However, a 12-year-old exposed for the first time, and untrained or told what to expect is likely to disrupt. We don’t start rituals with newcomers without some explanation time beforehand, I hope.

So, maybe next time you hear something odd, you’ll question the person after the ritual. Yes, wait until the end to ask them. It could be they didn’t realize it, or they have a valid reason. Maybe you’ll teach them something or vice versa.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

Previous Post

August 31, 2023

Finding that ‘go to’ place for easy grounding and centering

Next Post

October 31, 2023 My Pagan path - a look back into when I started my journey

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I was half expecting to hear you were called to Athena with that owl! I, ..."

Lady_Ashmire

When I first knew I was ..."

"I usually try to repair things where possible before replacing.I’m reasonably handy with it, but ..."

kenofken

Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rot (compost) and ..."

"It’s not clear to me why they could not hold both at the same time ..."

kenofken

Changes — as UU Pagans, lets ..."

"Yes, the UU religion does not have a Creed. Therefore, the seven principles and six ..."

Ann Trip

Changes — as UU Pagans, lets ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Current Events CUUPS Press Release Interfaith liturgy Media Review podcast Religious Education Seasonal Reflection Spiritual Practice Summary Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz