So, the other day I was talking about public Paganism and its effect on the tenor of Paganism in general. Gus diZerega worries that an ecstatic religion is becoming staid in the process of being made palatable for a rapidly growing and increasingly public Pagan populace.
I think there is a natural balance that any religious population will achieve. I don’t know what the percentages are, but I think they’re more-or-less static, whether you’re Pagan or Christian or Hindu. As I suggested the other day, the Neopagan movement front-loaded the esoteric, mystery- or ecstacy- oriented folks. But in terms of what people want and need from religion in their lives, I think we were over-represented. As our population grows, the portion that is exoteric and casual about religion will grow faster than the mystical, ecstatic, and intensely devoted. That’s representative of how people are.
In Traditional Wicca, we sometimes call ourselves the Hidden Children of the Goddess. At one time, we were hidden primarily by being scarce. To find us, you had to figure out that there was such a thing as Wicca, and figure out a contact point. It could be maddeningly difficult, but many Traditional Wiccans believe that this hurdle brings those to us who were meant to be among us, while screening out many of the rest.
Today, we are hidden by an exoteric Pagan community and a publishing boom. You have to figure out that there’s more to Wicca than the superficial, the bland, and the anything-goes. There are many, many points of contact, and most of them are bullshit. You have to try again and again, and not be daunted by the fakes and flakes and failures. You might have to attend a public ritual where the periodic table is recited, and still keep seeking.
Somehow, this is affirmative of the Mystery nature of Wicca. The inner traditions cannot grow past a certain point, because growth denatures them. But that very fact keeps the Mystery alive; hidden, alive, and available for those who know to seek it.
