The more “anything goes” something is, the more ‘splaining there will be because EVERYONE is doing something different. Frankly it’s the Witch’s/Pagan’s/Wiccan’s/(fill in the blank’s) own fault for creating a system where “anything goes” is strongly supported.
We would never have learned anything from the best skins to use as caveman footwear to how to upgrade a sluggish PC if we didn’t share.Įnter Pagansplaining. Nothwithstanding that the memes being hilarious. It’s a sad day when not only is this inherent, helpful and evolution-based tendency scoffed at, but mocked. Gossipy and even useful.Īnd occasionally some of us know enough about a topic, despite not being documented experts, that we feel qualified to speak about it to others. We all possess knowledge that is often critical to the survival of our species. As such, we are expected to be teachers to our fellows. I will be happy to welcome them and break things down in a way that their precious little mind can comprehend.
Just don’t be a statistic like me, and don’t waste your energy on ‘splaining - I promise you’ll be a better Witch for not engaging in it.Īlthough if you find yourself stuck in a conversation with someone who insists on ‘splaining basics, feel free to send them my way. I don’t have much else to say on the matter, because even after 100 posts, I still can’t write a decent conclusion. And if we learn anything from them, it should be that we can transmit our own knowledge in a way that doesn’t belittle the people with whom we’re communicating. They take complicated concepts and make them digestible, so that their peers and students can grow and benefit. What I didn’t realize back then, but what I’ve fully accepted now, is that the Johns, Devins, Mats, and Isises of the world are so good at what they do because they don’t ‘splain - they educate. And we don’t need to jump in and offer unsolicited whys or hows unless we are explicitly asked to be of assistance. And there is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with being self-taught, but it really just puts us on the same page as everyone else who’s self-taught: If we’ve all read the same books and worked our way through the same rituals, we’re all pretty much equals. Thing is, unless we have legitimate, documented expertise in a given field, we probably don’t have access to any more information about it than any other Pagan in our vicinity. But it’s also easy to assume that having any knowledge makes us more evolved than the people around us, especially as we ease into the greater Pagan community and get indoctrinated into the idea that we have to present as experts in order to be accepted as “valid.” AM SMART. It can be exciting to share that knowledge. Most of us weren’t raised in Pagan families or taught Witchcraft by our parents or anything, so when we learn something new, it’s easy to assume that we’re the only ones who know it. Part of the issue, I think, is that many Pagans, especially early on, find themselves in isolation. On a first-name basis with the Devil Himself.Co-owner of a successful occult business.Founder of a flourishing tradition of Witchcraft.But I do want to take a quick moment to review Devin’s CV. If that’s the case… okay, I firmly agree with John Beckett that Pagan leadership is not a competition, nor do I think that any one of us has more right to knowledge or the potential for experience than any other. And I know this is a lot of conjecture, but perhaps they weren’t familiar with Devin’s works and figured he didn’t have any awareness of the subject. The assumption on the part of the commenter, then, is that whoever made and/or shared the meme needed to be enlightened. But I think it’s more likely that they skimmed through the first two panels, saw the phrase “Threefold Law,” stopped reading, and thought, “Well, actually…” and decided to interject entirely unnecessary clarification. “Allow me to describe eyesight in a way that might make sense to you.” (Image courtesy of Cdd20 via Pixabay.)Īnd granted, not every punchline is going to land, so maybe the commenter just didn’t get the joke. In fact, people who don’t follow the Threefold Law are the target demographic - and at this point, I would hazard a guess and say that there are more people out there who do not acknowledge the Threefold Law in their practices than there are people who adhere to it. It’s hard for me to understand why someone would feel the need to make this comment, since the whole point of the meme is that not everyone follows the Threefold Law. At which point I went outside and banged my head against the brick wall of my apartment building, because OH, MY GODS, PEOPLE, READ THE DAMN ROOM.