The Yeti\’s Cyber Smithy

You must be new.

In another blog, a poster named Pagan Temple said:

“And what’s this Ren Fair shit anyway? That’s Middle Ages bullshit. That doesn’t have a damn thing to do with pagan times. I guess next you are going to be making lances for jousting bouts.

On the other hand, the Middle Ages were when people were being burned at the stake on accusations of witchcraft, so maybe this makes a little bit of sense. “

http://gavinandyvonne.blogspot.com/2007/09/questions-questions-questions.html

I want to first say that I am again amazed at the amount of discussion folk are having about me after the video of me at the Ohio Renaissance Festival made its way to Youtube.com. The amount of attention this is getting is amazing. Weird, but amazing.

In so far as my working at a Renaissance Festival and forging steel, Pagan Temple is sort of right. My job has very little to do with being pagan and I do not believe I have stated it does. I have also gone bowling and I do not believe I have ever stated that bowling was a key part of my religion.

I am reminded of what a lesbian friend once said upon meeting another lesbian friend. Lesbian friend A arrived with rainbow earrings, a rainbow purse, and gay pride everything. Lesbian friend B said: “You must be new.” I feel the same way about new pagans and others who feel everything in their lives must conform to some preset notion that it must revolve around the pagan community. Basically, we need to go bowling more. We also need to understand history just a wee bit more.

The Middle Ages is generally used to reference the time between the death of the Western Roman Empire and the birth of the European Renaissance. Pagan Temple is right, the Middle Ages is the time period in which the formerly other than Christian Europe was transformed into the Christian Empire. It is a time that marked the rise of what can be seen as a new Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church and later the birth of the Church of England. Both of these Churches being primarily responsible for what has come to be known as the Burning Times.

I have often voiced the opinion that the modern day pagan movement, Wicca in particular, is far to focused on the Middle Ages and what we have come to call the Burning Times. I am rather put off by black robes, secrecy, and the whole knife to the throat thing that seems to prevail with folk who seem to almost desire persecution. I am a modern pagan in a modern pagan community with certain rights guaranteed by modern law. I find no reason to wallow in the past. Celebrating the past is another story and there is a key reason for members of minority religions to celebrate and mark a rather important historic event called the European Renaissance.

European history is most often discussed in terms of three ages: Antiquity, Middle Ages, and Modern Time. From a modern pagan view, we can see this division as the Ancient Pagan Cultures (antiquity), the Clash and then rule of Christianity (Middle Ages), and the Modern Pagan Movement (Modern Time). As modern time is marked as being born in the European Rennesanse, that brief time period is infinitely important for members of our community to understand.

Despite the claims made that one can see a clear division between what Isaac Bonewits terms Neopagan and what he terms Mesopagan, it is very hard to draw such a line. There have been post Middle Ages pagan organizations rising and falling since the European Renaissance. Yes, the recent success on behalf of booksellers to rack in tremendous profits have contributed greatly to the popularity of the modern movement. Yes, the recent popularity of movies and television shows which are either based on or which feature pagan characters has heightened awareness. But pagan organizations continue to rise and fall today, just as they have since the European Renaissance. So I do not feel there is much of a difference between what Isaac Bonewits terms Neopagans and what he term Mesopagans. Instead, I see a stead rise since the Middle Ages ended.

There is a claim that it was not until the 1950s that the final anti-Witchcraft laws were repealed in England, thus giving Gerald Gardner and others the ability to write publicly about their religions. However, these last laws were merely anti-fraud laws. They were similar to the laws, which today force Psychic Hotline commercials to disclaim the fact that they are for entertainment purposes only. Anti-Witchcraft laws had been removed many years earlier. In fact, the European Renaissance is what made the practice of pagan religions legal possible once again. Yes, religious persecution continued in Europe but this time period marked a significant change.

With the European Renaissance, science, literature, and the arts were once again valued. Instead of an authoritarian church which sought to kill those who would prescribe medicine (herbs and plants) before prayer, tolerance of diversity became the trend. Instead of Crusades to kill other religions and the Christian effort to retake land called sacred by three world religions, trade and international commerce between formerly warring religions became the trend. We have been following that trend ever since.

I do not believe the modern pagan community should be stuck in the sixteen hundreds or any other time era. We should continue to move forward, adapting our spiritual practices for the times in which we live. However, we should not forget the very history that gives us not only the right to do so, but also the freedom to think that we have such a right.

I do not choose to be a Rennie because I am pagan, Wiccan, or member of any other social group. I do not think being a Rennie requires that one belong to the pagan, Wiccan, or any other social group. But I do believe that those people who become Rennies for the same reason I have chosen to become a Rennie are people who demonstrate the traits which I find to be the very backbone of the pagan community. A dedication to not only the rediscovery of things old but new ways in which they can impact our lives. A dedication to the arts, sciences, and yes… the philosophies that one finds deep inside ones own soul.

I am a Rennie. I am proud to be a Rennie. And I am ever so confused as to why so many people seem to think this is odd for a pagan to be.