Paganicon 2018

The first writings, teachings, and cultural/legal victories in our communities came at a time when the general public, filled with fantasy-laden superstitious beliefs, accused us of being dangerous – to which we responded with evidence that we were Earth-reverent, natural people, not reared on fantasy and popular culture, and we presented the earliest sophisticated attempts at contemporary theologies created by modern people enculturated in science, gnosis, and contemporary cultural studies. Recently, this has been shelved in favor of arguing for the importance of conspiracy theories, cosplay, popular culture, and fantasy fiction to inform Pagan identity and practice, -- and now the general public is rightly accusing *us* of being loaded down with superstition, sci-fi scenarios, and an unwillingness to grow up and face reality. This is a growing culture-wide problem.
Those of us who joined Paganism back when it was a collection of religions that engaged intellectual rigor, realistic relationships with the world, and genuine experiential knowledge miss the days of when it was a path that rebelled against blind faith, belief in superstitions, and theological control. Murphy will provide an initial historical presentation of this cultural shift and its components, then open it up to a vigorous critical discussion to generate solutions to help prevent Paganism’s descent into superstitious silliness, and restore its appeal as a mature collection of religions. In short, leave the dragons and sci-fi scenarios for playtime – it’s time to deal with the real, truly magical world as Earth people again.
Facilitator: Murphy Pizza Ph.D
Anthropologist, Author, and Cantankerous Witch Doctor.