Fluffy

So, I have been considering the definition of "fluffy", or at least what it means to me. I've realized that the term is too broad and I need to narrow it into categories. Please note that, in most cases, I'm also poking fun at my past self. I used to be fluffy, in a variety of ways.

A "Fluffy Bunny" is a baby Pagan (Pagan for under a year) who has read one book on Wicca (or any form of Paganism, but Wicca is typically the go to for beginners) and declares themselves to be experts on all things magical and gives themselves titles such as Lady/Lord in either online discussions or at public Pagan gatherings (though they seem to meet Pagans in real life very rarely). I actually still have issues meeting with Pagans in public. I'm a bit socially awkward and afraid that if I say anything at all, I'll offend someone, so I just say nothing (basically I'm either all filter or no filter). I don't have issues pissing people off online because I don't believe there can be any real energetic interaction through cyberspace (I know there are online covens who would disagree, but I even think electricity in general can cause issues with working magic, so I don't think an entirely virtual Pagan experience is entirely valid) therefore, I don't believe they can give me the "evil eye" or, as the Irish would put it, "overlook" me; that is not the case in physical reality.

Someone who is just "Fluffy" can either be Pagan or subscribe to some form of New Age spirituality that is not necessarily Pagan in influence. I don't really know that Neo-Paganism should be lumped in with New Age spirituality, but according to bookstores, it's the same and while there is some overlap, there are vast differences. A Fluffy person can be on their path for years and still be Fluffy. The main criteria here is the belief that there is no evil in the universe and every spirit (or alien race) you come across wants to be your friend and help humanity evolve to the next level of enlightenment. This is a foolish outlook. For Pagans, it completely ignores the folklore of our pagan ancestors (there are PLENTY of stories about pissing off gods, faeries, etc and how NOT to do that and the repercussions of doing so) and essentially states their beliefs were wrong while we are somehow still trying to build a system based upon those beliefs. This makes absolutely no sense. For the New Agers out there: there is absolutely no reason to believe that any alien race that is more technologically advanced than us (if there are any that are that advanced) would automatically want to help us and not destroy us before we do to the galaxy what we have done to our own planet. These can also be big believers in The Secret (which, by the way, was a concept even spouted in the 1980s on "The Golden Girls" and was not new or worthy of all the hype by 2006-when the film debuted) as a way of life. Basically, Dharma from "Dharma and Greg" was a Fluffy. Not necessarily a bad person, but definitely has an outlook so bright that it becomes hard for them to deal with harsher realities that come their way.

Here's a new one I came up with: "Fluffernutter". This is the category I have set aside for those Pagans (or New Agers, though typically they have outer space or Atlantean connections) who may or may not already belong to the first two categories, but also believe they are somehow "special" or "different" (and thus, a better Pagan than you).  Most "Otherkin" belong in this category for me. I have heard some compelling arguments for therianthropy,  but I still think they're misinterpreting a natural shamanic gift (and in some cases spiritual disease) as somehow being "other" than a normal, human Pagan. Those who believe they are the avatars of Pagan gods (see one of my first posts) definitely get this title (as it's not only "out there" but extremely rude to those who worship said Pagan deity). Typically arguments contrary to their "otherness" are met with vehemence and the assumption that you are somehow a closed-minded bigot. These, again (like the Fluffy Bunny), are Pagans that typically don't get out into the real Pagan world and when they do, expect the same form of acceptance they get on their Otherkin forums. Fluffy Bunnies are the perfect candidates to eventually become Fluffernutters (it's a very easy step, I know because it happened to me).

I need to come up with a name for the type of fluff that ignores historical evidence altogether in favor of the fakelore often passed down as factual history within the Pagan community. The "Burning Fluffs"?  Hmm... need to work on that one and a description, but I think I'm going to let it go at this for now.

May you be blessed by whichever gods you fancy,

BellaDonna Saberhagen

Busy Weekends

The past two weekends have been busy and I have not been home to write. Last weekend was a blast at a friend's "tent city" birthday bash. I think it was quite a suitable way to celebrate Lughnasadh a bit early.

I barely had enough time before Lughnasadh to decorate my broom (one of the things I do, more to remind myself and get myself into the mood for a Sabbat is decorate a broom that I hang over the entrance to the apartment, for Lughnasadh, it's fake grass, wheat and sunflowers) before we had to pack up and leave on Saturday.

In more recent news, I am branching out a bit from my North-western European focus and am actually adding a Roman deity to the mix (this is a big deal as when you mention Rome to me, I envision Boudicca kicking their asses). This deity is Fortuna. While Roman culture does not appeal to me, I must say that the USA is the "new" Roman Empire (and we are crumbling from within in the same manner) and we have similar visions as to what constitutes fortune and luck. I cannot think of a directly cognate deity that fits in with the rest of my worship (other than maybe Guldveig, but she was a giantess reviled and murdered by the Aesir for bringing greed into the world...I don't think Barnabus's Odin would appreciate her presence).

The reason I feel I got the green light? Well, Fire Lyte and Velma Nightshade have both brought her into their live recently and things have been going well for them (at least according to Inciting a Riot). I'm kind of sick of being poor, I'm sick of working jobs I hate, barely making ends meet, and not being able to afford much fun at all. So, I considered spending some of my birthday money on a Fortuna statue. I pulled one up on Amazon, but I would not commit to buy it. Now, I have a bit of a Firefox tab addiction, I open tons of tabs and keep them open for no real reason other than not to have to load the page when I want to look at it again, so the tab was up for about a week. And in that time I won $50.00 on  a $2.00 scratch off ticket. That was the green light. So I pulled up Ebay to do some price comparisons and I found a white porcelain Fortuna that was about half the price of the bronze one I was looking at on Amazon. Not only was this one cheaper, but it matches better with the  Greek statues I purchased for Barnabus in the past (aside from Odin, he's mainly into the Greek pantheon) and looks more classically "Roman" (yes, I realize that they were painted all sorts of bright colors originally, but when we see these statues, they're so white and pristine it's hard to imagine them as anything else). So, Fortuna is on the way. Now I just need to find suitable shrine placement.

One of these days, I'll replace my plaques of The Morrigan and Cernunnos with real statues, but I'm finding it very hard to find ones I like. I like the older imagery, but I'd like it to be updated (without becoming modern "witchy" fantasy-esque...I see so many images of The Morrigan that make her look more like a Gothic Witch than a bad-ass Goddess that it kind of saddens me).

Anyway, that' the news. If you want the weather, look out your window.

May you be blessed by whichever gods you fancy,

BellaDonna Saberhagen