Pagan Speak - March

March is quickly slipping away. Before it escapes entirely, here is this month's Pagan Speak.

Topic 2: Sharing Ritual (thanks to Swiftpaw)

Sharing rituals with others. Would you ever? Have you ever been to a public festival and what did you think of the rituals there? Would you include a visitor from another religion in a ritual to your pantheon/deity? Have you? What was it like? Would you do it again? Does it depend on the religion of the visitor?

I am a Solitary Wiccan, which means that I worship and perform rituals alone. I am part of an online study group (an offshoot of CFFN), but I have yet to meet any of these wonderful people in person. I have also never taken part in any open or public ritual, nor have I gone out and met any Pagans or Wiccans in real life. I'm pretty sheltered due to my shyness and self-esteem issues.

That being that, I have never shared a ritual with anyone. I think part of the reason is that I would be far too embarrassed. I have been Wiccan for a long time, and I worry that knowing that someone would expect me to be rather experienced when it came to performing a ritual. I wouldn't want my ignorance to show. My personal rituals, while honouring the essence of "typical" Wiccan rituals, are actually quite simple, quiet affairs.

I'm not sure if I would be willing to share these personal rituals with anyone, whether they are of my faith or not. My view on religion as a whole is that it is an intensely personal thing, not something to be shouted from the rooftops, shown on TV (and I mean both Christian televangelist and Wiccans here), or commercialized. Sharing with a close friend might be something I will be willing to do one day, once my relationship with the divine is more clear.

I think that one day, maybe sooner rather then later, I would like to meet some Wiccans and Pagans in my area. It would be nice to talk to some like-minded people in person. But, I can't help but shy away because of a preconceived idea that many of us are a bit freaky. How awful is that? I complain about the preconception all the time, yet I believe it to.