What it's All About:
You might be thinking that this doesn't happen in Paganism. Or that this only happens to school children. However, bullying does happen to adults and in any kind of setting, including covens, rituals, and festivals. And it's not just in person, but online as well. For example, I have read many bullies comment on Facebook Groups every time there is a post about Christopagans. Plus there are three major events that happened, two in Canada and one in the heathen community that also has to do with bullying. I will talk about this and what we can try to do to stop this from happening. There is an update to one of the three new events that I have to mention, since this is a bi-weekly show. The guy charged with killing a Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada got the terrorism charge.
Songs Featured:
Winged Bull by Magicfolk
A Wolf in the Clouds by Harold Carter Featuring Cloud the Pagan Rapper
Guided Self-Esteem Meditation by Positive Magazine and Tiffany Love
Give Yourself to Love by Shawna Carol
Links Mentioned:
Spirit Guide of the Week:
Ares
Dream Symbol: (There are two)
Floor
Coffee
Transcript:
(06:16)
Welcome to another episode of the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast. I am your host, Midnight Starr. You just heard a track from Magicfolk called “Winged Bull.”Today’s show is all about bullying in Paganism. If you haven’t, please check out goddess vault one dot wixsite dot com forward slash home. Go ahead and let me know what you think of it and this show. And you can even listen to this podcast on the website. If you can, please share this podcast via Twitter, Facebook, goddess vault one dot Wix site dot com forward slash home, or wherever you can talk to everyone you know. Now for the topic: Bullying in Paganism. Yes, there are lots of different types of beliefs in this umbrella. I have covered some of them on this show. However, bullying does exist in our community, and it is not just online. It's not just about the type of paganism you believe. And this happens to everybody regardless of age, gender, race, or sexuality. No matter how much we teach our kids that bullying is wrong, it will still exist, even when they become adults. I know this because I was bullied as a kid and as an adult with a now ex-next-door neighbor's friend. I told you about this guy in a few previous episodes. I did do something about it that has to do with paganism as well. I will talk about that as well as the main topic. Here's the track "Warrior Queen" by Kellianna.
(11:34)
Before I go on, nasty gossip can also be the big reason why people bully. Either they are jealous or just don't like you for their own personal reason. People bully mostly because they want power over you and nothing else. As I mentioned, bullying is not just in the school; it's also in the workplace. You probably had a boss or a co-worker who abused their powers to manipulate people. Bullies are everywhere. That also includes the pagan community. The bully could be the high priest or priestess or a fellow pagan. They can be who also teaches class, does a blog, and so on. Some covens do have a code of conduct when it comes to this type of harassment. However, the pagan community doesn't have an outlet for victims to feel safe. In the article, Bullying in the Pagan Community, the author mentioned different types of bullying happening in, not just in our community, but everywhere. The first one is gaslighting. If you don't know what that is, it's a way in which someone or a group covertly manipulates and makes the individual or group question their perception, memory, or judgment. Otherwise, make the victim doubt themselves. This causes low self-esteem and makes them dependent on the bully. Intimidation, Coercion, Verbal and Written Abuse, Psychological manipulation, Social Aggression, Isolation, and Using others are all forms of bullying as well. And all of this does happen in the magickal community as well. If you experience any of these forms of bullying, please tell someone. This is also true when it comes to social media or anything online as well. However, I know that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all the other big named social media giants are doing their best to crack down on bullying. But they are not doing enough and want you to help them. There is a way to stop bullying online and teach your kids to do the same thing. I will mention how in the next segment for those of you who don't know. I know that some of you do and are doing your best to flag and kick out these people on Social Media. Not only that but there are magical ways to deal with these people that are in accordance with the threefold law. I’ll explain more after you hear this brand new song by Harold Carter featuring Cloud the Pagan Rapper, “A Wolf in the Clouds.”
(17:34)
It's time for another spirit guide of the week. I am staying in ancient Greece to talk about the god Ares. First off, his origins were in Thrace before he became an Olympian god. Ares is the lord of war. He loves anything to do with war, whether it be the heart of the battle, brawling, or just a good fight. He might be on one or both sides of the battle. Or Ares might instigate a fight for the fun of it. You see him least likely to be behind the desk strategizing, but be more of a military leader. Ares is the first to jump at the chance of war. And he is not afraid to fight alongside women. Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera, or Hera herself depending on the myth. One story mentions how Hera was so annoyed with the birth of Athena and Dionysus that she independently gave birth to Ares without a man. Ares doesn’t have a wife or consort, but he had a long love affair with Aphrodite. What you can offer Ares on your altar are the following: wine, hard liquor, miniature weapons, and images of horses. You can make these offerings the eve before a battle. You can also put an image of Ares outside your door to keep your enemies away. That is it for now, stay tuned for another spirit guide of the week.
(23:44)
That was “Witch War” by Loke E. Coyote. Before I go onto how you can get rid of a bully, there are three stories in the news and on social media that I would like to talk about. They all have to do with Racism, which is an extreme form of bullying. Two of them are non-pagan and tragic that happened here in Canada. The first one is about a large gravesite in Kelowna, BC. This gravesite has the remains of 215 indigenous children that went to a former residential school there. Everyone is very shocked by this news. If you don’t know anything about residential schools, they were places, up until the 1990s where the church forced indigenous children away from their families and tried to integrate them into white society. These kids were also physically, sexually, and mentally abused by this system. Some kids have died from this and thousands have survived and are now trying to heal from this cruelty. We here in Canada are still waiting for the church to claim accountability for what they did. The second happened in London, Ontario, Canada, where a racist idiot was following a Muslim family around for a while and decided to hit them with his truck while they were on their nightly walk, killing all but a 9-year-old boy, and then driving off from the scene of the crime. Police are still figuring out what the charges of this idiot could be. One of those, I am happy to announce, is terrorism. The third, which is something you all know about is heathen and it is of a controversial text that the now-former Heathen Ivy Mulligan posted to another Heathen in South America. This text also included a racial slur. I am not Heathen but I am a part of the Heathens Against Hate Facebook group and I did read Ivy's text that someone else posted there. The second thing that I have to talk about is all about ignoring bullies. This is from personal experience. It doesn’t always work. That depends on the time and the place. Now to the ways to rid yourself of bullies. Of course, this being a pagan show, there are tons of anti-bullying spells on the Internet. A lot of them I see are on Pinterest. With some of these spells, you do have to remember the threefold law. I mean you don’t want to hex someone. It's better to do anti-bullying spells that only enhance your self esteem. There are those out there. Now that I said that, a spell by itself will not get rid of the bully. There are other psychological ways to do it. However, I do know of a way to stop bullying online. And I am pretty sure that some of you do too. When you see a post that is threatening or offensive, or if you are in a pagan group and you read some nasty comments underneath, say a post about Christopaganism. First off, don’t respond to the controversial post. Instead, you can click on the three dots on the right side above the post. In the comments, it's on the right side. If you are on a phone or tablet, you can just tap right on the comment. Find the support or report posts, or if this is a group post, you can also click or tap on letting the admin know. Once you click on Find Support or Report Posts, there are some options you can choose from as to why you are flagging it. For a bullying situation, it could be nudity, violence, harassment, hate speech, terrorism, or something else. Once you click on any of those, it will then ask you to hide the person’s posts or comments and/or to block them. On Twitter, click on the three dots and scroll down to “Report Tweet”, then click on that. That’s how you get rid of a bully on Social Media. Here’s “Cruel War” by Druidsong.
(29:58)
Here's another dream symbol to interpret. There are two in this week’s dream symbol. These two came from a dream that a friend of mine posted on Facebook. They are floor and coffee.
If you see a floor in your dreams, it signifies your support system. If the floor in your dreams is waxed or polished, it means that you are keeping your subconscious hidden. If in your dreams, the floor is slanted, it's telling you that you are way off from your original goals. To dream of a rubber floor, means that you are testing your limits. If you had a dream that you are peeling layers of flooring, it's telling you that you're at your subconscious level. To dream that you kiss the floor, that represents you being grateful about your life. If you dream about the different floors of a building, it means the level of awareness, understanding, and success. If you have a dream where you are drinking coffee, it means that you need to get some knowledge or insight before making a big decision. If you have a dream where you are drinking coffee with someone, it represents your feelings for that person. And to dream that you are trying to make coffee but are having problems doing that means that you are trying hard to please other people. If you want a dream symbol to interpret and maybe have a dream symbol featured; the contact information will be mentioned at the end of this show.
(31:28)
It's time for a nice, deep, and relaxing meditation. Once again, if you are listening to a podcast in a vehicle or wherever else your focus is needed, please skip ahead.
This track comes from the album Soothing Guided Meditations. It's called Guided Self-Esteem Meditation by Positive Magazine and Tiffany Love.
(41:52)
That was Give Yourself to Love by Shawna Carol. That is it for the show. Again, I am your host Midnight Starr. If you have a suggestion for a song, show topic, spirit guide or dream symbol; Or you just want to like, share, or comment; You can do so on the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Facebook page, goddess vault one dot wixsite dot com forward slash home, and on Instagram and Twitter at goddess vault. I am going to leave you with Troll in Valhalla by Alexander James Adams. Blessed be and be safe.
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