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So last night at work, 2 other co-workers and myself were hot and cold at the same time. It was a creepy feeling. The store was basically empty, and it felt like our bodies were hot, but our skin was very cold. Very eerie feeling. We all had goosebumps and felt light-headed.

Also, one co-worker that I had been explaining the many many forms of paganism to is interested in learning more, as she thinks it may be right for her. Recommend any books? I suggested The Idiots Guide to Pagansim; what else?

It seems my offhand conjecture about who I thought might be doing the tampering has COMPLETELY eclipsed the whole point of my post.

1. I think someone is trying to magically influence the Election by subliminal message.

2. I think those of us who know how should try to block any magical tampering we can, from all sides. It's not an ethical approach and, if the Law recognized magic, it would be illegal under the same statutes that prevent other campaigning within 150 feet of voting place. There are volunteer election workers keeping people from braking that law, as citizens who can percieve those other influences, should we stand by and do nothing?

All the rest is pointless right now. It might make for an interesting discussion topic some other day.

Ok, get this;

Neo-Pagans are known for being accepting of unusual concepts. Many believe in magic. Many believe in spirits, ghosts, and the like, many believe in fantastic things like dragons and faeries. And those who do not, they don't go around attacking those who do.

Let Lady Fairy-Fay Whatshername say she's got dragons guarding her house, and even those who do not believe go "that's nice" and go on. Let someone say they've spoken to and heard faeries in the woods, and they'll be listened to.

And if a friend to told you they were walking along the street and felt a that something was going on at a house, and they were bold enough to go knock on the door, and found that a coven was holding circle in the living room, you might be a little surprised but you certainly wouldn't tell them they were full of shit.

And if you were in a convenience store and got a "feeling" there was something very dangerous about to happen, and left, only to find later the store had been held up right after you left, would that really be such a shock to your Pagan and Magical beliefs?

And lastly, if someone tells you they were out driving in the country, and pulled into a strange driveway, and a guy came out of the house with a gun, and your friend left quickly, would you call him a liar?

So what is it specifically about my experiences in my previous posts that make them so hard to believe? I have done nothing but state what I did and saw and felt, and what conclusions I made from those experiences. Yet I've got tons of snarky Pagans calling bullshit all over me. What gives? At what point did what I say go beyond the ability of a Neo-Pagan to believe?

It's not going to change what I know I did and saw, but I think everyone here deserves to know what they should keep to themselves, lest they suffer the same reaction I have.

whence came this idea that because someone's a particular religious bent, namely "pagan" (and all its many permutations), they are automatically "accepting" and "tolerant"? it seems that there is this pervasive belief that because i'm pagan (or rather that i identify as pagan) i'm going to believe everyone's stories of reincarnated cleopatra, or subliminal voting fraud by republican illuminati. and, if i don't believe it, and call these individuals out for their serious lack of critical thinking ability, i'm not a "real" pagan.

as some people have seen, i don't mince words. i don't tolerate stupidity. tolerance and acceptance are not synonomous terms. i will tolerate you insofar that i don't actively seek our your existence and actively try to terminate it, as much as i would like. however, that doesn't mean i have to "accept" you. and, that also doesn't make me less pagan than thou, because i don't believe in fairies, or dragons, or that i'm something other than human, or that the big-bad-christian-illuminati-society are out to get me cos i'm pagan.

so, where did this brilliant fallacy of all pagan acceptance come from anyway? certainly wasn't around when i started studying 15 years ago.

You know, I'm gonna have to take my priestess up on this one.

Apparently, when she was teaching my classes, she failed to mention the Universal Pagan Gold-Plated Rule (tm): "Anything anyone believes is true. Anything anyone says should be accepted without question, because if they think it's true, it is."

Yeah, I so missed that one. Oh, maybe I don't get that bit o' wisdom until I get my next elevation. Whoops.

Folks, maybe this is just my opinion, but I never thought that accepting EVERYTHING was part of being Pagan. It really is possible to be so open-minded that your brains fall out.

I believe what I believe. I accept other religions as valid. I do not accept every statement in them as true. If I did, I'd have to believe that I'm going to be cast into a lake of fire when I die, I'm going to the Summerlands and then to another body when I die, I shouldn't eat pork or lobster, it's ok to eat them, I shoudln't ever drink alcohol, and I should drink the wine in the chalice because it's the blood of Christ. I should believe the world is going to end in Judgment Day or Ragnarok, and I should believe that it won't end, and will all go in cycles. I should believe there is only one god, Allah, and there are a multitude of gods.

So no, no matter what anyone says, I will not feel guilty for having opinions on what is true and what isn't, or for expressing those opinions.