why do some highpriestesses command respect without giving any ??

Question

I AM SERIOUSLY QUESTIONING MY BELIEFS OF WICCA/WITCHCRAFT (WHICH I PRACTICE). ALL BECAUSE A HIGH PRIESTESS I HAVE NEVER MET IN PERSON TREATED ME LIKE SOMETHING SHE HAD JUST TROD ON (MET ON CHAT FORUM). I HAVE HAD NO REASON WHY SHE DID THIS. BUT IF THAT IS WHAT THE WIDER COMM. OF WITCHCRAFT IS LIKE I REALLY COULD NOT BE PART OF IT ANYMORE.
WHAT MAKES SOME HPS THINK THEY CAN TREAT LIKEMINDED PEOPLE SO DISRESPECTFULLY, BUT COMMAND RESPECT THEMSELVES ????????????????

PS- pauls, i take you never make mistakes !. Maybe you should stick to questions you can answer. Rather than just go in run people down, because you certainly didn't answer my question in any way. You could try being a bit more diplomatic in future.

Answer 1

Forget her. She is not very wise, is she? Why should you worry about her?

No, dear, we are not all like that. Some get haughty because they believe they can COMMAND respect, but it only works on the ignorant. Most of us realize we need to simply ignore those who are not respectful.

There are also those who are simply not terribly interested in the male of the species at all. You are male, aren't you?

Answer 2

I have found that to be the case with many Wiccans, (the better than thou attitude). But anyway, which beliefs are you questioning and what is it you practice, Wicca or Witchcraft? There is a difference, being that Wicca is a set of rituals, ethics, dogma, and by-laws, that Gardner used to create the religion of Wicca. Witchcraft is not a religion, so much as it is a way of life. Witchcraft developed out of shamanistic paths and trance and dream work is a big part of it.

Witchcraft is a solitary path, (like-minded might come together for ceremonies) antinomian, in that it is a path against the natural order of things.

If you continue as a Wiccan I would suppose you will find that sort of thing from time to time. On the other hand if you choose to follow the path of Witchcraft, then you might find the same but it will not matter, because you will be more secure in yourself and will have no need of any clergy.

Although, I do not really know what actually went down between you and this so-called high priestess, but you might ask yourself if you did anything to provoke such actions. Sounds to me like she just may have been off on a power trip.

See, that is one of the down falls of modern Wicca, it has been watered down, with all the eclectics doing whatever feels right and trying to call it Wicca/Witchcraft. Now days in order to become a member of clergy all one must do is read a book or two from Llewellyn Worldwide and start their own coven. Woohoo! LoL!

Answer 3

Well. I don't know the full situation what happened, but no, you shouldn't take that one person as a representative of the entire community, any more than you should take such a person as representative of the entire community if they belonged to any other religion. I don't know who this HP is, but another thing you should keep in mind is this is the web. This person could be an HP in her own mind. Even if she is the leader of a group, HP's are human. Some get more attached to the title, than to the work, if you know what I mean.
There is a reason why many prefer to be solitaries, and there is nothing wrong with that until if and when you should find a group that you think is right for you, with a leader that you think has the qualities you look for in a group leader. If you like this reasoning, then please consider this also, an example of the wider Wiccan / Pagan community, as well as several other posters here that are giving you good answers as well....

Answer 4

Welcome to Religion-Period!
I've found that whatever label you stick on it, Wicca, Catholicism, Born Again Fundamentalism, Islam, Scientologist, what they all have in common is people like you are describing! Arrogant buffoons who take people in spiritual need often at a very troubling crisis and abuse them in some way for personal advantage.
"Give 'em something or someone to hate and they'll keep coming back to Church!"
I don't read about a group of evolutionary scientists hijacking planes and killling innocent people. I've yet to read about a group of quantum physicists bilking the faithful out of millions. And when I'm get the crap bored out of me by some long winded imbecile going on about Nature, it's usually a scientist who knows what they're talking about and is living in the real world, not a Wiccan.
If you're not feeling welcome or respected in Wicca, try atheism or agnosticism. It's probably cheaper and you are not required to respect (or even pretend to respect) any loser in a black bathrobe, er I mean high priestess.

Answer 5

There are some people who bring themselves to leadership positions in any religion just to boss people around. Don't let someone else's attitude ruin your spiritual path.

Follow your spiritual path and leave behind those who intend to hurt you. It's not the wider Witchcraft community. There are people we call Pagan Poseurs and Fluffy Bunnies who are Wiccan and Pagan to get attention. They annoy the rest of us to all get out. Ignore them.

I recently had a run in with a Pagan who thinks he's better than me. He posted three videos about me on You Tube. I think he's jealous because people actually listen to me on there.

Also, she may have been misrepresenting herself if she was in a chat room.

Don't worry about one bad apple. Trust me, the larger community is filled with good people. But you have to beware of the stupid ones.

Answer 6

It could have something to do with your stuck caps lock key.

I don't know about these people you're talking about, but when you talk about "high priestesses", complain about not being respected, type in ALL CAPS and throw a line of question marks at the end, I find it absolutely impossible to respect you.

Answer 7

I understand you are pissed but, come on! don't drop a good thing just because of that stupid woman! You don't even belong to the same group as her, you don't have to talk to her - so what do you care?

(That's one of the reasons I have never wanted to be a part of larger groups with inner circles and outer circles and first initiations and highest initiations, and all that ego-dancing...)

Answer 8

They are initiated, you are not... at least that is the info I am going on. Judging a practice based on a relationship is weak... I doubt you have been initiated.