Pan-Dianic Goddess Path

[sol_mas]

Following the PantheaCon discussions, one Dianic group has discussed being more inclusive:

From An important message from the Amazon Priestess Tribe:

"We see the vast ways in which people of all backgrounds and genders can find healing in the playfulness of the Great Maiden, the arms of the Great Mother, the wisdom of the Great Crone, and in the sovereignty of the Great Queen. By defining ourselves as Pan-Dianic, we hold the truth that the Goddess is embodied, exalted, and empowered in thousands of cultures, in a wide array of diverse bodies, and in countless different spiritual traditions, toward the highest possible good for all worlds."

Is our pagan landscape changing? Is it getting just bigger enough to support more branches, or is it just becoming more fragmented?

I'd like to think it's growing and evolving, but I'm an optimist.

-sm

[Sylvan]

I'd be interested in seeing your analysis of our PantheoCon-troversy thread.

I don't quite understand your question however.

[Quintessence]

Paganism, Neo or otherwise, has never been centralized in the sense of the more mainstream Western religions. Being "fragmented" is practically an intrinsic quality, as practices are shaped to local contexts. You could say that Paganism is like tofu; it takes on the flavor of its environment. It also has an inherent pluralism and tolerance for differences of beliefs that enable it to appear "united" in some sense. We worship different gods and have different customs, but we don't raise a fuss over this diversity.

Not sure if this is really an answer, but like Sylvan, I don't quite understand the question because I don't see the validity in your premise that Paganism has ever been non-fragmented/diverse.

[sol_mas]

Originally Posted by Sylvan

I don't quite understand your question however.

Originally Posted by Quintessence

Not sure if this is really an answer, but like Sylvan, I don't quite understand the question because I don't see the validity in your premise that Paganism has ever been non-fragmented/diverse.

In hindsight I did word the question poorly, or at least, I didn't frame it well.

While most Paganism does seem fairly diverse, parts of Dianic Wicca do not appear to be, at least to me. When I first ventured into this murky Goddess-centered Paganism, I found that nearly all "organized" Goddess-centered groups, such as Dianic Wicca, are exclusive to "women-born-women". I get that - it makes a lot of sense, and am generally ok with it.

As a male Goddess-centered pagan, I simply found it interesting that at least one line of Dianic Wicca did branch, not to simply open to all women, regardless of birth, but to all genders.

I suppose I was really looking to see if others thought it was as significant as I did?

-sm

[Quintessence]

I really can't say. When I've been involved with local and online Neopagan communities, I have had little to no contact with those who are Dianic Wiccans/Witches. I can't speak to what is or isn't normal for those groups.

[Lokabrenna]

Originally Posted by sol_mas

Following the PantheaCon discussions, one Dianic group has discussed being more inclusive:

From An important message from the Amazon Priestess Tribe:

"We see the vast ways in which people of all backgrounds and genders can find healing in the playfulness of the Great Maiden, the arms of the Great Mother, the wisdom of the Great Crone, and in the sovereignty of the Great Queen. By defining ourselves as Pan-Dianic, we hold the truth that the Goddess is embodied, exalted, and empowered in thousands of cultures, in a wide array of diverse bodies, and in countless different spiritual traditions, toward the highest possible good for all worlds."

Is our pagan landscape changing? Is it getting just bigger enough to support more branches, or is it just becoming more fragmented?

I'd like to think it's growing and evolving, but I'm an optimist.

-sm

I agree with Quintessence. Z. Budapest's tradition has always been very exclusive, and I think that even though there are Dianic groups that have welcomed all genders, none of them have as much publicity as hers does, ergo, when someone breaks away, it's a big deal.

However, I wouldn't necessarily refer to it as "fragmentation", we Pagans are a diverse group by nature, and it's only natural that traditions will split and form new traditions. It's more like modern Hinduism than Christianity, instead of sects fighting with each other over who has the correct interpretation of their book, you have many different groups under the banner of "Hindu" (which is kind of a problematic term, but I use it for sake of clarity) who are all considered "good Hindus" despite the fact that they all do different things.