Tell Me A Story.... (soul, church, experience, pagans, worship)

[KSojourner]

There is a thread that was started that asked about whether the poster should wear a pentagram and I posted a story about what happened to me when I used to wear one. I thought it might be interesting to hear other people's stories about what has happened to them - good or bad - when they were wearing jewelry that was of a Pagan nature.

While I posted a story on that thread, I will post another here to get this thread started.

When I was 14 I got a dragonclaw necklace with a crystal for my birthday that I absolutely loved and I wore it everywhere. Well, I happened to wear it to a Wednesday night youth group (Lutheran Church) to which a friend of mine had invited me. While I was introducing myself, two girls sitting in the row in front of me, gasped and started whispering. I asked them if anything was wrong. They said they would talk to me later.

They pulled me aside after the group broke up and proceeded to tell me that the devil had my soul and was controlling me through the crystal. I laughed thinking that this was some kind of joke. They saw the laughter as it being more of a serious situation then they thought. I told them that it was just a rock, and they tried to convince me to take it outside and smash it right then and there. I told them no. Needless to say, I decided not to go back again.


Do you have any stories of things that have happened to you while wearing Pagan jewelry? I invite you to tell us about it.

[Kcnorwood]

Most people that see my penegram necklace here (now rememeber this is the south)
think I worship the Devil. That's thire first though it's hard enough to explain what it is I believe. I truly believe at some point I might be better of at letting them believe that......

[Aeiralo]

...Oh wow. The OP is kind of scary. *shakes head*

Some people.....

The necklace sounds pretty, though. ^_^

[Kcnorwood]

I've had no trouble wearing mine at work so far... at least my co workers don't seem to care but I have got some VERY strange looks from some customers....

[Gentoo]

I've had one person ask if I was Jewish after seeing mine, that's all there really is to say about that one. The other story is positive, I think.

A few summers ago I went with my mother to the Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow (an AMAZING experience!). As we were walking from vendor tent to vendor tent I noticed that the people selling the items didn't look thrilled to be there right then (it was the last day of the powwow), and of course I had to look at everything. At first they were smiling that they didn't have to explain much of their items to me, I knew which bird wing belonged to which species and sometimes the age or sex of the bird too. Then in one tent, I turned and bent over a little bit, enough so they could see my pentacle necklace, they beamed when they saw it and were noticably more friendly to me and my mother than they were to other people. That made me feel really good.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by KSojourner

Do you have any stories of things that have happened to you while wearing Pagan jewelry? I invite you to tell us about it.

There's a ring that I wear that isn't Pagan per se. It's interfaith. It has the Jewish Star of David, the Hindu Om, the Taoist Yin Yang, the Christian cross, and the Pagan pentagram.

I was at a bank, opening an account and talking to the bank rep who was a very pleasant, friendly, liberal Christian. He found out that I was interested in religion and was talking about how he was learning about other faiths and how he believed God's love extended to everyone. A nice guy really. Anyway, encouraged by his tolerance, I took off my ring to show it to him and he eagerly identified each symbol and which religion it stood for, just like I did above. Everything was fine until he got to the pentagram... and then he faltered and got uncomfortable. I put my ring back on and changed the subject, feeling bad that I had made him uncomfortable. But in my mind I noted that tolerance only extends so far even amongst those who try to be tolerant.

Let me stress again that my reading of him is that he's a good guy. He's probably just heard stupid stories about Pagans passed on through popular culture and hasn't had the opportunity to meet any in real life to dispel those misconceptions. Maybe I should have said something to him but I was feeling uncomfortable myself at the moment. Hopefully, seeing the pentagram on the same ring with the other symbols gave him reason to reflect.

[Nanda]

Not exactly the same, but...

When I was 14, I bought myself a purple crystal to wear around my neck. I used to like to look into it with a light shining behind it so I could see the imperfections running through it, like thin, spidery scars. My mom observed me doing this one night and demanded to know if I'd joined a cult. >_<

[BFD_Zayl]

ok, well i have faced much unmasked hate over the years....but i think i will share a funny story of ignorance....i was at school, and as you all know i wear me pentacle all the friggin time, under my shirt mostly (its not there to advertise, its for protection and to channel energy) any ways it slipped over my shirt while i was talking to the principal (who happened to be a strict and devout catholic, not that there is anything wrong with that) well anyways he stopped in mid sentace, almost coughed in surprise and he was staring at my neck/chest area intently...which made me question some things...until i looked down and saw my pentacle was exposed, i looked at it, looked at him, he looked at me, i looked back at it, then back at him who was still staring at me...at which point he let out a half surprised/agonized gasp...before i could get a word out he yelled "DEVIL MAN!" to which i could not help but respond..."BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!" while waving my arms around and then i ran out the door, still screaming, and down the hall i went till i rounded the corner, people staring at me, i tucked my pentacle under my shirt, calmly straightend my hair, looked calmly at evryone and said "we're going to have a new principal soon" sure enough, 2 days later we had a new one....

[KSojourner]

Originally Posted by BFD_Zayl

ok, well i have faced much unmasked hate over the years....

Is that why you represent yourself with a picture of Raistlin? (Seriously though, that's just sad that you've had to deal with that.)

Originally Posted by BFD_Zayl

before i could get a word out he yelled "DEVIL MAN!" to which i could not help but respond..."BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!" while waving my arms around and then i ran out the door, still screaming, and down the hall i went till i rounded the corner, people staring at me, i tucked my pentacle under my shirt, calmly straightend my hair, looked calmly at evryone and said "we're going to have a new principal soon" sure enough, 2 days later we had a new one....

That is funny! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!

[BFD_Zayl]

Originally Posted by KSojourner

Is that why you represent yourself with a picture of Raistlin? (Seriously though, that's just sad that you've had to deal with that.)

heh heh, it could be, mostly i have him as an avie because i often gaze from underneathe my hood in a similar manner during rituals, at which point if your lucky enough to actually be present with me, it is not wise to mess around you you will find yourself with a very very peeved necromancer in the midst of his energy looking right at you...in that manner as my avie depicts...*rambles on* and yeah, its is kinda sad...still, I deal with it, better to let them have their way then to try and educate each and every single fool