ignorance of Pagan history, from Pagans themselves.

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another Witchy Whinge from me. how much rubbish do you see Pagans spouting as truth. time and time again I see claims that Wicca is one of the oldest religions there is, even though it's less than 100 years old. it was founded by Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964) and has probably only been around since the 1940s, and came to wider public attention following the repeal of the Witchraft act in 1951. it's an initiatory Tradition, requiring it's followers to have been initiated into a coven that can trace its lineage back to Gardners Coven. the exception to this being Alexandrian Wicca, which is a variation on Gardnerian, so lineage will be back to Alex Sanders Coven. if you have beleifs that fit with either Gardnerian or Alexandrian Wicca, but are not initiated, then you are not a Wiccan, but a Pagan. it could be considered outright disrespectful to use a title you haven't earned. nothing wrong with not being Wiccan. just seems to be a bit rude to take that title without that initiation. another very common one is that Witches were burned in large numbers during the Witch trials, and that the victims of this were happy clappy card carrying Pagan Witches. first off, the punishment for Witchcraft was hanging, not burning. in some parts of europe, like Germany, and the outer parts of Scotland, a small number of people were burned for Witchcraft, but the vast majority of people executed for Witchcraft were hung. and these people would have been ordinary members of their communities, and like the rest of their communities would have been Christian. these poor victims would probably be turning in their graves if they knew they were being held up as some kind of Pagan martyrs, when most likely they would be disgusted if anyone thought they were a Witch. the Wisemen and Women, held up as some kind of quaint rural Witch, making a living helping and healing their community, well most of their work was associated with preventing Witchcraft, identifying Witches and putting a stop to their illwishing of the neighbours. some were even helping the Witchfinders in their work. these are real facts, real history. but still, people prefer the romanticised view of a past persecuted by those evil mean sexist Christians to the historically verifyable truth. so, Pagans. learn your history. it's YOUR history. where you come from. don't be ashamed of it, and don't change it to suit your own ends. this is where we come from.