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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 16:04:08 GMT -5
Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jan 20, 2011 16:04:08 GMT -5
Okay, I'm an atheist. I'm fairly solidly atheist, though I try to be open minded about alternative ways of thinking (I'm considering attending my Christian roommate's church one Sunday, and I'm hoping to go to Terra Blue with my Wiccan roommate). Frankly, I don't believe in any sort of 'supernatural' (however that's defined) or 'higher' beings.
So what does it mean when I'm drawn to the idea of rituals? I love crystals, I love symbolism of days/numbers/etc., I'm considering buying several ritual books, etc. I don't believe in this stuff, but I want to participate in it.
Am I just insane?
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 16:09:03 GMT -5
Post by MaybeNever on Jan 20, 2011 16:09:03 GMT -5
Your love for rituals pretty much means you're human. There's something in our psychology that makes us fond of such things. I seriously doubt you're crazy - such things are normal, after all - but several mental disorders do heavily involve a person's inability to escape from such rituals; OCD is surely the front-runner, but others such as autism and even anxiety disorders show elements of this as well.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 16:44:53 GMT -5
Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 20, 2011 16:44:53 GMT -5
Because it's cool. Your Avatar lends itself to a convenient example. Organization XIII isn't a remotely religious group. Yet they all wear hooded robes, Xemnas speaks to the moon on an altar, & they do other clandestine, ritualistic actions. Why? Because it's cool.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 16:50:36 GMT -5
Post by gyeonghwa on Jan 20, 2011 16:50:36 GMT -5
Rituals need not be ecclesiastical. One can consider such things as birthday parties as being a ritual.
Even if you don't believe in the religious nature of the ritual, you can still appreciate the aesthetic or anthropological aspect of it. (Unless is some heinous ritual that involves murder.)
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 17:15:07 GMT -5
Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 20, 2011 17:15:07 GMT -5
...Which can still be cool.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 18:45:38 GMT -5
Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jan 20, 2011 18:45:38 GMT -5
I dunno, ritual murder can be rather unimpressive:
"*looks up at the basilisk* Ah- *DEAD*" "MWAHAHAHA. I haaaave the power!"
Seriously, though, at least now I know I'm not completely crazy. Good to know, good to know.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 18:58:49 GMT -5
Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 20, 2011 18:58:49 GMT -5
Or it can be very impressive. See having your soul eaten over the course of 3 days by ghost dragons coming out of a statue's mouth.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 19:00:49 GMT -5
Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jan 20, 2011 19:00:49 GMT -5
See, that's the kind of ritual that sounds very hard to control. What if they turn out to be very hungry and decide your soul looks like filet mignon?
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 19:25:06 GMT -5
Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 20, 2011 19:25:06 GMT -5
Without going into the context, the only known danger to screwing it up is having to start over from Step 1. And it apparently wasn't that taxing, as they could still shoot the shit while doing it.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 19:31:48 GMT -5
Post by tgrwulf on Jan 20, 2011 19:31:48 GMT -5
I'm an atheist too, and I actually find Wiccan rituals to be quite interesting. If you find it to be neat just because of the fact that it's interesting, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
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syndrome
Full Member
The meaning of life is Sausage.
Posts: 137
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 21:48:42 GMT -5
Post by syndrome on Jan 20, 2011 21:48:42 GMT -5
I'm borderline Atheist, and I personally think that rituals are pretty neat, regardless of what I believe in. I like the really complex ones that I have noticed a few new age "Pagans/Wiccans?" (I'm not sure if those are the correct terms) that I know. I like the majik circles and symbols used in them, also the crystals and amulets used as summoning tools and healing wands, ect.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 22:38:53 GMT -5
Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 20, 2011 22:38:53 GMT -5
I like the one I saw on National Geographic involving insanely hot women naked in the forest.
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 23:03:31 GMT -5
Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jan 20, 2011 23:03:31 GMT -5
I'm borderline Atheist, and I personally think that rituals are pretty neat, regardless of what I believe in. I like the really complex ones that I have noticed a few new age "Pagans/Wiccans?" (I'm not sure if those are the correct terms) that I know. I like the majik circles and symbols used in them, also the crystals and amulets used as summoning tools and healing wands, ect. I loooove those. I don't have any, but I sure as hell plan on getting them...I also really want a crystal ball for some reason, I'd just have to keep an eye out to make sure my roommate doesn't steal it (she really wants one, too, the decent ones are just so expensive). And Lithp, are you sure you're not talking about Blair Witch Project 2? *ducks*
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 23:14:28 GMT -5
Post by Admiral Lithp on Jan 20, 2011 23:14:28 GMT -5
No. There was an episode of...think it was Taboo...about nudity. It gave me a very skewed view of Wicca. And a very unwanted view of protestantism.
What's with the ducks?
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syndrome
Full Member
The meaning of life is Sausage.
Posts: 137
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Rituals
Jan 20, 2011 23:26:39 GMT -5
Post by syndrome on Jan 20, 2011 23:26:39 GMT -5
Not too long ago I went and bought some crystals from a little store called "Healing Arts" They had all these neat-o looking Crystal balls, wands, and Dowsing rods. I felt weird going in there all the time given how I feel towards a lot of the philosophies, but it's really a fun place to go. I saw I flier that said something to the effect of "Beginning Herbal Alchemy Classes" a while back. I had thought about going, but chickened out.
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