Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

BLOOD

Seen almost universally in nearly every modern Pagan Path and Tradition as a symbol of the Life Force itself as well as a symbol of passion and sexuality As such, in Wicca and most - if not all - other forms of modern Paganism, the shedding of blood in ritual (blood Sacrifice) is considered abhorrent and an affront to the Life Force.

The Coven I was involved in would NEVER have indulged in blood Sacrifices. In fact - even though we practiced what many term 'Black Magick' - like most other Covens we would no doubt have informed the Police if we had positive knowledge of another group or individual/s doing such a thing. We certainly did when we had dead cats deposited by Christians on our doorstep. (see My Testimony)

Wiccans and Neo-Pagans are (by reason of their belief that the blood of any creature is 'sacred') extremely sensitive to and genuinely appalled at such acts - no matter what 'Tradition' or 'Path' they follow - and the major 'umbrella' organizations such as Pagan Federation (UK), Covenant of the Goddess (US) and Pagan Alliance (here in Australia) readily report any known instances of this sort of abuse to Law Enforcement and have been known to provide 'expert' witnesses to assist in the successful prosecution of such cases.

That said... there are unfortunately 'nutcases' out there who do practice such acts.

However, they most certainly are not Wiccans or Neo-Pagans - no matter what 'label' they may use to describe themselves.

I personally would suspect that the fact they commit such cruel and brutal acts has much more to do with their 'mental state' rather than any religious/spiritual 'trappings' that they would 'dress it up' with.

Suffice it to say that despite the hysterical claims of well-meaning (though sadly ill-informed) Christians, the media and others, Wiccans most definitely DO NOT practice blood Sacrifices! Though it should be noted that some - though by no means all - Paths within Neo-Paganism (including the WebMaster's old Coven) allow the use of the practitioners own blood in magickal workings as a means of 'strengthening' and/or directing a magickal working.

In a magickal sense; blood represents union and linking in general. The Blood Mysteries are marked by Birth, Sex, and Death. Menstrual blood is considered magickal in lunar cults.

The flow of blood, and its ceasing, are both intimately connected to the Women's Mysteries. Menstruation, pregnancy, child-birth, and menopause are all aspects of the life cycle of women.

Blood, or its absence; naturally marks the transformational stages of a woman, from the breaking of the hymen, to the blood of childbirth, to the cessation of bleeding at menopause.

see also ANIMISM; SACRIFICE

OTHER RESOURCES:
see HARD FACTS ABOUT SATANIC RITUAL ABUSE in the ARTICLES Section of this Site.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc