wiccans/pagans and drug use..

so do/can wiccans and pagans make use of drugs for spiritual and recreational reasons?

 

Yes, I took two tylenol this morning.

 

I'd say recreational use, but not ritual use. Not for me at least.

 

I smoke the mother herb recreationally, medicinally, and sacramentally.

i have also had positive results taking half a glass of wine before meditation, when i have been stressed or unsettled and have difficulty stilling my mind.

taking my morning coffee with John Lennon (the poster in my kitchen. yes as a matter of fact i do talk to it) has almost become a sacred ritual for me!

 

I greet my john lennon poster when I get home from work. It is hanging right inside the front door, and it's the first thing I see when I come in.

 

I don't even like taking aspirin, let alone anything else. I feel like it's cheating if you use drugs fro rituals.

 

Well i Think it's okay to use drugs in rituals... I think it helps a lot!
I use mushrooms, dxm and kannabis...

 

'do what ye will'............and that includes drugs, 'if it harm none'.

 

That's Wiccan but I suppose the principle applies.

 

When I do spells or healing I never use
drugs....I like to be a clear channel for
whatever comes through to me..

 

I use the herb for smoke rituals.

 

Depends. I've found pot to be more of a detriment for rit as it can give me anxiety but shrooms work really nicely, when appropriate.

 

my ritual use of pot is probably more as a celebratory sacrament than as a tool for altering consciousness. likewise, i don't really enjoy social drinking, but half a glass of wine i find is a good aid for shifting consciousness when i'm meeting inner resistance to letting go. again, that's for me. everyone's body is differnt, and will react differntly to recreational and sacramental drugs just as it does to medicinal drugs and herbs.

 

It depends on the ritual.
I don't do it, as I prefer to keep a very clear head during rituals and whatnot, be able to remember everything that happened very well, etc.

 

The question asked

So I think it definitely applies.

 

I think the point Zoomie was trying to make was that not all Pagans are Wiccan. Also, there are many different interpretations of the Rede, even among Wiccans. It's not as simplistic as it looks on the surface.

 

Thank you Kitty, that's what I meant. Not everyone lives by that particular philosophy. In our tuath, we live by the credo "To the Courageous, all things belong". This is often misconstrued as my right to take your land, your possessions, your livestock, your lifemate and your soul if I so desire. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's closer to the Zen philosophy that everything is nothing, nothing is everything.

My apologies for turning this from a discussion of drug use to a discussion of philosophy.

 

Right, well I know that, the OP obviously knows that, as they said pagans and wiccans.

In my view the rede comes from Aleister Crowley via Gardener/Valiente to occupy it's present place in wicca. It is really a simplified form of Crowley's 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law'. That could certainly include drug use.

 

i just noticed you're in England. Pardon me, from what I've observed the Pagan culture over there is different than it is here. Over here there's such a strong presence of Christian fundamentalists that many Wiccans (who tend to be more visible and "out" than other Pagans, and get more publicity), really stress and over-simplify the Rede, repeating it ad nauseum in percieved self-defense but often in the process becoming rather fundamentalist themselves. (No religion, not even ours, is safe from fundamentalism, because some people aren't going to "get it" no matter what language you phrase it in.) Anyway, as a result, the Pagan community seems to have become rather divided between those who cling to the Rede as a simplistic, absolute law for safety and protection and those who find more wisdom in its interpretation as a meditative guideline. Moderate, non-Wiccan Pagans often feel stuck in the middle, being pummelled by Christian fundamentalists on one side and Wiccan fundies on the other. So when someone quotes the Rede without the "this is my way of viewing it" disclaimer, we bristle just as much as having the Bible flung at us by Christian fundies. It's an unfortunate cultural chain reaction. Of course, there is wisdom in both the Rede and the Bible, but unfortunately it's often the case that neither are used wisely.

I attended a workshop on Crowley once. I'm not a ceremonialist by a long-shot, in fact my ritual style has become rather minimalist over the years, after going through a bit of a deconstructionist phase. At any rate, it's my understanding that that Crowley's "Do what thou wilt" statement is also often simplified and misunderstood. The entire phrase is "Do as you Will shall be the whole of the Law, Love is the Law, Love under Will." Note the capitals: Will, Law and Love. These are not simplistic constructs of ego he's talking about. The Will he refers to is True Will, which is more like Higher Purpose than the little "w" will temper tantrums of the ego, as it is often interpreted. "Law" refers to the natural order of the universe, not a rule made up to be followed. The second sentence is really important: "Love is the Law, Love under Will." I think that this has a lot to do with letting go of resitence to the Universe, the True Will that is your unique application of the Law. When we stop fighting it all, then Love (that is, Greater Love, not just the "warm fuzzies") is the natural consequence, even when our ego feels like it's getting fucked over.

Whether or not that was actually Crowley's intent when he wrote that statement, I have no idea. But I find wisdom in that interpretation, regardless. And yes, it would most certainly apply to drug use. Drugs are powerful and often dangerous teachers. Sometimes their lesson lies mainly in remembering Who is really in "control".

My own personal guiding philosophy at the moment, however, comes neither from the Rede or Crowley, and can be summed up as "Just transcend the bullshit, man!" Which means essentially the same thing.

 

Welcome to my world. And people wonder why I drink...