Consumer/Adherent

I think I may have found the biggest difference between Numenism and many versions of assorted Pagan religions, particularly those IRAB pagans.

I have some dear friends and family who are heavily into buying all kinds of Pagan paraphernalia: statues, incense burners, candle holders, candles, incense, essential oils, feathers, boxes, altar decorations, books, jewelry, classes, and more. They usually back up their obsession with buying all this clutter with real knowledge (well, they’d have to, or we wouldn’t have much to talk about). But at Gathers, Pagan events, and even online, I’ve met many Pagans who buy all this stuff and haven’t a clue what they are really doing, the history or the reasons behind the traditions and actions, let alone the philosophy and spirituality of it.

They are consumers of paganism. Probably not just paganism – I’ve seen it among Christians, too, with all their crosses, nativity scenes, jesus statues, candles, and stuff.

Most Numenists who travel beyond the Celebrant stage are adherents – they beleive, they study, they learn and know what they are doing.

I used to use the metaphor of the honeybees to explain the difference between most pagans and the pagans who are productive – the productive ones are the honeybees (duh!), and the others were the honeystealers, the ones who would take the honey produced and use it for themselves. Since the bees knew they could make more honey, there wasn’t a problem with sharing. But the honeystealers got greedy, and they want to take all the honey the honeybees produce, leaving them with nothing with which to overwinter – and a lot of the honeybees decided they weren’t going to share their honey anymore.

But I think I like the metaphor of the consumers and adherents better. The consumers use spiritual ideas and concepts and discard them, looking for the new improved version. The adherents live their spiritual concepts.