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Which city is the best city for pagans/wiccans/heathens ? Definitely no where near the bible belt, that much I know ...
Don't be so sure. I have a friend who is involved with a very active pagan community in Memphis. I realize that's a big city, whereas hard core bible belt tends to be more rural, but nevertheless, he is near the buckle.
Regarding Salem, I tend to agree with the statement that it offers a very commercialized, tourist-centric version, but if you scratch bellow the surface, you will also find a very large and authentic community, which spreads well beyond Salem itself, throughout a good portion of North Eastern Massachusetts.
Of all the peoples in Europe, Scandinavians are the ones who most remember their old gods and pre-christian folklore. I think this has made people in the Twin Cities more receptive to paganism.
I've known some pagans here, they aren't too hard to find.
For goddess sake, don’t be so uptight. I live in Salem and I know a few practicing wiccans personally. They are not Holloween trinket shop owners. You are judging them because there happen to be some small business owners in Salem that own shops selling nostalgic Halloween trinkets, which happens to be a big celebration here. You go as far as saying they ought to be ashamed of themselves. You didn’t actually meet the practicing wiccans here did you? Did you stop by Lori Cabot’s witch shop on Pickering Wharf? It’s nothing like you described. She’s very highly respected in the community and by Wiccans from all over, as is Lori Bruno. They are very accessible and people come from all over to meet them, and neither of them are hocus pocus like you have judged the wiccans in Salem to be.
There are several museums here depicting the history of the witch accusation hysteria and trials in 1692. Many of them offer great insight into the lessons of religious tolerance learned from the witch trials. They become a foundation for the separation between church and state and freedom to practice the religion of your choice. There are museums and historical homes with educated historians educating the what you would call "uninformed masses" if you will.
OK, so perhaps the Halloween commercialization can be a bit overdone, but Halloween is a very big deal here and it’s a lot of fun and appreciated by many. Holloween is suppose to be fun; has your sense of humor escaped you? The wiccans here don’t seem to be too offended by it. To call it blasphomous is being a bit mellodramatic.
There is so much more to Salem than your narrow perceptions of it. It was once a prosperous seafaring merchant port in the 18th century, the city had many manufacturing jobs during the industrial revolution. It was home to famous novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne; author of The Scarlet Letter and the House of Seven Gables. It's also a college town home to Salem State University putting a youthful energy into the city. There are many excellent restaurants to dine in, a large selection of pubs and lounges with great atmosphere, and it’s a wonderful city to live in with lots of interesting people. So we hold no shame in that. Your narrow perceptions colored by your judgment based upon a handful of trinket & souvenir shops and psychic studios; Salem is so much more than that. I feel the presence of goddess here, it’s quite lovely and I'm very grateful to live here.
I agree completely on all counts.
I'm Pagan and I LOVE Salem. You don't have to buy all those touristy witchy trinkets. )O(
I'd say Portland, San Francisco, Boulder, and Salem.
Portland and Boulder because there's more trees and greenery so you can feel connected to the earth.
But Salem and San Francisco I think have more actual adherents to the Pagan tradition. Though something tells me Salem would be more superficial and San Francisco more intellectual when it comes to Paganism.
Like Salem would be more about spells and witchcraft and Halloween whereas SF would be more about environmental protection and the more political and intellectual sides of Paganism.
But hey I've never been to any of these just read about them... I think as long as you can find a sanctuary where you're close to nature and some like minded friends everywhere is a good place to be Pagan!
I'm a pagan too but live in Miami, FL... not much nature, liberals, or Pagans here.
I'd say Portland, San Francisco, Boulder, and Salem.
Portland and Boulder because there's more trees and greenery so you can feel connected to the earth.
But Salem and San Francisco I think have more actual adherents to the Pagan tradition. Though something tells me Salem would be more superficial and San Francisco more intellectual when it comes to Paganism.
Like Salem would be more about spells and witchcraft and Halloween whereas SF would be more about environmental protection and the more political and intellectual sides of Paganism.
But hey I've never been to any of these just read about them... I think as long as you can find a sanctuary where you're close to nature and some like minded friends everywhere is a good place to be Pagan!
I'm a pagan too but live in Miami, FL... not much nature, liberals, or Pagans here.
That superfical side is just starting now, it is only there around Halloween, then it's just a regular city.
This whole thread makes me laugh. SF vs. Salem. The flying spaghetti monster is alive and well and living in SF, but apparently visits Salem each October.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4
That superfical side is just starting now, it is only there around Halloween, then it's just a regular city.
Salem has four centuries of historical architecture, an impressive endowment of museums for a city its size, a historical seaport, a thriving downtown with lots of pubs and restaurants, a college town, and an active practicing pagan/wiccan community; I'd say its more than just a regualr city even when it's not Halloween.
Manitou Springs which is due west and actually part of the Colorado Springs metro is well known for it's Wiccan/Pagan community as well as it's hippie throw back vibe. People often pigeonhole the Colorado Springs area as one big fundamentalist assembly line..and of course Boulder (San Francisco of the Rockies) has it's share....
Ithaca, NY and Asheville, NC!!! No question in my mind.
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