Its all in the name...

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2009-01-08 18:19:47

Last author: Delladreing
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Or is it? What is really in a name. I am of course referring to "pagan names." Some of them can be rather simple, others can be extremely extravagant. You can see most of them on pagan books, where the author has chosen some obscure and ridiculous name such as say... Silver Ravenwolf. Which really, not only sounds silly, but is also one hell of a mouthful.

The origin of the "craft name" is one that is obscure. There is no way of telling if the original pagans ever used such names as the ones you see these days, it is more than likely that they may have had different names to hide their identity when the inquisition came about. But I doubt it was something like Raven or Wolf. Probably just changing ones name from Joe Bloggs to Jon Smith. After all, what would you say was more heathenish, having the name of an animal, or a good solid Christian name.

In Gardner's original Wicca, it was stated that one should have a separate Craft Name, so that one would not be identifiable in every day life as being a witch if hostility towards the pagan world should ever rise up again. In theory this is a relatively good idea. The same applied to the mark of their pentacles. For those unawares, pentacles should be made of printed wax, therefore it can easily be destroyed if need be. Same applied to keeping books. Never show your Book of Shadows to anyone else and always be prepared to destroy it if need be.

I suppose in today's age where traditionalists of the faith are few and far between the same can be said of your computerised version. If the inquisition comes back don't hesitate to wipe your hard drives and melt down your occult jewellery.

On both counts this is barely a problem for myself. I own more crosses than I do pentacles. My cross, made of white gold given to me by my parents is actually nicer on me than my pentacle, which was again, given to me by those that helped me find my footing in this world of confusing myths and a lot of lies.

The same applies to my "Grimoire", which actually looks more like a cookbook as I have any number of recipes in there for helping with ailments, is also easily destroyable if need be. I've done it before when necessary. My grief at the loss of so much work was far surpassed by the need to survive.

And again, with my pagan name? I suppose when I think about it, [Delladreing], has become my pagan name. I never intended to change my name to something fancy. But then again, nor would I have considered ever living openly as a pagan, I will quite probably remain a closet witch for the rest of my life so long as I use my real name. So I suppose, Dela, has become the part of me that doesn't need to hide who they are for the sake of harmony in one's life.

And unlike some pagan names, I hardly think that Dela ranges on some more of the eccentric ones that I have seen. I think I'd rather shout "Dela!" across a crowded gathering that "Windsong! Windsong!"

Granted, some of who you are as a pagan, may be in your name. But is it vital to think up the most obscure thing possible and plaster it all over a book? No.

I will never assume any other alter ego, other than Dela. The only person that will ever write a pagan book, will be Dela.
I will sign things Dela when dealing with such things.

Rather Dela than something not even remotely recognisable as a normal name and is impossible to say and spell.

I suppose really what I am trying to say, is that if you must have a pagan name, keep it simple. There's no need to name yourself something that sounds so far out it should have bells on.

Think of it from the point of view, that the more down to earth you are in choosing it, the less likely it is that someone else will have the same one as you. How many Silver Ravens do you think there are?

Then ask yourself, how many people have picked a name like Dela, or Imie, or Cara (Imie and Cara by the by being some very old online friends that I never managed to get on to ET, we used to cause chaos in forums, ah the days when it all began *misty eyed*) Then just think how much more special and personal it makes you feel, to know that you are the only one.

That is all.

Stop adding frills to it all, it doesn't help things, it doesn't make you more powerful. Just learn to deal with the fact that you never will be Raven.

-Playgans

2006-06-28 [Linn Scarlett]: *chuckles* yeah, first the romans (roman empire), then the saxons (drove romans a little back), then the french (early middle ages), then the norse (viking age) then the french again (late middle ages), then the brittish (late middle ages), then the french (napoleon), then the german (drove napoleon away) then the french ones more (napoleon back) then the spanish (80year war), then the germans again (first world war), then the itallians AND the german (second world war), then the brittish and americans (they saved us -_-) and now the middle east...

2006-06-28 [Linn Scarlett]: And I am sure i still forgot to mention some -_-

2006-06-28 [Azuri]: lol yea everyone has a bit of everything in them .I just tried tracking but it costs more money than i have :( so i give up unless someone has helpful sites for tracking?

2006-06-28 [sequeena_rae]: Stick some Welsh people in there! XD

2006-06-29 [Fireblade K'Chona]: I'm French and English and German and Norwiegan and Irish and just a bit Native American. Whee?

2006-06-29 [Linn Scarlett]: *nod nod*

2006-06-30 [Pyra]: *raises hand* Let's just say this. My grandfather is very darkskinned, my grandmother slips into speaking German alot, and my cousins are Korean. Haha. They call America "The melting pot" for a reason.

2006-06-30 [Azuri]: *nods* that they do

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: Long ago (14 years, now...), I went from being privately pagan to being actually involved with other practising pagans. At the time, it was a Wiccan group (which I left after about a year and a half, a year and a day of which was spent in a coven). In that context, and at that time, I encountered the concept of the "craft name". I'd been involved with other groups before, which involved the taking of another name (historical recreation, RPGs, whatever), so it wasn't a foreign concept to me. I gave the matter considerable thought, and found the three things which most strongly represented my inner nature, then assembled them into a name. I've used this name ever since, and been published

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: under it, and it is as much a facet of myself as is "Mommy", the name my daughter has called me since she first learned to speak. I use that name because I have reasons for living in the broomcloset (aging fundamentalist inlaws, whom I love and don't want to kill with heart attacks, or cost my husband his family), but I don't view it any differently than I do my legal name (which I also chose for myself, initially in the context of one of those aforementioned groups, before I changed it legally). It is a "true naming" of my self. I could have translated it into another language, or used a name book to find common names which derive from those words, & it would sound perfectly ordinary (as

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: ordinary as "Sally", or "Daisy", each of which is a direct translation of one of my use-names over the years). But I chose to leave it in the comprehensible vernacular of the culture of which I am a part, just as Hebraic people naming their daughters "Sarah" might know that it means "princess". I wanted the meaning to be clear and understandable, so that my name was, in essence, a short introduction to my self. To the uneducated ear, it might sound like another "Silver Ravenwolf" style name -- but I can't imagine calling someone "Silver", while my chosen name is more ordinary than my legal name, and I answer to it as easily. When done with that level of thought, I don't think that there

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: is anything inherently wrong with this practise. But a lot of it comes down to the same thing as most other "are you a Playgan" questions -- seriousness, intent, thought, commitment, those things that divide the practising believer from the follower of trends. As it happens, my pagan usename is also a term which friends (and even bare acquaintances) have used to describe me for years. I don't see this practise as being much different from the acquisition of a nickname, like "Kat" or "Bunny", or "Bubbles". I've had friends with each of those nicknames, and it didn't detract from their commitment to their pagan faith. One of them is a respected published author who was then middle-aged.

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: In sum, as was so beautifully said by Obelix of "Asterix and Obelix", "The robe doesn't make the druid". Nor does the use (or absence) of a secondary name define a person's credibility as a pagan. On the other hand, I have to admit that certain thoughtlines indicate exactly the same problems Playgans decries, as so aptly represented by the pagan wu-name generator programs. My husband once got so sick of them that he's used both "Stygian Budgie" and "Pink Fluffy Clouds" as handles in pagan forums, to point out these issues. ;) But I doubt that those who needed the message got it. He remains "BarleySinger", for the same reasons I chose and use my own name. It's just *him* - it fits him.

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: Oh, one last point -- I know for a fact that I am the only one on the WWW using the name by which I am known in pagan circles. I was even contacted, once, by someone who was considering taking a PART of my name for her own; to the best of my knowledge, if she did so, she dropped it after a short time. I've become known by that name -- and by the same token, that name has become known as ME, in two hemispheres, and across multiple continents. I know that there are at least 3 people in my husband's home town who bear his real name, and many more if you broaden your search to just the three towns in that state inhabited by his family. But there's only one of me. That's good enough for me.

2006-07-22 [Delladreing]: Here here to that.

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: I still liked "Stygian Budgie" and "Pink Fluffy Clouds"... LOL ...it's just a shame that the satire went over the heads of the audience in question. He also considered "Something Dark, Something Astral", which *might* have been obvious enough for that crowd, but you never know. *chuckle*

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: Have you considered linking this page to a "Pagan Wu-Name Generator", with the injunction that "if you can generate your name with this program, it's time to give it further thought"? I can easily hunt one up for you, if you'd like... ...it seems like an apt comment. :)

2006-07-22 [Delladreing]: I think that would be a wonderful idea :D

2006-07-22 [Rondel]: Here we go, this one looks perfect for your purposes: http://www.fjordstone.com/fjo/generator.html -- and it includes a proper diatribe, with links to a "classic version" at the bottom of the page. :) Enjoy! (But I still don't think it will show as much creativity as Stygian Budgie or Pink Fluffy Clouds... ...oh, wait, that's the point... ;)

2006-07-22 [Delladreing]: Hehe yes that is indeed the point, thank you dear :D

2006-07-24 [moonscale]: They can't be serious, please tell me that people aren't that idiotic. Thats just...*faints in horror*

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