Pop Culture Paganism: Overcoming Feelings of Silliness

[goblin-queen]

I love magical girl anime; particularly Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, I find them rich with symbolism and a great source of "energy avatars". Sailor Moon in particular provides great source of these; I'm a very visual person so prefer to have images that depict certain energies and the Sailor Senshi are really helpful in that regard.

I really want to incorporate the characters into my practise a bit more but I feel kind of... silly?

Maybe because magical girl anime in particular is still seen as kinda childish, or that anime figures might look a tad out of place on a more formal shrine or altar. Whatever the reason, it's entirely self-created; I know no-one would judge, least of all the deities I work with.

I'm considering maybe using substitutes, such as candles, although that kind of defeats the point of having more concrete representation. Seeing the characters would allow me to better connect with the energies that they represent, thus creating a more conducive atmosphere for smooth spellwork.

I suppose another way around it could be to commission an artist to draw them in more "fitting" attire, rather than in their sailor uniforms.

Anyway, I'd love to know if any pop culture pagans out there have/had similar personal blocks in regards to their practise. 

[Stranger Things]

Anyway, I'd love to know if any pop culture pagans out there have/had similar personal blocks in regards to their practise. 

I know someone who worships Yoda. The divine forms are concepts we create, thought forms to personify that which we can't otherwise handle. So it is not childish at all if it works for you. And you don't need formal. Envision how you'd like it to fit together and go by that.

[Sefiru]

Maybe because magical girl anime in particular is still seen as kinda childish, or that anime figures might look a tad out of place on a more formal shrine or altar.

I suppose another way around it could be to commission an artist to draw them in more "fitting" attire, rather than in their sailor uniforms.

It might be worthwhile to spend some time meditating on why you feel this way; why are sailor uniforms not 'fitting attire' for deity? Why are magical girl stories seen as 'childish'? There is a lot of cultural baggage about gender roles and assumptions about what is and isn't worthy of reverence to unpack there.

In the words of the inimitable Shadowjack Watches Sailor Moon (recommended reading, by the way):

What I find fascinating about the series is that it really is girl power in action. It does not take traditionally "masculine" action tropes and simply gender swap them, no, and it does not deny or condemn the attraction of the pretty princess fantasy. Instead, it takes all the "feminine" girly stuff like frilly princess dresses and pink unicorns and makes them into implements of power. The hypothetical girl in the audience is being told that she can be as girly as she likes and still dream of growing up into power and responsibility. Feminine articles are not shackles or playthings to be eschewed, or tools good only for obtaining the approval of men — they are treated as cool and desirable things, in and of themselves.

[Jenett]

I really want to incorporate the characters into my practise a bit more but I feel kind of... silly?

Maybe because magical girl anime in particular is still seen as kinda childish, or that anime figures might look a tad out of place on a more formal shrine or altar. Whatever the reason, it's entirely self-created; I know no-one would judge, least of all the deities I work with.

Not pop culture practitioner, but I think in a lot of cases, this is a "what do you want the style of your altar/shrine to be" - barring, of course, any specifics from a particular path about what has to be there. (Not a consideration in your case, but it's something I keep in mind, because my tradition does have some specific things.)

I think about things on my shrine both in terms of practical use (a cup to put liquid offerings in, a candle for this purpose, wanting my athame out for use, etc.) and then also in terms of "What does this whole thing look like when I look at it?"

For me, having the items on the shrine be in some sort of coherent visual mode with each other matters. I don't mean that everything matches stylistically, but the saturation of the colours is roughly similar, no one item stands out as vastly different than the others, etc.

For other people, this might not matter as much - and I've seen some very cool shrine spaces with a deeply eclectic and varied use of objects and styles and origins of items. It wouldn't work for me, but it's not my shrine, it doesn't have to.

One thing you might want to consider is about the material uses - plastic (or resin, or other things like that) for many people, holds energy in a different way than ceramics, glass, stone, etc. Depending on what your practices are (are these items purely a visual focus or decoration?), you might want to explore having something else that holds energy differently (a small offering bowl with something in it, for example) as part of the mix. Again, might not matter to you at all.

The last piece is "what are other people going to think about it" which is a question of where your shrine or altar is, who has access to it or might see it. I have seen some people who have more obviously pop-culture setups have a harder time convincing friends not to, say, randomly pick up a figure and handle it, or avoid leaving small items (soda can, keys, etc.) on the surface. (People do this with more traditional looking shrines/altars too, mind you.)

If no one's going to see it but you or a small number of people who you can train not to touch it (like a partner, other people living in the space, etc.) that may be different than if you've got it in a fairly public space in a house with a lot of social events, you know? in the latter case, doing things that make it more obviously a 'this is not for general handling' (through what items you put out, how things are arranged, how easy it is to pick things up or leave something on a flat surface of the shrine) might be worth some attention.

However, I think there's something to be said for either completely embracing eclectic style

[Kylara]

I love magical girl anime; particularly Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, I find them rich with symbolism and a great source of "energy avatars". Sailor Moon in particular provides great source of these; I'm a very visual person so prefer to have images that depict certain energies and the Sailor Senshi are really helpful in that regard.

I really want to incorporate the characters into my practise a bit more but I feel kind of... silly?

Maybe because magical girl anime in particular is still seen as kinda childish, or that anime figures might look a tad out of place on a more formal shrine or altar. Whatever the reason, it's entirely self-created; I know no-one would judge, least of all the deities I work with.

I'm considering maybe using substitutes, such as candles, although that kind of defeats the point of having more concrete representation. Seeing the characters would allow me to better connect with the energies that they represent, thus creating a more conducive atmosphere for smooth spellwork.

I suppose another way around it could be to commission an artist to draw them in more "fitting" attire, rather than in their sailor uniforms.

Anyway, I'd love to know if any pop culture pagans out there have/had similar personal blocks in regards to their practise. 

I don't tend to call myself a pop-culture Pagan....but I have smurfs and a troll doll on my altar space (among other things like meeples, fantasy-dice-miniatures and a small gnome doll).  Actually my main bedroom altar also has a small stuffed cat right now.

For me, I sometimes feel like having 'childish' spiritual things helps me bridge the sides of my brain better.  I have a lot of highly analytical aspects, but I'm also pretty good at thinking things through logically...and then just going with my gut.  I can know the why's behind a thing and still have it feel magical.  But sometimes, hitting those feels is harder, and toys tend to evoke emotions in me more (I'm much more likely to gravitate towards a well crafted toy than a well crafted historical statue replica...something about some of the art styles of the past just don't work for me, but I grew up on comic books and cartoons, so kids toys bring me right back to childhood when everything was magic).

I guess I'm also lucky that most of the other Pagans near me aren't too fussy about stuff like that, so I don't really feel like I need to worry about outside judgement (and hubby finds all of my stuff a bit incomprehensible, so toys aren't any more ridiculous to him than actual statues or tools...he fully supports me believing what I believe, he just doesn't 'get' it).

It might be worth sitting down and spending some time thinking/journaling about why some things feel silly to you.  Are these feelings that come from inside yourself or ones that you feel are coming from outside?  If you feel that spiritual stuff 'should' be a certain way, why do you think you feel like that?  Are there situations in the past where you or someone else has made you feel like you weren't enough in your practice (like the stuff you were doing wasn't 'real' enough)?  And then finally spend a bit of time thinking about why you want to use these things in your practice (what do they give you that other things don't, how do they support you, how do they make your practice better).  Sometimes really looking into and thinking about stuff like this helps you see what's important to you and what's not.

[PerditaPickle]

The divine forms are concepts we create, thought forms to personify that which we can't otherwise handle.

I like how you put this, it rather resonates with me.

And you don't need formal. Envision how you'd like it to fit together and go by that.

I like this advice, too.

I'm considering maybe using substitutes, such as candles, although that kind of defeats the point of having more concrete representation. Seeing the characters would allow me to better connect with the energies that they represent, thus creating a more conducive atmosphere for smooth spellwork.

My first thought was to place icons of your chosen characters, printed/drawn on card, each leant against a candle.  Of course, this creates the problem that you have to be extremely careful to remove the icon anytime you wish to light the candle due to the obvious fire risk otherwise (never be tempted to light the candle 'just for a minute' with the card still in place, in case there's then a distraction such as a knock at the door or anything).

[Sefiru]

My first thought was to place icons of your chosen characters, printed/drawn on card, each leant against a candle. 

It would work if the candle was is a jar or something, with the image on the outside.

[goblin-queen]

It might be worthwhile to spend some time meditating on why you feel this way; why are sailor uniforms not 'fitting attire' for deity? Why are magical girl stories seen as 'childish'? There is a lot of cultural baggage about gender roles and assumptions about what is and isn't worthy of reverence to unpack there.

I know what my hang-ups are, I just need to figure out how to either work round them or work through them. I also don't see them as being as "unworthy"; simply jarring.

For example; the sailor uniform pulls me out of my "spell-working mindset" because of modern day associations with the outfit. Whereas when I work with deities I picture them dressed in traditional attire. It just creates a bit of mental whiplash going between the two.

[goblin-queen]

And you don't need formal. Envision how you'd like it to fit together and go by that.

I may not need it, but I do prefer it when I'm practising; it helps to keep me focused on the task at hand. If I'm just having a general chat then ofc it's informal, but actual spellworking for me needs to be formal.

[goblin-queen]

It would work if the candle was is a jar or something, with the image on the outside.

Or if the image was mod-podged onto the jar.

[Noctua]

I love magical girl anime; particularly Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, I find them rich with symbolism and a great source of "energy avatars". Sailor Moon in particular provides great source of these; I'm a very visual person so prefer to have images that depict certain energies and the Sailor Senshi are really helpful in that regard.

I really want to incorporate the characters into my practise a bit more but I feel kind of... silly?

Maybe because magical girl anime in particular is still seen as kinda childish, or that anime figures might look a tad out of place on a more formal shrine or altar. Whatever the reason, it's entirely self-created; I know no-one would judge, least of all the deities I work with.

I'm considering maybe using substitutes, such as candles, although that kind of defeats the point of having more concrete representation. Seeing the characters would allow me to better connect with the energies that they represent, thus creating a more conducive atmosphere for smooth spellwork.

I suppose another way around it could be to commission an artist to draw them in more "fitting" attire, rather than in their sailor uniforms.

Anyway, I'd love to know if any pop culture pagans out there have/had similar personal blocks in regards to their practise. 

Over 20 years ago there was an exhibit on Haitian Vodou at the Field Museum in Chicago. In that exhibit they had several examples of actual altars to the different loa. One that really stuck out for me was Baron Samedi, because on his altar front and center was a foot-tall statue of Darth Vader. It's less about the representation to the overculture, and more about what it means to the person making the altar IMO

[Ashmire]

I love magical girl anime; particularly Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, I find them rich with symbolism and a great source of "energy avatars". Sailor Moon in particular provides great source of these; I'm a very visual person so prefer to have images that depict certain energies and the Sailor Senshi are really helpful in that regard.

I really want to incorporate the characters into my practise a bit more but I feel kind of... silly?

Maybe because magical girl anime in particular is still seen as kinda childish, or that anime figures might look a tad out of place on a more formal shrine or altar. Whatever the reason, it's entirely self-created; I know no-one would judge, least of all the deities I work with.

I'm considering maybe using substitutes, such as candles, although that kind of defeats the point of having more concrete representation. Seeing the characters would allow me to better connect with the energies that they represent, thus creating a more conducive atmosphere for smooth spellwork.

I suppose another way around it could be to commission an artist to draw them in more "fitting" attire, rather than in their sailor uniforms.

Anyway, I'd love to know if any pop culture pagans out there have/had similar personal blocks in regards to their practise. 

I'm a bit late to this thread because I've been formulating my thoughts on it.  I'm kind of at the border of "is and is not" with pop culture paganism because I do see my patron as an actual formerly human entity and not a mere thoughtform given power by the collective consciousness, even if that adds to it.  But he is very much a pop culture figure and subject to the allegations of "silliness" that follow all such entities.  But one thing he's often made a point of drawing my attention to is how, with many Taoist Immortals, their willingness to appear "silly" in the eyes of the world is actually implied at times to be a part of what makes them powerful.  Of course, there are also times to insist on one's proper dignity, but it's more about doing things on one's own terms than about wearing symbols of authority.

   Another thought is that, although I do see how the grandeur of ancient regalia may in some cases confer a kind of dignity that, say, ratty PJs or a bikini wouldn't, I also often feel like presenting deities in only ancient traditional clothing may actually make them seem a bit out of touch and foolish in itself.  I remember a while back an artist did a series of images of the Egyptian pantheon in modern business attire, etc. and I really felt that seemed entirely logical and fitting to me.  Of course, having worked with Sekhmet, I'd also have to say that what She's wearing is one of the least noticeable points of the experience.