Is Sacrificing Goats a Dark Art?

[Lasseh1987]

Old witchcraft has a practice of blood sacrifice to release the spirit of the animal to use in magickal workings. Nothing evil about it, just a ritual practice

[Fier]

Oh! TC rule #1, broken!

Thanks a lot Aisling...

 
*hands Cat a towel*

[Fier]

I met a person through a friend that told me about his former co worker... He said every Samhain he would require a few days off to perform rituals. He then said that the ritual consisted of sacrificing a goat? What is everyone's thought of this? Is this a Dark Arts magician? I've heard of doing blood sacrifices, but never an animal. What tradition is this considered?

 

I used to think that sacrificing of animals was a horrible thing that made me squick. But when I learned more about it I found that the animal being sacrificed was usually eaten by the people afterward. Normally the animal is one we'd consider a food animal - chicken, goat, sheep, cow. Since I am a meat eater, it was pretty hypocritical of me to be disgusted by these practices.

I have never witnessed an animal sacrifice in person, but from what I've read and seen on tv, the steps are usually something like: pray, kill, offer, cook, eat. The only difference between animal sacrifice (in those kinds of cases) and animal slaughter are that animal slaughter does not include the praying and offering to gods. And in the case of animal sacrifice, the animal might even be treated better prior to the killing and killed more humanly.

So, if people want to kill their food in honor of their god and offer the god a portion, more power to them. If people are just killing the animal and wasting its body, then I have problems.

Some tribal African religions do animal sacrifice, but I couldn't tell you which ones exactly. Probably many other places in the world too.

[Marukai]

Your friend said it was for Samhain, that sounds Wiccan to me. The sacrificing goats part sounds like he was making a joke with you, about a stereotype that a few non-Pagans might have, of Wiccans. So, I think that he invited you to laugh with him, to laugh at other people, because those other people would think that he practices the dark arts and sacrifices goats... and that thinking is not correct, therefore it is funny for him to laugh at.

The movie Dangerous Ground had a goat sacrifice as part of the funeral rite of the family of the main character. That does not mean that every time somebody sacrifices a goat, that it is a cinematic art! It does not.

So... a sacrifice is a sacrifice. A goat is a goat. What is a Dark Art?

 

Not joking at all. He told me all about this guy... The guy was really into helping people with cancer. He would let his hair grow long during the winter and then shave it off and donate it to be made into wigs for cancer patients. He seems to be of a good nature, but I haven't established what the purpose of the goat sacrifice.

[Fausta]

Not joking at all. He told me all about this guy... The guy was really into helping people with cancer. He would let his hair grow long during the winter and then shave it off and donate it to be made into wigs for cancer patients. He seems to be of a good nature, but I haven't established what the purpose of the goat sacrifice.

 
To point that several posters tried to get across to you is that quite likely there was no goat sacrifice at all. The one joking was not your friend, but your friend's former co-worker.

[Thorn]

To point that several posters tried to get across to you is that quite likely there was no goat sacrifice at all. The one joking was not your friend, but your friend's former co-worker.

And even if there was a goat sacrifice, which seems unlikely since it's such a go-to joke for some pagans when dealing with those who aren't, it could have been for many, many purposes very few of them "dark."  And even fewer evil purposes (since the OP seems to be unaware that "dark" =/= "evil" outside of the Potterverse.)

[Chabas]

Old witchcraft has a practice of blood sacrifice to release the spirit of the animal to use in magickal workings. Nothing evil about it, just a ritual practice

 

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[Fausta]

And even if there was a goat sacrifice, which seems unlikely since it's such a go-to joke for some pagans when dealing with those who aren't, it could have been for many, many purposes very few of them "dark."  And even fewer evil purposes (since the OP seems to be unaware that "dark" =/= "evil" outside of the Potterverse.)

Agreed. A goat (pig, sheep, chicken...) can be slaughtered and instead of being just for food, it can be for offering to the gods as well and because of this, sacrifice.

[Juniper]

I used to think that sacrificing of animals was a horrible thing that made me squick. But when I learned more about it I found that the animal being sacrificed was usually eaten by the people afterward. Normally the animal is one we'd consider a food animal - chicken, goat, sheep, cow. Since I am a meat eater, it was pretty hypocritical of me to be disgusted by these practices.

Agreed. I am a vegetarian, and yet I too have no problem with this. Just because I don't eat meat it doesn't mean that I think that no-one else should either.

To be honest I prefer the idea of eating an animal after it has been sacrificed to the Gods. It makes me feel that the animal is respected, and it's life is considered important enough to use in sacrifice. I much prefer this thought than I do hunting an animal for sport. Yes I know that a lot of people eat the animal they've killed afterwards and that's great, but in the area where I live there is a lot of 'my gun is bigger than your gun' type bullshit that I can't abide. Hunting for food is one thing but personally I do not care for blood sports.

[yewberry]

I met a person through a friend that told me about his former co worker... He said every Samhain he would require a few days off to perform rituals. He then said that the ritual consisted of sacrificing a goat? What is everyone's thought of this? Is this a Dark Arts magician? I've heard of doing blood sacrifices, but never an animal. What tradition is this considered?

Crap.  It's Saturday.  You'll be at this all day, won't you?  And probably tomorrow too (unless your folks make you go to church).

Brina

[Aisling]

Oh, question...

Is that "dark arts" biscuit Rye or Pumpernickel?

 
Your choice. I have both.

*hands out dark arts biscuits with sacrificial sausage to everyone*

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

Your choice. I have both.

*hands out dark arts biscuits with sacrificial sausage to everyone*

 
If only I hadn't just finished my sacrificial cheese puffs.

Absent *still eating like it's Christmas

[Aisling]

If only I hadn't just finished my sacrificial cheese puffs.

Absent *still eating like it's Christmas

 
You have sacrificial cheese puffs and didn't share?

[Sage]

If only I hadn't just finished my sacrificial cheese puffs.

Absent *still eating like it's Christmas

 
Well, everything we consume could be a sacrifice - even if we don't kill it/grow it/whatever our selves. Who am I to begrudge Yinepu his cheesy poofs?

[yewberry]

If only I hadn't just finished my sacrificial cheese puffs.

I was just listening to Louis CK's bit about eating Cheetos--about how it's not just a snack, it's a lifestyle choice.  When you eat them, you can't do anything else until the bag's finished.  Be it two ounces or fifty.  It's not over until you retract "the Claw of Shame".  Sounds like a sacred ritual to me.

Damn.  I really want some cheese puffs right now...

Brina