46 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
46 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
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Glenda, the Good Witch of the North : Portrait of a Power User
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Fire s burn and cauldrons bubble, and Witches, Warlocks, Druids, and assorted
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other Pagans use computers-alot. In fact, a recent survey revealed that
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computer professionals are the largest single occupational group within Pagan
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religions, the book for which the survey was conducted, is a study of the
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neo-pagan movement. Margot Adler found that roughly 11 percent, or 21 of 195
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respondents, were computer programmers, systems analysts, or software
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developers. Adler's questionnaire also asked what, if any, relationship
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exists between Paganism and computers. "The answers ran the gamut from
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people who felt the question was ridiculous to those who were convinced that
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80 percent of the Pagan community actively used computers and that there was
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an important and striking relationship between the two." writes Adler. "Pagans
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are playful by nature" one respondent said, "and the computer is the most
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endlessly facinating toy ever invented." Some linked the magical aspects of
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Paganism to the "magic" of computers. "Symbolic thinking and patterning are
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essential to magical thinking. Like magic, computers work in unseen ways to
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accomplish tasks," noted one respondent. "Like magic, computers require a
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procedural and logical mind, yet sometime defy logic," said another. Another
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explanation involves the right-brain/left-brain relationship. Some say that
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when a person spends a great deal of time in intellectual pursuits, like
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computer work, it's important to balance that with more intuitive, experiental
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endeavors that involve the whole body." You'll see some computer programmers
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out there dancing around the bonfire under a full moon having a great, wild
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time," says Selena Fox High Priestess of the Circle Sanctuary, a spiritual
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nature center, and Wiccan Church, in Brigham Township, Wisconsin. Fox believes
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the allure of the religion for these so-called "techno-pagans" may be what
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she sees as neo-paganism's futuristic aspects. "It's on the leading edge of
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advances in all levels of society. For that reason, the people tend to be more
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future directed and are looking for a form of spirituality that can take them
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into the 21st century."Lady Sabrina, High Priestess and founder of Our Lady
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of Enchantment, a school of witchcraft in New Hampshire, believes computers
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are a new age technology and neo-paganism is a new age religion. She points
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to the computers link with the new age through it's use of crystals, referring
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to the microchips used in personal computers that are made of slices of silicon
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crystals, "Crystals are little energy banks," says Lady Sabrina. "The computer
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is a positive tool that can really help bring about social transformation.
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It can bring people together and create better ways of sharing information."
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says Fox. And Pagans like to share information. There are about 300 bulletin
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boards for people involved in the neo-pagan movement. "I don't think you'll
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find thats true for all religions." adds Fox.
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** Reprinted from the March 1989 issue of PC Computing
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--Original story by Kenan Woods
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