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[badstar]

Dear Multitude of Web Forum Pagans:

For Pete's sake, stop- or at least greatly reduce your use of the phrase "drawn to". You are NOT inexplicably and mystically "drawn to" every little thing that interests you. Seriously. If nothing else, the phrase just gets used FAR TOO MUCH. I should NOT be visiting a forum and finding fifty threads with questions like "What element are you drawn to?" "What tarot card are you drawn to?" "What books are you drawn to?" "What color clothing are you drawn to?" Find some other way to express the sentiment.

Sincerely,

Fuego

Comments

[kissdbysunlight.livejournal.com]

Interesting conversation!

I'm just going to jump in...I hope no one bite my head off!
He he he.

Since I'm on Teh Forum (the one I'm sure you're referring to, the only one I'm active on) I often use the vocab found there-- usually unconsciously. When give advice I tend to phrase it in a way that they might understand/accept as well. I have noticed the same thing with "drawn to" there...though it hasn't really annoyed me severely.

As I said in another thread there--one you started about these words-- worship, honor, path, religion, etc don't bother me. None really make me cringe at their use. I do think having variety is a good thing. I often mix things up and not stick to solely to one. All are acceptable to me as they all refer to basically the same thing: your beliefs and the way you live your beliefs and put it in action. I'm not afraid to use religion or faith or anything considered "Christian" (<--as some think they are). Just as I'm not afraid of using the term "cult" when it applies to a Roman or Hellenistic deity's cult either. I do think many are hesitant to use religion and other terms either because they came from Christianity (usually) and had a bad experience or are rebelling or they associate "religion" with the negative aspects of spirituality, even though "religion" is basically neutral and doesn't emphasis good or bad in the word alone.

As for "drawn to" -- I've used it before and I probably will in the future. Though, I see your point about variety. Sometimes it's just easier to say "drawn to" then trying to put the feeling/thoughts in words (and for me, I often don't feel I have-- or really don't have-- the proper words to explain it). When I've used it it's when I really feel a deep powerful pull/fascination/feeling from a deity/place/thing that I can't really explain, but it's there nonetheless. If you see my LJ-- my desert obsession-- that might qualify. Someone of something is trying to send me a message and I'm picking up on all this desert energy (dreams, sychronicities, etc). It's not just some casual or fleeting thing. It's sort of haunting me and I haven't figured out what it means.

I don't use it for casual things, like: "I'm really drawn to the color red." or "I'm drawn to daggers" (I think they're cool). I am "drawn to" Catholicism (long story for here, but I have a deep, weird attraction with Catholicism that still haunts me to this day, I don't really know how to deal with it, but it's there) and other things that are really deep, spiritual connections for me. Often I can't explain it, but it's there. It's an attraction, pull, force, whatever that draws me to it and doesn't let me go.

On the forums I've seen people use it for just about every deity they read about and like-- which is annoying. They read about Bast one week and they're say they really like cats and they're really drawn to Bast then the next it's Saule, because they read about her and thinks she's really awesome. In this sense I think it's superficial. There's a few members on the forum, which I won't name, that do this (every deity the are interested in & like has contacted them and they're drawn to). Other words like: attracted to, perplexed by, pulled to, fascinated by, etc would describe the feeling of interest when learning about a deity. Whereas for the deep, spiritual connection that can't be explained in such easy terms "drawn to" seems more acceptable to me (the one I generally use the term for).

Hmm. I have a feeling things won't change on the forums anytime soon. Lucky for me it doesn't annoying me severely. Have you thought of starting a thread asking people what they mean when they use "drawn to" ? Might be interesting!

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Since I'm on Teh Forum (the one I'm sure you're referring to, the only one I'm active on) I often use the vocab found there-- usually unconsciously. When give advice I tend to phrase it in a way that they might understand/accept as well. I have noticed the same thing with "drawn to" there...though it hasn't really annoyed me severely.

Actually...I wasn't referring so much to MW, I see it there a lot less than many others...I do frequent quite a few web fora.

[kissdbysunlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. I tend to stick to MW so I guess I wouldn't know how bad a problem it really is. I see it more in the posts there (MW) than the thread titles, but I do see it often.