Internet Book of Shadows

Internet Book of Shadows: Thoughts on Bashing Fluffy Bunnies

Book of ShadowsHouse Cleansing RitualNeopagan PracticeWiccan Ritual Instructions

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This is a short polemical essay from the early 2000s online Pagan community, written in an opinion/community advocacy tradition. The author argues against the practice of "fluffy bunny bashing" — the use of that derogatory label to dismiss and attack Pagans (particularly Wiccans) deemed insufficiently scholarly or historically rigorous by other Pagan groups, especially Reconstructionists. The essay contends that this behavior is hypocritical because it mirrors the intolerant "One True Way" logic of the Abrahamic religions that most Pagans explicitly reject, while polytheism by its nature should accommodate diverse approaches. A distinctive claim is that Reconstructionist Pagans, who pride themselves on scholarly rigor as a defense against the "fluffy" label, have grown arrogant and intellectually lazy as a result — ironically undermining the very critical thinking they champion. The author draws on Sarah Pike's sociological work on Pagan community identity to argue that defining one's group primarily by what it *isn't* (rather than what it is) drives the bashing dynamic. The piece closes with a direct call to retire dismissive terminology, embrace respectful debate over personal attack, and celebrate internal diversity rather than policing orthodoxy.

Internet Book of Shadows: Thoughts on Bashing Fluffy Bunnies

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