Re: changing human self By: changedcynic / Beginner
Post # 4 Mar 06, 2014
I find the "I want to be a vampire" thing a little disturbing. When someone wants to be a vampire, it means that they wish to become a parasite, drawing blood (or energy from others to exist)
Sparkly vampires are very new. Vampires in western mythology are usually soulless reanimated corpses which use blood for sustenance. Even if a person could become such an abomination, it technically wouldn't be them, because their soul would be long gone. In other mythological systems, vampires in the best scenario are ok in personality but slaves to their blood lust, or in the worst scenario in some asian countries, are no more than zombies.
None of those things are good life choices -_-
What I think the problem is, is that in this day in age while it is technically possible to become anything, most people never get the opportunity, or are stuck in situations where they wish to be someone else because their lives suck, are boring, etc.
Some are bullied, lonely, mentally drained, told they are not attractive or abused and the new age movies show Vampires, Werewolves, and Masters of elements, pokemon and other things to be beautiful, popular, loved, surrounded by others and powerful. Things they lack or desire. These are actually people that need the confidence building of real magical practice so they realize they do not need fantasy world to survive what they are going through. Just how I see it.
Re: changing human self By: Brysing Moderator / Adept
Post # 7 Mar 07, 2014
MChaos is right! Magic does build confidence. One of the basic traits of humans is the fear of death.Magic teaches us not to fear death itself, although there is always the anxiety of "how" we die.
My father, aged 76, died in great pain. But my mother, at 92, went to sleep one evening and didn't wake up; now that's a good way to die!
myself i've never feared death, even as a child. that's not to say i embraced and longed for it [though i did spend a lot of time in cemeteries lol] i just accepted it as a fact of life. the how though, yea, that can be scary, but i've decided to live for 100 years then die in my sleep. [hopefully positive thinking will get me there lol] so the whole fear of death thing has always confused me. the unknown can be scary, but it's inevitable, so why be scared? [even if there is no afterlife, why fear nothingness? you won't be around, you'll just stop] live it up while you can, and whatever happens happen.
many reasons why someone would want to transform. they saw it in a movie being one reason. to be special is another. i'm too young to shake my fist and say 'kids these days' but there is something wrong with our society if you ask me, and i believe it stems from a lack of physical interaction. yesterday at work i saw a father and his 4 year old come in, the father got himself a coffee then sat for about an hour playing on his phone while his son played on his gameboy. then the father got up and left, and the son, still playing his game, followed. in that whole hour i don't think they spoke. kind of sad if you ask me.
i think people want to be special and escape into a fantasy where they can change into werewolves and vampires and turn people into toads to make there problems go away. then they find out that magick is real and believe it's like what's in the movies. while i understand why the spells on the site are here, how they got here, and how tiring a task it would be to remove them, removing the fantasy spells would really help when you try to explain to someone this can't happen. there will always be those who choose fantasy over reality, but it's the illusion they find comforting or cool, and that's what they'll choose.
The part where you said: "other interesting stuff" employs that you actualy can do it, but good point beside that, but its quite ridiculous those people don't even understand the meaning of what they ask mostly, I blame TV (I cant balive that I just wrote that)
Re: changing human self By: Brysing Moderator / Adept
Post # 11 Mar 07, 2014
Oh, it is much more than Twilight! The whole output of Hollywood, and most of television, is fantasy. It is entertainment! And has been going since the silent movies. From Frankenstein and The Wolf Man to the semi-human characters of Star Wars; apart from the Disney fantasies! People will believe just about anything they see on the screen; even though they can watch John Wayne die, and then make another movie!
People all over the world believe that Coronation Street is true! Yet, nobody in England talks like that, acts like that,or lives like that!
It's fiction. Just like mermaids,vampires, dragons, and the Lord knows what else! IT's not true! It's fiction!
Classic Example: I grew up on Doctor Who but I knew good and well that there was no TARDIS or Doctor. Even if Time Travel were physically possible, It was a Science Fiction show that I enjoyed with no real facts associated with it. People today need to be gently guided back to reality. They need to be educated on real magic so they unserstand that, although the movies put a dash of real facts and real superstitions, they are ficticious scripts based loosely on old tales. They need to understand that a legend is simply that, a legend. Was there a Vlad the Impaler? Absolutely! Is he an immortal bloodsucker roaming the Earth today? Most likely not but even if he were cursed to that fate, he would leave the corpse of his victims behind. Not some all powerful, beautiful immortal. That is a fact! Help these confused people to see the fiction from fact. I see people scolding the fantasy crowd and that just pushes them further into their fantasy. Fact!