My Half-baked idea about Names and Titles

Half Baked Ideas I have been meaning to write so many things that I never get around to writing any of them. So I'm going to post the rough drafts and "half baked" ideas just to get something up here.

Names and Titles

The first thing is the Legal Name/"Real" Name thing. In the Wiccan community there is an idea that having "false" names was a form of protection in the "burning times". I do not believe this. False names only act as a disguise when the false name can not be linked to a known person. When one is writing messages with no traceable sender or receiver. Or when a lot of people are moving between communities where they are not known. In a small closed community the people who know your "secret" name also know your "real" name and it will have no protecting effect at all.

On the other hand the taking on of a new name for religious reasons is a perfectly respectable ancient pagan custom. The name Sheherazahde was given to me by my teachers at my initiation and I chose to use it when I am representing my faith. Although sometimes I don't, it depends on what point I am trying to make.

(Some people also have "secret" names that only their gods know. This is also a perfectly respectable ancient pagan custom. I don't really understand it, but I don't need too, that is why we have such a diverse community. But because secret names are *secret* they are not the subject here.) The other thing is titles. I am registered with the ULC so I could call myself Reverend if I wanted. But the "traditional" title for a Wiccan Priestess is Lady. People have made comment in my hearing about Lady being a pretentious title. I do not think it is any more pretentious than wanting people to call you "Revered one" (which is what "reverend" means), or "Father", standard proceedure in other religions. And I can see where there would be situations where calling oneself Reverend is a way of asserting ones right to be taken seriously by other religious professionals.

But if I am going to be on the same panel with someone calling herself "Sister John Joseph" I want to be called "Lady Sheherazahde".

To me, letting them call me Rev. Eva Snyder would be pretending to be something I am not just so I will fit in. In my religion my name is Sheherazahde and my title is Lady.

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