Inara - a Wiccan perspective
POSTED BY: incongresswiththebeast
UPDATED: Friday, May 12, 2006 15:14
VIEWED: 21618
PAGE 10 of 10
Quote:
Originally posted by sahara:Quote:
Originally posted by Cedric:
BitterBierce,
As a former agnostic turned Wiccan, I just have to say that I enjoy hearing your vitriol nearly as much as you do yourself.
Cedric
Hee hee. Good one Cedric.
I'm also new to this board. Thanks for a very interesting introduction everyone!
Glad you liked it, Sahara. While I certainly have a sense of humor about religion, I get tired of people who denigrate my faith as though it's some sort of joke--or perhaps it's a joke they don't get.
Welcome to the board, Sahara!
Cedric
"Some things stay with you, 'til the day you die."
On the Drift: Music Inspired by Firefly and Serenity, now on sale at
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bedlambards/from/celtic
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I lost the point of this thread a while back, but you seemed a little confused in your first sentence:
"...you do realize that Title IX is about gender, not religion? "
It was an allegory about unearned respect. I was likening it to other absurd aspects of politics, see?
"I can confirm that most kids getting into it don't know what the actual religion really entails - once they do, they tend to get bored and abandon it, so you really can't call them genuine 'Wiccans'."
Its of interest to me how often an ersatz class snobbery crops up in religious groups. You sound precisely like a Pentacostal friend I had once. If there's one commonality across all religions, it's the "I'm more authentic" posture, which is directly related to the "those guys aren't authentic, the REAL [Mormons/Scients/Wiccans] are deep and wholly unlike those other silly folks" meme.
"They didn't say you "couldn't be negative".etc. etc. etc. etc."
Yeah, here's where I kinda lost interest earlier, too. Just kinda lose the will to keep reading.
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All I have to say is wow. This thread has gone to the very edge of Troll Country without managing to fall into its depths. Hopefully it will be able to stay that way. *hint, hint to certain unnamed parties*
Keeping with the original post, I really like your perspective. While I'm not religious myself, I have studied about Wicca, and I think Wiccan beliefs about sex really apply to Inara's character. Inara does consider sex to be a sacred, healing act. In fact, I think she believes that healing and providing comfort is a Companion's primary duty, not just sexing clients. However, I also believe that Inara is conflicted in her views toward her job (her job, not sex) because of her relationship with Mal. She felt that she could retain emotional distance regarding everything in her life, but her time aboard Serenity has proven otherwise.
One of the great things about Firefly is how each character is really a metaphor for some aspect of life (check out Flame's thread on the BDH's as psychological symbols for more on this topic). Inara is a metaphor not only for lust, but for spirituality. While she is not overtly religious, faith means a great deal to her. All of these facets of Inara's character are the things that make her interesting to watch.
*whew* Sorry about the rant, but this thread gave me a lot to talk about.
At last.
We can retire and give up
this life of crime.
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Not to participate in any argument, but isn't it just a common human courtesy not to trash people's beliefs, if they're not harming anyone?
References to Nazis being comparable to Wicca were made, and in their case I'm all against their beliefs on account of the massive amount of damage done to other people, but it's not very relevant to Wicca.
Wicca and Paganism are just different ways of thinking. Just because they haven't had mass amounts of scholars dissecting and debating them doesn't mean they're worth any less. And even if you think so, it's just polite not to turn your opinions into insults at whatever it is you don't agree with.
On the original topic: I wouldn't say that all Wiccans hold sex to be as important as it seems. Yes, it's considered to be a very sacred act and can create lots of energy, but as I understand it you can go without it within the religion.
Inara seems to be more a sensual creature than a sexual one anyways. Rather than being all lustful and aggressive with it, she's spiritual and passionate with it. The sex seems to be incidental to what she does, contradictory as that sounds. I got the impression that every part of what she does is important, like the tea ceremony being just as holy as the act itself.
Interesting discussion.
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Serenity became my haven-place far too quickly to be healthy
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