I'm pagan and my friends and I thought this was hysterical, how about you?

Fifty sure-fire ways to detect paganism without having to resort to a

dunking stool or wart-inspection.



1) Never puts any rubbish out on refuse-collection day. I mean, re-

cycling and composting is fine, but you can take it too far.



2) You casually ask what phase the moon is in, and she tells you down

to the exact number of days, hour and minute of rising, position on

horizon, and current angle of declination.



3) All the stray cats in the neighbourhood tend to congregate in her

garden (and use your own as their litter).



4) A screech owl has chosen the lamp-post outside her house as its

favorite calling-post. That's just when it's getting warm at night

and you like to sleep with the window open.



5) Doesn't cut down the weeds in her garden; in fact it looks more

like she's cultivating them. Needless to say, you get the seeds

wafting over onto your pristine lawn.



6) Most of her clothes on the washing line are black.



7) The local kids talk in whispers as they go past her house, then

start running at the last moment.



8) Nobody trick-or-treats her house; not after the incident when the

kids' costumes were less scary than hers when she opened the door to

them. (She was embracing the Crone that year no doubt!)



9) Footprints on the roof. And the trees in her flight-path have been

pruned down. I swear it's true!



10) She can't even make a simple sandwich without adding fresh herbs

to it. And don't ask her for a cup of tea unless you want something

yellow coloured and smelling of flowers.



11) She hardly ever gets junk mail. You ask her what her secret is

and she confides that she returns it to sender after writing

something on in strange curly writing.



12) When you pop next door for a chat, the kettle is always already

on.



13) The Jehovah's Witnesses never call (not anymore; not after the

last time :-).



14) Keeps the local scented-candle shop solvent.



15) Has a pond full of frogs (and you haven't seen that bothersome

double-glazing salesman around for a while).



16) She's always smiling, darn her!



17) She goes dressed as normal to a Hallowe'en fancy dress party; and

wins first prize.



18) Her house always smells of incense.



19) Has named her four cats Hecate, Kali, Diana, and Moonbeam. (Or

her rats Devon and Cornwall)



20) Her bumper sticker reads "I brake for toads".



21) Frequently gets raided by the drug squad who confiscate large

amounts of dried green leaves; they always return them with apologies

after analysis.



22) At Christmas, it seems like half the garden has been moved into

the house.



23) You sometimes hear the sound of singing and dancing through the

wall. If you look out of the window, it is usually a full moon.



24) She was given a bodhram drum for her birthday. And she plays it

at midnight in the fields. And she's got a blasted tamborine.



25) You discover that her realistic resin skull ornament in her

living room, actually is real.



26) You catch her washing a crystal ball along with the dishes.



27) She wears a lot of silver jewelry, even when doing the gardening.

And bat ear-rings for goodness-sake.



28) You knock on her door and she answers it naked except for a

toweling robe. You apologize for disturbing her in the bath, but

notice that her hair isn't wet.



29) Irritating tendency to hum a lot. What's she got to be so happy

about, huh?



30) She has a tame robin that will eat from her hand in the garden.

That can't be natural.



31) Never catches a cold, even though she walks barefoot most of the

time. In the snow as well.



32) Doesn't kill spiders. Not even big hairy long-legged ones that

suddenly appear from the waste-pipe whilst you're having a bath.



33) She listens to what you are saying like she really cares.



34) She has lots of female friends who come round every few months.

When you ask what they get up to, she tells you that they just have

cakes and ale and a good natter.



35) You catch her hugging a tree.



36) Her dinner-set is decorated with Celtic patterns.



37) She has a mail-order account with a semi-precious gem wholesaler.



38) You notice that the parish priest crosses himself whenever he

walks past her house.



39) She never watches television. And she has shelves full of books

with black spines and silver-lettered titles.



40) To your certain knowledge she has never set foot in the local

church. In fact, you have heard rumours that she has been barred from

it.



41) She makes jars of quince and mandrake relish for the Women's

Institute coffee morning jumble sale.



42) You ask to borrow a pack of cards for an impromptu bridge

evening, and there are 78 in the pack.



43) You have never known her to visit her GP.



44) When you talk with her, she maintains eye contact all the time.



45) Expectant mothers are forever visiting her. Also women who become

expectant mothers a month after visiting her.



46) You ask her for suggestions for nice walks in the area, and they

all go by way of stone circles and strange earth mounds.



47) She only buys organic. And you just bet that she's a vegetarian

as well. (Well, maybe not stricly vegetarian.. ..)



48) When you ask her about her vacation plans, she tells you she will

be camping in a tee-pee in the Brecon Beacons.



49) There aren't any mirrors in her house. Or clocks.



50) She tells you that she is coming out of the broom closet, joins

Witches' Voice, and erects a stained-glass pentacle window in her

front door . Ooo what a give-away!

I'm pagan and my friends and I thought this was hysterical, how about you?
Very funny! Some of them hit pretty close to the mark :)



My cat is named Pyewacket, after a familiar I read about.

Jehovah Witnesses don't visit me anymore.

Lots of books with black binding %26amp; silver runes on the spines!



Thanks for the laugh!!