Which Way, Pagan Anon?

There is one pervasive practice in the Pagan sphere that will continue to hinder our efforts to become a viable alternative religious pathway taken seriously by the public and other religions, and it is time we addressed it. This single behavior embodies every optics hurdle, social obstacle, and negative characterization that we work so hard to overcome and correct; yet we unknowingly embrace it, propagate the problem, and worsen our situation and image.

I am referring to the problem of anonymity to which the individuals in our community are so utterly vulnerable. I’m referring to practices such as cartoon-character profile pictures, mythically sounding pseudonyms, and the paranoid avoidance of revealing any personal details whatsoever. Be warned, this is going to call out some of my fellow pagans, but I say it out of love and for the betterment of our community, even if I put it bluntly.

Now, this problem affects the entire native European faith community, but I am especially focusing on the particular branch I belong to, which is the Platonist community. Having been steeped in the tradition for nearly a decade now, I have also been guilty of using a fake online persona, and so I like to think I understand the motivations for doing so. But I cannot deny that I believe it comes down to a single factor: fear.

Fear, I believe, is the number one driving force behind the decision to veil ourselves with the cloak of anonymity. While I now find this shameful and hypocritical, it is somewhat understandable. There are real risks to putting your name behind what you say online or otherwise. With identity comes the possibility of consequences for what we say and promote. We can’t easily split our public thoughts from our private ones when the veil of anonymity collapses. Nonetheless, if we are to mature as a community, these fears must be overcome.

So what exactly do most people fear about the prospect of operating online under their real identity?

1. Their Real-World Community

People don’t want to be seen as weird or controversial, risking alienation from friends, family, or coworkers. It’s worth noting that this speaks to a deeper underlying problem: explaining our worldview in a way that is both reasonable and approachable. Some of our anonymity is to avoid the awkward conversation at Thanksgiving about how you worship demons. However, anonymity doesn’t solve this problem; it only avoids confronting it.

If your friends think you’re weird and don’t want to associate with you because you’re pagan, then are they really your friends? If your family wants to condemn you for it, then shouldn’t we show them our good intentions and the kind of person it can help you become? Should we not live it fully and strive for excellence? Even if your employer wants to reprimand you for it, we have religious discrimination laws that you can use, or better yet, find a job that doesn’t force you to compromise your character and the principles you live by. This is obviously easier said than done, but courage demands that we face these challenging situations even when the consequences may be negative. If we have the courage of our convictions, we bear the hardship with pride.

2. Inadequacy

We are all familiar with the feeling of impostor syndrome. Who are we to carry the torches of eternal wisdom forward into the future—or even hold them in the present? We are no doubt standing on the backs of giants—better men than us, men whom we can only hope to even faintly emulate. Naturally, we are going to feel inadequate by comparison, but if we allow that to motivate us to either hide from who we really are, full of our shortcomings and faults, how can we ever expect to grow in virtue toward those men we all admire? Just because we project the image of a virtuous sage behind an anonymous account doesn’t mean we are one.

The solution to inadequacy is not to construct an admirable persona, but to strive for excellence. Ashamed of your addictions? Work towards ridding yourself of them. Embarrassed by your poor health? Adorn your body with discipline. Wishing you had more time to devote to study and worship? Turn off the video games and the mindless rabble.

Something special happens when you ditch the online persona. You can no longer delude yourself that you are better than you are. The only PFP you have is the face you see in the mirror, if you want it to be better, you have to make it better. You can’t just replace it with a Chad PFP and hope nobody notices the real you.

Fortunately, we’re not as alone as we may think. We can help one another, but it won’t be an overnight transformation. Taking those first steps toward openness can feel daunting, but it is achievable if we approach it gradually. Start by using your real first name in online discussions or on profiles, or by introducing yourself honestly in smaller community chats. Consider finding or organizing local meetups, even if it means simply meeting for coffee with one or two like-minded individuals. Share small, non-sensitive details about your interests and life with trusted members of the community. Each of these actions helps cultivate real individuals with familiar names and faces, moving us toward the kind of authentic community we claim to seek. And if we don’t start trying to improve ourselves through a community of real individuals, then we need to stop pretending that we care about the world beyond the cave.

3. The Feds

I already know that my suggestion to show your face or say your name means I’m now a suspected fed, but honestly, this is by far the least convincing excuse for anonymity.

First of all, the feds could find you in a heartbeat if they wanted, regardless of all your efforts to mask your true self. Your anonymity is not protecting you from some fed sting operation. If they wanted to take you out, they could do so with ease.

And second of all, why would they feel threatened by some anon with an anime profile picture spewing rhetoric that they are personally unwilling to back up with real action? If you aren’t willing to stake even your first name on these ideas, why would anyone think you have the mettle to actually do anything about the problems you claim to oppose? Don’t delude yourself. Your anonymity signals that you aren’t a threat and aren’t even taking yourself seriously. Why would the feds?

Thirdly, why are you openly talking about big picture problems that warrant attention from government ops? Unless you are actively organizing political action, most of your political posts are screaming into the void. Take some time to turn your efforts and concerns inward before worrying about changing international politics.

4. Being doxxed

Yes, you want to protect yourself and those you love from the psychopaths out there on the internet who are willing to share your home address for the world to see. But what you should be asking is, what are you saying that is eliciting such an extreme response from a random person online? It’s probably something you shouldn’t be saying openly in the first place, and it’s most likely something you wouldn’t say in a public space in real life, so why would it be a good idea in an online public space?

I understand some people have been doxxed for little to no reason, but this is only really a problem if what you say online is so objectionable that your employer, family, and friends would ostracize you if they knew you said it. If you’re staying anonymous because you’re afraid you will be associated with your own thoughts, then that is proof that you lack the conviction of your ideas. You like to pretend you believe in them, but you are not willing to suffer any consequences for them. These aren’t beliefs; they are performative opinions. A person who truly believes in their ideas would face any hardship in pursuit of them—anything less would be self-betrayal.

The internet has made us far too comfortable with sharing anything and everything on our minds indiscriminately with other people. If you’re going to say something inflammatory or highly controversial, then you should expect the response to also be inflammatory and controversial, and you should be willing to face the consequences.

Fear of Accountability

This brings us to the true fear that underlies everything I have said thus far: the fear of accountability. If you are too afraid to stand by what you say, what you practice, and what you believe, then this isn’t the path for you.

What would Socrates say of this? Or Hypatia? Or the Pythagoreans who were hunted down and slain? Is courage only a virtue that we proclaim to revere from the comfort of our homes and behind the safety of an artificial identity? Do we only stand by Truth when it is convenient, easy, and expedient? Is the trial of Socrates not a tale for how a philosopher ought to live? And tell me, what does the philosopher actually have to fear? Surely it is not the loss of comfort and material possessions, nor is it bodily harm or even death. After all, is philosophy not the “art of dying”? The truth is, the only thing the philosopher has to fear is the very thing that the vast majority of us are guilty of doing, which is distancing ourselves from the True, the Real, and the Beautiful out of fear of discomfort for the sake of pleasure.

Let’s call it like it is: the lack of accountability is a serious vice of the soul. Communities function as bodies of people who hold one another accountable and are beholden to that which transcends them. And if we are unwilling to be held accountable, then we are unwilling to form communities and actually walk the very path we spend so much time studying and obsessing over. And that is why fear is responsible for our stagnation, and until we can face that fear and overcome it through the cultivation of courage, then nothing will ever become of our work and effort.

I’m going to put this very bluntly: you are not the reincarnation of whatever ancient sage your flavor of autism prefers, despite what your X handle might say.

This plays heavily into the LARP accusations that are constantly hurled at us by non-pagans. And can you really blame them? How can you take someone seriously who’s crying about Christianity destroying the ancient ways while going by the name “Mystical Wizard of Odin” with an anime girl as their profile picture? For a group of people that have many terminally online individuals, we sure do think pretty highly of ourselves.

And all of these behaviors culminate in a personality plagued by what I’d call “Internet Brain,” which slowly takes root in its host after years of filtering through countless servers, chat rooms, and online fringe groups focused on niche topics and interests. It is an isolating disposition that essentially renders the host socially handicapped and unable to relate to the everyday person and even everyday activities that lie beyond the confines of their digital cloisters, which are comprised of other anime characters with mysterious-sounding esoteric names and cryptic references.

The Future of Pagan Communities

Our communities are at a flashpoint where we can expand into real-life communities or fizzle out in online anonymity. We’ve passed the point of anonymous internet monks—this is a time for the archetype of the knight to emerge. It’s this lack of the warrior ethos that has led us to an overabundance of bookishness and retreat to safe, anonymous chatrooms. The warrior lives on the frontlines, throwing themselves into the fray of public discourse, ultimately fighting to secure a place for their people.

Without holding ourselves accountable by name, we become odd, cringe, and LARPy dweebs who have a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy. We can spend much of our time buried in books and video games in an attempt to escape the mundanity of the working-class lifestyle.

Thus, paganism, and especially Platonism, seems alien, goofy, and unreachable to the average person who has a family, a job, and hobbies, which means they’re going to attend a church that is more accessible, familiar, and normal instead.

To all those who seek to grow beyond the parameters of your digital displays and establish real-life communities, temples, and networks of families and businesses that work to further the prosperity of our people, I encourage you to draw back the curtains of anonymity and join us under the purifying light of King Sol, so we may work together and establish a brighter future for our progeny. Start small. Consider organizing or attending local meetups in public spaces like cafes or libraries. Offer to host gatherings, workshops, or discussions in your area. Use your real name when engaging in community conversations online or in person, and reach out to others who express interest in building authentic connections. Participate in volunteering or service projects as a visible member of your tradition. Together, by taking concrete steps toward offline engagement, we can build genuine bonds that transform our ideals into living, vibrant communities.

Conduct yourselves in a way that conveys respect, temperance, tact, and discretion. Practice saying what needs to be said without superfluous and pretentious jargon. If you feel like your words online might reflect poorly on you if your name is attached, then don’t say them. Share your faith openly in your day-to-day life rather than shrinking from conversations due to discomfort.

Socrates had the courage to stand trial before his peers and give his life in the service of philosophy. Do you have enough courage to simply take off your mask and reveal the identity of the person who claims to believe in what Socrates died for? Or will you continue to scream your voiceless opinions into the grey abyss of irrelevance and pass away into obscurity, never taking a real part in the shaping of Western culture?

Which way, Anon?