In many cultures, names are much more than just words we use to identify one another. They can hold great significance, and some people even believe they possess magical powers. That’s why protecting them can be so important.
One woman’s pagan parents gave her a secret “soul name” when she turned 16, which she wasn’t supposed to share with just anyone. But when her long-term boyfriend learned about the tradition, he insisted she should tell him what it was. Now, she’s wondering if she was wrong to keep it to herself.
The woman has a secret “soul name” given to her by her pagan parents, which she’s not supposed to share with just anyone
freepic.diller / magnific (not the actual photo)
But when her boyfriend found out about it, he demanded that she reveal it to him
katemangostar / magnific (not the actual photo)
shurkin_son / magnific (not the actual photo)
Readers agreed that the woman had every right to keep her “soul name” to herself
Paganism has millions of followers worldwide, but what they believe and how they practice it can be very different
Paganism might seem mysterious to those who haven’t grown up around it, but there are plenty of people who still practice it today.
For example, in England and Wales, around 74,000 people identified as Pagan in the 2021 census, while another 13,000 identified as Wiccan. In Scotland, the 2022 census recorded over 19,000 Pagans, compared to just over 5,000 in 2011.
Meanwhile, in Italy, the number of neopagans was estimated at more than 230,000 in 2017. And across the Atlantic, Pew Research Center found that less than 1% of American adults identify as Pagan or Wiccan, equivalent to fewer than approximately 2.6 million people.
What exactly do pagans believe? Well, that depends on whom you ask. Paganism covers a wide range of beliefs, and there is no single holy book or set of rules that everyone follows. Some worship multiple gods and goddesses, while others see these figures as symbols rather than actual beings.
One thing many pagan paths have in common, however, is a strong connection to nature. According to the Religion Media Centre, the natural world plays an important role in pagan beliefs, with many practitioners celebrating the changing seasons and cycles of life. Rituals can involve making offerings or marking important events with ceremonies.
Of course, paganism has also attracted its fair share of misconceptions. Thanks partly to horror movies and popular culture, some people associate it with sinister rituals or devil worship.
However, Satan is a figure associated with Christianity and other Abrahamic religions, and most pagans don’t believe in him at all, let alone worship him. Some pagans don’t even consider their beliefs a religion, preferring to describe them as a spiritual practice or philosophy instead.
There are also plenty of differences in how individuals practice their beliefs. Some belong to organized groups and take part in ceremonies with others. Meanwhile, others prefer to practice privately or develop their own customs. This freedom helps explain why two pagan families might have completely different ways of celebrating important occasions.
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The belief that names hold special meaning and even magical powers dates back thousands of years and appears in many cultures. That brings us to the rather interesting subject of names. Throughout history, many cultures have attached special significance to them.
In certain belief systems, knowing someone’s name was thought to give you power over that person. This idea appears in everything from ancient magical practices to familiar fairy tales.
For example, ancient Egyptians sometimes wrote the names of enemy rulers on pottery before smashing it as part of a ritual intended to harm them.
Ancient Greeks and Romans also used names in curses, sometimes writing them backward or scrambling the letters. The belief was that what happened to someone’s name could also happen to the person themselves.
Interestingly, ancient Egyptians also had beliefs about secret names. They believed each person had a hidden name, known as a ren, which only the individual and the gods knew. Discovering it was thought to give someone power over that person. This helps explain why keeping a name private could be such a serious matter.
Of course, the woman in this story had her own reasons for protecting her “soul name.” Her family’s naming ceremony might seem unusual to outsiders, but her mother had put considerable thought into choosing something meaningful for her daughter. Even though the woman no longer believed in the magic behind it, the memory remained special to her.
Perhaps that’s what matters most here. A childhood custom can still mean a great deal to someone, even if they no longer follow the beliefs behind it. The woman’s boyfriend, however, felt he had a right to know her soul name, despite her wishes to keep it private.
What do you think? Was she fair to refuse to reveal her soul name? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
After talking things through with her boyfriend, the woman came back with an update on the situation
A. C. / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Readers were glad to hear that the couple had managed to resolve their disagreement
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