Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth
In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.
Blast!
How do you say “damn” in Pagan?
It's always best to swear by one's own gods, which can leave pagans at a decided disadvantage when it comes to the Profanity Olympics.
Unlike some, pagans don't believe in eternal damnation, and pagan gods don't damn. So what's a poor pagan to say instead?
For my money, I'll take “blast.”
Though not immediately obvious as such, “blast” is actually a prayer, the invocation of a very specific pagan deity.
“Blast it!” you cry. You're calling on Thunder, bidding him destroy something (or someone) by lightning-strike. Not eternal damnation, perhaps, but still pretty nasty.
As a pagan curse word, “blast” (or its derivative adjectival form, “blasted”) has a lot of advantages.
- It's pan-pagan: just about everyone honors the Thunderer.
- While not exactly common in English swearing, it's not sufficiently uncommon to call undue attention to itself.
- You've really got to admire the concision of a one-word prayer.
In sum, “blast” fits nicely with the way that pagans see the world. Wishing sudden destruction by violent divine intervention on someone (or something) is bad, but with us, it's as far as things go.
For pagans, death pays all debts.
Thunder blast the cowards of the 117th Congress,
oathbreakers, rightists who hate what is right, who,
loving only power, perverted justice by voting to acquit
a man that they knew to be guilty.
May their infamy outlive them.
Comments
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Monday, 15 February 2021Mr. Posch,
Little Stewie from "Family Guy" wasn't wrong. "Blast!" is a great curse word.
The HBO TV series, "Rome" also had some fantastic (and hilarious) Pagan-themed profanity. "By Pluto's thorny c*ck!" made me laugh when I heard Lucius Vorenus or Titus Pullo say it. -
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So more it be!