The Nine Virtues of Hogwash
Virtues Derived from the 21 Lessons of Merlyn
-Michael J Dangler
Recently a discussion on an ADF email list about whether one had to agree with ADF’s Nine Virtues resulted in me saying basically, “It’s about your understanding. If you demonstrate a complete understanding of the Nine Virtues and conclude that they should be called the Nine Virtues of Hogwash, that’s okay, too. What we want is for you to think about them and accept or reject them based on your informed exploration.”
Of course, someone then asked me to provide “Nine Virtues of Hogwash” so that they could compare them to the Nine Virtues ADF offers, and rightly pointed out that I had derived the term from Isaac Bonewits‘ name for the book The 21 Lessons of Merlyn.
So here are Nine Virtues derived from the 21 LoM. Enjoy!
- Misogyny – Women are “deadly” and “dangerous” and can alter men “in an inferior way.” (p. 226)
- Egotism – You are more powerful than the Kindred, and they can “be bound to yield mastery of [their] territory.” (p. 306)
- Addiction – “The lure of power can be addictive,” and you should fall prey to that addiction. (p. 305)
- Exaggeration – It’s not the reality of the situation that matters, but what you tell others about it. “It was not the task that really mattered, but only the reaction to it.” (p. 86)
- Elitism – If you are not born into greatness, you cannot achieve it: “those who assume the function, will be unhappy.” (p. 242)
- Imbalance – Neutrality and balance are things to be avoided. “Only imbalance of one polarity or the other produces movement.” (p. 215)
- Ignorance – One is not required to follow rules they do not know. “Once one recognizes the truth, one is then bound by its laws.” (p. 218)
- Non-emotiveness – Emotions cause problems and should be avoided. One should not be “overcome with the imbalance of emotion.” (p. 116)
- Dogma – Acceptance of holy laws and writ without question. “Thou shalt not disfigure the soul” is an admonition against great “sin”. (p. 217)
All these lessons are derived from the 21 LoM, and neither I nor ADF would suggest you follow them. But for those looking to compare ADF’s “Nine Pagan Virtues” to something totally off-the-wall, these might just be ideal for an evening’s entertainment..
