The Fluffy Bunny Kerfuffle

As a blogger, one of my responsibilities is to read other blogs and see what others are communicating. If you’ve been reading various blogs, you might note that one recent point of contention is the type of person known as a “fluffy bunny.”

Ah, the fluffy bunny. Anyone who has been involved with magick, Paganism, or occultism for more than a brief time tends to dismiss the infamous fluffy bunny. Unfortunately, it has become a catch phrase for just about anything someone wants to denounce. In looking over some of these blogs, here are a few of the various definitions of the expression that have been posted:

1. They are new to the study of an occult field
2. Their ideas are based on the reading of one book
3. They wear “50-million chains about the neck and dress…like Dracula”
4. They “refuse to learn, refuse to think, and refuse to consider the possibility that they could be wrong”
5. They “believe that there is light, love, harmony, and all those wonderful Tele Tubby type feelings, and no bad stuff”
6. They hold a different opinion than you or your group
7. They do not believe they need to be educated beyond the one or two authors they have read
8. They refuse to learn
9. They are displaying their inner child, reveling in their new path
10. The term only applies to some Wiccans
11. They are anyone “who doesn’t practice the exact same religion as me”
12. They are anyone “who approaches spirituality differently than I do.”
13. Although it’s a Wiccan expression, for people who are magickal but not Wiccan, it refers to those who have “derived their spiritual beliefs from Charmed, or Harry Potter books, or The Craft, or any other media portrayal of magic

So of the 13 descriptions of the fluffy bunny I quickly found in these blogs, is any one of them accurate? Well, about the only one that’s close is number 5, so if you picked that one give yourself a big pat on the back.

Birth of a Neologism

The term “fluffy bunny” appears to have originated as a derogatory term in Wicca, but has expanded to refer to any person with a set of beliefs that include only the good and positive while ignoring that negative things do happen. People, for example, have both a metaphoric light and dark side, and according to psychological theory, ignoring or trying to repress the darkness within us can cause psychological issues which can lead to physiological problems and even anti-social behavior harmful to others. In short, a fluffy bunny has an unrealistic view of the universe, a self-limiting reality distortion field.

I am not suggesting that people should give in to their dark sides. Rather, it is of value to acknowledge and deal with it rather than repress it.

So being a fluffy bunny does not mean you’re new to a path. I know some people who have been involved in New Age studies for years and who could be described as fluffy bunnies. It does not refer to your dress. It does not refer to reading only a few books or authors. Some people who read and study a great deal remain fluffy bunnies after they interpret what they’ve read and studied through their FB reality distortion field.

Being a fluffy bunny is having an attitude and an approach to life that isn’t realistic. It is a modern term that loosely replaced the earlier expression of “being a pollyanna.”

Fluffy Bunnies Are Your Friends

One of the things I’ve observed about occult studies is that it seems to go in waves. Something happens to make occultism popular and an aspect of it becomes a fad. The fad lasts for a few months or years and fades out, only to be reborn with a new focus. Occultism rode the wave of popularity with the publication of Shirley Maclaine’s book, Out on a Limb, and then faded. It became popular and crested with the publication of the book The Secret, but that seems to have lost its “oomph,” too.

So although there are large numbers of people who move into occultism when it becomes the latest fad, most end up leaving and turning to other fads.

“Most,” but not all.

In fact, some fluffy bunnies end up experiencing an emptiness with faddish occultism and come to realize that the fad is only an entry into something deeper. There is a growing number of people who are what I would call “hard core occultists.” The abandon the faddish aspects of occultism and become the Pagans, Wiccans, Heathens, Witches, Thelemites, Golden Dawners, ceremonial magicians and others who make a deep study of occultism, and the practice of what they’ve learned, an important part of their lives.

Fluffy bunnies exist in every field of endeavor. They often claim more knowledge and skill than they have, even going so far as to teach the little that they know, claiming it has more depth and importance that it does. Most fluffy bunnies move on to something else—another fad.  But until then they form a large pool from which a smaller but increasing number of people emerge as educated and well-rounded occultists.

What to Do With Fluffy Bunnies

Rather than looking down on fluffy bunnies, I propose that they be seen as potential Pagans and magicians who will be a benefit to the occult community. If at times we consider them to be problematic, I believe it is up to those of us who follow deeper paths of occultism to make our paths more accessible so that fluffy bunnies will want to go deeper on their particular paths. This shouldn’t be done by watering down what we have to share, but by presenting it in a way that can be understood and used by the fluffy bunnies. Bring them over with a delicious carrot, not an insult.

Unless, of course, you’re talking about the character Anya, the “vengeance demon,” from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. As Anya said, “Bunnies aren’t just cute like everybody supposes. They got hoppy legs and twitchy little noses. And what’s with all the carrots?  What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?” And when told to dress as something terrifying, well…