Demonization

Fire Dance

I saw this image posted online and immediately fell in love with it. In fact, I'm thinking about getting a reprint to hang on the wall right next to my print of Soulacroix's Spring. It's a lovely painting, evocative of a classical witches' sabbath - women dancing nude around a fire out in the woods as the devil looks on. It has a darkly festive atmosphere, and the glowing, orange flames almost seem to jump off the page/screen/canvas.

Nymphs Dancing to Pan's Flute

But then I found an apparently alternate version of this painting, and the difference is night and day. Black and oranges are replaced by greens and yellows, and you'll notice the "devil" loses his horns and gains a flute. Credited to Joseph Tomanek - a Czech-Republic immigrant painting in Chicago in the early to mid-20th century - the first version is usually called "Fire Dance" by print sellers, but official gallery listings cite the title as "Nymphs Dancing to Pan's Flute" (circa the 1920s, as near as I can figure), which is more indicative of the mood of the second version.

Was the original something in between?

I can't find any information on the origins of the different versions. Were they all painted by the same artist, or did somebody else come along and creatively change the mood? Which version was the original? Was it something in between the two extremes? I'm not even sure I know which version I like best. But the transformation from mythological nymphs to mischievous witches is a perfect representation of the manner in which Christianity has historically demonized pagan religions.

Thus, free spirits celebrating the rapture of nature become evil agents in league with the devil. The Green Man is bathed in flame and recast as Satan. Women celebrating their freedom (and their bodies) are viewed as deviant sinners. What was intended to be festive merriment is conceived as sinister plotting.

Hell (and its attendant minions) was invented by Christianity to inflict suffering on the masses, and take away any joy that was sourced from outside the church, all in the service of steering them, through deception, to stand under the commanding authority of the cross, and serve as soldiers in a war that was never really about good and evil; it's just another iteration of us and them.

Is this not truly despicable? I'm not attacking Christianity out of malice - this is self-defense. I'm the person dancing naked in the woods. I'm out there, revelling in the ecstasy of existence, harming no one. Yet it's Christ's followers who have labelled me a menace to society, and who lead the hunt to isolate and eradicate my kind, forcing us into hiding, unable to honor our own spiritual beliefs. Believe me when I say this is personal.

You think I want to be sitting here at my computer ranting? I'd rather be organizing a nude art hike, and contributing to the rich tapestry of human culture and society. But beyond the fact that I'd struggle to find interested members - because most people would find the notion bizarre - I can't even float the idea without it giving people - even people who currently like me - doubts about the purity of my intentions, as well as ammunition to use against me. Because they've all been primed by cultural indoctrination in a country that was famously founded by Puritans.