Help! I'm Clueless About Paganism
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Welcome If
you've been curious about modern Paganism, but have
never known where to begin to help make sense of it
all, I hope this tutorial will be some help. It may
not make you an expert, but it should leave you
with a good "big picture" view of things and enough
lingo to talk with people or do some more studying
on your own. Before
I say any more, one thing needs to be made
clear: Paganism is not a single thing, but
many. There are many different spiritual practices,
belief systems, religions, and traditions that fall
under the Pagan umbrella, and there is no consensus
about what makes them "Pagan". For this reason,
almost everything you will read in this tutorial is
a generalization. There are exceptions to
everything. The point of this tutorial is not to be
comprehensive and perfectly accurate, but just to
provide a starting place. What
Paganism Is When I
speak of Paganism, I'm referring to a contemporary
religious/spiritual orientation. Modern Paganism
has its roots in the nature romanticism of the late
19th century. At a time when the rationalism of the
Enlightenment era was beginning to seem rather cold
and soulless to many people, and when European
Christianity seemed to be more about the rigid
maintenance of tradition than nourishing the human
spirit, some people looked back upon the
pre-Christian religions of Europe for their
spiritual inspiration. Perhaps those earlier times,
when people lived in closer contact with nature,
when enchantment clung to every well and patch of
woods, and when gods and goddesses presided over
moonlit revels, offered a cure for the ailments of
modern times. The sentiment is expressed quite
wonderfully in a classic poem by
Wordsworth: The
world is too much with us; late and soon, Rather
than simply musing wistfully on a romanticized
vision of ancient paganism, modern Pagans actively
create a spiritual life for themselves that is
infused with the love of nature, the use of myth
and symbolism to feed the imagination, and the
experience of direct spiritual connection,
unmediated by the power hierarchies of traditional
religion. There
are many approaches to this. Some groups work very
diligently to actually reconstruct an ancient
religion, perhaps Greek, Celtic, Norse, or
Egyptian. Others borrow eclectically from ancient
religions, mysticism, philosophy, and non-European
sources such as eastern religions or the beliefs
and practices of indigenous peoples of the
Americas, Africa, or other locales. Furthermore,
some modern Pagans simply invent new approaches to
spirituality, embracing whatever works for
them. What
qualities does one usually find in the many varied
forms of modern Paganism? Here are a few qualities
I find to be rather widespread in modern Paganism,
although these are not by any means universal
constants. Nature
symbolism. Pagans often view the natural world
as a rich source of symbolism and wisdom. The
cycles of the Sun and Moon, the motions of water
and wind, the plants and animals that live in the
wild - all these things inspire and teach
us. Polytheism
and Goddess Worship. Most Pagans step outside
the Judeo-Christian concept of God, replacing the
patriarchial image of deity with something more
organic and fluid, such as the idea of the Earth as
a mother goddess, or a pantheon of deities with
different personalities and areas of
activity. Magical
Living. Many Pagans view the world as rich in
possibilities and responsive to our own creative
impulses and desires. We see the practice of magic
in myths and folktales as a kind of model for
reshaping our own reality today. Rather than living
in a world that is bound by the laws of nature or
by the will of an omnipotent deity, Pagans live in
a world in which we are all co-creators, moment by
moment. The
Authority of Personal Experience. In many of
the traditional religions, the ultimate authority
about what is true or what is moral resides in a
sacred text or an institution. Pagans seldom give
much credence to ancient texts or authority
figures; our sense of what is true and right comes
from our own personal experience. Although we
happily share our perspectives with each other, we
recognize that one's spiritual life is a deeply
personal matter, and do not seek to impose a single
belief system on everyone. Next
Steps Now
that you have a general idea of what modern
Paganism is about, it's time to take a closer look
at what Pagans actually do! Go to
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Two. Copyright © 2008 Tom Waters |
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