What does Pagan mean?
"When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means he or she follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures are our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and father God, who together created all that is, was, or will be. We respect life, cherish the free will of sentient beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation."
~ Edain McCoy
Dictionary definition: pagan a. & n. heathen
heathen n. person who is neither Christian, Jewish, Muslim, nor Buddhist.
The word Pagan comes from the Latin word paganus - meaning country-dweller. Today Pagan is used to describe followers of earth religions such as Wicca and other magickal shamanistic and polytheistic religions.
'Pagan' can be used interchangably with the word Neo-Pagan.
'Neo-Pagan' litterally means new-Pagan. A member, follower or sympathizer of one of the newly formed Pagan religions now spreading throughout the world. All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan.
'Paganism' means the practice and beliefs of things Pagan, eg: if one is Wiccan, this is a form of Paganism, though Paganism itself is not a religion.
Note that satanism is not a form of Paganism, though most believe it to be. Rather it is a form of Christianity, as Pagans don't recognize a devil, or any evil deity for that matter.
