pagantruth

The Truth about Paganism

It has taken me a long time to come out about my faith and spiritual beliefs. And I still haven't come out to everyone. I am Pagan. Not Wiccan, not Shaman, not Druid, just Pagan. Actually I don't even believe in religion. I feel Paganism is more of a philosphy, not a religion. I believe that The Earth is to be replenished and repaired, nurtured and shared....not dominated and used. To me, Paganism is not a past time, or thing to be a "part of" but a way of life. It's breath.

Many other religions and people in society will have you believe that Pagans are evil doers who sacrafice animals, dance under the full moon naked and are at the very least imoral. Ok, so the naked under the moon thing happens with some people, but not the hurting of animals or any other sort of sacrafice or blood shedding. And most of us are very moral, and have very strict ethics. Pagans are also said to be devil worshippers....this is absolutely NOT true, because there is no devil or satanic being or evil deity in The Craft, or Neo-Paganism or My Paganism for that matter. So how could one be worshiped? We don't feel the need to blame an evil diety for our bad choices. We feel that we each must take responsibility for our own actions.

So what is Paganism? Who are those who profess to be Pagan? Paganism as a whole is any Earth-based beliefe system. We are just like you, we eat, we raise families, we own businesses, we buy homes, we walk our dogs, we plant gardens, we recycle, we have to make our beds everyday just like you! We just simply do things a little bit closer to The Earth. Paganism is a philosophy that revolves around nature, the planet, the sun and the moon. We feel that our planet, our lives, our existance runs in cycles. We believe that the seasons change and evolve it's creatures, so we pay attention and respect the natural rythm of things. Pagans are gentle, nature based people who practice a gentle system of belief. We celebrate the seasons and the moon as they influence our lives and cycles of growth and believe that humans, plants, animals and The Earth are not seperate beings, but part of a greater circle. So when one is hurt or ignored, it effects the rest of the circle.

Another confusion is the symbol of the Pentacle. A Pentacle is a 5 pointed star with a circle around it. Some people will tell you it's an evil symbol, but it is not evil at all! It is a sign of peace and nature. The star in fact used to be the symbol of the Christian faith before they adopted the Cross symbol. The star used to symbolize the 5 wounds of Christ. For Pagans, the star sybolizes Spirit (symbolized by the top point) and the 4 elements (symbolized by the remaining 4 points) and the circle around it symbolizes that Spirit and the Elements are all connected and one being, one creation. So you see, it's a gentle symbol, often used for protection, as a Christain would use the cross, not a symbol of some evil deity or devil.

Now as for spells and charms, yes most of us use these. Our spells are very similar to prayers. Just as a Christian would pray and ask for divine intervention, or healing for the sick, or guidance, our spells serve the same purpose. Sometimes our "prayers" just utilize tools like candles, herbs, talismans, etc. Let me stress here that for me, and most Pagans, I think, our spells are NEVER, let me repeat, NEVER intended to cause hurt, pain or discomfort to anyone, including ourselves. Our sacred creed says "If it harm none, do what you will". Our spells are performed to help heal, gather strength, commune with The Divine, ask for guidance, or intervention, help with problems or to help remove obsticles. It's very simple, really!

We fallow a basic law of cause and effect, that everything we do comes back to us times three, basically the same idea as Karma and the Christian saying..."you reep what you sow." We believe that what we put out there in the physical world, comes back to us times three in the Spiritual or Emotional realm.....both good and bad. Most Pagans are sweet, gentle people, not evil and mean. It would just come back to us times three if we were! We worship a Creator, infact the same creator that other religions worship, just called by different names. Many religions of today consider The Creator to be a man. We consider The Creator to be a Goddess, a Great Mother, who's womb created all life as we know it. As it has been practiced for thousands of years. But when it really comes down to truth, The Creator isn't limited to any sex or body. The Creator is everything, and all things....we only need to put a body and face on it for our limited conciousness to understand it. I sometimes like to think of the Creator as a huge oak tree with roads all around it. Each road symbolises a different religion. They all lead to the oak tree, but take different paths.

Most Pagans are content to be sensitive to the spiritual beliefs of others and we do not try to convert anyone to our faith. That is a practice of some religions, but not Paganism. And we have the right to the same in return. We don't want to be told how wrong we are or how we must fallow your faith. We are happy with our own and we won't push our faith on you, so please don't push your faith on us. Most Pagans are open to adult discussion of the differences of our faiths, but not attacks. So please keep your mind open and don't beleive all the Pagan propaganda dispensed by some religions until you know the truth. Pagans are good people, and you probably know more of them than you think!

Blessed Be.

Your comments are welcome....please email me if you'd like to contribute something.