About Paganism:

Minimally, a Pagan was a country dweller, the term was often used to degrade the folk, a little like calling someone a “red-neck” or “hillbilly.” Their direct association and dependence on the Earth and Her natural cycles inspired reverence for these forces.

These Pagans might migrate to the urban centers. There they would be exploited to make improvements on the cities.

Today the neo-Pagan — a modern reconstruction — strives for that same degree of reverence. How we express that reverence is where I believe we most often differ. We may identify neo-Pagans as having some combination of the following:

Many Pagans hold all of nature as sacred. Pantheism is the belief that All is God, or that the Universe is God. Or more honestly, something that the word “God” is only the best available term that does not really fit. Panentheism is the position that All is in God, or that the universe is a part of God. Pantheism is not reverencing Nature above God, as I’ve heard told. It is reverencing Nature as God, or God as Nature. This God of gods, Demon of demons, is spoken of in Greek, Roman, Xemetic … across human expression.

If we consider the Universe as alive, then would it not be intelligent? The pantheist sees that intelligence as impersonal, the panentheist sees it as personal. The real difference is in how the theist relates to that intelligence.

If we could compare the intelligence of the Universe to our own, we can see that mind as having components, which in turn are composed of smaller elements. I think that, just as elements within my own body or mind may function relatively independently (one part thinking about what to fix for dinner, another focused on the cute thing on the sidewalk, still another on the circus the called a game last night), the components of the Universe's mind and body might function — relatively — autonomously. The question of Dynamism is simply one of how autonomous each component is, and how each relates to other elements, including those that compose them, as well as those they are elements of.

Dynamism is the belief that Nature is saturated with spirit or mind. This spirit imparts those parts with some level of intelligence, will, and awareness. Now, a water molecule may have more awareness than a hydrogen atom, and an ocean may have more awareness than a water molecule. This Dynamism can evolve into:

It is quite possible that an intelligent being would have no corporeal form. Whether they evolved that way, or it is a stage of development (between bodies) is a separate and coexisting question. Then again, the god might be us looking at some of our own components out of context so we don't recognize it as part of us. Either way, we have yet to scientifically describe our own psyche so it might be plugged into a proper theory. In the end, Theology is an attempt to describe divinity in rational terms.

Polytheism is the belief that there are several independent personalities in a Single Deity, or several independent Deities, or some combination of both. This belief may include the existence of the fairy folk, Divine Ancestors, angels or demons (just a god, a little like a servant of a king, rather than an itinerant resident) and other “Virtual Beings.”

Pagans — indeed many Cultures of Faith — do not need a Cosmic Boggie-man for anything. Some people make bad, angry, or selfish choices, often simply because they are human. Some make good choices that get interfered with, and end badly. And some make a choice because they know no other to make. Finally, there are times when there aren't any good choices, and we must act and hope events are better in the long-term. We are human, even the gods cannot see all ends. We can always work on being wiser today, rather than otherwise. Blaming the Devil or her Servants only adds to the evil of the moment, keeps us from honestly learning from our mistakes, and spreads the evil like toxic slime.

When human awareness was still rather simple, we saw the very forces of nature with awe. We do not like to be afraid. In our dreams, when we become irrational and see what our rational minds ignore — or in those days when lightening and mighty winds would still terrify us — we would look to demons to sort them out. In time, we simply blamed them for our problems, and expected them to take the punishment accordingly. The Shadow is the antithesis of the Ego, our anti-ego. This Shadow is the guardian of every secret thought, even those desires that are too young or too fragile to be brought into the light. We may even put her in charge of those desires that society has declared taboo, such as voyeurism. If we cannot avoid these vain and empty desires, and we do not give these taboos a healthy place to air out (those who like to look are placed with those who like to be looked at) the Shadow can become a personal demon, interfering with every other thought. I believe this is where many psychological and social disorders arise.

There may be virtual beings (translate as “spiritual beings”) who have a malevolent purpose. These are no different from humans or other animals with malevolent interests, and are just as miserable for similar reasons.

A Pagan is more likely to weigh his or her own spiritual experiences with the Divine with greater authority than any other’s. This does not mean that the Pagan will discount another’s account. The problem is that my attempt to put into words what is intrinsically indescribable will often fall short in the effort. A picture of a flower or of the sun will not do the flower or the sun justice, and another’s report will not be the same as yours.

Imagine this, someone stands on the moon and takes a breath taking picture of Earth with Mars behind. Now this person has seen and experienced all of this personally, and has taken a good picture of it. Now, you can enjoy the picture, and try to imagine what it was like at the moment this someone saw that alignment at that time. Yet, imagine all you can, you have never been to the moon. Even if you could occupy the very same spot at the very same time, (ignoring the exclusionary theorem) you would have still seen the event through your own gestalt.

They say that faith without work is dead. We can also say that work without faith is just as dead. Without meaning in our lives (and there is no meaning guaranteed to any existence) life is little more than a pursuit of pleasure while we avoid pain. This is the meaning of life to an amoeba. Humanity is more complex than that. Living solely by the guidance of the Id can lead to depression, and burn out. The Sabbaths, great and small, rituals and the pursuit of cunjure ductors, each serve to help us find meaning in everything we seek to do in this life. The greatest Sabbath is helping another human live their life. Finding or making some time to rest and reflect is good. This adds moral, restores energy, and repairs physical and emotional damage from stress. Making the day somewhat symbolic can enhance one’s pursuit of meaning, and inspire us to be better.

In Paganism, in any Culture of Faith, the sacred are set off from the ordinary. Time and place are set apart with some ritual or ceremony. Candles are lit and Sabbaths have begun. The song of farewell marks its end. Sacred script, tools, and garments are placed with reverence into special places. Some words are spoken only under special occasions or circumstances. The real difference between the sacred and the ordinary is solely in the mind of she or he who holds it as such. Should one choose to make a time, place, person, or tool sacred, she or he should take care to keep it so.

The eternal present is an emphasis on the spiritual reality of cyclical and mythological events in an ever returning spiral. Events are very likely to recur. This is opposing time held as linear, that is, time has a beginning, a present, and an end.

I am indebted to Gus diZerega and his book, Pagans and Christians: The Personal Spiritual Experience in developing these definitions. Please see my Current Project on this subject; Pagan Apologetics at the Pagan Ministers’ Counsel

The flavor. We might consider it this way. The Pagan recognizes a direct association and dependence on the Earth, and Her natural cycles inspired reverence for these forces. The Heathen’s focus is on the Hearth (hence the name) and by extension, the family that relies on her. Heathenism (sometimes called The Northern Path, Asatrú, the Way of the Viking) honors the old gods and codes of the Norsemen and the Vikings who explored the farthest reaches of the globe while the rest of Europe was still arguing about where the seat of the Roman Empire really was, and Christianism was only just starting to get too big for its britches. To say that Heathenism is just another flavor of Paganism is to reduce both to a rational scope of philosophy that rests on tastes, rather than a personal spiritual experience.

Well, If you define Pagan as I have, as “a respectable relationship with nature that is rather uninformed by civilization,” then sort of. Such a Pagan can even embrace Christian beliefs. If you define Pagan as “not Christian,” then Hoodoo and its cousin Vodoun are ... again, sort of. While some Christians will accept the Practice of Hoodoo within the framework of Christian culture, others would consider the Hoodoo practice “Witchcraft” and in complete war with Christ.

Hoodoo and Vodoun are eclectic amalgamations of magical practices built within an African matrix. Hoodoo is constructed by Central African (Bantu) slaves in America with Protestant and Native-American components. It shares some features with Vodoun, though differs in many details. Hoodoo was built in a Protestant country by central African sources, Vodoun in a Catholic community by West African (Niger, Yoruba, Songhai) sources, with Carribean components added in. We ought to recognize that, none of the African communities or empires were ever entirely isolated from each other [DuBois, The Negro]. There are places where Hoodoo and Vodoun practitioners can exchange ideas (such as Florida and Louisiana). Fundamentally, the differences between the two can sometimes seem … insignificant, unless you are a practitioner of any degree of skill. Then the differences are clear, and sometimes important

As for being Pagan, each is strongly informed by Christian traditions, though often these are of heterodoxic flavors. Like so many cultures across this planet, the old gods may become devils or saints in the garb of the Christian Faith, or even be reduced to folkloric heroes. Sometimes, old spells are replaced or supplemented by psalms and prayers. Hoodoo, itself, is informed with elements from Christian Qabala and Hermetic Alchemy. Most of the practitioners either are genuine Christians, or would like you to believe they are Christians. ( Except for being wary of Confidence Artists, it is no one’s place to decide whether they are or not, except the practitioner’s.)

A skilled Hoodoo practitioner could be called a root doctor, conjure doctor or a two-headed doctor.
On the side, I am not a Hoodoo Conjure-Doctor. I am a simple student of all the arts of nature, and have taken a correspondence course on the subject. This will inform much of what I know in the future, and will flavor any essay that broaches on similar subjects. I have not been initiated into any Hoodoo sect, or been given any direct education on the subject. While I can speak about Hoodoo from time to time, I will not tell you that I can speak for Hoodooism in any degree of depth. Just so we are clear on that, fuzzy area of ethics. This would be like a biologist sharing some information on the functions of the body, though not giving medical advice. For a more thorough review, I would recommend my readers go to The Lucky Mojo Curio C^o.