Copyright © Robert Mark Shepherd 2005
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"Pagan" Defined
--Edain McCoy
--The Encyclopaedia of Witches and Witchcraft
*Honoring, revering, or worshipping a Deity or Deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal, or tribal mythology; and/or *Practicing religion or spirituality based upon shamanism, shamanic, or magickal practices; and/or *Creating new religion based on past Pagan religions and/or futuristic views of society, community, and/or ecology; and/or *Focusing religious or spiritual attention primarily on the Divine Feminine."
The word "Pagan" comes from the Latin paganus ("country dweller") and pagus ("country district"). The Roman Empire (27 BC- AD 312) found it easier to force concentrated city populations to convert to Christianity than the scattered farm folk of the countryside, who tended to retain their native religions. Today, of course, "pagan" means much more. Today's Pagan movement is a new spirituality free from guilt, which emphasizes the divine within, and its direct connection with Deity, the Great Divine being that is beyond our full comprehension. There is no dogma, no central governing body, and no single "bible." There is no proselytizing, or even a desire to do so. But there is spirituality, and freedom to interpret messages from the "nonordinary" realms. In general, a pagan practices a faith that honors and/or worships a Pre-Christian Deity or Deities, sometimes based on shamanic or magickal principles, and/or focusing on the feminine aspect of Deity. Common also is a desire to live in harmony with nature and the Earth, and the free exercise of thought and action, provided no person or being is harmed. Satanism is not a pagan tradition, but a fundamental Christian sect. To worship an antichrist, one must believe in a divine Christ (i.e., be a "Christian."). Pagans today generally do not acknowledge Christ or the Judeo-Christian God, do not believe in Christian "devils," or acknowledge Christian propaganda describing the Horned God as "evil." For two thousand years many denominations of Christianity have slandered the pagan religions in order to gain converts (by the sword if necessary) and to establish political power; fortunately, these lies are becoming more evident as today's pagan awareness increases, due in no small part to the Information Revolution. Witchcraft and Wicca are pagan religions, granted the full protection of the law as any other religion in most democratic countries. Some consider Witchcraft synonymous to Wicca, some consider them distinct paths; In PSR we do not engage in this argument. However, most Pagans do agree that these two religions are unrelated to Christianity and Satanism, as they pre-date Judeo-Christianity by many hundreds of years.
In the distant past, conquering invaders nearly eliminated the pagan religions, (including vast libraries containing works by Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Confucius, and Lao-tzu). Much, however, did survive, and most of today's pagan traditions have been reconstructed from these ancient information sources. Pagan paths are usually duotheistic or polytheistic belief systems (honoring a Goddess and God, and/or multiple gods). Because of personal choice, or lack of contact with other pagans, many of today's pagans are solitary practitioners. Those who do manage to find each other form small groups, called, according to the tradition: circles, covens, garths, groves, hearths and kindreds. They celebrate eight main 'holy days,' called Sabbats, on the equinoxes, solstices, and on calendar dates in between, the most important of these being Samhain (which is Gaelic, and pronounced "sow-when") or "Halloween." No tradition is right or wrong, but simply a matter of choice. Every culture in the world has a word to describe the sun; it is the same sun, with the same properties, it rises and falls regularly, and warms the land and brings forth the harvest. Yet, the names are different. Every culture has a word for Deity as well, and as there are many different kinds of people and cultures in the world, Deity has many faces (religions) with which to interact with all.
But I Don't Know if I'm "Pagan" Enough In PSR it doesn't matter how "pagan" one is. Or what is a real witch, what is real witchcraft, what is rubbish . . . these controversies belong outside of PSR. Our sanctum is a temple, and there should always be peace within it. Pax Templi. The only qualifier for PSR membership is a desire to recover. As has often happened with our members, some have had vague feelings since childhood for paganism and earth religion, but never knew how to put it into words. Once in PSR, the diverse world of Paganism opened up before them. Native American paths have many things in common with western pagan beliefs: both are nature oriented, both recognize spirits and elementals as thinking entities, both recognize a spirit that permeates everything, both value ritual habiliments and tools, and both embrace a spiritual energy (magick) that is accessible to all. Both have also been the victim of self-righteous Christian missionaries. Buddhist, Taoist and other eastern beliefs have also found their way into our program
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