What is paganism? Who is a pagan and what do you believe in? To be frank I know very little -if not nothing at all- about your religion yet the word [pagan]is used alot (mostly by christians though). It would be nice of you to answer in a simple but comprehensive form.
Just a brief FYI... Christians like to use the word Pagan for almost everything. Wicca, Pagan, Eastern Religions. Mostly because they don't know any better. The part of my religion that I have that is Wicca is more of the nature based religion. These days that is commonly called pagan. The polytheistic societies of the past were also dubbed Pagan, hence the Greek and Roman Pagan Gods. The Celtic Paganism is the one that the Wicca I practice is supossed to be closest to. And if you follow that in a way Taoism could be considered a Pagan religion as well. huh guess that means my religion is 2/3 Pagan like and 1/3 Christian... meh
What was Paganism 2000 years ago when it flourished all over the European continent? We do not know, because it was mostly destroyed by the Roman Empre, the remainder was decimated by the Holy Roman Empire and whatever was left was scattered by the four winds. Modern Neo-Paganism is mostly undefined. That is to say, it is whatever you want it to be. As Christianity, Islam and Judaism have laws and commandments, we do not. We celebrate the seasons, the planting and the harvest. We worship the earth, the trees, the mountains. Our deities are more often than not female (Goddesses). We cherish life above all things, but just as the ancients (and other religions) decreed, the spilling of blood is occasionally neccessary. We live, love, laugh, sing and the only afterlife we believe in is a rebirth in a new form. These are the generalities. Wiccans have their own idiosyncrasies, such as not harming any living creature, Druids administer to the sick, and minister to the masses. But since no one really knows, "Pagan" has become sort of a catch all... again. And Christianity threatens us once again. PS- Failte, Sister!
Reincarnation - your soul is born again into another form eg. human, animal, maybe even a tree, however it isn't like the form of reincarnation that Hindus believe in as you don't get born into "higher" or "lower" forms in accordance with your karma in your past life. Well, this is how I see it anyway, but the beauty of Paganism is that there are as many different beliefs as there are Pagans. Everyone believes something slightly different, this may be why Paganism has been called "the thinking person's religion". As a footnote, Hinduism can be thought of as a type of Paganism as they worship many different gods/deities.
the definition of paganism is that it is generally a dualistic monotheism, with an archetypal pantheon based on the earth and its associations with the sun and moon.
That really is the beauty of being a Pagan. Some take the best of Tao, Buddha, Hindu, etc and as long as one set of values does not clash with another, all is in harmony. And do not let a Hindu know you compared them to a Pagan. They don't care for that, even though they are polytheists. Hence, as LittleRedOne so aptly stated, it must be a thinking person's religion. We do not follow blindly, mostly because we have no texts to follow. But also because we only look to our druids for leadership on holidays, rather than on a weekly basis.
I've read many books on it and there are so many definitions and ideas so I'll just kind of say what I think and believe in! Firstly, I'm Wiccan. I think anyone can be Wiccan or Pagan as long as they respect nature, themselves and others. To me, its all about being in touch with nature and yourself. I know that probably sounds cheesy, but I don't have any firm definitions of it, I just think that its all about respecting your surroundings, seeing beauty and doing whatever it is that makes you happy as long as you're not hurting anyone or anything. As for the history of Paganism, I think others have posted a couple of links so I'll leave you with those!
not always but some times most pagans have a feminine aspect to the religion but its not the center and there isnt always a feminine aspect
If you read anything by Gerald Gardner. Not just anyone can be Wiccan. You must me initiated according. Also not all Pagan beliefs has a female aspect either.
True. There are sects that worship male figures alone, centered around Camulos and other male gods. We worship the earth and her fruits (the trees, mountains, etc.) and the gods and goddesses, celebrate the seasons, the sowing and the harvest, etc.
there are too many sects of paganism to really define it briefly. take some time to research the different ones. most have their wonderful points as well as their faults. for example, the Wiccan Rede ( 'an harm none') is faulty because in order to live, one must at least eat fruits and vegetables which could count as killing them. i, personally, as a Celt, believe it extremely important to cherish Nature and community,honesty, honor, and do whatever necessary to protect that which is sacred.
Yeah ditto that Pagan in the purest sense of the word, is any belief system other than Christanity, Judaism or Islam. That relates only to the very specific form of wicca that Gardner created, and several spin off sects. Of course he's going to champion his own cause. Other people just create their own personal spirituality and answer to no one but themselves and the Gods. I've done that myself and don't see how that can be any less than a tradition. You can still be a perfectly valid practitioner of wicca without an initation or tradition, but this probably won't be recognised by particular traditions. So if you want to be part of those you'd have to 'jump though the hoops' as it were.
