I've heard a lot of stupid things about Pagans and I was wondering if everyone thought the same thing about them. So what is you defination of a Pagan? What/Who do they worship? What is you opinion on herbal arts, and energy working, (to some, this maybe known as 'witchcraft')? Thanks for your views! Love and Light Leki
The vast majority of Christian celebrations and ideas have been "ported over" from pagan beliefs. Such as ... Christmas, Easter, and a lot of other customs. A pagan worships many gods. Gaians and Wiccans are types of pagans, and when someone says "pagan," there are a lot of connotations that tend to pop into peopls' heads. Witches and witchcraft are often associated with paganism, even though it has nothing to do with the devil and even though Christian mythology is mainly derived from things like that. Ancient Greeks were pagans, as were Romans. Beliefs in all those gods such as Zeus, Achilles, Poseidon, Gaia, etc. are also pagan. And it's my understanding that witchcraft and such sorcery is predominantly just potion-making and blessing, and there is no real harm behind any of it (though there can be good, especially if one believes in it).
Gaea Gaea is the Earth goddess. She mated with her son Uranus to produce the remaining Titans. Gaea seems to have started as a neolithic earth-mother worshipped before the Indo-European invasion that eventually lead to the Hellenistic civilization. Uranus Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaea, who created him without help. He then became the husband of Gaea and together they had many offspring, including twelve of the Titans. His rule ended when when Cronus, encouraged by Gaea, castrated him. He either died from the wound or withdrew from earth. Cronus Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his Father Uranus. His wife was Rhea. There offspring were the first of the Olympians. To insure his safety Cronus ate each of the children as they were born. This worked until Rhea, unhappy at the loss of her children, tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, instead of Zeus. When he grew up Zeus would revolt against Cronus and the other Titans, defeat them, and banish them to Tartarus in the underworld. Cronus managed to escape to Italy, where he ruled as Saturn. The period of his rule was said to be a golden age on earth, honored by the Saturnalia feast. Rhea Rhea was the wife of Cronus. Cronus made it a practice to swallow their children. To avoid this, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, saving her son Zeus. Oceanus Oceanus is the unending stream of water encircling the world. Together with his wife Tethys produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs. Tethys Tethys is the wife of Oceanus. Together they produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs. Hyperion Hyperion is the Titan of light, an early sun god. He is the son of Gaea and Uranus. He married his sister Theia. Their children Helius (the sun), Selene (the moon), and Eos (the dawn). Mnemosyne Mnemosyne was the Titan of memory and the mother of Muses. Themis Themis was the Titan of justice and order. She was the mother of the Fates and the Seasons. Iapetus Iapetus was the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, and Atlas by Clymene. Coeus Coeus is the Titan of Intelligence. Father of Leto. Crius Under Construction Phoebe Phoebe is the Titan of the Moon. Mother of Leto. Thea Under Construction Prometheus Prometheus was the wisest Titan. His name means "forethought" and he was able to foretell the future. He was the son of Iapetus. When Zeus revolted against Cronus Prometheus deserted the other Titans and fought on Zeus side. By some accounts he and his brother Epimetheus were delegated by Zeus to create man. In all accounts, Prometheus is known as the protector and benefactor of man. He gave mankind a number of gifts including fire. He also tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep the best part of the animals sacrificed to the gods and to give the gods the worst parts. For this Zeus punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock with an eagle tearing at his liver. He was to be left there for all eternity or until he agreed to disclose to Zeus which of Zeus children would try to replace him. He was eventually rescued by Heracles without giving in to Zeus. Epimetheus Epimetheus was a stupid Titan, whose name means "afterthought". He was the son of Iapetus. In some accounts he is delegated, along with his brother Prometheus by Zeus to create mankind. He also accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus, which lead to the introduction of evil into the world. Atlas Atlas was the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus. Due to Cronus's advance age Atlas lead the Titan's in battle. As a result he was singled out by Zeus for a special punishment and made to hold up the world on his back. Metis Metis was the Titaness of the forth day and the planet Mercury. She presided over all wisdom and knowledge. She was seduced by Zeus and became pregnant with Athena. Zeus became concerned over prophecies that her second child would replace Zeus. To avoid this Zeus ate her. It is said that she is the source for Zeus wisdom and that she still advises Zeus from his belly. It may seem odd for Metis to have been pregnant with Athena but, never mentioned as her mother. This is because the classic Greeks believed that children were generated solely from the fathers sperm. The women was thought to be nothing more than a vessel for the fetus to grow in. Since Metis was killed well before Athena's birth her role doesn't count. Dione Dione is, according to Homer in the Iliad, the mother of Aphrodite.
Bassically Leki, their view is usually (although not always) that we unknowingly worship Satan and need to be saved, otherwise we'll burn forever in the fires of Hell for our sins. Oh and don't forget that God loves you
*nods* Thats what I heard too. I mean I know there are devil-worshipers...but thats totally different than Pagan. My mom said something about 'virgin sacrifices in Paganism' and I was like woah wtf!? No mom thats the Aztecs and they're long gone and she was like 'but what anout...' me: "no mom. just no"
Try and get your mum to read a couple of the 'beginners guide to paganism' books that are very eaisly found, theres hundreds of them avalible. My parents thought the same kindda thing as it sounds your do when I became open about it, but they'll soon understand if you educate them
Bring me a virgin, Leki, I'll deal with the problem... Truly, the only thing that surpasses the amount of information regarding Pagans is the incredibly foolish disinformation circulated about us. I have been called almost every name I can think of right here. So sad.
my view is just another religon who has not found the way of light to the cathlic church "YOUR GOING TO HELL HELL HELL HELL HELL HELL HELL HELL*whew* HELL HELL HELL HELL HELL" repeat 100 times
Worship the devil, without knowing they do, because the Devil is a lier and a deceiver... Energy Working's done with the help of demons. Nothing wrong with herbs. God gave us herbs to heal!
But if we're all born sinful anyway (due to adam and eve), then whats it matter? cause we'd go to hell no matter what we do
In anycase. Satan is a purely Christian making. The cavemen, believed in animalism (think Greek gods here, like one for each element) and their two main Gods were one of hunting, and the goddess of fertility, and crops. And since most of the aniamls they hunted were horned animals (deer, elk etc.) so their go of hunting was a horned god. When Christanity came into the world they wanted to get rid of all other religions, Paganism being one of them. *Skipping a bunch of historic events* The Curch said that our God, being horned, was their Devil, (Satan also supposedly had horns) so therfore Pagans must be devil-worsipers!! *I laugh at this logic* We don't believe in an "Ultimate Good" and an "Ultimate Evil" The Lord and Lady have both good and evil inside them, just like any human being. There is no Heavan or Hell (agian good and evil here) just rebirth. Our souls will be reborn until we experience everything the world has to offer in different lifetimes. So what we believe and what Christians believe is totally different. Futhermore, Non-Christians (waaay back during the Re-formation) at that time became known as 'Pagans' and 'Heathens'. Pagan comes from the Latin word Pagani and means "People who live in the country" and heathen means "one who dwells on the heath" So the terms were apporpriate for non-Christians at that time, but they bore no connotations of evil and their use today as a derogatory sense is quite incorrect. Also I would like to say that there is such a thing a a devil-worshiper...but it's not the same thing as Paganism! And if any of ya'll call me a "Heathen" or 'Pagan' it will be taken as a complement...since I do live in ye ol' small town in swamp. (A trailor park with small town nearby that is called "Avon Park" on the same lake as an old military bombing range, now just a military prision.)
... That just proved you don't know a thing about Christianity. The Bible never stated that the devil was horned. The church may have (not many true christians back then). Christianity didn't just come and *poof* there it was. Do you even know what Judaism is? ( Which was around the Time of Paganism. Clearly disproving your statements. Did you know the difference between the new, and old testament? I don't think you do. And I'll be waiting for your answer. Take a look at the Bible, and find out what the Torah,Prophets, as well as the Messiah is, what the new and old testaments are, and then we'll talk. Because right now you're discrediting the Jews. BTW:you don't have to tell me about your paganistic beliefs. I've been into it myself. (before I became Christian) That's why I have the right to say that you worship the devil without knowing it.
Woah! No no the CHURCH did that stuff ot the Jews...I have read the bible before...I was Christian. I have loads of Jewish friends they rock my socks! I'm not bashing anyone...I'm showing you the Pagan point of view.
Leki, I'm Pagan myself and I don't see it entirely like that. Please, don't presume to speak for all of us
okay so what does the devil look like? I'm open on this guys...It's not a religious pissing match. Damn this is tense! We can discuss this like adults. BTW, babe, where in FL do you live? j/w...always looking to meet new people! (Once met a chick on a dating site, went to the movies. We pretty good friends. Helped her babysit the other day)
