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Paganism is more a philosophy and an intimate, person to person way of life. The Pagan Path is very close to the soul of Humanity,
it is a natural belief which sees human beings as they are, and the world as it is, and doesn't seek to push either into preconceived
molds. It sees the richness and mystery of nature and opens a way to the understanding of it.
There are many different paths of Paganism, the Wiccan Way is but one path, there are Pagans the world over who worship the
Earth Mother and the Sky Father, the Rain God and the Rainbow Goddess, and the Little People in the mists on the other side.
A Pagan is one who worships the Goddesses and Gods of nature, we realize the powers of the universe exist, not apart, but
as part of mankind, these powers may be contacted and benefit may be gained from them. The movement of these natural forces
directly affect our lives. The Pagan celebrates this force, in fact unifies with it, through the calendar of the year which
we call the greater and lesser festivals.
There are some beliefs that Pagans share in common which are somewhat different from those of other religions
A Pagan does not believe that man is born innately "sinful" and realizes that the concept of sin is harmful to human nature.
We give honor to many Gods on the Pagan Path. These many Gods are the Many Forms of the One God. The great force that lies
behind all creation. This force is a state of "Pure Being", it is neither good or bad it just "IS". The Pagan realizes that
mankind has always known of the existence of this "Pure Being", this Super Intelligence, and has called It by thousands of
names for tens of thousands of years. Men and women of all eras have drawn strength and power, warmth and security from this
source.
A Pagan knows that man is not better than woman, nor woman superior to man. What one lacks the other can give, and one cannot
be truly alive without the other. There is no greater magic than that of man and woman together.
Pagans believe that they have experienced previous lives in previous eras of this world. We know of the existence of the spark
of life that is within us that does not die, and that returns again and again until it has evolved to that which we call the
eternal existence above all existences.
I could not hope to cover everything about Paganism, it is too diverse, it is a living, growing faith, but I should like to
close with something I read many years ago, so many I no longer remember where, but it has always symbolized Paganism for
me.
'But tell us of your Goddess as you love her, and the Gods that guide your works and we'll listen with wonder, for to do less
would be arrogant. But we'll do more; for the heart of a man is aching for memories only half forgotten, and the Old Ones,
only half unseen. We'll write the old myths as they were always written, and we'll read them on the rocks and in the caves
and in the deep of the greenwood's shade, and we'll hear them in the rippling mountain streams and in the rustling of the
leaves, and we'll see them in the storm clouds, and in the evening mists. We've no wish to create a new religion...for our
religion is as old as the hills and older, and we've no wish to bring differences together. Differences are like different
flowers in a meadow, and we are all one in the Mother.'
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