Paganism - A general Introduction
The words paganism and pagan are thought by some to come from the Latin "paganus," meaning "country dweller" and by others to come from Mithraic military slang for "civilians".
Neopagans tend to hold a reverence for the Earth and all its creatures, generally see all life as interconnected, and tend to strive to attune themselves to the manifestations of this belief as seen in the cycles of nature.
Pagans are generally polytheistic (believing in more than one god), and they usually believe in "immanence," or the concept of divinity residing in all things. Many pagans, though polytheistic, see all things as being part of one Great Mystery.
The apparent contradiction of being both polytheistic and monotheistic can be resolved by seeing the God/desses as masks worn by (Aspects of) the Great Mystery. Other pagans are simply monotheistic or polytheistic, and still others are atheistic. Some people regard paganism as a religion within itself; others see it as a belief system/mythos (such as monotheism) that can be incorporated into religions like Wicca or Druidism; others see it as a broad category including many religions. The fact that we are re-creating religion for ourselves after centuries of suppression makes us very eclectic and very concerned with the "rightness" of a particular thing for the individual.
Paganism (with a capital "P") is one strand of neopaganism which strives to allow each person to draw from whatever religious and cultural traditions are meaningful for the individual. The practices of Paganism derive from those of Wicca, but are not identical with those of Wicca. Some people view Paganism as a non-initiatory form of Wicca, or Wicca as an initiatory form of Paganism. Some say that Witches are the clergy of Paganism. (On the other hand, some Witches vigorously disagree with that viewpoint. As with most things Pagan, there is no answer with which everyone can completely agree.) You may also find this flavor being called "eclectic paganism."
PALEO-PAGANISM: the cultural/mythological progenitor of neopaganism; a pagan culture which has not been disrupted by being "civilized" by another culture - -Australian Bushmen modern (who are probably becoming meso-pagans), ancient Celtic religion (Druidism), the religions of the pre-"patriarchal" cultures of Old Europe, Norse religion, pre-Columbian Native American religions, etc.
CIVILO-PAGANISM: the religions of "civilized" communities which evolved in paleo-pagan cultures -- Classical Greco-Roman religion, Egyptian religion, Middle-Eastern paganism, Aztec religion, etc.
MESO-PAGANISM: a group, which may or may not still constitute a separate culture, which has been influenced by a conquering culture, but has been able to maintain an independence of religious practice --many Native American nations, etc.
SYNCRETO-PAGANISM: similar to meso-pagan, but having had to submerge itself into the dominant culture, and adopt the external practices and symbols of the other religion -- the various Afro-diasporic traditions (Voudoun, Santeria, etc.), Culdee Christianity, what "Fam-Trads" (Family Tradition that has been passed down) might still exist, etc.
NEO-PAGANISM: attempts of modern people to reconnect with nature, using imagery and forms from other types of pagans, but adjusting them (in a synthesis) to the needs of modern people.
Wicca -- in all its many forms
Asatru and other forms of Norse neopaganism
The Sabaean Religious Order
Native American practices
Church of All Worlds
Discordianism
Shamanism
Druidism
Neopagans believe in a great many goddesses and gods. However, not all neopagans believe in the same ones, or even in any at all. Many neopagans believe in a Goddess and a God that are manifest in all things, while some may be monotheistic. Some follow particular pantheons (e.g. Greek, Irish, Norse, Yoruban, Welsh), others don't stick to any one culture, and still others see the Divine in more symbolic terms.
Many ascribe certain qualities to different goddesses, such as Athena as the goddess of wisdom; Aphrodite as the goddess of love; Artemis as the goddess of the hunt, and so on. Many pagans and Witches see the Goddess in three aspects, those of Maiden, Mother and Crone; and the God in two, the Young God and the Old God, or in three, adding the Child.
Some add a third major Aspect, that of the Holy Fool, while other pagans do not believe in any gods at all, but instead honor spirits and/or totems in various forms such as animals or trees, as in many of the native American religions. As is usually the case, defining "God" is a very slippery idea. But these are some of the more common among modern pagans.
For further general Pagan Information contact:
The Secretary, The Pagan Federation, BM Box 7097, London, WC1N 3XX, England. also email Secretary@paganfed.demon.co.uk or visit The Pagan Federation Website.
See the Newsgroups soc.religion.paganism and alt.pagan
Read the soc.religion.paganism FAQ (regularly published on the newsgroup).
