Pagan 201

Beginning in the Middle

Quotes
„ Abraham Joshua Heschel: "Remember that there is a meaning
beyond absurdity. Be sure that every little deed counts, that every
word has power. Never forget that you can still do your share to
redeem the world in spite of all absurdities and frustrations and
disappointments."

„ Albert Einstein: A human being is a part of the whole called by us

universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself,
his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a
kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind
of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to
affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our
circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of
nature in its beauty.
What is it to be a Modern Pagan?
„ This question is so fundamental.
„ Where do we start our explorations of our new
found wonder or the next turn in our path?
„ We ask it of ourselves and of the others we
encounter as we search for spiritual meaning.
 Our Goals
„ The problem and part of the glory of choosing our
paths is the fact there is for each of us a different
answer to this basic question.
„ What we are here to discuss this evening is how to
establish a common ground that can be shared with
the curious and the new.
„ And maybe open a new Door.
Being Defined Western culture for a long time
has been given to Portraying
non-Christian faith paths as
something to be at best toyed
with and and worst dangerous
as any serial killer.
• Heathen: not acknowledging the God of
Christianity and Judaism and Islam
• Pagan: One who is not a Christian,
Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper
of a polytheistic religion. One who has
no religion. A non-Christian.
Being Defined Cont.
Witch: A woman claiming or
popularly believed to possess magical
powers and practice sorcery. A hag,
A woman considered to be spiteful
or overbearing.
Or, A believer or
follower of Wicca; a
Wiccan.
A Question
„ Have any of you ever experienced or been
influenced either positively or negatively by
something you have seen in popular media
about witches or pagans?
Being Non-Christian but not one of the Asian faiths (Buddhist, Hindu, Shinto, etc)
has left the Modern Pagan with Some very tenuous and negative social stereo-types.

These have become our Archetypes - an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from
the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious.
– These are the things that we are drawn to and desire to emulate.
– Many that are drawn to any of the definitions or images above are looking to “different”.
Sometimes with out care of the negative or the positive.
 In Moderation:
In counter to those popular culture stereo-types are the
classical art images, stories and history of the Greek
and Roman Gods, the Norse Myths, and even the fairy
tales and stories of other Indo-European cultures.

These pieces of history – our

linage have survived in the world
of academics, theologians, the
peoples of Europe and even
through the use of Latin in both
the Christian faith and Science.
These sub-contexts have left
enough of a footing for use to
build and explore from.
A Question
„ Can any of you recall a myth or a tale that
brought you closer to seeking out more
about paganism?
The Roots of Modern Paganism
„ Open to a great deal of debate.
… Obviously the sources of our paths are ancient.
… Some have roots in faith paths that have been in continues
practice (Native American, other tribal paths, Hinduism).
… Many only survived as piecemeal practices, rituals, and
ornamentation that where subsumed in the dominate role that
Christianity had to play over the last 2000 some years.
… This did not just happen to the “Western” Goddesses and
Gods. Think of South America, Polynesia, the natives peoples
of many places.
Modern History (20th Century)
„ Wicca, Paganism, Astaru, - are groups of religions
based, in part, on ancient, northern European Pagan
beliefs in a fertility Goddess and her consort, a horned
God.
„ Although the religion is a modern creation, some of its
sources pre-date the Christian era by many centuries.
„ Most of us do not believe that their religion is a direct,
continuous descendent of this earlier religion. They see it as
a modern reconstruction.
 Some of our Origins
„ Charles Leland (1824-1903) published a book in 1899: Aradia: Gospel of the
Witches. Leland was the founder of the Gypsy Lore Society, editor of the
Philadelphia Bulletin, and a prolific author and folklorist. Aradia deals mainly with
the Goddess Diana.
„ Margaret Murray (1863 - 1963) authored The Witch Cult in Western Europe and
The God of the Witches. These books promoted the concept that some of the
Witches who were exterminated by Roman Catholics and Protestants during the
"Burning Times“.
„ Gerald Gardner (1884 - 1964), a British civil servant, who: has written that he
joined an existing Wiccan Coven in 1939, taking the (then) usual vows of secrecy.
… added many rituals, symbols, concepts and elements from ceremonial magick,
Freemasonry and other sources to "flesh out" the coven's beliefs and practices,
most of which had been long forgotten.
… wrote Witchcraft Today in 1954
„ Other individuals discount this belief system and maintain that there was no
continuous Wiccan presence from Celtic times to the 20th century.
„ Still others trace Wicca back to a little known faith group in New England in the
early 20th century.

From: http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_hist.htm
A Question
„ Do you think the origins of the neo-pagan
paths are:
… Criticallyimportant into understanding
ourselves.
… Just a good reference point in understand we
are in the process of creating something new
(possible paradigm shift)
Focus on Western Pagans
„ Most of us here are interested in what we can call Neo –
Paganism (New Pagans).
„ What is the position of Neo-paganism on the issue of Gods? -
There is NO ONE position
„ However Don’t fear there are some Guidelines. But for that we
have to dip a bit into Polytheology…
… Theology in monotheistic terms is"the field of study, thought, and analysis
concerning the nature of God, His attributes, and His relations to the
universe and humans in particular."
… Polytheology, then, is the study of the religious thought of Pagans and
their deities. It can encompass monotheism, since the god of a particular
monotheism can be discussed as other deities are.
THEISM versus DEISM
„ Both terms came into common use in the 17th century.
„ The Deists believe that God created the world and then had little
or nothing to do with it.
„ Theists believe that God created the world and remains involved
with it.
„ The contrast between Theism and Pan-Theism is that in
Pantheism the divine, identified with the world, is wholly
immanent, whereas in Theism deity is both transcendent and
immanent.
„ Some Neo-pagans believe that the Divine is both immanent and
transcendent. Therefore some neo-pagans are actually Theists,
conforming to the modern so-called dipolar theism which posits a
balance between transcendence and immanence, absoluteness and
relativity, in the conception of deity.
A Question
„ Have you ever thought of paganism in the
terms of a deist or theist point of view?
„ Why?
 „ From Margot Adler, “Drawing Down the
Animism Moon”: "Animism is used to imply a reality in
which all things are imbued with vitality.”
… The ancient world view did not conceive of a
separation between 'animate' and 'inanimate.' All
things from rocks and trees to dreams were
considered to partake of the life force.
… At some level Neo-Paganism is an attempt to
reanimate the world of nature; or, perhaps
more accurately, Neo-Pagan religions allow their
participants to reenter the primeval world view,
to participate in nature in a way that is not
possible for most Westerners after childhood.
… The Pagan revival seems to be a survival
response to the common urban and suburban
experience of our culture as 'impersonal,'
'neutral,' or 'dead.'"
Hylozoism
„ View that all matter is alive, either in itself or by
participation in the operation of a world soul or some
similar principle.

„ The word was coined in the 17th

century by Ralph Cudworth, who with
Henry More (1614 – 1687) spoke of
"plastic nature," an unconscious,
incorporeal substance that controls and
organizes matter and thus produces
natural events as a divine instrument of
change.
Panpsychism
„ W.L. Reese, Dictionary of Philosophy
Religion, Eastern and Western Thought -
from Greek pan and psyche, meaning
everything is possessed of soul.
„ Although there is a distinction between
possessing soul (panpsychism) and
possessing life (hylozoism), in practice
this division is difficult to maintain.
„ Early Greek philosophers viewed matter
as intrinsically active, Aristotle is on the
line between panpsychism and hylozoism.
A Question
„ Which of these three concepts rings most
“true” to you?
… Animism
… Hylozoism
… Panpsychism
PANTHEISM
„ Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon: "For many Pagans,
pantheism implies much the same thing as animism. It is a view
that divinity is inseparable from nature and that deity is immanent
in nature.
„ Neo-Pagan groups participate in divinity. The title of this book
implies one such participation: when a Craft priestess becomes the
Goddess within the circle.
„ (The ritual act of) "Drawing down the Moon" symbolizes the idea
that we are the gods, or can, at least, become them from time to
time in rite and fantasy "
So how do we articulate what it means to join our
community to someone that maybe curious?
„ The fancy terms we just used
gives us some thought out
foundations but may be a bit
over the top
„ We believe in general that
there is a greater spirit that
connects all, but it is also part
of us, there is no separation
between us and the divine.
„ This allows use as a group
more flexibility and less
tolerance for Dogma. Again –
THERE IS NO ONE PATH.
Personal Responsibility
„ We acknowledge responsibility for
our own actions, we are our own
saviors.
„ We act, react & and live with the
benefits or consequences in then
now.
„ The can manifest itself as a
concern to live as part of nature,
not outside of or over it.
„ Equality of the sexes, of gender
definition, of acceptance should be
incorporated in the view of
polytheistic moral.
 The Divine
„ The “Divine” is so all
encompassing that they may be
distinct Gods and Goddesses, or
broken into numerous aspects,
renamed, re-envisioned to help us
make them comprehensible and
easier to relate to.
„ There are hundreds of different
Pagan paths. All can be further
subdivided into traditions.
„ The limit is “our” understanding.
A Question
„ How many if any of you have a personal Deity?
… What are you views on the Gods?
„ Are the many one?
„ Are each their own?
„ Are we just not capable as beings in truly knowing?
Cycle of the Year
• Many Pagan paths focus on the
seasons or the cycle (wheel) of the
year.
This focus helps us to understand, link, and
live fully with all of nature. It also helps
us understand the nature of the divine from
both the Female and Male points of view.
For many Pagans it is the complete
immersion in the natural world and the
acknowledgement of the divine in us that
make may declare a completeness or sense
of home within themselves.
 The Sabats
Yule (Winter Solstice)– Is the shortest day of the year. Litha (Summer Solstice) - Is the longest day of the
The goddess gives birth to the god. The shortest day year and brings us to the zenith of the Sun God's
of the year. A reminder that after death comes rebirth. power. He is celebrated and honored in order to
ensure a large harvest.

Imbolc - It represents the recovery of the Goddess Lammas – Is the first Harvest. It is at this time
(she awakens from rest) after giving birth to the God. that we first begin reaping the fruits of our hard
The world readies itself for the coming of new life. labor. We celebrate with great feasts and lots of
thanksgiving.
Ostara (Spring Equinox) – Light and dark balance Mabon – (Autumn Equinox) a time of balance, but
waiting for the Gods power to Wax. This day the also to the second harvest. We prepare for the cold
Goddess blankets the Earth with fertility. Days and months ahead. We resolve to equalize within
nights are equal in length. The Gods Power grows. ourselves anything that we believe to be "tipping the
scales"
Beltane - The God and Goddess fall in love and unite. Samhain - it is the Pagan New Year. We reflect
It is the time of fertility. back on all the things that have come to pass in
the previous year. We look forward to new
beginnings. It is one of the most Holy of our
Holidays.
A Question
„ Does knowing of the cycle of the year bring
you closer to the life around you?
„ Or do you still feel apart?
„ Why?
Ritual
„ All Pagan faith paths and traditions
have some form of ritual with them.
„ Some can be very simple and some
can be very complex.
„ Each path has its own way of
attuning its followers to the world
and their chosen Goddesses and Gods.
The Elements
„ The 4 Elements stand for CREATION itself.
„ They are the Corner Stones of CREATION, because they are in
everything.
„ They are Principles of Being, and so they are part of macrocosm,
and microcosm, and of us.
„ In the material plain they are physical basis for life,
„ and at the same time they have the power of the most terrible
destruction
The Link between the Elements & Directions
„ Air: Air is the element of the East, connected to the soul and the breath of life. If
you’re doing a working related to communication, wisdom or the powers of the mind,
Air is the element to focus on. Air carries away your troubles, blows away strife,
and carries positive thoughts to those who are far away.
„ Fire: Fire is a purifying, masculine energy, associated with the South, and connected to
strong will and energy. Fire both creates and destroys, and symbolizes the fertility of
the God. Fire can heal or harm, and can bring about new life or destroy the old and
worn.
„ Water: Water is related to the West, and associated with passion and emotion. Used
for healing, cleansing, and purification. In some covens, water is used to consecrate the
circle and all the tools within it.
„ Earth: Connected to the North, Earth is considered the ultimate feminine element. The
Earth is fertile and stable, associated with the Goddess. The planet itself is a ball of
life, and as the Wheel of the Year turns, we can watch all the aspects of life take
place in the Earth: birth, life, death, and finally rebirth. The Earth is nurturing, and
firm, full of endurance and strength.
A Question
… In looking at the elements and their directions, do
you think its important to identify with and explore
those forces within your own spirit?
Magick – A Subject onto itself
„ There are many questions, opinions, and comments on this topic as
part of pagan worship.
„ Magick will be the subject of our fifth talk in detail.
„ For now lets just look at it from a point of raising personal
energy, however you wish to envision it, and the roll that plays in
our worship.
„ Raising personal energy is part of the monthly cycle of the moon.
Being in tune with its movements and influence helps us be in
tune with ourselves and the greater world.
The Esabats - Also called a Lunar ritual.
„ Esabats are Full and new moon celebrations so understanding the phases
is important to personal energy usage.
„ Full moon energy is used for banishing unwanted influences in your life,
protection magick and divination. Full moon magick can be conjured for
seven days, the night of the full moon and the three days either side of
it.
„ The new moon is used for personal growth, healing, the blessing of a
new project or venture etc.
„ The waning moon (between full and new) is a time for banishing and
rejecting things in our lives that we no longer wish to carry around with
us.
„ The waxing moon (between new and full) is a good time for attraction
magick.
„ The dark of the moon is the three days before the new moon when the
moon is not visible in the sky. This is a time to take a break from
performing magick.
Opening the Circle – The Rede and the Law
„ Many, Not all pagans use the Rede and the Law as the ethical and
moral underpinnings of Western Paganism.
„ This will be discuss more fully on during our forth session.
„ The Rede - An it harm none, do as ye will.
„ The Law – All good that a person does to another returns 3 fold
in this life; harm is also returned three fold.
„ For us there is no sin there is only personal accountability and
acceptance of the consequences of our choices. Wisdom and thought,
charity and Love will make ones life rich and full.
A Question
„ Do you feel like you have a basic overview
of the nature of the pagan paths?