Evil sea
What does Paganism mean to you? Do you see yourself as a Neo-Pagan, traditional, ancient or combination? To me modern Paganism, unless a follower specifies their belief, must be a combination. Myself, I worship the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient paths.
Some folk maybe surprised to discover that Paganism is not limited to Europe. Many ancient beliefs are steeped in Paganism but as often there was no written word or communication between ancient peoples they developed their own ways, their own paths, their own Gods and Goddesses. Need proof. Well the possibly best known is the Indian religion of Hinduism. Hindus worship many deities male and female. The Vikings, Celts, Trojans, Romans, Greeks etc. had their own Gods and Goddesses, but where as the pantheons went by different names they were cut from the same cloth, Gods and Goddesses of War, Sun, Rivers, Oceans etc.
Before the disaster known as HIV hit Africa the other disaster to hit the dark continent was missionaries bringing Christianity. Many African people even today suffer guilt and an identity crisis. They continue to worship the Christian God but hedge their bets by following the Nynanga, Shamaan, Sangoma or Witchdoctor. An example is the River God of the great Zambezi, NYNAMINYAMI. The God is pictured as a fish and serpent. When Lake Kariba was being built in the 1950's many workers lost their lives when a coffer damn burst, the raging torrents sweeping them to their deaths, the local Tonga tribe said the God was angry because they had tried to dam his river. Traditional Healers abound, witchdoctors make their potions, if they tell someone there is a death curse upon them and it cannot be overcome, that individual will die. Aboriginies and Maories, Native American Indians, all Pagan people. Pacific peoples or South Sea Islanders, pagans one and all.
Our paths may vary as may the deities we believe in but if all these beliefs were heaped together we would find Paganism enjoying a much wider following that is genereally believed.
So, having very briefly explored the world, what does it mean for us in the British Isles, Europe and the white commonwealth?
You may believe in a specific God and Goddess, the Lord and Lady, a male or female or mixed deity. You may ally these to a plethora of deities, a multitude. Alternatively you may believe only in energy or spirits of nature. You may see energy in plants, trees, water, fire, air, rocks, earth and the human spirit. You may interpret the spirit or energy of an animal. In other words there is no fixed point, no anchor for your boat and that is what makes Paganism unique, individual and exciting. We are not prisoner to the written word we are free to explore the spirit within each and everyone of us. Whether you call it soul, energy, pysche, whatever, we are individual, we are free. What I am trying to convey is there is no fixed point. This does not mean that we are without a rudder in an evil sea. Far from it, our individuality gives us strength, strength to be ourselves, strength to worship that which is important to us and us alone. As Pagans we are diverse but under threat we all can pull together, it is this strength that has kept Paganism alive and growing in strength in times when other religions are foundering as followers question their religious leaders, their written words and ultimately their beliefs. We have no written words from the past, we have, and this is where our strength shines through, we have what we feel in our hearts.
So Paganism is a collection of nature/earth mother based beliefs as diverse as ourselves. We aspire to live with our mother in harmony and observe her cycles. We have no hard rules or laws and we have a freedom to develop our individuality. We certainly do not adopt religious leaders and gurus. Our respect is not aimed at those that carry the word of our Gods as in Islam or Christianity, true pagans will not bow before any mortal who is called Minister, Reverend etc.
Our respect is reserved for the earth mother, for nature, for fellow humans who are nice people, for animals, pets and wild, we respect the natural occurrence of a thunderstorm, rain, wind, snow, sun, skidding clouds and a salty sea, the fresh stream or lily covered pond. We are naturist and love our natural world and must therefore be an enemy of anyone who seeks to destroy our natural world knowingly or teacher to those who destroy in ignorance.
We are told by the ignorant that we must by definition of Paganism worship Lucifer, the Devil, satan or Beelezebub. We have no demons other than evil humans. This concept comes from Islam and Christianity, it is their Yin and Yang something to give them balance and scare the shit out of their followers. Pagan worshippers do not need to be scared to worship as we come to our beliefs in harmony and perfect trust. We do not worship destructive forces. If the earth mother conjures up a whirlwind, a tornado, a hurricane so mote it be. This natural occurrence is not payback time as many Christian ministers would have their believers believe, Their Gods punishments for sinners. It is merely Mother Nature doing what she has done since the dawn of time.
Pagans are not perfect, morally or otherwise, we have our faults. We try to understand, we try to be good, we try to follow the path as we know our guides coerce us. For some it works and they may be morally 99%, some may fail abysmally. We snipe and backbite, we criticise and carp, but when push comes to shove Pagans should stand united against any foe. Back to back we defend each other. Infighting should be purely infighting. We would not be human if everything was harmony and brotherly love. No family, no matter how close, does not have internal feuding and if they do they are not normal. The proof of the pudding is that if we are attacked, threatened by outsiders, ridiculed, demonised or criticised, often by those who have no idea of us, we stand shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield and fight for each other.
Sheesh how diverse can we be. We are not unified in our beliefs are we? Some believe in Nordic, others egyptian, there is celtic and native American, how wide we range, but we look out for each other because nothing is written in stone!
We should be open minded to those who are tolerant of us. Our claim is that our ideas do not suit everyone but we should not be attacked for expressing our beliefs, at the same time we must be a minority in that we do not seek to convert, those who come to us must do so through the quest for the truth. Our ancestors had immense courage, especially those whom lived with the land and were not warriors. To be truthful worshippers of other religions also had courage during times of persecution, however misguided, but we have suuffered much especially those Pagans whom were following the craft of the witches. The ancient Christians either burned or drowned our brothers and mainly sisters who did not meet their narrow minded, bigoted criteria. Many of us resent the past. We may have had ancestors who suffered. We may not allow the past to be forgotten and hold hatred in our hearts. It is up to the individual to deal with that, who are we to say thou must forgive? Personally I think there is a huge gulf between forgiveness and bearing a grudge.
Cast your anchor into the depths and trust that the Gods will hold you tight.
