Ask a Pagan

Etymologically speaking, "pagan" and "heathen" pretty much refer to the same thing, though, and were used interchangeably throughout the last 800+ years.

"Pagan" is the Latin loan word, "heathen" the Germanic equivalent - but naturally, it is perfectly valid that these terms are used differently nowarays.

ahmid said:

Futuwwa,
I thought you bid us farewell last week?

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Read it again. I didn't actively leave, I just resigned to the inevitable ban of all infidels from CF, and decided to speak my mind to you folks.

ahmid said:

"We could have done so much together! We could have been a great reactionary force in the world, but you chose otherwise, Futt!"

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*hfwww* *haaffww* *hoooh* *hoowwf* *schnort*

<staff edit>

Futuwwa said:

What is the difference between Paganism and Heathenism?

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In classical definition, nothing. In modern use, Heathenism is a subset of Paganism, with specific ties to the Norse pantheon.

Ask 5 pagans, get 6 answers.

sacredsin said:

Enlightenment is not believing you have the right faith or the right god on your side and then taking it upon yourself to condemn all the nasty pagans and heathens. True enlightenment, though different to many, include carrying yourself in such a way as to bring much maturity to a conversation, for one.

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Great poste sacredsin!!

1 Peter 2:12 having your behaviour among the nations right, that in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, of the good works having beheld, they may glorify God in a day of inspection.

Futuwwa said:

Do spells invoke gods to succeed? If so, the difference between a spell and an (Abrahamic) prayer would be quite arbitrary.

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sacredsin said:

Some do some don't.

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Exactly. A spell doesn't have to invoke a deity, but it can, and calling upon one by name for assistance with a specific task isn't at all uncommon.

This thread has some really good questions.

Alizera said:

What do you think of that Gerald Gardner guy?

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Druweid already posted some great info on Gardner. I've read one of his books and excerpts of his others. He was important in the big picture, but by today's academic standards...his research wasn't very well done. The version of Witchcraft Today I have lists Gardner's cited sources and links it with his book collection and if a copy can be found.

MintyAngel said:

To all of my Pagan friends:

How long have you been following the path you're on?

Were you ever Christian?

What made you change your mind about it?

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Technically, I've been on this path all my life...but barring technicalities, I've identified as Pagan since 2004 -- only four years.

I was Christian... RCA to be specific. I used to be both conservative and fundamentalist. My experiences and my beliefs didn't quite click, so I ended up becoming agnostic. I experimented with Paganism and everything came together.

Futuwwa said:

If pre-Islamic Arab Pagan reconstructionism would surface, do you think they should get equal access to the Kaaba? If they tried to force the Muslims to share the Kaaba through whatever means, would you support their cause?

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That is a very tough question. I wouldn't support them being violent, but I think that they would have a very good reason to want equal access.

ahmid said:

Do you intend to live forever? What will you do on judgment day? Is the day of the Lord very far off?

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I do not intend to live forever. In the event of judgement day, I'll continue to be myself -- if god wants to send me to Hell, then so be it. I can't pretend to be someone I'm not. I didn't choose my beliefs - they are the consequence of my experiences.

I don't believe in judgement day, so I can't really give you an answer to your final question. I don't think it will ever happen.

none the wiser said:

How do you not get overwhelmed with all of the information, materials you need...stuff like that?

What deities, if any, do you believe in? Why?

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I take a lot of notes. Sometimes, I'll go back to a book I already read, start from the index, and look up what it says on specific subjects. Right now, I'm running out of shelf space for books. This is because my girlfriend and I have a large collection of both fiction and non-fiction on various topics. I have books on topics ranging from literature, writing, parallel programming, assembly language, algorithm design, logic, ethics, philosophy, artificial intelligence, traditional art, 3d studio max, maya, psychology, mathematics, science, audio recording, mythology, cooking, etc.

I think the books actually hold the ceiling up in some places...

I believe in many deities, but I commonly interact with very few. The two I've interacted with most are Hermes and Aphrodite. I work most with the Greek pantheon, but I'm not opposed to working with Norse deities...just opposed to mixing pantheons. Deities from different pantheons don't play well together.

Greetings!

At last, I have the time to give some of these questions the level of attention they deserve.

MintyAngel said:

To all of my Pagan friends:

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Greetings MintyAngel! May your Mintiness be an inspiration to the wafer thins and after-dinner treats of the world.

MintyAngel said:

How long have you been following the path you're on?

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In the sense of having a developing concept of deity and spirituality, since I was four. In the sense of active study, both religious and academic, to further my spiritual understanding and growth, since I was about eight. In the sense of becoming skeptical with the Christian faith in which I was being raised, since about age nine. In the sense of looking to sources other than the Bible for spiritual understanding, since about age thirteen.

Now, since I have began calling myself (or considering myself to be) a Pagan? For about five years now *BUT* not because I had some revelation or discovered some new system of beliefs. I simply came to understand some five years ago that 'Pagan' best fit the path that I, more or less, had always been following.

MintyAngel said:

Were you ever Christian?

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A very good question. Some would say I was never a Christian. Others might say I have always been one. For myself, up until I was about sixteen I would say I was a good -practicing- Christian, but didn't feel that I had a true faith until I made the decision that my relationship with Deity had to supersede dogma in order to be a true and meaningful relationship.

MintyAngel said:

What made you change your mind about it?

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Did I?

I apologize in advance if I've misunderstood the question, I'm going to treat this the same as the question "Why did you reject Christianity?" It's a slightly broader question and may lend to more complete understanding. As a Pagan, I cannot "reject" any religion or philosophy at face value, unless such can empirically shown to be inherently harmful in some way. One of the most important tenets of my faith is that each person must freely choose their own path, and that any path is the right path for that person at that time. Unfortunately, some Pagans and Neopagans do not practice this well due to a personal enmity for Christianity (or any other religion, for that matter).

Nonetheless, I am not rejecting Christianity, per se', any more than I am rejecting Cheerios when I choose Raisin Bran for breakfast, or rejecting a Margaret Weiss book when I choose to read Raymond Feist. You see, another important tenet of my faith is that each person may change their chosen path, at any time, as a normal function of spiritual growth. I may yet choose to be a Christian, but only if and when it becomes sufficiently clear to me that such a path is essential to my spiritual growth from that point, and on.

Brightest blessings,
-- Druweid

ahmid said:

Do you intend to live forever?

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How arrogant would it be for me to believe that my existence is so integral to the health of the universe, that I must "live" forever?

My only "intention" is that I live, to the best of my ability, within the confines of the world in which I reside, and to seek broader and greater understanding of that world. I believe that at the end of my days on Earth, my spirit will continue to exist, but whether or not that is true has no bearing whatsoever on my "intent." Therefore, any such "intent" would be superfluous, and a waste of my time.

ahmid said:

What will you do on judgment day?

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If such a day were to come to fruition, I would be as I am on any other day; as true as I am able to be to my mind and my spirit. In all honesty, I would rather be condemned for being intellectually and spiritually honest with myself, than to gain redemption for embracing a theology that I do not accept with my whole mind, heart, and spirit. And if the latter does not gain me redemption, then nothing I could say or do would make a difference, now would it?

ahmid said:

Is the day of the Lord very far off?

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Not for me to say.

Regards,
-- Druweid

ahmid said:

Do you intend to live forever?

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Yep. Just not necessarily on this plane.

ahmid said:

What will you do on judgment day?

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I'll be wondering who ticked off the Good Neighbors to the point they've decided to take things back. Oh, and join in the fight on the correct side.

ahmid said:

Is the day of the Lord very far off?

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It's been on the horizon any day now for 2000 years. I'm not expecting a sudden change.

ahmid said:

What will you do on judgment day? Is the day of the Lord very far off?

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Okay, I've got it now...

On Judgment Day, which appears to be May 17, 2009, I will be at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario taking my seat for the main event.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/2008JudgmentDay.jpg

It promises to be quite spectacular.

-- Druweid

Druweid said:

Okay, I've got it now...

On Judgment Day, which appears to be May 17, 2009, I will be at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario taking my seat for the main event.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/2008JudgmentDay.jpg

It promises to be quite spectacular.

-- Druweid

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...I have to do it...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/2008JudgmentDay.jpg
I'M HOWARD DEAN! RRRAAAAAAAWWWRRR!

1. Were your parents pagans & or why paganism?
2. What are your primary beliefs?
3. How do you view non-pagans?
4. Have you ever been atheist?
5. Do you practice the dark arts?

sacredsin said:

Thought I'd jump on the bandwagon as well, however, as opposed to this just being a "Sacredsin" thread, I thought I'd open it up for all pagans in the area to post their answers as well.

So let the questions fly.

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Do you think about death?

nesian said:

1. Were your parents pagans & or why paganism?
2. What are your primary beliefs?
3. How do you view non-pagans?
4. Have you ever been atheist?
5. Do you practice the dark arts?

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1: No, and because it makes sense to me.

2: I basically believe in the existence of a lot of deities, and I honor a few of 'em, work with the ancestors, and raise hell with the fair folk.

3: Like other people.

4: No.

5: Que?

brinny said:

Do you think about death?

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Yeah. She's a sweetheart.

nesian said:

1. Were your parents pagans & or why paganism?
2. What are your primary beliefs?
3. How do you view non-pagans?
4. Have you ever been atheist?
5. Do you practice the dark arts?

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1.) I never really knew my father (a tad more on that in my next post), and my mother was outwardly non-religious. However, the house in which I was raised also included my grandmother who was a devout Christian Scientist. Apart from the beliefs specific to her denomination, to consider her a devout, dedicated, and conservative Christian might be a bit of an exaggeration; a better word would be militant. I don't mean to imply any negative connotation to that, but even to this day, of all the people I've known, her faith was, to me, comparable to the faith of an apostle (an expression I would -never- use lightly). The influences from the rest of my family would be quite a wide variety Christian denominations, but all of them reasonably faithful. Until my late teens, there was no other religious influence in my life.

2.) Panentheism, Archetypalism (soft polytheism, if you prefer), and to a large degree, virtue ethics. I believe all living things contain a "spark" of the Divine, and therefore, an inherent sacred nature. I believe we have a relationship with all things in nature, and cannot cause an effect to anything in this world without affecting ourselves. I believe each person has their own spiritual path and should be, not just allowed, but encouraged, to follow that path regardless of whether or not I agree (unless such a path can clearly be shown to be harmful).

3.) All are my brothers and sisters. Religion has nothing to do with that (imho), that is simply nature's way.

4.) There had been times in my life, long ago, when I was skeptical, but no, never atheist.

5.) Practice the dark arts? You mean personal injury litigation? Heck no, that stuff scares me. I do study much of what you might consider "dark arts," but primarily for understanding, not practice. Also, this depends heavily on what you consider to be "dark arts."

Kindest regards,
-- Druweid

nesian said:

1. Were your parents pagans & or why paganism?

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No. One parent is atheist, the other is agnostic.

2. What are your primary beliefs?

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In a nutshell, I have a polytheistic view of the universe and reject the dualistic "good vs. evil" paradigm. I believe the purpose of life is to make a positive contribution to the world and respect life and our little planet.

3. How do you view non-pagans?

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That is hard to answer. I don't usually categorize people by Pagan-nonPagan. Pagans are a very diverse group of people in their beliefs and rituals, so it's hard to compare them as a whole with any other group. In general, I see people as a whole to usually be benevolent, although every faith has some bad apples, and everyone is prone to corruption regardless of religion or lack thereof. I have many non-pagan friends.

4. Have you ever been atheist?

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I was borderline atheist/agnostic when I was little. I had some ideas about the nature of the divine but didn't place much importance on it until I learned in college that there were others who had the same ideas.

5. Do you practice the dark arts?

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Sometimes I doodle with a pen that has black ink

I don't sacrifice anything except for pastry and ale. I do not do love spells or curses. I don't raise the dead for fun.

I do participate in sabbat ritual and do some divination with tarot. I don't have much use for spells, but on occasion I use them and only for benevolent reasons.

brinny said:

Do you think about death?

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I did at one time. Given that I was told, by some of Boston's finest medical professionals, that I would likely die at an early age, I had good reason to give it a great deal of thought. You see, I was born with a mal-formed heart, similar to a heart condition which my father had. Since he died of a massive heart attack at age 31 (I was 11 at the time), the doctors' opinions seemed justified, no?

Fortunately, having the spiritual beliefs that I did, I eventually dismissed most all worries and concerns about my own death, and instead, focused on living to the best of my ability. As you can see from the age listed above, I'm doing just fine, and I can assure you, I am in very good physical condition. No offense, doctors, but ppffffftttt!!

Salud!
-- Druweid