Paganism

[InnerPhyre]

Very interesting. I'm learning a lot here. Do most of you practice in solitude or do you meet with other groups of like minded pagans?

 

[DaRkWoLf]

Im a solitary.

My beliefs are pretty eclectic, so if I did intend to find a group; it would be pretty hard.

 

[Fuzzy]

"Yes" would probably be a good answer, since there are pagans who:

practice alone

practice alone, but occassionally go to open group rituals or festivals

practice alone, and are part of a regular, small group (ie a coven or grove)

practice alone, and are part of a regular group, and go to large regional gatherings

are part of a group, and don't practice alone at all.

I generally practice alone, but celebrate the "holy days," if you will, with a small group,
and go to a large festival twice a year.

A more specific answer requires specifiying a path.

 

[pensive]

Very interesting. I'm learning a lot here. Do most of you practice in solitude or do you meet with other groups of like minded pagans?

I'm currently solitary but hope to join a coven someday.

 

[Alecto]

Pagans have some differing views on what we are. Ask 10 Pagans what Paganism is, youll get 11 different answers. Paganism is a very open-ended religion with alot of room for personal interpretation.

Generally speaking there is no concept of sin (But there is wrong and harmful behavior) and no belief in a heaven or a hell. Things like sex and lust are sometimes viewed as positive things when controlled.

I personally worship the gods of the Greek pantheon, Zeus, Hera and thier children. While I am not as dedicated as I probably should be, I do try my best.

If you have any questions that you dont want to ask here, you can PM me. And Im sure most other Pagans here wouldnt mind answering a few questions about thier faith

 

[Gardenia]

I am solitary, as there are no others of my particular path near me. (And another pagan willing to answer questions in PM if you'd like.. also happy to keep answering in this thread as well. )

 

[Salubri]

Pretty much solitary. Though on occasions I do get with like minded friends, but we each add our own disticnt.......flavor...to the mix.

 

[tocis]

Very interesting. I'm learning a lot here. Do most of you practice in solitude or do you meet with other groups of like minded pagans?

I'd like to join/form a community/coven/howeveryouwanttocallit... however, Asatruar are a rare breed even among pagans here in Germany, though our numbers seem to be slowly growing. Part of this rarity is probably related to our holy symbols et cetera having so thoroughly abused by hitler and his consorts (deity names like Odin and Thor, symbols like the swastika and the sowulo rune - the lightning-like "S" which the dreaded SS used as their emblem - and much more). It's not exactly encouraging if you know that you'll be arrested fast as soon as you display the symbols of your religion in public.

As it were, the two fellow pagans I meet regularly are my beloved lady (Celtic druidism) and a good friend of us (designates himself as a "free shaman", and indeed it's hard to compare the nature of his belief with anything remotely "established").

 

[ravenscape]

I'm a solitary eclectic. I have some relationships with a few others in terms of sharing, discussing and learning though we don't often meet IRL. I also get together once or twice a year for group activites open to all around special holidays.I have the option to join covens or smaller groups in my area, and I've been approached to join existing groups or help form new ones. But I feel group observances add a level of formality to my spiritual life that I don't want at least at this moment.

 

[NiamhDhabolt]

Very interesting. I'm learning a lot here. Do most of you practice in solitude or do you meet with other groups of like minded pagans?

I mostly practice alone, but I do belong to a very small coven. (a family coven) The coven is mostly for celebrating the sabbats (holidays) and for any magickal practice that needs group energy. But in general, I practice alone.

 

[pensive]

Yule is a babylonian word meaning "infant".

Source?

 

[Fuzzy]

1. Gather in a building on sun-day. That's when some pagans worship the sun. Make sure the building has a huge obelisk on top of it. Some call it a steeple. This was there to catch the very first rays of our venerable sun.....then we would ring bells and celebrate.

Wow.

2. Celebrate holidays such as the "saturnalia" winter solstice festival on Dec. 25
aka "YULE". Yule is a babylonian word meaning "infant". Yes, the "yule log" is symbollic of the infant that used to be sacrificed in the fire. The reason the log is tied so tight, is because the babys would squirm out of the fire. You don't want that.

"Yule" comes from the middle English yole, and from Old English yoel, according to dictionary.com

Saturnalia was the Roman winter festival.

4. Ensure you adopt our symbol of the eagle, which is a cross. Ignore that the jewish messiah was hung on a "stauros" in greek meaning pole or tree which fulfilled the prophecy "cursed is everyone hung on a tree". Crucifixes weren't used until hundreds of years after messiah for crucifixion. But we used them to worship the sun!

Crucifixion is a noun derived from crucify, from Middle English crucifien, from
Old French crucifier, from Latin crucifigere, cruc- (cross) and figere (attach)

Curtius Rufus' History of Alexander the Great mentions 2,000 people crucified
after the siege of Tyre, in 333 BC.

How about you throw out some sources, b_hebrew?

 

[morningstar2651]

Howdy Pagans Would you all mind telling me how you commune with the Divine (each of you specifically, not pagans in general)? Do you pray? Meditate? Both?

Also, if you pray, would you mind telling me how you pray or maybe give me a sample of what you might pray? Thanks!

Wow, tons of ways to commune. Prayer is included. I can't find my copy of Living Wicca right now, but it has an entire section devoted to prayer, including examples. It's written for a Wiccan audience though, it doesn't explain the terms or focus on basics.

A worshipper of Bacchus or Dionysus might drink wine to be one with their god...of course, drinking in excess would miss the point entirely.

Coincidentally, this was just added to the neo-pagan section of sacred-texts.org -- Pagan Prayers by Marah Ellis Ryan (1913).

For me, my preferred way to commune with my gods and goddesses is through ritual.