What does it mean to be Pagan/Wiccan?

Well,
It seems some of my friend/family found my facebook page and are wondering what this thing called paganism/wiccan is.. So I figure why not try to explain.. At least my take on it.

You can think of paganism as a catch all term for any earth based spiritual group. The term could be likened to the word christianity, in that it too, includes sects such as baptist, methodist, etc.

As with christanity, each group has different ways of doing things or different area of emphasis. But all are working toward the same ends.

Basic beliefs are..

we are all part of one another. Put simply, we are all stardust. So in essence we are one.. from our fellow human being to the star you see twinkling in the sky, to the wolf you see in the woods or the eagle in the sky.

With this in mind we are all responsible to one another and nature. We believe that the universe is sacred and we work to promote protection of natural resources, human rights, etc.

Toward these ends we can work in education others in these matters (organic agriculture, permaculture, etc), participate in protest, vote & write our politicians.. etc

Our mantra is "an harm none - do what thou will". This goes a step beyond "the golden rule" because it forces you to think beyond one on one interaction. For instance, If you decide to walk to work you are not only reducing the ozone you create (through driving) but your also are not using oil (a non-renewable resource).. you are also not part of the traffic jam.. which is causing idling.. thus causing more fuel to be consumed and thus ozone created.. etc

So while you have more freedom in your actions.. you also must think a bit more as to who/what your actions can cause. I liken this to the indian proverb of thinking of our actions and how they could effect the next 7 generations.. That can be a heavy load to carry.

Now heres where things can get confusing....

Where as christianity has the holy trinity (father/son/holy spirit). three-in-one.. but is still considered a monotheistic religion.

Pagans take a different view on this. And each pagan has their own view.. there is no "holy rule book" in paganism.

Some people, like the native americans, tend to see individual gods/goddesses.. mother earth/ father sky.. etc.

or in the case of paganism there can be Pan, Diana, Gaia, etc.. There are as many pantheons as there are cultures. Many gods/goddesses overlap but are called by different names in different cultures.

However where many pagans differ is if we believe each god(ess) is a physical/real individual being, or if each is an idea, or a different face (personality) of one god(ess).

I've not had a lot of experience working in this area.. I tend to just recognize "divinity" or a god and goddess. At this point in my life I feel as if each god/goddess is a facet (personality) of the divine. I also feel as if this divinity is androgynous. I've done enough work to know that there is something out there and not just something in my head.. Flashes of in-site or feelings of warmth.. I don't know how to describe it.. Love and security is the only way I can describe it.

Another thing I often here is that people think paganism is "Satanism" or devil worship.. Nonsense!!

Satan is a christian construct. We certainly don't worship something we don't believe in. Some would say "it's your hell, you burn in it", but I wouldn't be that hateful. I'm more into the live and let live side of things.

There's a lot of confusion about magic, ritual, spells.. etc so lets try to clear it up with some examples

Magic can be defined as manifesting change in our lives in compliance with our will

so what does that mean? or more importantly, how do we go about it?

we might use a spell (affirmation) in paganism.. or in christianity we might use a prayer. In essence they are the same thing. Both are put forth to effect a change we would like to come about.. an intention.

rituals can be likened to a mass or a sunday service. The idea here is that there is power (energy) in numbers.

I'll leave you with one further though. Pagans typically celebrate the wheel of the year.. which follows agricultural cycles .Samhain(prononced sou-en) coincides with halloween. Yule roughly with Christmas. Ostara falls around easter (ever wonder about the eggs coming from the bunny? look up Persephone story).

christanity has pagan roots.
We don't try to recruit people, we don't try to convert people. We will freely share
our views if you ask, but we won't try to force them on you.

Many folks think we're evil, troublemakers, etc.. but nothing could be further from the truth. So next time you're working at the soup kitchen, helping clean up a park, etc.. and you are really impressed by that "glow" you're getting from someone.. they might well be a pagan.. food for though.

Any questions feel free to ask..