Calling all pagans...

[pillars]

where are the druids, wiccans, neopagans, asatruars, gaiaists, and other pagans on board? Surely there must be a few.

Treeshepherd Pogo strollingbones anyone else?

Let's create an ongoing spiritual conversation.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Once again the theists discriminate against Atheists, even the spiritual ones like myself!

 

[defcon4]

where are the druids, wiccans, neopagans, asatruars, gaiaists, and other pagans on board? Surely there must be a few.

Treeshepherd Pogo strollingbones anyone else?

Let's create an ongoing spiritual conversation.

...'mind if I listen in?

 

[aaronleland]

I hope their faggy robes get caught in a wood chipper.

 

[saveliberty]

Must be a Halloween candy sale...

 

[Treeshepherd]

My parents are nature-loving atheists. Same with my brother and sister. As an 8 day old was baptized to appease my Catholic grandfather. I was the first of his 23 grandchildren. From the earliest age I enjoyed going to Mass with grandparents. I couldn't understand the litergy, but I remember the bells and singing and feeling cleansed.

I was re-inspired by the Catholic thing at my grandfather's funeral. Actually started going to my local parish. Found out later that my two cousins who died in a plane crash in 1981 were baptized there. Went through 6 months of classes to become confirmed.

I wouldn't say I've abandoned Catholicism. It has a lot of embedded paganism. My Catholic experiences are a plus to what I am now.

I hitchhiked about 5,000 miles total in my 20's. Did quite a bit of rock climbing and alpinism. Did radical forest activism. Lived in a teepee and yurt for 4 years. Backpacked 400+ miles September 2014. All these things have deepened my connection to the heavens and earth.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Pythagoras is a way up on my pantheon of humans. Also Emerson and all the American transcendentalists (Thoreau, Hawthorne, Whitman). More on that later.

I've read a lot of Greek drama. "... the religion which Greek tragic poets explored and which Greek tragedy served was not what we understand by religion...The world of gods and the world of men were quite apart; gods were not primarily concerned with regulating men, nor men with emulating gods. Each followed his own nature." - Moses Hadas

To be heroic in that cosmology did not necessarily lead to being rewarded by the gods. The goal was to remain human in the face of tragedy. Being punished for doing so might be proof of the sufferers merits.

 

[September]

I am Pagan... I was Pagan long before I even knew what "Pagan" was. Ever since I was a child I have been developing my own rituals and incantations, developing my own culture, and celebrating the Wheel of the Year as a Natural result of having been drawn to what many perceive to be "witchcraft" from a very young age.

As I continue to develop my own spiritual/ religious system, I continue to study all number of religions and have absorbed from many what I perceive to be their greatest strengths while discarding what I perceive to be their greatest weaknesses. Many of my favorite myths, lessons and culture come from ancient Mesopotamia- primarily the Sumerians and the Babylonians. I have also learned and absorbed much from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Thelema, Order of Nine Angles, and of course the various incarnations of Kabbalah/ Qabalah/ etc...

And despite being Pagan I have found extreme value in all of the primary Abrahamic religions, in particular the forces which bind them all together... those mystical and spiritually profound areas where all of their circles overlap.

As such... it is simplest to merely say I am "Pagan", although I could go so far as to declare myself a Monolotristic or Henotheistic Sumero-Abrahamic Pagan. Such labels are often irrelevant however as I can find strength and power in any religion.

​

 

[NLT]

 

[Pogo]

I am Pagan... I was Pagan long before I even knew what "Pagan" was. Ever since I was a child I have been developing my own rituals and incantations, developing my own culture, and celebrating the Wheel of the Year as a Natural result of having been drawn to what many perceive to be "witchcraft" from a very young age.

As I continue to develop my own spiritual/ religious system, I continue to study all number of religions and have absorbed from many what I perceive to be their greatest strengths while discarding what I perceive to be their greatest weaknesses. Many of my favorite myths, lessons and culture come from ancient Mesopotamia- primarily the Sumerians and the Babylonians. I have also learned and absorbed much from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Thelema, Order of Nine Angles, and of course the various incarnations of Kabbalah/ Qabalah/ etc...

And despite being Pagan I have found extreme value in all of the primary Abrahamic religions, in particular the forces which bind them all together... those mystical and spiritually profound areas where all of their circles overlap.

As such... it is simplest to merely say I am "Pagan", although I could go so far as to declare myself a Monolotristic or Henotheistic Sumero-Abrahamic Pagan. Such labels are often irrelevant however as I can find strength and power in any religion.

​

Well said. Blessèd be.

Being ethnically Celt I find the historical aspects of Europaganism fascinating, and animism in general. Also have some familiarity with the Yoruba iterations especially as re-membered in the Americas in the Santeria/Voodoo/Candomblé of Spanish/French/Portuguese America. And I'm always keenly interested to find the real pagan roots of what get presented as the "standard" Christian, Jewish, Islamic etc. That's when things start to crystallize and make some sense. That's when the shit gets real, literally.

I've always been interested in the myriad ways humans express spirituality and the Mystical. And in personal day-to-day guidance I find much wisdom in the Tao.

Perhaps that curiosity derives from being indoctrinated in Catholicism from age five, when I surmised what I was hearing and instinctively felt, "this doesn't make sense, this can't be all there is".

 

[Treeshepherd]

Pythagoras developed the idea of the transmigration of the soul; soul flowing thru all things (sort of like the Force in Star Wars).

Emerson put it this way;

[T]hat great nature in which we rest, as the earth lies in the soft arms of the atmosphere [is] that Unity, that Over-Soul, within which every man’s particular being is contained and made one with all other. . . . We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal One. And this deep power in which we exist, and whose beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and the object, are one. We see the world piece by piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these are the shining parts, is the soul. . . .

All goes to show that the soul in man is . . . the background of our being, in which they lie, — an immensity not possessed and that cannot be possessed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Over-Soul,”

I think where I would disagree with Pogo and agree with Ashtara is Pogo's suggestion that Christianity is limiting. I think a person could take Christianity to the furthest ends. That's why I don't say I've moved beyond Christianity. I've merely taken a different approach.

 

[Pogo]

Pythagoras developed the idea of the transmigration of the soul; that soul flows thru all things (sort of like the Force in Star Wars).

I've never seen Star Wars (attempted it twice, kept falling asleep) but science fiction in general has a way of addressing the spiritual and/or moralistic questions via analogy. Heinlein certainly did his share of that, and not in a subtle way.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Pythagoras developed the idea of the transmigration of the soul; that soul flows thru all things (sort of like the Force in Star Wars).

I've never seen Star Wars (attempted it twice, kept falling asleep) but science fiction in general has a way of addressing the spiritual and/or moralistic questions via analogy. Heinlein certainly did his share of that, and not in a subtle way.

Accidentally hit send before last post was finished

 

[Pogo]

I think where I would disagree with Pogo and agree with Ashtara is Pogo's suggestion that Christianity is limiting.

I didn't express that. I just meant the worldview and philosophy I was being taught as a wee sprout didn't feel right, which let me know that, contrary to their "my way or the highway" approach, I figured there must be something else out there on the highway. And there was. Quite a lot.

Of course we must needs differentiate between the religion and the institution. It's the latter that takes the exclusivity approach for its own self-perpetuation. And once given a view of the highway it was obvious why. The institution insists it's the only avenue.

Not to derail to politics but perhaps the attraction of Paganism versus the traditional monotheism avenues is that Paganism is democratic and egalitarian whereas monotheism is hierarchical and authoritarian.

If there's a 'limitation', that's where it is --- the exclusivity as opposed to Paganism's inlcusivity. Whenever an entity insists "this is all there is", to me that screams "don't you dare look behind the curtain".

 

[Gracie]

where are the druids, wiccans, neopagans, asatruars, gaiaists, and other pagans on board? Surely there must be a few.

Treeshepherd Pogo strollingbones anyone else?

Let's create an ongoing spiritual conversation.

I am off the beaten path a smidge..... semi pagan, semi pantheist, semi christian, semi wiccan. Do I fit?

 

[Pogo]

where are the druids, wiccans, neopagans, asatruars, gaiaists, and other pagans on board? Surely there must be a few.

Treeshepherd Pogo strollingbones anyone else?

Let's create an ongoing spiritual conversation.

I am off the beaten path a smidge..... semi pagan, semi pantheist, semi christian, semi wiccan. Do I fit?

Like a glove.

 

[Spinster]

My parents are nature-loving atheists. Same with my brother and sister. As an 8 day old was baptized to appease my Catholic grandfather. I was the first of his 23 grandchildren. From the earliest age I enjoyed going to Mass with grandparents. I couldn't understand the litergy, but I remember the bells and singing and feeling cleansed.

I was re-inspired by the Catholic thing at my grandfather's funeral. Actually started going to my local parish. Found out later that my two cousins who died in a plane crash in 1981 were baptized there. Went through 6 months of classes to become confirmed.

I wouldn't say I've abandoned Catholicism. It has a lot of embedded paganism. My Catholic experiences are a plus to what I am now.

I hitchhiked about 5,000 miles total in my 20's. Did quite a bit of rock climbing and alpinism. Did radical forest activism. Lived in a teepee and yurt for 4 years. Backpacked 400+ miles September 2014. All these things have deepened my connection to the heavens and earth.

I'm a Christian who feels even closer to God when I'm in His creation like on a mountain, in the woods, or on the sea. But, Catholicism ISN'T Christian at all. It is as you defined, complete paganism.

 

[TheOldSchool]

where are the druids, wiccans, neopagans, asatruars, gaiaists, and other pagans on board? Surely there must be a few.

Treeshepherd Pogo strollingbones anyone else?

Let's create an ongoing spiritual conversation.

What is the pagan community like? What does it mean to be a pagan? And what benefits do you think come from holding pagan beliefs?

All serious questions. I've always wondered. I knew a girl who was raised Wiccan once but I was too young to really care to ask at the time.

 

[Pogo]

where are the druids, wiccans, neopagans, asatruars, gaiaists, and other pagans on board? Surely there must be a few.

Treeshepherd Pogo strollingbones anyone else?

Let's create an ongoing spiritual conversation.

What is the pagan community like? What does it mean to be a pagan? And what benefits do you think come from holding pagan beliefs?

All serious questions. I've always wondered. I knew a girl who was raised Wiccan once but I was too young to really care to ask at the time.

I'm not sure about the "community" insofar as any exist... it's more a POV methinks. That prolly goes back to being democratic (inclusive) rather than hierarchical and exclusive. Whereas a traditional monotheism declares itself the "only" way and everybody else is going to hell, Paganism takes the opposite stance and invites any approach.

As far as benefits, being inclusive of Nature as opposed to a mindset of domineering "over" it (which is after all impossible), it connects one more vitally to the Life Force, stripped of all the human-invented manipulation baggage.

IMHO.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Echoes of druids.

Pythagoras grew up at a time when trade was opening up thru the Black Sea with the shamanic peoples of the north. He took that influence with him to Egypt where he became a priest for many years. He was introduced to that most incredible of all human inventions- beer. There he witnessed the pyramids (the most elemental of geometric shapes). He caught a ride with a caravan to Babylon where he learned from the Magi of astronomy and the music of the spheres. No doubt he smoked some killer balms with the caravans. He hitched back to Syria and caught a ride with the Sea Peoples back to the Apennine Peninsula where he set up a school. The synthesis of all these influences is echoed in his concept of the transmigration of soul.

Long story short, the Pythagoreans were killed and chased off. Their philosophy of the transmigration of soul survived to reach the Celts. Whether any of this is true or not, the druids did hold the same essential beliefs as Pythagoras about the transmigration of soul.

Paganism was never extinguished by Christendom in Northern Europe. Eventually Christians would migrate to the New World. There they came into contact with the shamanic peoples of the Americas. The Great Spirit and all that. More important as a touchstone for the American psyche was the vast American wilderness. It was that which gave rise to Transcendentalism. Fast forward many years and you get to John Muir and Edward Abbey. The druid abides.