Pagans?

[Gardenarian]

Any other pagans, neo-pagans, or wiccans out there?
I'm interested in exchanging ideas!

[Aspen]

Hello! Eclectic pagan/wiccan/earth based here. Feel free to discuss!

[Zoebird]

OMG that's a bunny! :D (sorry, off topic).

I love bunnies. I lived with a most incredible October J Rabbit for an amazing 10 years. He was *awesome*.

I do some green witch stuff (via susun weed) but I don't consider myself pagan per se. :)

[Aspen]

Yes, that is my Harlequin rabbit, Ichabod. He was my Yule gift from Hubby!

[Zoebird]

bunnies are the best. october j changed my whole outlook on life. i miss him terribly. he died in 2007.

[Aspen]

This thread seems to have fizzled! Let's try to pick it up again!

[redfox]

I'm a Pagan, though not in any organized sense. My husband is too... we mostly engage our spirituality by gardening and being outside. We do celebrate the traditional European Pagan holidays - Solstices, Equinoxes, etc.

And I too have had some awesome rabbit friends... who I miss dearly.

[The Storyteller]

Sentry: Do you want the padre?
Harry Morant: No, thank you. I'm a pagan.
Sentry: And you?
Peter Handc0ck: What's a pagan?
Harry Morant: Well... it's somebody who doesn't believe there's a divine being dispensing justice to mankind.
Peter Handc0ck: I'm a pagan, too.

From the film Breaker Morant, 1980.

[setis]

I believe I am Wiccan. I believe it to be of Druid influence. I believe that Nature is the being. I believe in all things do no harm. I like bunnies too. Never had one. Dogs and cats.

[citrine]

Pagan here as well....mix between wicca, hinduism, and shamanism.

[Gardenarian]

Oh, this is kind of cool, because I identify myself as pagan, and have done a lot of reading on it, but don't really have a religious practice - and it sounds like many of you are the same.

I'm interested in wicca and have done some simple spells (candle magic, protection spells, reading the tarot) and have found it to be surprisingly successful.

I'd like to have a more regular religious practice - something I can pass on to dd, but I'm not sure where to begin. I have the Llewellyn witches calendar and get a lot of ideas from that, but I would like to bring more of this into our daily life. I don't want to join a coven, because the witchy part is not as important to me as simply honoring the Earth. Gardening is probably our main "ritual". Sometimes it seems silly, or gimmicky, to come up with celebrations for the pagan/wiccan sabats - though my heart is in it, my head is saying "what are you doing?" I was brought up without any religious beliefs, and I think religious traditions are really important for kids - I'm just not sure how to incorporate them organically into our life!

I practice yoga, and it is a spiritual practice, and though I (and my family) have spent time at ashrams I don't feel a real connection to Hinduism.

Sweet bunny!

[Maxamillion]

Pagan is about the closest thing I've come across that could describe me.

[ctg492]

I find it all very interesting. I hope to spend time becoming informed on the topic. I feel from what I have learned over the years that I could find a place with the Pagan way of life.

[IshbelRobertson]

I'm just a plain old garden variety of agnostic - but I have friends who claim to be wiccans or druids (can't remember which!) When I lived in Wiltshire, many years ago, they took me to a summer solstice daybreak celebration at Stonehenge. It must have been many, many years ago, because in those days, you were actually allowed to stand within the stone circle(s) and touch the stones! It was an amazing sight to see people, some dressed as druids, others as who knows whats, hippies and just local people all taking part in that ceremony. I will remember it forever.

In Edinburgh, we have a modern ceremony to celebrate Beltane. It is held on the Calton Hill. I went once. The crowds are getting bigger and bigger every year. There are photographs, somewhere on this site: http://beltane.org/

[iris lily]

I am very attracted to 'wabbits, but do not and have not had one.

I have a Gothic garden with Celtic and witchy touches. But mostly it's quietly, contemplatively, dark and morosely lovely, with ferns and tombstones and funeral statuary.

I too have touched the stones at Stonehenge (that would be 40 years ago.) I'm hard wired as aetheist. When I was in Edinburgh I HAD to dine at that tourist trap, The Witchery, and it was way cool. I like symphonic metal bands (even though they are too loud and screechy) with their raven haired female lead singers.

So, can I join the club? :)

[IshbelRobertson]

The Witchery is one of my favourite restaurants, as well as it's sister place, Prestonfield House, IrisLily.

The visitor's book makes amazing reading - it used to be online, I'll check, and if it is: I'll post the link.

Itis! http://www.thewitchery.com/guestbook.html

Here's the site for Rhubarb, the restaurant at Prestonfield House. I can also recommend the hotel, too - for anyone thinking of a visit to Scotland - we attended a couple of weddings there earlier this year.
http://www.prestonfield.com/Dining-FoodAndDrink.html

[Rogar]

After reading the Breaker Morant definition, I was thinking, well, maybe. So I looked pagan up. Wiki say it includes polytheistic (worship of multiple dieties). Also, the presence of a living mythology. Webster says it's one who has little or no religion and delights in the sensual and material goods. It seems to be pretty broadly defined, but none of them seem to fit me.

[Gardenarian]

Some pagans/neopagans/witches are heavily into polytheism, worshipping the Mother Goddess and the Horned God (Earth and Sun) along with a host of other deities. But, from my reading and meetings with others, I would say that the majority are rather more pantheist than polytheist. In this they have much in common with the American Transcendalists (Emerson, Thoreau, et al.) Some are not much interested in the spiritual side of things at all (you might read "The Modern Pagan: How to Live a Natural Lifestyle in the 21st Century" by Brian Day for more on this sort of paganism.)

Here is what I think most pagans have in common:
*A deep love of nature, and a desire to spend a lot of time outdoors.
*Honoring the Earth (Mother Nature, Gaia) - sometimes through ritual, but also by using (or attempting to use) ecologically sustainable ways of eating, housing, healing, and transportation. For example, I try to eat only organic, local foods; maintain my home using recycled materials (my garden is a certified wildlife habitat); using exercise, common sense, herbs, etc. - rather than technology - to maintain health; trying to minimize carbon use.
*Acceptance of "reincarnation", whether this is a belief in the actual reincarnation of the human soul, or an honoring of the eternal circle as evidenced by the rebirth of plants in spring, the water cycle, the carbon cycle. We will be worm food one day!
*Honoring the passing of the seasons, as symbolized by the Wheel of the Year - again, cyclical. Thus, the holidays for pagans are the solstices and equinoxes, as well as other lunar and astronomical events.
*A dislike of modern consumer culture and commercialism.
*An open mind in regard to magic, the paranormal, astrology, and psychic phenomena. You don't have to believe or disbelieve; I read the Tarot and find a lot of information (all in my own my mind, but the cards help to reveal it.) I also find that practicing affirmation helps me to achieve my goals. I like to feel that anything is possible!
*A desire to connect with the past. I think this is why so many pagans are attracted to Renaissance Faires, LARP, & SCA. I enjoy reading history and mythology and am interested in old folksongs.
*Not an especial dislike for authority, but a healthy skepticism of it. There is no hierarchy in paganism, no official rules or organization. Those who wish may join a coven or grove, but most practice paganism in their own unique way.

I'm sure there is much more that is not coming to mind right now!

This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it. --Thomas Carlyle

[ctg492]

Gardenarian, thank you for that bit of explanation. I have been reading on and off all day about pagans on the net. Very interesting and I have enjoyed it.

[Gardenarian]

Oy, I forgot the most important thing. Most pagans follow the Wiccan Rede:
An it harm none, do what ye will.

Which means, that you may do as you like, as long as it harms no one, including yourself. This is the only pagan "law". It sounds like a simple rule, but it can become complicated. You needn't try and figure out the ultimate results of all your actions (which would be impossible anyhow) but just take care not to harm anyone by your own words or actions.