Pagans: Just who the heck are they, anyway?

The Sixth Source of Unitarian Universalism (The Sixth Source was adopted by the 1995 General Assembly) is "Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. For some UUs this means a Pagan spirituality. For other UUs it means a Humanist, Native American, or other nature honoring spirituality.”

Modern Revivalist Paganism is a vital, empowering spirituality with many similarities to Native and indigenous religions here in America and around the world. It is the ancient honoring of nature, the earth, our mother. To pagans, “Nature makes the Divine tangible. Nature is the gown the Goddess wears to make herself visible, and the dance the God dances to express his joy. Looking at Nature, we see living, incarnate divinity.” (from Witchcrafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic by Phyllis Curott) Witchcraft is about experiencing and communing with the divine — with deity. Unlike many religions, Paganism focuses on joy not punishment, love not fear, practice not belief. Paganism transcends patriarchal religions and empowers women without denying the male. It is a reclaiming of the feminine.

Many paths of paganism are considered "reconstructionist."  These paths attempt to replicate, as closely as possible to the available historical information, the ancient pagan religions of Europe.  So you will find people following a Germanic path (Asatru), which worships the ancient gods of Germany such as Odin and Thor; others follow a Celtic path and worship the ancient British deities such as Bride (pronounced "breed") and Cerridwen. There are pagans around the world following their reconstructionist version of Greek, Italian (Strega), and Sumerian religions. This is just a small sample; the variety of pagan traditions available to a person are endless.  There is also (just to make things more confusing!) people who consider themselves eclectic.  This means they have picked elements from all the traditions to form their own unique spirituality.

Just as a church has its basic unit (the congregation), pagans have their basic unit, called a coven.  Generally, a coven consists of at least three to as many as thirteen members.  Very often, covens have a training program to teach the new member the philosophy, traditions, and rituals of the coven.  The length of training varies, but often it's at least a year and a day; after which, the coven holds a ceremony called an initiation. Those who choose not to join a coven and wish to practice by themselves are called solitaries.

Unlike many religions, Paganism does not deny any other spiritual path, it does not seek to tell anyone what is right or wrong. Paganism allows each person to seek their own path, and accepts that the path chosen by one is not necessarily a path that works for others. There is a simple law that holds Pagan actions accountable - "And it harm none, do as thou wilt." Wicca adds a second principal on top of that - The Rule of Three. The Rule of Three says "Whatever you send out comes back to you three-fold", meaning the love, kindness and generosity of spirit as well as any vengefulness or other negative actions.

Here at Wildflower, what started out as a Neo Paganism 101 class has grown and become an organized affinity group.