An Introduction to Contemporary Paganism

Those of you already familiar with the Pagan community can skip this piece. Those of you who know me from speculative fiction, gender studies, or other circles may find this enlightening. Those of you who have come as part of your spiritual quest, or who wandered in from realms afar, will find a wealth of information here to satisfy and delight. For further ideas, see my recommended reading list.

First, think about the media images of witches and wizards and other Pagan motifs. Most of them bear little resemblance to reality and many date back to ancient anti-Pagan propaganda. They survive because some people find them titillating or otherwise entertaining. If media portrayals of green-faced witches and wizards wearing pointy hats comprise your sole experience with matters magical, kindly set these images aside for while.

Real Witches practice a religion called Witchcraft or Wicca, an Earth-centered belief system with its roots in ancient Europe. Wicca incorporates magic and ritual, careful study and whimsical play. It also comes with a set of ethical guidelines such as "If it harm none, do as you will." Real Witches look pretty much like other people; you could pass a Witch in the grocery store and not know it -- in fact, you probably have. Both male and female practitioners call themselves Witches; for the most part, serious practitioners do not use terms like "wizard" or "warlock" although these appear frequently in media portrayals.

Paganism in general comprises a wide variety of religions, most of which predate the whole Judeo-Christian matrix. Pagan religions hail from all corners of the world and from many different periods in history. If you go back far enough, to the very dawn of time, everybody's ancestors practiced a Pagan religion -- we find remnants of these most ancient traditions in cave paintings, burial grounds, and figurines. Some contemporary Pagans practice traditions handed down mostly intact from the old days, some practice traditions based on older motifs but significantly adapted to current times, and some have invented whole new traditions especially for today's world. A tradition may have just one follower or thousands, ranging from a Solitary Eclectic to the more popular forms of Wicca or Asatru. Whatever the tradition, Pagans usually make very good neighbors; you may see us helping at holiday food drives, picking up trash, or planting trees on Arbor Day.

Because of their great diversity in origin, Pagan traditions come with somewhat different rules. Most of them, however, share certain common foundations. More often than not, Pagans believe:

1. The Earth and all its inhabitants -- animal, vegetable, mineral -- are inherently sacred.
2. As sentient beings, we have a responsibility to take care of the Earth and the environment.
3. We also must behave decently towards other humans when at all possible.
4. Using magic or other means to harm innocents is unacceptable and brings negative consequences to anyone who does such a thing. (The use of magic or other means in self-defense or defense of others is one of the things that varies, from unacceptable to acceptable to required, depending on tradition.)
5. We acknowledge, honor, and celebrate the Divine in whatever ways of affecting reality -- but they work best when combined with complementary actions in the everyday world.
6. It is proper to teach other people about our beliefs and practices when they express honest interest, at least enough to allay any fears they may have, although most traditions keep some things private.
7. There is no One True Right and Only Way; tolerance is a virtue. Still, if you ask any ten Pagans a question, you'll get twenty answers; expect to find some exceptions to every rule.

Contemporary Pagans enjoy a lively culture. You can find vast amounts of Pagan Websites, newsgroups, mailing lists, and other online activities. (For some links to get you started, see Virtual Paganism, on this website.) There are Pagan festivals, public rituals, and other gatherings all over the world. Bookstores carry a fascinating selection of Pagan books and periodicals on just about any tradition or topic you can imagine. We even have the beginnings of fiction that deals with our lives and experiences in "mainstream" reality. As we continue to grow, we find more ways of making the world a better place for everyone. As you read through the material in the Spirituality section, you will see some of my contributions to Pagan scholarship, community, evolution, and entertainment.

"Contemporary Paganism" copyright 1998 Elizabeth Barrette.

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Art on this page is from the "Whiteflower" set, at Winter's Pages

The URL for this page is http://www.worthlink.net/~ysabet/spirit/cpagan.html and it was last updated on October 13, 1998.