{"id":24930,"date":"2022-02-10T03:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T09:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=24930"},"modified":"2022-02-08T14:56:55","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T20:56:55","slug":"the-steps-of-pagan-religious-life-a-roadmap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2022\/02\/the-steps-of-pagan-religious-life-a-roadmap.html","title":{"rendered":"The Steps of Pagan Religious Life \u2013 A Roadmap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

What does a mature and effective Pagan and polytheist spiritual practice look like? What are the steps along the path? How do you get there?<\/p>\n

If our Pagan religions were more widespread and institutionalized, we would grow up knowing what that looks like, because we would see other people doing it on a regular basis. Instead, we grow up learning something about the spiritual practices and religious lives of Roman Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Evangelical Protestants. Depending on where we live and our family background, we may learn something about the religious lives of Jews or Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus.<\/p>\n

But rarely Pagans.<\/p>\n

Recently I had a question asking about \u201clevels of religious life\u201d as a Pagan. There are two problems in answering that question.<\/p>\n

The first is that Paganism isn\u2019t one religion, it\u2019s many. Some traditions have a well-defined structure that can provide guidance for a lifetime. Different traditions have different structures \u2013 the roadmap for a Thelemite is different from that of a Gardnerian Wiccan, which is different still from an OBOD Druid.<\/p>\n

The second problem is that many Pagans have an extreme dislike for anything resembling hierarchy. The very idea of \u201clevels\u201d is anathema to them.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s a legitimate question. Religious freedom need not lead to religious anarchy \u2013 particularly for those who don\u2019t want religious anarchy. Those who are starting out can benefit by seeing what those who have gone before them have done \u2013 there\u2019s no need for everyone to start from zero.<\/p>\n

So in this post I want to talk about the steps of Pagan religious life. I want to draw a map to show people an effective approach to building and advancing their practice in a way that\u2019s meaningful and helpful. It\u2019s not the only way and it\u2019s certainly not the One True Way, but it\u2019s a way \u2013 and it\u2019s a way that works.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing primarily for solitary practitioners and for those who are affiliated with informal groups. If you\u2019re a Gardnerian Wiccan, you\u2019ve already got a roadmap \u2013 you don\u2019t need mine. And I\u2019m writing for people who want to grow their practice \u2013 who want to make it deeper and more meaningful. If you\u2019re happy where you are, if your goal is to \u201cjust be\u201d then this post isn\u2019t for you.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re looking for a roadmap to greater Pagan spiritual depth, read on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Seeker<\/h2>\n

This is where most of us start. We\u2019re dissatisfied where we are. We\u2019re in a religion where we\u2019re told we have to believe things we can\u2019t honestly believe. We\u2019re told we have to vote for certain parties and candidates, even though they\u2019re actively opposed to our values. We know we need something else, but we don\u2019t know what.<\/p>\n

Or we\u2019re in no religion, and we feel the call to something more<\/em>. Either way, we want something different, but we don\u2019t know what. We don\u2019t even know what our options are.<\/p>\n

And so we seek \u2013 we try to discover what\u2019s out there, looking for what might be right for us.<\/p>\n

The term \u201cseeker\u201d isn\u2019t popular with some religious people. Too often it refers to people who are perpetual seekers and who often take bits and pieces of traditions out of their sacred contexts. Often it\u2019s people whose spirituality is a mile wide and an inch deep.<\/p>\n

But we live in the most religiously diverse society in the history of humanity. We owe it to ourselves to investigate not just one path but many paths. Read books, attend services, talk to practitioners. You\u2019re making an important decision. Do your best to make a well-informed decision.<\/p>\n

Explorer<\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t like the term \u201cexplorer\u201d \u2013 it has imperialist and colonialist implications. But I don\u2019t have a better one (without appropriating jargon from another religion), and it is very descriptive, so it\u2019s what I\u2019m using.<\/p>\n

At some point, your seeking will lead you to something that seems like it might be right for you. Then it\u2019s time to stop looking around and start looking more deeply where you are. This is the \u201ctry it on\u201d step in the process. You move from reading to doing \u2013 and you read some deeper books. You don\u2019t just talk to practitioners, you practice with them. You attend services regularly.<\/p>\n

And you stop window-shopping other religions and traditions.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve already recognized that this path might be right for you. Now you\u2019re trying to learn enough to decide if it really is.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Devotee<\/h2>\n

Maybe you learn and do enough to say \u201cthis is the right path for me.\u201d Or maybe you read and study and practice and one day you look back and you realize you\u2019ve been following this path for a year \u2013 and you don\u2019t really want to try anything else.<\/p>\n

At this point, you\u2019ve got a regular spiritual practice. It may be in its early stages, but you\u2019re praying, meditating, and making offerings on a daily or weekly basis. You\u2019re doing something for the high days in your tradition. If magic is part of your tradition, you\u2019re doing something at least monthly. You may not have a patron deity \u2013 you may never have a patron deity and that\u2019s OK \u2013 but there\u2019s a God or several Gods or a pantheon you\u2019re interested in and you\u2019re actively worshipping, working with<\/a>, and working for Them.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re now devoted to this path, to this tradition, to these Gods.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a permanent relationship. You can still change your mind if it doesn\u2019t work out, or if you run into something that blows you away and demands that you check it out. But you\u2019re not looking for something to blow you away. You\u2019re not a seeker or an explorer anymore. You\u2019ve found where you belong, at least for now.<\/p>\n

In a perfect world, everyone would eventually get to this step \u2013 everyone would find where they belong. In reality, some people are addicted to seeking, and others just aren\u2019t interested in religion and spirituality at any level. So be it.<\/p>\n

But if you want real spiritual depth in your life, you\u2019ve got to get to this step.<\/p>\n

Formal devotee<\/h2>\n

Some people, perhaps many people, will never go past the devotee step. They do what they do, they\u2019re happy with it, and it\u2019s enough for them. It really is enough.<\/p>\n

Those who say \u201ceverybody should do their own thing\u201d have a point. But some people\u2019s \u201cown thing\u201d is greater depth and greater commitment. Mine certainly is.<\/p>\n

At some point you realize this isn\u2019t just a good path, it\u2019s the right path for you. They\u2019re not just Gods, They\u2019re the Gods you want to worship and work with for the rest of your life. It\u2019s not \u201cmany paths up one mountain\u201d but rather many paths up many different mountains, and this is the mountain where you belong.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to make your devotion formal.<\/p>\n

Sometimes this means initiation. Sometimes it means taking an oath<\/a>. Sometimes it means recognizing that you crossed a line<\/a> a long time ago and you can\u2019t uncross it.<\/p>\n

This is like a marriage \u2013 it\u2019s intended to be \u201ctill death do us part.\u201d You can get out of it (sometimes, maybe) but it\u2019s expensive and messy and painful. And so it shouldn\u2019t be entered into lightly.<\/p>\n

But if you want it, and you need it, and you\u2019re called to it, you can\u2019t imagine doing anything else.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As I see it \u2013 and as I live it \u2013 this is the top step. This is as high as you can climb, or if you prefer, as deep as you can go. Once you\u2019re formally committed to your Gods and your tradition, all that\u2019s left is to live out that commitment as fully as you can. There\u2019s a lot of work left to be done \u2013 work that may take many forms \u2013 but there are no more steps to climb.<\/p>\n

There are, however, two critical roles that you may \u2013 or may not \u2013 be called to fill.<\/p>\n

Priest<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve written a fair amount on Pagan priesthood over the years. Rather than restate it here, I\u2019ll refer you to these four posts:<\/p>\n

Priesthood \u2013 A Modern Pagan View<\/a> (2014)<\/p>\n

Pagan Sacred Callings That Aren\u2019t Priesthood<\/a> (2017)<\/p>\n

15 Roles of Pagan Priesthood \u2013 How Many Is Too Many?<\/a> (2019)<\/p>\n

A Practical Guide to Pagan Priesthood: A Book Review<\/a> (2020)<\/p>\n

For the purposes of this discussion, what\u2019s important is that a priest is a consecrated religious specialist who 1) serves their God or Gods, 2) mediates for those Gods, and 3) serves their community.<\/p>\n

But priesthood isn\u2019t something everyone is called to be. It\u2019s not a level in a hierarchy. It\u2019s a set of duties and responsibilities, fulfilled within the context of a sacred relationship.<\/p>\n

Mainly, it\u2019s a lot of work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teacher<\/h2>\n

You can teach at any level. Or rather, people at every level teach. That said, seekers and explorers shouldn\u2019t teach. That\u2019s one of the primary complaints against them \u2013 too many people read a book and then decide they\u2019re ready to teach. Or these days, ready to become a social media influencer.<\/p>\n

The first obligation of a teacher isn\u2019t to the students, but to the tradition: to represent it faithfully and to present it accurately and effectively. You can\u2019t do that if you don\u2019t understand it, and you can\u2019t understand it if you haven\u2019t been practicing it long enough and deeply enough.<\/p>\n

But by the time you\u2019re a devotee, you probably understand your tradition well enough to teach at least the basics. If you\u2019re a formal devotee, you\u2019re likely to be asked to teach \u2013 or told to teach.<\/p>\n

Teaching is a tremendous obligation, to your tradition and to your students. Do your best and never pretend you know more than you do and you\u2019ll do fine.<\/p>\n

But as with priesthood, teaching isn\u2019t a level in a hierarchy. It\u2019s a role to be filled.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The roadmap<\/h2>\n

What we do at each of these steps looks very similar. Read and study. Pray, meditate, and make offerings. Celebrate the high days and holy days. Worship our Gods and do Their work in this world. Learn and grow, serve our communities and our world.<\/p>\n

At each step, what changes is the depth and intensity of our practices. What really changes is our commitment to our path and tradition.<\/p>\n

We begin as seekers who don\u2019t even know what\u2019s out there. Something grabs our attention and we become explorers, trying to learn more about it and seeing if it\u2019s right for us. We pick a path \u2013 either with a conscious choice or because we start walking it and never see fit to stop \u2013 and so we become devotees. And at some point we make that choice permanent \u2013 we become formal devotees.<\/p>\n

None of these steps carry rank and privilege, especially for those who practice solitary. Rather, they reflect an incremental increase in understanding, commitment, and obligation.<\/p>\n

Blessings to you on your path, where ever it may lead.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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