Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! Is there a Name for Me? Back in the Olden Days, and by that I mean the 1980’s, I used to call myself a “pagan”. I did this mostly out of respect for the Wiccans and Witches in the New Age community. At that moment in time, “wiccan” meant one thing and “witch” meant quite another, and I was neither of these. Wiccans were folks who belonged to... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! A vital element for genuine community and solidarity is a shared and accepted body of values. Reconstructionists and members of ethnic polytheistic traditions feel that there is a significant difference between their own beliefs and values and those of Neopagans to feel justified in regarding themselves as a separate and distinct religious community. This difference (perhaps even conflict) of values revolves around where each community locates the locus... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! I’m a Gaelic Polytheist – I haven’t identified as a Pagan in so long that I’m not sure when the last time I did so actually was. There were a couple of primary reasons for this there’s far too much confusion, misinformation, and disinformation, out there regarding what a Pagan is and what a Pagan believes. There are, for example, different sects of mainstream monotheism but they all... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! Vocabulary is a privilege. Because those in the Pagan sphere have such diversified sets of language, we get the privilege of using language that suits our needs and the needs of our work when we need to. There aren’t many faith traditions that get to interchange the language they used to describe themselves. In fact, the Christian clergy I know often lament the lack of freedom they have... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! Drew Jacob seems to have touched on a hot topic this morning when he explained Why I’m Not Pagan: I haven’t referred to myself as Pagan in at least four years. I use the word polytheist instead, if I need to; it usually garners a lot of questions and those conversations lead to understanding. When I called myself Pagan people assumed they knew what I meant, and we... Read more
The fact of the matter is I’m weary of reminding Pagans that I’m included in the same category. And I’m so very discouraged that my religion is written out of many common makeshift definitions of Paganism. My religion is not completely “nature-based” or “earth-based.” I do not follow the Wiccan Rede or honor the Wheel of the Year, I don’t cast circles, I don’t worship The Goddess and The God, I don’t call upon the Four Elements, I don’t see... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! I use the term Pagan to describe myself. I am neither a reconstructionist nor am I Wiccan so Pagan seems to be the most reasonable description. Polytheist would also suffice but I kind of like the term Pagan and it is easily recognizable so it suits me. If I want to get more descriptive I would say Hellenic Pagan. What an individual wants to label themselves is none... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! I am a practicing Hellenic pagan. I use that term rather than polytheist for a number of reasons. First, my background is Wiccan (of the British ilk, traditional, stodgy, and quite hard polytheistic in its nature as opposed to the more open, flowy, monistic Wicca of today) and while I myself am no longer Wiccan and haven’t been for a decade, I still honor those who took the... Read more
Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post! Helio, who blogs here, has this to say over the usefulness of the label Pagan for polytheists: By my own experience, I’ve come to realize that calling myself a polytheist can be much more enlightening than pagan. If I say I’m the latter, most people will simply assume I celebrate the equinoxes, cast a circle, use a four elements framework or have a male/female view on ritual and... Read more
Evangelicals crack me up. They really do. I have friends and family who are Evangelical and they say the darnedest things. There may be no two more distant points on the religious spectrum than a Pagan and an Evangelical, particularly when it comes to politics. Right now Evangelicals seem to be in a tizzy over whether or not they can support a *gasp* Mormon for president. I know this is a big deal to them, because they see Mormons as... Read more
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