Planet Earth at the heart of Paganism
We receive lots of communications from people of various religious backgrounds. Some truly walk their talk of peace and fellowship; others, not so much.
We still remember when the right-wing extremist Christians picketed Z’s appearance at the San Jose Public Library back in the ‘80’s. They imported bus loads of their kind replete with picket signs and hate chanted slogans. Now days, those folks spend their time causing problems at town hall meetings under the Republican banner.
Sometimes we wonder whether most people are aware that much of their own traditions, even the daily rituals we all share in life, if people realize that much of it comes from pagan roots.
The way it looks to us, you cannot live on this planet without getting into with her plans. You have to know what and how eat to things, how to survive and how to propagate our own kind. You have to have some understanding of her season’s cycles, and you have to know how to cherish this planet’s precious resources for the purposes of survival.
So are we all born pagan?
You love trees?
Pagan.
You love the ocean?
Pagan.
You love and give back?
Pagan.
You love dancing, music, arts and sciences?
Pagan.
You need to serve the planet?
Pagan.
You feel a sacred calling?
Pagan.
You like to gather in circles under the stars?
Pagan.
Midnight picnics?
Pagan.
You celebrate sexuality?
Pagan!
The root of much of what we celebrate and hold dear in our lives has pagan origins. Even the rituals you find in other religions, has pagan origins. The word pagan comes from the Latin paganus, and means one who dwells on the land. It eventually came to mean country dweller.
With paganism there is this common sense bottom line. If it enhances life, go for it.
When the culture picks up the pagan traits, and makes them into both entertainment and instruction, revelations and higher states of consciousness result. One step above just good old fashioned pagan.
It’s a big umbrella, the Earth religions. From folk customs to embroidery, folk dances to celebratory foods, elaborate imagination-colored observations of the natural circles make the various traditions of paganism different from each other. All under the big pagan umbrella.
Pagans can just happen on their own. You don’t need to go to special schools to be a pagan. It’s a freedom that was ours already at birth. In fact, we are most pagan as infants. We have not yet developed to harken to authority. We are our own authority. We chew on our toes just because we can. We have never heard of the “original sin.” Original what?
We have the luxury to look back at what other religions have done for us civilians. Our goddess is everything that lives. Not a person. The air we breathe, the earth we walk on, the fire inside our planet and ourselves, and the air /ether where she is present.
And when we die we move back with momma. Mother Nature that is. And that’s really sweet too.
Comments
As a Pagan, I beleive this article is counter productive. the list of questions 'defining' what a pagan loves are so general that most people would get a majority of 'yes' answers. That outcome would annoy any thinking person: It gives the impression the whole article was designed to hoodwink them into joining up.
Yes, that's a ridiculously general list that could be claimed by ANY ideology. Those are not pagan traits, but human ones. Get over yourself.
I think perhaps the point of the article is just what John said: it is a general list that could be claimed by any ideology. I think the point of the article was to illustrate in a simplified way that pagans are in many ways no different from anyone else of another ideology or religion. We all have many things in common. Yes, it could have delved much deeper. Nothing there really to provoke thought except the commonality with other paths. Often people are afraid of things that seem unfamiliar to them. Perhaps the article was written to show how familiar pagan beliefs can feel to everyone. I don't see the tone of article as manipulative at all.
In the Great Thread of Immanence- regardless of Culture or Creed - we are All the Children of First Mother-GAIA the Magnificent. This is the "keep it simple and sublime" message that I read between the lines of this Love-imbued musing... We All stand on Common ground- and Her Name is Mother Earth!
Thank you both for caring enough to write about, what is important to many of us. As Pagans we need to build each other up not knock each other down.
The Goddess is alive and magick is afoot! )O(
Isn't the point that being pagan OR Christian, we are all part of a common ship,in the same boat. Mother Earth, our dear spaceship. . . Glittering generalities can be dissected like so many angels who dance on the head of a pin; let's leave that kind of bilateral thinking to the medieval scientists. Instead, commonality, humanity, paganism, our roots in the past and our sharing in the present, is what matters. Let's look for similarities, not differences. Pax.
It's true that this a general list, but it is also a true list. You say it has much in common with many other spiritual paths - THAT'S THE BLESSED POINT! We are like many other paths, we just worship differently. *sigh*
Wow! I love the perspective here of bring paganism back to its roots. A lover of the earth and of experience. Though this is a broad topic it does emphasize how we are all worshippers of the same beauty and that seperation or negativity towards religion is simply a waste of energy when there are so many other splendid things one could be doing. Furthermore, this article typifies that we all began in the womb as one and the list of questions shows the commonality between people. To go into more detail would bring division by stating a certain pagan, from a certain, lineage, from a certain region and so on. What would this bring us? More division, seperation and confusion from what we can learn from together. And the best way to learn is to refocus on what we know. This article focuses on what we know viewed from a pagan slant, giving a new perspective and is appealing to a larger audience. Brava!
I Love the inclusiveness, and the Oneness of this. Diversity grows from Oneness, and in the beginnings of time were we not all pagan? Truly, in the sense of country dweller, we were. Before the invention of cities.
This an old post but thought i would comment for those saying oh the list to general anyone claim it, well if you knew anything about history you would know the first religion or ideology was Shamanism worshiping mother earth. And reason why all religions could claim it cause every religion takes from the old religions. That's the point we are born pagan and taught another religion, so go back to being pagan and we need to care for our home cause earth is our home. Humans remind me of Hoarders tv show on a mass scale we need to throw out we don't need and make life simply so earth can start restoring herself.
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