Well, I’m really an independent, but the word that comes closest to my beliefs is pantheism.
The idea of worshipping any THING or any ONE seems silly to me.
Go with your own heart and feelings.
Bitch away, evilbeth, I know the feeling… one of the rings I do frequently wear is simply a female (read “Goddess”) form with a moonstone at her feet. I once caught my boss staring at it with the oddest look on her face… she’s a good person and I don’t want to jump to conclusions about what she was thinking, but it made me uncomfortable. I probably should have said something-- “Interesting ring, isn’t it? My mom gave it to me, etc.” but I didn’t. Maybe next time…
Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat, we’ve been eating Gam-er-aaaa…
NeoWiccan here, I guess. I sometimes tell folks I’m “Western Unorthodox” 
Pagan, I reckon.
Disable Similes in this Post
that’s the same dandy little boat that i’m riding in.
“Organs gross me out. That’s organs, not orgasms.”
-the wallster
Me too, sort of. I’m not Catholic, never have been. My parents didn’t raise me in any particular church, but they did sort of instill me with a belief in a higher power.
I went through a period of time where I called myself an agnostic. I just had too many questions about God & everything, and none of the answers I got made sense. So I was just about ready to chuck it all & go atheist. Then I met this woman who is a Wiccan. I asked her some questions (I’ve always been fascinated by witches & witchcraft, and I’d heard of Wicca, but didn’t know much about it). She told me a bit about it, and recommended some books. The more I read, the more I kept thinking “Man, this is the way I’ve felt and thought all my life,” and that’s when everything started just falling into place.
I remember the first time I said “I am not a Christian.” I was talking to my sister. As it turns out, she too had been studying paganism, completely independently from me. We both figured out the same things about ourselves, at about the same time. Weird. Anyway, saying that to my sister was like having a huge weight lifted off of me. Not the weight of Christianity, but the weight of hypocrisy. I wasn’t going to try & fake being a Christian any more. Fakes suck, no matter what religion they practice.
I feel so much better about myself now. I have a much more realistic attitude about stuff. I don’t expect a deity to “take care of me.” I thank her for giving me the strength and wisdom to do for myself and my family. Hey, it’s working for me.
Cristi, Slayer of Peeps
I made my husband join a bridge club. He jumps next Tuesday.
(title & sig courtesy of UncleBeer and WallyM7!)
Cristi, do you remember the names and/or authors of any of the books?? because everytime i go to buy another one, i’m overwhelmed by the quantity, and am always afraid of picking up something completely bogus.
“Organs gross me out. That’s organs, not orgasms.”
-the wallster
I’m not Cristi, Mega (obviously ) but if you haven’t already, I suggest reading Scott Cunningham’s Wicca:A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and his **Living Wicca ** which picks up where the first one leaves off.
I also really enjoyed Book of Shadows by Phyllis Curott-- it’s a sort of spiritual autobiography. Curott is a lawyer and High Priestess living in NYC. You might also try Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon just for a historical look at the subject-- it’s not exactly current but still interesting.
Hope this helps!
Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat, we’ve been eating Gam-er-aaaa…
Amber K is also a great author.
There are a few things that I think about when I have to defend my beliefs.
One, I think I read here. That is that most people believe in a higher power and that different religions are just different paths to the top.
And if you really think about it spells are just like prayers, in one way or another you are asking a higher power for something.
There is a web site around here somewhere, but I will have to ask my friend for it because I am drawing a blank right now. I’m sorry a good web site. Some of them get kinda strange and off the path.
Does anyone have plans for Bel Taine?
Mistress Kricket
Are you stuck on stupid?
I haven’t done any spells yet, Kricket, but I do see them as a version of prayer-- a little more interactive than the traditional version of prayer I grew up with.
I don’t have any Bel Taine plans, myself… how do you celebrate? And are there any particular books by Amber K that you’d recommend? I’ve found Amazon.com to be a treasure trove of material, but as mega pointed out there’s so much available…
Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat, we’ve been eating Gam-er-aaaa…
Hey there. Yet another Pagan here. I am a Reconstructionist Druid. You can find out some information from www.druidry.org. I started a humour thread about paganism that was sent to me a few weeks ago. You can find it here and in case I didn’t get the UBB code right it is http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/006604.html.
I currently am solitary in my Druidic beliefs for the most part; although, I do rituals with the DC Radical Faeries. They are a mostly Wiccan group but have a lot of eclecticism. I am the only druid in the group but there are people from almost every heathenistic faith represented. It is basically an anarchical pagan group that focuses on individualism and personal responsibility for religious development. It is fun. Oh, as a Radical Faery, we don’t invoke just the God and Goddess, we also invoke the hermaphrodite and androgyne. There is so much more to the basic sexuality than Wicca would lead one to believe. (On the surface, many Wiccans are open and accepting of homosexuality but the practice of invoking only the God and Goddess and focusing on the act often keeps gay people away. I know several Wiccan groups that don’t allow gay people to participate in Beltaine ceremonies because of their focus on reproduction. We have been discussing this on a mail list I am on called gay pagan friends, you can email me if you want the signup link at paganbearcub@hotmail.com.)
Merry Meet and Merry Part and Mary Tyler Moore!
HUGS!
Sqrl
Hmm… one of the things that attracts me to Wicca is what I perceive as its openess and acceptance of all people. It never crossed my mind that the traditional God/Goddess dynamic might be off-putting to gay people-- thanks for another angle, Sqrl. I think that eclecticism is a big strength of Paganism, though-- it allows people to find the path that works for them, like the Radical Faeries (or any number of solitaries) are doing.
Mary Tyler Moore yourself 
Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat, we’ve been eating Gam-er-aaaa…
Magickal Household I am pretty sure by Scott Cunningham.
Also that web site I was trying to think of is COG (Coven of the Goddess)
From what my priestess says the book is full of simple little things you can do around to house.
Like turning your dinner plate around three times counter-clockwise to reverse and bad energy in it.
Mistress Kricket
Are you stuck on stupid?
Yikes! A bunch of twenty & thirty-something new agers here! “Alternative Religions” Pah! :mad: It’s amazing what people will do to be a part of something, to belong.
I understand that many of you are taking the word to represent ancient religious beliefs (the non-Christian aspect of the term) as opposed to non-belief, but keep in mind that even Christians were once pagans without fancy churches, set creed, entrenched bureaucracy or strict moralistic hypocrisy. In the end, though, you are the same.
Half of my friends buy into some sort of Wiccan/Druid/Satanic subset. I understand the mindset and the longing for beauty, nature, strength and a simpler, less populated time. The quest is noble, but must be done without the crutch of religion.
I am a pagan in (what I consider) the true sense of the word. Completely non-religious.
Nature is animalistic, and by embracing religion, you further distance yourself.
Yet to be reconciled with the reality of the dark for a moment, I go on wandering from dream to dream.
Sake, I’ll thank you not to class “Satanic” with “Wiccan” and “Druid.” They do not go together. Ever. Never have, and they never, ever will.
I myself do not do this “to belong.” I am a solitary. I worship alone. No husband, no kids. By myself. My guess is that so do most of the pagans here.
And Rosebud, you might as well be me–Scott Cunningham was exactly who I was going to suggest! I love his books. Spiral Dance by Starhawk is also very good, as is anything by Janet & Stewart Farrar.
Cristi, Slayer of Peeps
I made my husband join a bridge club. He jumps next Tuesday.
(title & sig courtesy of UncleBeer and WallyM7!)
You have friends?
“You don’t have insurance? Well, just have a seat and someone will be with you after you die.” --Yes, another quality sig custom created by Wally!
A Jesusfied sig: Next time I covet thine opinion, I’ll ask for it!
Cristi, thank you for beating me to it!! I just got off work and when I read that first I got upset and then I realized that some people are still just misinformed.
Does anyone have the definition of Pagan? One is anyone living outside the city in the country. Another is heathens not following the christian ways. I actually found the second one in my kids dictionary during one of many religious debates with my husband.
So, belong to something? NO!
I enjoy being Wiccan because I am a nature person. You should all stop by my house while I am getting the garden ready. I get out there in next to nothing no matter how cold, and end up covered from head to toe in Earth. My kids think it’s great that I “play” in the dirt with them like that, and then we get to watch our garden grow.
If we don’t watch out next we will be called gluttons! You know for the fact that we are choosing a religion with so much turmoil around it right now and we are just wanting the attention.
You know I really think that Rosebud started this thread as a way to expand her knowledge of good reading material on the subject. It is also ending up helping a few others remember certain things, or introducing them to new things to read and do.
Please do not turn this into a flame or a debate!
Sorry about cluttering this thread with my rant, but everything was going well until I worked a 12 hour shift to come home and read Sakes’ post.
I will to will thy will, I will to will thy will, I will to will thy will…
yes, I am feeling a little better now.
Mistress Kricket
Are you stuck on stupid?
Now that I’m awake, caffeinated, and not running out the door like I was last night when I finally saw Sake’s post…
I’m aware that many people see religion as a crutch. That’s their choice. I believe what I believe because it feels right to me. Do I want to belong? No more or less than anyone else, though if belonging was my primary goal, I wouldn’t be seriously considering a religion whose members are still ostracized (I use “members” loosely-- there are many different traditions within Paganism, even Wicca specifically). It took me a long, long time to get to a point where I could admit even to myself that I wanted to do more than read about it.
Kricket, Cristi, evilbeth, Sqrl-- the suggested readings have been much appreciated, and it’s just plain cool to be able to discuss this stuff openly! My home email is in my profile, please feel free to use it
Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat, we’ve been eating Gam-er-aaaa…
I think it’s out of print now, but the best book on paganism (from a feminine perspective) Ive ever read is To Know by Jade.
I dont call myself a Wiccan, because to me that suggests set rituals and spells and things like athames, which I dont use.
I sort of vacillate between Goddess-worship and Christianity, depending on mood. I find things of value and which satisfy my soul in both religions. (For the record, there’s also a deal of Taoism and Hinduism in my world-view.)
What led me to Goddess-worship was the respect of the Feminine and the idea that everyone is responsible for finding their own spiritual path, rather than listening to what other people want to tell you (regardless of how well-meaning those people may be). I also like the cyclical view of the cosmos, as opposed to the linear.
I have an altar in my room and celebrate the Quarter and Cross-Quarter days, and hold rituals on important occasions in my life, but I also go to church on the major Christian holidays and once in a while when I just feel like it.
Hey, sweetie! You want a Danish with that coffee? – another custom design by the mind of Wally
I am a heathen. Close enough?
Cristi, you’re welcome, but Satanism, Wicca & Druidry DO have one thing in common which enabled me to classify them together: they are ALL “alternative” (i.e., non-mainstream) religious sects. Which was, of course, my point.
If you do not do it to belong, then tell me why you chose to identify with an existing religion instead of creating your own or doing without. I suppose it was because everything you read about it resonated deep within you and just happened to be exactly what you had been feeling and thinking all along.
Kricket, the definitions of pagan:
- heathen/non-Christian
- person with no religion
Since the first definition classifies Jews and Muslems as pagans, I tend to lean towards the latter defintion.
I am a nature person as well, Kricket, but I do not need to identify myself with a religious movement to define my beliefs. Being part of a group does not make you stronger - it only weakens you.
Rosebud, you said:
Let’s get one thing straight: Wiccans are NOT ostracized. Perhaps in 1645 in England, but not here and not now.
I’m not trying to offend anyone (well, maybe just a little) - I just really hate religions and what they do to the human spirit. Nothing but a cage.
Yet to be reconciled with the reality of the dark for a moment, I go on wandering from dream to dream.