All Things Pagan Thread

Medusa

Medusa

Senior Member
Location
Mid-Atlantic
I thought I’d start a Pagan thread to mark the special events, holidays, moon cycles, rituals.

I don’t know everything (or even half the things) about Paganism, it’s huge and has many branches, but it seems fun to share what I do know and learn, from research and others who know more than I do, along the way.

For example: Today, March 8, 2025, the moon is in waxing gibbous phase, and that generally means:

“...growth and the manifestation of desires. It is considered a time of heightened power and potential, making it an ideal moment to start new endeavors, affirm your intentions, and take steps to reach your aspirations.”

Here is a waxing gibbous moon.
AD_4nXeTN_z6uAHKEAtcGws1JPl4NVc7W1KpvRxZLU2SVRPkBH0VV9iRC4EyTR8J8w0OF0IdjyxoJDc_eUoXFe7uFjh87sQ2EpWcav_NVVueVKlTd-IjcOHdQAYbbn36Qx5ofA9XfGnieQ
 

Pepper said:
How are you defining Pagan? Anything not Judeo/Christian? Or not of any other established religion? Talk some Pagan to me, please.
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Off the top of my head anything, ritualistic or an observance involving nature, the natural world, flow of energies. It's a tougher question that you might think because 1) I don't know enough and 2) Paganism is huge and encompasses many branches.

You could go with not Judeo/Christain, but there are other religions, e.g., Buddism that also are not Pagan.
 
Medusa said:
Off the top of my head anything, ritualistic or an observance involving nature, the natural world, flow of energies. It's a tougher question that you might think because 1) I don't know enough and 2) Paganism is huge and encompasses many branches.

You could go with not Judeo/Christain, but there are other religions, e.g., Buddism that also are not Pagan.
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That's why I said not Any Established Religion as well. My Spanish teacher, a Brit, in my freshman year of college wore a button that read "Bring Back Paganism." Always think of him when someone mentions the subject.
 
Unfortunately many people are intolerant towards beliefs and practices that don’t align with their own and immediately stupidly use descriptions like Pagan. I build a small traditional Jewish sukkah to celebrate exodus and fall harvests in my backyard and one neighbor calls me a Pagan. LOL.
 
Since sometimes paganism and myth are considered the same:

[M]yth[:]…what the big religion calls the little religion…
~~from “Open Letter to [Science Fiction/Fantasy Conventions] from the Indians No Longer in the Background of a John Wayne Movie” by Stephen Graham Jones, Tor.com Personal Essays, 5/19/21
 
MaddHollander said:
Unfortunately many people are intolerant towards beliefs and practices that don’t align with their own and immediately stupidly use descriptions like Pagan. I build a small traditional Jewish sukkah to celebrate exodus and fall harvests in my backyard and one neighbor calls me a Pagan. LOL.
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Oh well; what.are.ya.gonna.do? :/

I looked up, "sukkah," and festival of Sukkot. Seems a beautiful tradition.
 
I think the way Christmas is celebrated, at least in this culture, is paganism. The story of Jesus' birth got tacked onto it. (Also the "miracle" of the Hannukah oil lamp.) But the emphasis on trees, stars, fire, candles, anything else to do with light during the winter solstice, is just screaming "paganism" at us.
 
You know, I like to make eggs for Ostara (March 19 - 23 - time of the Spring Equinox - the 20th this year), to represent the fertility and new life of spring, and it's just occurring to me that I'll have to dial that back with the price of eggs being so high. :( Maybe just boiling and coloring a dozen eggs instead of doing a couple dozen and for peeling and eating pickling and egg salad.
 
Sunny said:
I think the way Christmas is celebrated, at least in this culture, is paganism. The story of Jesus' birth got tacked onto it. (Also the "miracle" of the Hannukah oil lamp.) But the emphasis on trees, stars, fire, candles, anything else to do with light during the winter solstice, is just screaming "paganism" at us.
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Yep. Many Christmas traditions have their origins in Paganism. The tree, wreaths, mistletoe, gift giving.

Personally, I'm happy for anyone in however they choose to observe their holidays. If they're borrowing from Paganism, it doesn't worry me. Paganism is older so it would track that some of its rituals and traditions found their way into other religions.
 
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Oh goody, something historic that I might be able to get my teeth stuck into. Something that might have relevance in modern times?

I never knew our Moon had a 'waxing gibbous' every so often, yet I feel I should have known. My lack of knowledge in that area made me first think it was some kind of procedure carried out by a beauty therapist -- what would I know!

What might this subject cover? Not the beauty therapist procedure, but Paganism & Pagans: Anglo-Saxons; Druids; Celts; Norse; Wiccan (The Wicker Man movie anyone? [Edward Woodward]); other, modern day interpretations? All the above in other posts, & more?

Apparently, according to the UK 2021 census, there are 74,000 people in England & Wales who identify themselves as pagan and paganism. The 2nd fastest growing religion in the UK.

2 minute video. What is Paganism?:



In the UK as a whole, from the 2021 census:
Pagan 93,686
Wicca 13,056
Shamanism 7,904
Heathenry 4,791
Druidry 2,527
Pantheism 2,380
Witchcraft 1,044
Animism 850
 
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Religions in general an established belief system that requires acts of worship and reverence seem stupid and a waste of time. I am here because I was born and I lived my life according my choices that ultimately brought me here.

While I believe in the laws of nature life, death etc I do not believe in gods of any kind, however for the things I cannot explain I am content in not knowing rather than attributing these things to a god I choose not to believe in.

For those who believe in god or gods live only in the minds of believers. If you believe nature and / or natural occurrences by attributing these things to Mother Earth good for you, however, since these things occur naturally I do not see the purpose of worshipping
a designated being.
 
Mr. Ed said:
Religions in general an established belief system that requires acts of worship and reverence seem stupid and a waste of time. I am here because I was born and I lived my life according my choices that ultimately brought me here.

While I believe in the laws of nature life, death etc I do not believe in gods of any kind, however for the things I cannot explain I am content in not knowing rather than attributing these things to a god I choose not to believe in.

For those who believe in god or gods live only in the minds of believers. If you believe nature and / or natural occurrences by attributing these things to Mother Earth good for you, however, since these things occur naturally I do not see the purpose of worshipping
a designated being.
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"Paganism is an umbrella term for a variety of spiritual and faith-based practices that fall outside of mainstream religions."

Personally, I would not define myself as fitting within any particular branch of Pagansim, but simply "existing" within the world and appreciating the power of natural energies and nature itself.

If someone asked me to say "what type" of Pagan I am, I simply couldn't.

I observe the Equinoxes and Solstices, have an alter, occasionally sage my home or rooms of it, practice a ritual here and there as it suits my life, have a pretty pentagram made of ribbons and silks roses on my wall, and other things. I simply am and I do as I do.

I do not, however, have opinions or judgements about how other people navigate this life and seek to understand their place within it. If a person follows a religion and it brings them comfort and peace, helps them answer some questions, I'm happy for them and wish them good things.
 
Relatively speaking, the Peak District is right on my doorstep -- part of it is in my county. I often drive around this area. It's historically named after the Peak People -- possibly the Peaklanders tribe?

This 555-square-mile area in Derbyshire and Staffordshire holds significant spiritual meaning for some and has its own unique traditions. The villages in this area engage in Well Dressing. While these days this seems mostly a Christian practice, I wonder if the Pagan rituals of honoring natural water sources, due to the belief that wells and springs were inhabited by deities, spirits, or ancestors, were adapted by Christians of the time in an effort to bring Pagans into the Christian fold. Better to 'dress' the well or natural spring than to make a sacrifice in front of it?

Welcome to my neck of the woods, relatively speaking. Well Dressing:

 
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Magna-Carta said:
Relatively speaking, the Peak District is right on my doorstep -- part of it is in my county. I often drive around this area. It's historically named after the Peak People -- possibly the Peaklanders tribe?

This 555-square-mile area in Derbyshire and Staffordshire holds significant spiritual meaning for some and has its own unique traditions. The villages in this area engage in Well Dressing. While these days this seems mostly a Christian practice, I wonder if the Pagan rituals of honoring natural water sources, due to the belief that wells and springs were inhabited by deities, spirits, or ancestors, were adapted by Christians of the time in an effort to bring Pagans into the Christian fold. Better to 'dress' the well or natural spring than to make a sacrifice in front of it?

Welcome to my neck of the woods, relatively speaking. Well Dressing:

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Interesting. I hadn't heard of Well Dressing.
 
Made up stories and bath robes. To me, that describes all religions/faiths. Therefore, it makes absolutely no difference what particular cosmic Muppet you choose.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster commanded me to post this.
 
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