Religion: Facts & Theory

Fact vs Truth

I don't think that any one religion has a monopoly on the "truth", nor on any assumed or actual wisdom. It is the nature of human beings to impose order upon their environment, whether that order is there or not. This is probably the best description of religions, all religions -- methods of imposing order and structure upon our lives.

Now this doesn't mean that there isn't something out there behind a religion. It seems obvious to me that there is. However, if we assume humans to be finite, and whatever it is to infinite, then we can only perceive very narrow views of that reality. Hence, like a conical section (which appears to be a circle when viewed from above, but a triangle when viewed from the side), religions pick up particular aspects of the divine. All are valid to some degree, but none a valid exclusively.

And religions deal with truth, not "fact". The difference is that truth is an emotional thing, whereas "facts" are objective phenomena, which are supposed to be verified empirically. The ultimate effect of religion is in how we behave and live our lives. I follow several religious beliefs, purely for selfish reasons -- by doing so I live a better, happier life. Some of this can be summed up in the following quote from Connie Buffalo:

Q: What's the correct religion to follow?

A: The one you practice.

On being a neo-Pagan

I'm a wiccan/neo-hellenic. Wiccans are also know as witches. If you're one of the general public, you probably think that this makes me a satanist -- wrong!

Wicca is a neo-pagan religion, which means that although it has roots in the pagan traditions of the past, most of the practices and structures within it were devised in the 20th century. Magic is an integral part of Wicca, as it represents direct contact and communication with the divine principles within. Not all witches are Wiccans however, and there are indeed Satanists. But the Devil is a Christian figure, and plays no part in Wiccan belief. The classic image of the Devil is a corrupted version of Pan and/or The Horned God, and was adopted in an effort to discredit the old religions.

My own version of Wicca has an ancient greek style to it. All my patron Goddesses are Greek in origin. This makes me a "Neo-Hellenist". Blame it on Bullfinch's Mythology, which I read from cover to cover at highschool. Being Pagan means (for me):

• Accepting the Divine in all things,
• Recognising (and honouring) the Female (The Goddess) and Male (The God) polarities/principles in Nature,
• and living in harmony with Nature as much as possible, and responding to natural cycles.

Everyone has magic in them.

A general rule in Wicca is: Do what you will, but harm none.

Wiccans have eight major celebrations each year called Sabbats, which are about 45 days apart. These reflect the waxing and waning of the Sun (the masculine), and the changing patterns of growth and life on Earth (the feminine). Ceremonies are also held during full moons and these are called Esbats. There is no single organising body for this, but there are groups and knowledgeable individuals about. There are also lots of queer and transgendered pagans too.

I first became aware of The Goddess while living with my second girlfriend, who was part Romney (Gypsy) and had certain abilities of her own. In addition I had a number of pagan and Wiccan friends, and though I saw little of what they practiced, I saw that it was consistent and good. Later, as my gender transition progressed, I became more aware of a divine feminine nature (The Goddess). Finally, when I realised that what I knew and what I read about Wicca made sense to me and seemed right, I initiated myself.

Pollychrome, the handle I use at this site, is a special name for me. It is the name I choose when I initiated myself, and represents the core of my spirit. It was not by accident that this name was chosen. I have no fear of revealing it here, because that core is loved, nurtured, and protected by the Goddess. Since my initiation, I have been a mostly solitary practitioner, but I do on occasion join groups.

I don't have to prove that The Goddess exists -- I can feel her inside of me. And you have her inside of you too -- whether you believe it or not! And of course that applies to The God as well. Right now I'm concentrating on The Goddess, because that's where I'm at in my life. I go to Unity to experience The God, because it is a safe distance for me to do so.

I have eight patron goddesses that I call upon for help and assistance. Each represents an aspect of The Goddess, and as such is easier for me to experience. The ones of my maiden circle are: Artemis, Athena, Iris, and Persephone. Together, they form an inner spiritual ring for me.

The other goddesses (who represent mother and crone figures) are Cybele, Demeter, Hecate, and Hestia.

The perceptive of you will notice that all these are Greek. I read a lot of Bullfinch in high school, and it seems the most meaningful for me.

Blessed Be.

A Brief History of neo-Paganism

Because almost everything that can be called neo-paganism is ecleptic, there are overlaps between the various forms of Neo-Paganism. There are links between Wicca, Druidism, and Shamanism. Apart from these varieties, there is also Nordic and Greek based paganism, Diannic (which are women only groups), Egyptian, and other forms.

There are also Satanists, though on the whole most neo-pagans tend to distance themselves from Satanism, and regard the classic ideas of such as a Christian cult. Some Satanists belong to The Temple of Set, which is Egyptian based and follows Set, who was one of the mythic sources for the Christian anti-god. But satanists are in a small minority in the neo-pagan world.

Most of modern paganism can be traced back to sources from the late 19th and early 20th century. Charles Leland published Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches in 1899 which were based on teachings of an Italian hereditary witch. Current at this time as well were the Order of the Golden Dawn and later the Ordo Templi Orientis (organised in part by Alistair Crowley(1)), groups that had links to Theosophy and Anthroposophy.

Later the anthropologist Dr Margaret Murray in The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921) and The God of the Witches (1931) argued that medieval witches didn't worship the Devil but were followers of an ancient pre-Christian religion. Robert Graves published The White Goddess in 1946 which is a study of Moon Goddesses from many different cultures. In 1951 Gerald Gardner published Witchcraft Today.

Gardner was a member of a coven from 1939 onwards, and his re-creation of witchcraft was a blend of folklore, Masonic rituals and Crowley type magic. His Book of Shadows influence much that came later. Another major influence were Alex and Maxine Saunders, who popularized witchcraft in the 1960s. The branch of practice became known as Alexandrian, as distinct from Gardnerian, which follows after Gardner more closely.

From that point on however, there has been a continuous development of neo-paganism, incorporating different sources from recent and ancient practice. Movements have splintered and recombined. The important thing however is not that contemporary pagan practices mirror ancient rituals exactly, but that the spirit of those practices is applied to the modern setting.

Thus, although most neo-pagan movements have strong connections with nature, there is no contradiction in applying them in an urban life. Neo-paganism is not a religion of any one book, but a modern folk tradition and spirituality. Hence its strength lies in its diversity and creativity.

Footnotes

(1) According to an associate of mine who is a member of OTO, one of Crowley's achievements was that he broke the cycle of teacher and student. In traditions such as the Golden Dawn, each teacher took responsibility for the actions of their students. This being the case, there were less students on the whole. However, Crowley published information wholesale and denied any responsibility for what people would do with it.