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The words 'Paganism' and 'Pagan' come from the Latin 'paganus,' meaning 'country dweller. In simplest terms - Paganism is a religion of place, or a native religion, for example the Native American's religion is Pagan, Hinduism is a form of Paganism. All Pagan religions are characterized by a connection and reverence for nature, and are usually polytheistic i.e. have many Gods and/or Goddesses.
Paganism is a religion of nature, in other words Pagans revere Nature. Pagans see the divine as immanent in the whole of life and the universe; in every tree, plant, animal and object, man and woman and in the dark side of life as much as in the light.
Pagans live their lives attuned to the cycles of Nature, the seasons, life and death.
Unlike the patriarchal religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) the divine is female as well as male and therefore there is a Goddess as well as a God. These deities are within us as well as without us (immanent); they are us. They are not simply substitutes for the Muslim or Judeo-Christian God. This is because the Gods of the major religions tend to be super-natural i.e. above nature whereas Pagan deities are natural, symbolizing aspects of nature or human nature. Having said that God and Goddess are split from the Great Spirit or Akashka which probably equates to the God of the patriarchal religions.
The Goddess Luonnotar
The Goddess represents all that is female and the God represents all that is male. But because nature is seen as female the Goddess has a wider meaning. Often called Mother Earth or Gaia she is seen as the creatrix and sustainer of life, the mother of us all which makes all the creatures on the planet our siblings.
There are sub-groups of named Gods and Goddesses called Pantheons, drawn from the distant past, for example Isis and Osiris from Egypt or Thor, Odin, Freya et al from Norse religion and mythology. Ancient Pagans would have worshipped one or a small number of Gods and Goddesses, whilst often recognizing the validity of other people's deities. The concept of an overall, un-named Goddess and God, the sum totals of all the others, appears to be a recent one but individual named deities represent particular human qualities or archetypes and are often used as a focus for celebrations and spiritual rites.
Paganism has developed alongside mankind for thousands of years; as cultures have changed so has Paganism, yet it is grounded in deep rooted genetic memories that go back to Neolithic times and before. Thus Paganism is not just a nature religion but a natural religion.
Paganism in the west takes a number of forms including Wicca, Druidism, and Shamanism.
To Pagans the four ancient elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water have special significance. The importance of these is hard to define because they have so many correspondences, for example they are associated with the four directions, North, East, South and West. Each element is a kind of spiritual substance from which all things are made especially ourselves and at the same time are Guardians both of ourselves and of the Goddess and God, and guarding the gateways between this world and the other world.
Many Pagans believe in reincarnation in some form. It gives Pagans a substantially different view of life. Early Christians saw Karma as a kind of treadmill, trapping people in endless reincarnations, never free. But Pagans see reincarnation as, at best, a chance to improve or to continue unfinished work, and at worst just a simple re-cycling of souls.
Imagine a time before time was born.
Imagine a time when no sun lit the colorless sky. When no moon shone silver on the dark sea. When no bird sang in a forest, no horse ran through long grasses, no bear slept in its cold cave.
Imagine a time when there was no air, no water, no earth. No life, no birth, no music. In all the universe, only three things existed. There was a river, in which flowed a swirling mix of possibility. There was space, blank and black and without even a single star.
And there was a girl.
The river was the power of movement in the universe. Space was the power of stillness. And the girl was their daughter,
Her name was Luonnotar, child of nature. She lived alone, with no sisters, no friends, no companions. There was nowhere for her to walk, so she did not walk. Nowhere for her to run, so she did not run. She did nothing but rest on the stillness of space, watching the river glide into endlessness.
There is no name for what Luonnotar did. You cannot say that she was sleeping. To sleep means to dream, and to dream means to dream about something. But nothing had ever happened in all the endlessness that Luonnotar remembered, and dreams cannot be spun of nothingness. But she was not truly awake. That would mean movement, and talk, and song, and pain. Luonnotar had nothing to say, nothing to sing, because nothing had ever happened to speak or sing about. Luonnotar felt no pain. But she felt no joy either. She simply floated, and watched, and waited.
Then one day—if there can be days where there is no time—something changed.
Something tightened in Luonnotar's chest. It felt as though her heart were bruised and hurting. She lay, floating on space near the endless river, wondering at this sensation. In the eternity of timelessness, she realized—more slowly than you can imagine—that she was feeling something.
She felt desire. She felt emptiness. Into that emptiness flowed a river of yearning, want, longing. What did she desire? Nothing had ever happened in the universe, so Luonnotar could not recognize that she yearned for action. Nothing had ever changed, so she could not know that she yearned for change.
But, after that moment, as Luonnotar rested in cold space watching the black river flowing around her, she did so differently.
Slowly—more slowly than you can imagine—an idea came to Luonnotar. There had never been an idea in the universe before, so it took a long time to grow. After that immeasurable time, when her idea was full and ready, Luonnotar felt it rise like the first sun of thought. When it shone bright and strong in her mind, she acted. Luonnotar dived from space into the great river.
It took but a moment. Then she was on the surface of the river. It was endlessly deep, but Luonnotar did not sink. Floating on her back, she looked up at the space from which she had leapt. There was no light there, no brilliant star nor radiant moon nor beaming sun. There was only emptiness and perfect stillness.
Luonnotar rested again, drifting through the universe on the waves of the river that flowed beneath space. She traveled vast distances, but it was as though she remained still. For everywhere, everything looked the same.
There was still only a river, space, and a girl.
But no action, however small, is without effect. Everything in the universe is connected. Luonnotar's plunge had changed everything, forever. It took endless time for the change to reveal itself, but finally, something happened.
A duck swam up to Luonnotar.
A duck. In the whole empty universe where there had been only one being. How had this come to be, that there were now two?
It happened because Luonnotar moved. When she did, she shifted the axis of the universe. In her yearning for change, the girl had created a new world, a world in which a duck could exist.
Luonnotar lay very still. The tiny duck swam around and around, looking at the floating girl. Then she climbed onto Luonnotar's knee and sat down.
The duck sat there calmly, out of the cold of the great river, upon the warm knee of the girl.
Then something else happened, something so beautiful that Luonnotar could not believe her eyes. The duck laid three little eggs on her knee.
Luonnotar's knee was the only warm, dry spot in all the universe. It was the only place where the future could hatch.
Luonnotar lay very, very still.
She willed herself not to move in even the slightest way. The duck sat on her clutch of eggs, and the eggs grew warmer and warmer. The future, in all its sparkling variety, drew nearer and nearer.
Luonnotar yearned for that future. She yearned so much that the dull pain returned to her heart. But she ignored it. Her skin prickled from the heat, the feathers, and the tiny scratches of the duck's webbed feet. But she ignored that, too. The future was at stake, and she wanted to protect it. So day after day she floated, perfectly still. The duck sat upon the eggs, the eggs sat upon the girl's knee, and the girl floated upon the river of heaven.
Then, suddenly, the duck shifted her position. Her tail feathers tickled Luonnotar's skin. Luonnotar's knee twitched. She did not mean to. It happened beyond her control. And it was not much: just a tiny twitch. But it was enough.
Luonnotar watched in horror as the precious eggs rolled off her knee into the cosmic river.
What had she done? The only task of her entire existence, and she had failed! Had she ruined everything? Luonnotar watched the eggs crash into the waves. She feared they would sink forever out of sight. She feared that the future would be lost in the black river of time.
Instead, the eggs broke open.
Marvels poured forth. The yolks joined together, forming a yellow ball, and rose shining into the sky. The whites joined together and formed the silver moon. The bits of shell sparkled and drifted upwards, until they shone down as the countless stars. In the blankness of space, where Luonnotar had seen nothing but emptiness for so long, light appeared.
It was magic. And Luonnotar, from whose yearning these marvels were born, was transformed. She dived beneath the surface of the heavenly river. Down, down she dived. Something was there. She could feel it calling to her.
There it was! Luonnotar spied a bit of mud in the darkness beneath the river. She grabbed some in her hand and swam to the surface. There she floated on her back, forming the mud into a cone upon her belly. When she placed it carefully on the river's surface, it rose up into a mountain. She dived again, and again, and again. Each time she returned with a handful of mud, she created something new. One time it was an island, another time a forest-swept valley. Furiously, joyously, Luonnotar worked.
She built peninsulas and continents, high peaks and fertile plains. She gouged rivers into the land and scooped out lakes. Overhead, inspired by Luonnotar's creativity, the little stars assembled themselves into signs and designs. The moon learned how to show its changeful face to the new earth. The bright beaming sun learned to rise and set, dividing endless time into days.
As Luonnotar built the land, it burst into bloom. Red flowers trumpeted from vines. Grasses waved softly in the new wind. Great forests rose, and tiny flowers sprang from hard gray rocks.
And then the animals appeared, children of the new earth. Birds filled the forest with song. Horses ran upon the waving grasses. In mountain caves, bears made their cold dens. Monkeys chattered in the huge trees of the jungles. Whales plunged down, deep, deep, into the chilly ocean waters.
Over great snowy peaks, eagles wheeled and soared.
Tired at last, the creator sat down upon a high mountain. Luonnotar looked up at the brilliant sky. She looked around at the green earth. She looked at the dark blue waters sparkling in the new sun.
She looked at all that she had made, and she knew that it was good.
THE MOON - changes it's face roughly every 28-29 days, at about the same rate that female humans menstruate, it has long been associated with the feminine and hence the Goddess - Artemis and Hecate.
THE SUN - The God symbol - Apollo and Jesus.
THE CHALICE: is a cup used in rituals, It is a container and is associated with the womb and vagina, and hence a symbol of the Goddess. Two examples of Chalices in myth are the Cup that Jesus had drunk from at the last supper, and the Holy Grail, which the knights of the round table had to search for in order for Arthur (and the land) to become whole again.
THE ATHAME: is also used in rituals, primarily to focus and concentrate power. It is a phallic symbol and as a cutting tool a divider, and thus represents The God. Magic swords are another version of the Athame and are popular in fantasy novels and myth. One example is Excalibur, which King Arthur uses via "divine right". Another is Storm bringer, as used by Elric in the stories written by Micheal Moorcock. Note the dual imagery. Excalibur was used as a force for order, Storm bringer drank souls and was a force for Chaos. Tools are only as good as their user.
THE FIVE POINTED STAR: Pentangle or a Pentagram, For neo-pagans this is symbolic of the four elements: air, water, earth, fire + spirit. See the qualities page for details. Pythagoras held the number 5 to be the sum of the feminine element (2) and the masculine element (3), so it is also symbolic of a union of masculine and feminine. The symbol also has meaning in Taoism, Hinduism and Islam.
The overlapping arms (which does not appear in all versions) shows how each part is interconnected with the others. The circle around the star represents unity, the self, and wholeness.
One mode of understanding is that the pentagram shown as above (with one point at the top) represents the Goddess, and inverted (with two points at top) the God. Of course the inverted pentagram in Christian belief represents the Devil -- not surprising since the versions of Pan and The God were used to represent such.
THE ANKH: This is an ancient Egyptian symbol representing eternal life. It is said to be taken from a simple sandal strap. Regardless of that, it is also a symbol representing the Goddess and the God and this a neo-pagan symbol.
This is an ancient Egyptian symbol. It has three elements. The circle represents the Goddess; the vertical line represents the God, and the horizontal bar is the "scroll of knowledge". Join them together and you get an ankh.
I am the Great Mother, worshipped by all creation and existent prior to their consciousness. I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.
I am the chaste Goddess of the Moon, the Lady of all magic. The winds and moving leaves sing my name. I wear the crescent Moon upon my brow and my feet rest among the starry heavens. I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set upon. I am a field untouched by the plow. Rejoice in me and know the fullness of youth.
I am the blessed Mother, the gracious Lady of the harvest. I am clothed with the deep, cool wonder of the Earth and the gold of the fields heavy with grain. By me the tides of the Earth are ruled ; things come to fruition according to my season. I am refuge and healing. I am the life-giving Mother, wondrously fertile.
Worship me as the Crone, tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth. I am the wheel, the shadow of the Moon. I rule the tides of women and men and give release and renewal to weary souls. Though the darkness of death is my domain, the joy of birth as well.
I am the goddess of the Moon, the Earth and Seas. My names and strengths are manifold. I pour forth magic and power, peace and wisdom. I am the eternal maiden, Mother of all, Crone of darkness and I send you blessings of limitless love.
Agni (Vedic):
If your tongues will speak my words
I will feed you with butter;
you will grow strong and carry my prayers to the gods.
Airmed (Irish):
From her grave grew herbs of great power,
Airmed, daughter of Diancecht.
This herb is of great power,
Airmed, daughter of Diancecht.
May it heal me with part of your great power,
Airmed, daughter of Diancecht.
The All-Gods:
Health and wealth, Keepers of Treasure, give your worshiper.
May this little offering be returned a thousand-fold.
May by blessings be countless,
scattered out from your storehouse with sweet-scented hands.
If at any time in my prayers I have omitted any of you,
I pour out these words,
All the gods who are.
Hear, All-Gods, these words of ours.
Come, all of you:
there is always room for you,
here and in our hearts.
My words drop into a bottomless well
and reach you,
All-Gods.
American Deities:
Industry, you have made us strong.
Commerce, you have made us rich.
Agriculture, you have fed us well.
Commerce, you have joined us together.
War, you have defended our freedom.
Peace, you have given us something to defend.
Justice, you have enabled us to deserve all these.
Liberty: with these we have built a home for you,
and we ask you to come live with us,
continually reminding us of your gifts and your demands.
Any Deity:
Has what I have done here pleased you?
Then please me with what I have asked for.
Has what I have given been welcome?
Then give me what I have asked for.
It is only fair, and you are fair.
Apollo (Greek, Roman):
Flights of arrows descend from your ever-turning bow,
onto those who look toward you from below.
Flights of arrows that bring disease or healing
onto those who look toward you from below.
We who look toward you ask that they be causes of healing,
that their killing power be directed towards illness.
Do this and we will always have good reasons to praise you.
When your arrows pierce my soul, Straight Shooter,
may it be only to kill any falsehoods there.
Your music is true, Apollo.
Each word you speak a song.
each line a symphony:
so too today my speech,
Son of Leto.
Aushrine:
As the many colors of your miracle rainbow extending from earth to heaven,
so too may my words be here today.
Aushrine, who brings the shining sun,
bring the Shining Ones to hear my words,
and may my words through you shine to please them.
Brighid:
Make my words sweet enough to call you here,
and sweet enough to praise you when you arrive,
Sweet Brighid.
Castor and Pollux:
On either side of my AFV ride,
sons of Zeus.
May my treads be as well-placed and unfaltering as the hooves of your own steeds,
on which you ride.
May each piece of ordinance that flies from me be like your spears,
as sure in aim and as certain in destructive power.
Bring me through this battle successfully,
Dioskouri;
may my mission be fully accomplished.
Then, when you have brought me back to base unharmed,
I will offer to you in thanks.
This is my vow to you, Castor and Pollux.
Ceres (Roman):
Increase our crops.
Cause to increase our crops.
Bring rain and sun to increase our crops.
May your earth be fertile to increase our crops.
May your earth be fertile to cause to increase our crops.
Mother Ceres, may our crops increase.
Death:
You have your own place, Death,
and this is not it.
There you rule as king;
here we are the most common of people.
There you dwell in a noble palace;
here we live in a simple house.
There you enjoy sparkling riches;
here our poverty shames us.
Go to your place, Death,
and wait for us there.
We have heard your message and we will respond.
But we are busy here, Death.
We have many things to do.
Be patient, we will respond,
but only when the time is right.
Return to your home, Death,
and wait for us to come.
For you it will be only a little while.
For us it will be a lifetime.
When it is right for me to enter your kingdom,
Lord of Death, Gatherer of Souls,
May I go gently.
May I be a leaf dropping from a tree.
May I be a snowflake falling from the clouds.
May I be a drop of dew drying in the light of dawn.
Like opening my hands, like letting go,
Like one final gift:
May it be like that.
Dyé:us Pté:r (Proto-Indo-European):
Your mind is the clearest of all:
No matter how clear we make our own minds, then,
we can’t know yours.
Sitting outside and above the Xartus you see it completely;
sitting within and among the Xartus you know it completely.
We, entwined about by it, know only our part in it
and even that not well.
It is wise, then to approach with praise and offerings
so the we might know ourselves
or, failing that, know you who know,
and in knowing become wise.
Your mind is the clearest of all:
No matter how clear we make our own minds, then,
we can’t know yours.
Sitting outside and above the Xartus you see it completely;
sitting within and among the Xartus you know it completely.
We, entwined about by it, know only our part in it
and even that not well.
It is wise, then to approach with praise and offerings
so that we might know ourselves
or, failing that, know you what know,
and in knowing become wise.
Gwouwinda (Proto-Indo-European):
Your outstretched enfolding arms offer cattle,
pour out rich milk,
that we might, like children, grow in prosperity.
Leading cows you come to your worshipers,
who, pouring golden butter, come to you.
Hearth Goddess:
[with an offering of food.]
We eat together, home’s center,
with the same food on our tables.
It’s nice to eat with a friend.
This fire I sit by is the Goddess of the Hearth.
Not a sign, or a symbol, or an image, or a representation, or a manifestation of a goddess who lives on some celestial, spiritual, unobserved place:
Here in front of me is this goddess herself.
Warmed and lit by her, and eating food cooked through her,
I will sit, and know her here, and thank her for this wonder.
The Goddess (Wiccan):
Mother, can you hear me crying?
Gather me in your infinitely encompassing arms,
hug me to your soft breast,
and whisper, “There, There;
all will be well.
All will be well, but for now cry.
My clothes have been wet with tears before and will be again.
So for now, cry,
and all will be well.”
She is great and not to be held
because it is her arms that hold.
She is ever-present and not to be seen
because there is nothing to compare her to.
Ride across the plains
and you are on her body.
Climb the mountains
and you climb her breasts.
Go into the ocean
and you are in her very womb.
Mystic Yoni, not to be held.
Mystic Yoni, not to be seen.
Mystic Yoni, only to be loved.
Mystic Yoni, Gift-Giver.
Mystic Yoni, Birth-Giver.
We call on the Great Mother:
Come to us!
By the singing air:
Come to us!
By the dancing fire:
Come to us!
By the ocean water:
Come to us!
By the silent earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit of All:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
The Goddess (Wiccan) as Death:
Come, Dark Mother,
Come to us!
Out of the night, on owl’s wings:
Come to us!
By the screeching wind:
Come to us!
By the cleansing fire:
Come to us!
By the absorbing water:
Come to us!
By the resting earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit that waits:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
The Green Man (Wiccan):
From the tree leaves eyes are peering, smiling.
But when I turn my back it seems like they’re looking with distrust.
So I leave this for the Green Man to prove my good intentions.
Earth:
Mother of earth and people and plants,
bring grain and milk for these children.
Frey (Norse):
A friend who is filled with the force of life.
A god who is great with the sweetest grace.
A lord laughing with the might of love.
A Healer is Frey who makes things whole.
And he is the one with wonderful gifts
holding my health with a hand that is strong.
The God (Wiccan):
We call upon the All-Father:
Come to us!
By the raging wind:
Come to us!
By the blaze of fire:
Come to us!
By the surging water:
Come to us!
By the cold, still earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit of All:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
The God (Wiccan) as Death:
Come, Stern Lord:
Come to us!
Out of the darkness:
Come to us!
By the tempest wind:
Come to us!
By the devouring flame:
Come to us!
By the overwhelming sea:
Come to us!
By the opening earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit that waits:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
Helios (Greek):
It is true that you see everything that happens under you, Helios,
great eye of the heavens.
So you know that I am blameless in this matter
and you know who is to blame.
Harry them with guilt.
Beat down on them relentlessly and mercilessly
until they right the wrong.
Herakles/Hercules (Greek/Roman):
With arrows you killed the snake of the Hesperides,
With a torch the Hydra,
With your own hands the Nemean lion.
I don’t care what weapon you use as long as my difficulties fall before you.
Inanna (Sumerian):
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
The victor over enemies in war,
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
The victor over barriers to love,
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
The victor over all that opposes us,
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
Justice:
Not content with your blindfold’s shield
you avert your eyes from the scales by which you separate the false from the true,
and even with your unseeing eyes the sword you carry will not miss,
separating the just from the unjust.
May all my deeds,
on this and other days,
be weighed as true
that I might be able to meet your piercing non-gaze without fear.
The Morrígain (Irish):
A snake that is not a snake,
A dog that is not a dog,
A cow that is not a cow --
You’re not these things, Morrígain,
and I am not sure I want to know what you are.
If my offering pleases you, though,
protect rather than destroy.
