Pagan Religions

WICCA & WITCHCRAFT

Wicca is considered the largest of the pagan religions.
It is an earth-oriented religion that observes the seasons
and celebrates aspects of the seasons as having masculine or
feminine qualities. Wiccans refer to male and female as distinct
yet equal. The female gender is generally characterized as the
"Goddess" and is portrayed by females of varying ages from
the young maiden to the old crone. These are in a sense considered
the cycle of life, as the female is revered as the giver of life.
The Male gender is the "God" aspect, considered the "Hunter",
often characterized as a male figure with antlers or horns,
consistent with many male animals of our earth.

It is this aspect of the male God, portrayed with antlers or horns
that is often misunderstood to be "Satanic" in nature. This is not
the case at all as Wiccans have no reliance on a concept of "Heaven"
or "Hell" as is found in western relgion.

The primary Wiccan rule of behavior forbids them from harming people,
including themselves, except in some cases of self-defense."An ye harm
none, do as ye will", is the principal Wiccan Rede. This enables free will,
but prohibits practitioners from intentionally harming themselves or others.

Many Wiccans are solitary practitioners. Others form small groups of
believers, called covens, groves, or other. Because of centuries of
religious propaganda and misinformation, many conservative Christians
and others associate Wiccans with Satanists even though the two belief
systems are as different as Christianity and Atheism.

Wicca is a very decentralized religion; many Wiccans develop their own
beliefs, rituals, and other practices. The latter are often not known
outside the solitary practitioner or Wiccan coven.

A discussion of Wicca would be incomplete without at least mentioning the
subject of "witchcraft" or "magic". The Term witchcraft is believed to have
originally evolved from the term "Craft", in which women, often solitary, were
seen to be healers of the sick. In truth, many of these women were learned
herbalists, having learned the natural healing properties of many available
plants. This knowledge was often passed down from mother to daughter.

"Magic", often applied with "spells" or sayings to produce some result, can be
considered similar to "prayer" in many respects. Like praying, magic conveys
the intent of the practitioner in a very focused way. Consistent with many
religious rituals, the expression of this intent is considered to attain some
sense of "power" in its purpose. Most religions will agree that there
is "power" in absolute faith or in a system of strong belief.

DRUIDISM

Most modern Druids connect the origin of their religion to the ancient Celtic people. However, historical data is scarce. The Druids may well have been active in Britain and perhaps in northern Europe before the advent of the Celts.

Many academics believe that the ancestors of the Celts were the Proto-Indo European culture who lived near the Black Sea circa 4000 BCE. Some migrated in a South-Westerly direction to create the cultures of Thrace and Greece; others moved North-West to form the Baltic, Celtic, Germanic and Slavic cultures. Evidence of a Proto-Celtic Unetice or Urnfield culture has been found in what is now Slovakia circa 1000 BCE. This evolved into a group of loosely linked tribes which formed the Celtic culture circa 800 BCE. By 450 BCE they had expanded into Spain; by 400 BCE they were in Northern Italy, and by 270 BCE, they had migrated into Galatia (central Turkey).

There is little first hand knowledge or the Druids or of their religion. The chief reason for this is that they taught their acolytes secret Druidical knowledge by word of mouth. None of this trusted knowledge was committed to writing; it was all learned through mnemonics.

The most important knowledge that exists of the Druids comes from the writings of Julius Caesar. Caesar was keenly interested in the Druidism and the Celtic people. Moreover, he was friendly with a Diviciacus, a Druid who shared with him many Druid beliefs, especially about their gods and life after death.

The Druids were concerned with the divine worship; they officiated over both public and private sacrifices, interpreted ritual questions, settled disputes and issued punishments to those refusing to obey their rulings.

It is generally accepted that the Druids taught a mystery tradition. Information about the size of the world, of physics ("natural philosophy"), and the gods, was in the ancient world considered philosophical and cosmological knowledge, rather than scientific knowledge, although it included information about the world and the workings of nature obtained through scientific observation and experiment.

The eminent scholar Fergus Kelly wrote that a Druid was "priest, prophet, astrologer and teacher of the sons of nobles". Jean Markale, another respected scholar, noted that the Druids were divided into these specialisations:

Sencha- a historian and analyst
Brithem- a judge, arbitrator, and ambassador
Scelaige- the keeper of myths and epics
Cainte- the Master of magical chants, blessings, and curses
Liaig- a doctor who uses plants, magic and surgery to heal the sick
Cruitre- the harpist who uses music as magic
Deoghbaire- the cup bearer who knows the properties of intoxicating and hallucinogenic substances
Faith- a diviner
Bard- a popular poet and singer
Fili- a sacred poet and soothesayer

The mythologies also record that many Druids were women; in fact Celtic women enjoyed more freedom and rights than women in any other culture of that time. Women held the rights to enter inot battle, to own and inherit property, to trace her kinship matrilinially (through her mother's family line), and choose and/ or divorce her husband.

There is controversy over the matter of whether ancient Druids practiced human sacrifice. The Romans recorded that the Druids sacrificed condemned criminals. Judicial executions were no different elsewhere in Europe at the time. The Romans wrote that such victims were tied into huge man-shaped effigies made of wicker and burned alive.

The Druids taught that there exists a spiritual Otherworld, that is sometimes accessible to us, and particularly close at certain times of the year, like at Samhain. There is a great sense of connection and continuity between life and death, such that the ancient Celts did not fear death, but instead viewed it as a transition phase in the course of a long, even eternal, life. There is also no division between an Underworld and an Upperworld (although, in Welsh Druidism, perhaps a case can be made for Annwn as an Underworld and Caer Arianrhod as an upperworld). Thus, the entities which live in the Otherworld have no moral bias; they are neither good nor evil, like ourselves, but what is spiritual about them is that they exist.

As the Druids looked upon nature and saw it populated with spirits, goddesses, and gods, it is safe to speculate that they regarded nature as sacred and divine.

Fire-worship is central to Celtic religion as well, as it certainly played a role in the four annual Fire Festivals. The centrality of fire is another point at which Celtic and Hindu religions correlate. Fire is a spiritual force unto itself, and it is not bound into a cosmology of four equally necessary elements, as the Greeks are known to have done. Fire possesses the magical properties of both destructiveness and cleansing, bringing heat and energy and with it civilisation.

PHOENICIAN CANAANISM

The system of gods and goddesses in Phoenician religion was influenced by and has influenced many other cultures. In some instances the names of gods underwent very little change when they were borrowed. Even the legends maintained major similarities. For example, Ashtarte in Phoenician and Aphrodite in Greek or Adonis in both. Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian and others had their influences on the Phoenician faith system and borrowed from it.

The Phoenicians worshipped a triad of deities, each having different names and attributes depending upon the city in which they were worshipped, although their basic nature remained the same. The primary god was El, protector of the universe, but often called Baal. The son, Baal or Melqart, symbolized the annual cycle of vegetation and was associated with the female deity Astarte in her role as the maternal goddess. She was called Asherar-yam, our lady of the sea, and in Byblos she was Baalat, our dear lady. Astarte was linked with mother goddesses of neighboring cultures, in her role as combined heavenly mother and earth mother. Cult statues of Astarte in many different forms were left as votive offerings in shrines and sanctuaries as prayers for good harvest, for children, and for protection and tranquillity in the home. The Phoenician triad was incorporated in varying degrees by their neighbors and Baal and Astarte eventually took on the look of Greek deities.

What remains to be said is that Phoenician faith system evolved and changed as it was influenced by invader who brought along their own dieties. Hence, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Percian, Greek and Roman gods found their way to Phoencian temples. This is evident in the writing of Herodotus as well as in the archeaological records.

ASATRU-NORSE MYTHOLOGY (Heathenism)

Asatru is frequently regarded as one of the Neopagan family of religions. That family includes Wicca, Celtic Druidism, and re-creations of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and other ancient Pagan religions. However, many Asatruers prefer the term "Heathen" to "Neopagan" and look upon their tradition as "not just a branch on the Neopagan tree" but as a separate tree.

Unlike Wicca, which has gradually evolved into many different traditions, the reconstruction of Asatru has been based on the surviving historical record. Its followers have maintained it as closely as possible to the original religion of the Norse people.

Asatru or Ásatrú is an Icelandic word which is a translation of the Danish word "Asetro." Asetro was "first seen in 1885 in an article in the periodical "Fjallkonan". The next recorded instance was in "Heiðinn siður á Íslandi" ("Heathen traditions in Iceland.") by Ólafur Briem (Reykjavík, 1945)." It means "belief in the Asir," the Gods. "Asatru" is a combination of "Asa" which is the possessive case of the word Æsir (Aesir) and "Tru" which means belief or religion.

Throughout Scandinavia the religion is called Forn Siðr (which means the Ancient way or tradition), Forn sed (the Old custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk sed (Pagan custom). Other names are:

Norse Heathenism, Germanic Heathenism, the Elder Troth, the Old Way, Asetro, Vor Si r (our way), Forn Si r (Ancient way), Forn sed (the old custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk sed (Pagan custom), Odinism or Folkish Ásatrú.

The religion's origin is lost in antiquity. At its peak, it covered all of Northern Europe. Countries gradually converted to Christianity. In 1000 CE, Iceland became the second last Norse culture to convert. Their prime motivation was economic. Sweden was ruled by a Pagan king until 1085 CE.

Asatru is a polytheistic religion. There are three races of Deities in the Norse pantheon. They are all regarded as living entities who are involved in human life.

The Aesir are the Gods of the tribe or clan, representing Kingship, order, craft, etc.

The Vanir represent the fertility of the earth and forces of nature. They are associated with the clan but are not part of it.

The Jotnar were giants who were in a constant state of war with the Aesir. They represent chaos and destruction. At the battle of Ragnarok, many of the Gods will die, the world will come to an end and be reborn.

GODDESS WORSHIP

Most scientists assert that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 to 250,000 years ago. Until about 8000 BC, our ancestors organized themselves into hunter-gatherer groups and tribes. Humans developed the realization that their life was finite; that they would all die, having been witness to the birth of their young and death of their fellow tribesman due to age, disease or injury. This resulted in the development of primitive religious beliefs. Societies which relied mainly on hunting by men naturally developed hunting gods to worship. Those in which gathering was more reliable generally created Goddesses associated with the "rebirth" of spring and fertility of the land associated with food growth and harvest. The importance of fertility in crops, in domesticated animals, in wild animals and in the tribe itself were of infinite importance to their survival.

The female principle of "bearer of life" was considered divine and a great mystery. Some Goddess statues still survive from this era. It is speculated that the old European culture that stressed the female as divine is based on the volume of carvings of a female shape found from this era. Some point to the relative lack of equivalent male statues as evidence of a Goddess culture.

This culture lasted for thousands of years in what is now Europe. These tribes and communities generally lived in peace as there was a notable lack of defensive fortifications around their hamlets. Their funeral customs provided evidence that both males and females appeared to have had equal sprirtual and cultural status.

Many academics believe that the suppression of Goddess worship in Western Europe occurred a few thousand years BC, when the Indo-Europeans invaded Europe from the East. They brought with them some of the "refinements" of more modern civilization: the horse, war, a strong belief in male Gods, and the exploitation and manipulation of nature. Goddess worship was gradually combined with worship of male Gods to produce a variety of Pagan polytheistic religions, among the Greeks, Romans, Celts, and Wiccans. Wiccans of course retained the significance of the Goddess, but included the male God as equal in stature.

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