I’m going to step away from my usual blogging theme this week to share a topic that came to me while driving the two hours it took me to get to my camping destination.  (Hubby and I are on staff for a Pagan retreat here in Colorado and this was our work weekend.)  We had stopped for lunch at a place where the server recognized our t-shirts as Pagan in content.  So she proceeded to ask questions which required long answers.  Neither of us had the time.  I needed to get back on the road and she needed to help her other customers. So in hopes that it will be of service to her (I so hope she emails me!), those just starting out and those that are trying to make sense of what the broader community is, here is my viewpoint.  I am NOT trying to start up the “my way vs. your way” debate again…most of this is based on my own experiences and observances.  Your mileage, as always, may vary.

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What I’ve learned about Paganism in the 18+ years that I’ve been a Pagan in 1000 words or less.

Pagan is a very broad umbrella term. Very broad, just as Christianity is a very broad umbrella term.  I define it as anyone that acknowledges more than one god.  Typically these gods are pre-Christian but I believe there is always the possibility that others can occur during or after that time.  There are two main categories of Pagan:  Polytheists and Duotheists.

Duotheists are the most talked about as Wicca has received a lot of press, both good and bad.  This publicity has caused some to consider all Pagans to be Wiccans (hence the outcry by the Polytheists who don’t want to be painted with that brush).  Duotheists believe that all gods are one God and all goddesses are one Goddess.  There are initiatory Wiccans and eclectic Wiccans; they both are often at odds with one another too.

Poltheists tend to be more scholarly and considered to be less “touchy-feelie” than Duotheists (another broad generalization that is inaccurate).  They rely on the incomplete documentation of another culture and another time to chart their practices.  There are strict or hard polytheists, squishy polytheists and soft polytheists.  They argue a lot too.  (Are you seeing a theme yet?)

Witchcraft can be found in either main category.  Eclectics (often accused of being “fluffy)  bridge the categories, going wherever there is mead…or anything else that adds to their practice.  Appropriation is term that is often bandied about in the Pagan community especially when referencing Eclectics.  Personally I think it is a modern concept used to try to keep people from growing in new directions.  However it can have very negative aspects if not done with a lot of thought and respect for yourself and the culture from which you are borrowing. The ancients borrowed and blended at will.   Scholars call this syncretism.

The beauty of Paganism is that it allows individuals to find the path that serves their needs the best.  There is no central authority.  There is only the practitioner and their gods, and sometimes their ancestors and spirits too.  The ugliness of Paganism is that there are those that want to others to do it their way because it is better/truer/accurate/whatever.  Tolerance is too often mouthed but not practiced.  Tolerance does not mean that you accept or even agree with someone else’s choices.  Tolerance means that you give them the right to walk their religious/spiritual path without hindrance despite disliking their choices.

Now there are those that proclaim that their path has 400 years of documentation or linage.  While this is possible, it isn’t very probable.  My advice is to be politely curious and privately skeptical.  Their claims do nothing of service or disservice to you.  Debating it generates unnecessary negativity that inhibits any learning process, for them or you.

So what is a “baby” Pagan, a newbie to do?  Cultivate your gut instinct.  Follow where it leads.  Understand that you are going to stumble.  You may even fall.  You will take paths that are wrong for you.  The key is to keep going.  Admit when you are wrong.  Make necessary amends and move on.  Never stop learning.  Read.  Ask.  Put yourself out of your comfort zone.  Never stop striving for whatever is next.  Never think that this way or that way is the path for everyone.  We are all individuals and so all our paths will be individualistic.  The fellowship of other Pagans should be to help encourage you to walk that path, not to tell you how or where to walk.

My path is a wandering one and makes for a good example.  I was raised Roman Catholic but experiences within its ranks led me to look elsewhere.  I started out as an eclectic, solitary Wiccan.  My first books were by Scott Cunningham.  I spent a lot of time on AOL’s “Ask a Witch” chat room.  I read Silver Ravenwolf, Patricia Telesco, Marian Weinstein and Margrot Adler.  My first ritual was at the same local festival that I now help staff. I got involved with a small coven for a short time. Eventually it was that same festival that led me to polytheism due to a workshop on Dionysos. I broke away from the coven as our paths were going in different directions.  I read Carl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert.  I joined an online organization, Neos Alexandria.  Dionysos led me to Zeus.  Zeus took me in as one of his devotees and put me to work with Hermes who got me involved in writing. The writing caused me to have to read even more…Jennifer Reif, Theoi.com, Hesiod, Ovid, Martin Nilsson, Jon Mikalson, Lynn Roller, etc.  The reading will never end.  (Oh the works I dream of getting my hands upon like Bernard Cooke’s Zeus set!)!  I ended up editing a devotional for Zeus through Bibliotheca Alexandrina and contributing to many others through them. If forced into a detailed explanation of my path I currently classify myself as an eclectic, solitary, squishy, Hellenic Polytheist who is going through ADF’s dedicant program. But my preferred response is “I am Pagan.”  And proud of it.