Comments on: Paganism 101

By: M

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:35:31 +0000

Do you, as a heathen polytheist, believe that any beings are uncaused and eternal? If so, what are the names you use to describe those beings? What do you think is the reason why the human race began and still exists? Do you believe that being is the source and condition of all value? Can anything or anyone be absolutely perfect? How does your belief in evolution account for the orderliness you’ve observed? How do you determine whether any act is harmful as it pertains to your non-theoretical concerns about proper conduct? Do you believe that selfishness is always a harmful or improper behavior? Do you believe that anyone has gotten, might get, or must get punished by a non-human, authoritative entity for any of his or her own less-than-ideal acts?

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:14:02 +0000

M: Well, first off, I consider myself a heathen first and a pagan only because heathenism falls under the umbrella term of “paganism”. (Just throwing that out there since many, although not all, of the people who use the term “pagan” with a capital P consider it one singular religion!)

Here’s my answers, given the information ahead of time that I’m not really a philosophical person:

Do I consider my gods morally perfect? I don’t consider my gods all knowing (with the exception of possibly Odin or Frigga), and I think they generally do the best they can with the information they have available to them, as we tend to do as well. I think “morally perfect” isn’t really a useful phrase, because the definition of morally perfect is going to greatly vary from person to person. In heathenism especially, it’s a lot more useful to think in terms of “harmful” vs. “not harmful” instead of “evil” vs. “good”. I think the gods, in general, are on human’s “side” of things. If that answers the question at all.

Do I believe the gods are the original source of everything and everyone? Nope. The Norse creation myth involves a meeting of the opposite elements and life arising from sort of a primordial soup, with more primitive and/or powerful forms coming first and humans coming later. I personally believe in evolution right alongside my religious beliefs and I see no reason for there to be conflict between the two.

Let me know if you have any other questions & I will answer them to the best of my ability. Thanks

By: M

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:38:23 +0000

Do you believe that any or all the gods you believe in (as a Pagan polytheist) are morally perfect or are the original source of everything and of everyone?

By: Linking Horn 23 May 2010

Linking Horn 23 May 2010 — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:33:45 +0000

[...] Michelle at Wicked Whimsy is doing a series of posts about Neil Gaiman’s books, and to give everyone the necessary knowledge to better understand the series and Michelle’s arguments, she’s giving lessons on Paganism 101. [...]

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 22 May 2010 01:00:09 +0000

@Kyeli I love Ancient Mysteries! The lady who owns it is absolutely lovely.

Thanks everyone. I’m glad you all liked it!!

ETA: Anna, you know what Matt calls fluffy pagans? Crystal-core. It cracks me up.

By: Poochie

Poochie — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:41:41 +0000

Thank you for giving me a 101. I always like to learn new things especially as most world religious teachings and beliefs were not taught to me in my 9 years of Catholic school (surprisingly!).

I don’t really have any religious or spiritual beliefs but am interested in learning more about animism from your definition. I don’t believe only humans have souls or spirits so it would be interesting to understand the beliefs that are out there.

Luv
Poochie

By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:06:19 +0000

Lovely post! My wife teaches anthropology and has had me come in to talk about paganism to her classes before. I usually use the squares-and-rectangles metaphor for the Wicca-paganism relationship: all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.

It’s so nice to read a post on paganism by a down-to-earth blogger! Most pagans I’ve met where I’m living have been of the fluffy bunny variety, and it does get a touch lonely.

By: Kyeli

Kyeli — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:36:39 +0000

Neat! I'm an animist, too. And a Witch. That's about the only concrete thing I can say about my spirituality at the moment. I've never been Wiccan, and yes, I get tired of the pagan = Wiccan thing. Hells, I still get tired of it. I identify as a Witch, and that's even *more* likely to take on the Wiccan label, as Wiccans also (usually) identify as witches. But for me, being a Witch is my spiritual path, not a label. It's part of my core being, like being a lesbian - I didn't choose to be a lesbian, I didn't choose to be a Witch. I just am. Oh, also - for Austinites, get pagan books at either Whole Life Books on S. Lamar or Ancient Mysteries on S. 1st... they're both locally owned spiritual/metaphysical/pagan stores that could really use our support. (: Thanks for this post. Well done! .-= Kyeli´s last blog ..Do foxes poop in the sky? =-.

By: Hexotica

Hexotica — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:17:43 +0000

Awesome post on paganism!! I took an interest in it a few years back and saw A LOT of BS writers out there, but came out with a strong respect for creative visualization and rituals. Excellent 101 tutorial! .-= Hexotica´s last blog ..A Few Pics from a Girl's Night Out =-.