What being a Pagan means to me...

I was going to title this; "I hereby dedicate my life to the Wiccan and Pagan ways". But that I think is too pretentious. So I'm going to tell you all why I decided that being a Pagan is for me.

First of all, I have always believed in a higher power. Some call that power God, some Goddess. There are those that call it by many different names over many different religions. I call this higher power Goddess and God. Two sides of the same coin if you will or two aspects of the same being. This has always been how I looked at the divine power in the universe.

Christianity has lost it's focus (at least to me). Everywhere I went looking for answers, I was told that the only way to reach God is through Jesus Christ. I can understand that and compliment a religion based on one man's sacrifice for the betterment of the world. However - and correct me if I'm wrong - The ten commandments state "Thou shalt worship no God before me". Then Christ comes along and you base a religion on his name, you even pray to Jesus over God. In essence elevating the man over the divine essence. I also didn't like the "Fire and Brimstone" approach that most put on it. Do it this way or go to Hell.

I'm not trying to start a flame war with Christianity, I'm just giving you my thoughts. If you are insecure with that, maybe you need to re-evaluate your faith. I know I did. If you're secure enough in your faith, then this should slide off your back and you can get on with your life.

Then there is the whole "Heaven and Hell" thing. But that wasn't enough, so Purgatory was created. Then the Guff - a seperate heaven for all the unborn souls out there. Have you also ever wondered why Satan is only seen or heard of in two world religions? And those are considered the two youngest of the world religions - Christianity and Muslim. It's because you catch more followers to your way if you have the ultimate bad guy out there to threaten your followers with. It's also to explain away the acts of some of your more notorious historical figures in the church and out. "The Devil made me do it". Bullshit. Greed, anger, racial and religious intolerance are to blame for most of the worlds past evils.

OK, now that I've gone and pissed off half of the western hemisphere, let me get to what being a Pagan means to me. It means first of all, that I believe in reincarnation. Something that actually agrees with the laws of conservation of matter and energy. It also means that I feel more in tune with nature. No, I'm not a tree hugger, although there are certain trees that are considered holy to my faith and I'll go out of my way to protect those trees from the shortcomings of others. I'm also not a vegetarian. I eat meat - all kinds of meat - and hunt it. Yes I said hunt - for food. I'm not going to go after that trophy buck. I'll take the animal that comes along and thank my Goddess and God for the kill as it was ready to die and feed me.

It means that a set of rituals is in place to help guide me and let me meditate on my choices. The discipline that comes from that is not found in any other western religion. It also means that I can pray to my Goddess and God when I choose, not when a "Church" tells me I must. I spend my money on helping others and feel good about it. I don't tythe to let the the "Church" fill it's coffers and tell people that "God wills it".

Furthermore, I don't try and force my beliefs on anyone else. If you want to know more about my religion, ask me. I may not have the answers you're looking for, but I might be able to point you in the right direction for your search. I'm not going to go and spout off about how great my religion is over all others. It was the right choice for me - that's all.

Then there's the symbol of my faith - the pentacle or pentagram. It's gotten as much or more bad press that the Swastika - and that was originally a native american symbol. The pentacle means several things. None of which have to do with worshipping Satan. We Pagans don't believe in such a being. In one respect the five pointed star is the five senses - sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste - surrounded by the circle representing the sixth sense, or psychic intuition. In another sense it represents the elements - Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. Yet in another respect it represents man or woman - the lower points of the star are the legs, the upper points are the arms and head, surrounded by the circle of life. This is the same symbol worn by Pythagoras and his followers that got him killed for being a heretic by the Catholic church.

If you see me walking down the street and see me wearing it, please stop and think. Don't automatically assume that it's a symbol of evil and I'm a Satanist. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've just chosen to worship the divine essence in a way that's different from you, that all.

Blessed Be.