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Paganism means many
things to many different people. I
personally see it as not following a dogmatic religion. When I first started on my path roughly eight
years ago I was sure I was Wiccan. I had
for years been looking for something that suited my religious ideas better and
the books I read seemed to point me in that direction. These days I refer to myself as just plain
Pagan, with I will admit, a hint of agnosticism.
We as human beings seem to have a need for labels and that is fine,
but don't restrict yourself or your path of learning to a label. If you
are just coming to a Pagan path, be it Wicca, Druidism, Shamanism,
Asatru or any of the many other Pagan paths, try to leave your mind
open to other "religions" around you. Most of us who choose a Pagan
path have had an unsavory taste left in out mouths from whatever brand
of Christianity we were raised on. This doesn't mean that ALL
Christians are bad, nor does it mean that ALL Pagans are good! Every
walk of life has its goods and bads. Your first vital step is to try to
find balance in yourself.
I am not here to preach to you about what is right or wrong. But as
I believe an old saying goes, "to thy own self be true". Before we can
change the world, we have to first work on ourselves.
pa•gan
n.
- One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion.
- One who has no religion.
- A non-Christian.
- A hedonist.
- A Neo-Pagan.
adj.
- Not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish.
- Professing no religion; heathen.
- Neo-Pagan.
[Middle English, from Late Latin p g nus, from Latin,
country-dweller, civilian, from p gus, country, rural district. See
pag- in Indo-European Roots.] Source: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. pagan
adj: not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and
Islam [syn: heathen, heathenish, ethnic] n : a person who does not
acknowledge your God [syn: heathen, gentile, infidel]Source: WordNet 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University |