Paganism is an ancient type of religion which has quite an inauspicious reputation today. There are many types of paganism, most date back thousands of years, which include Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, and a few other lesser known and practiced variations. Yet all of these religions are similar and share common beliefs. Wicca is the most common of these, as it also demonstrates the shared belief of doing good that is common to most forms of paganism. Another common belief, is to gather in small groups, called covens, to practice pagan rites and ceremonies with others.
There are many ancient beliefs, archaic rituals, and forgotten traditions that are practiced by pagans. Many of these are also the origins of widely practiced traditions in the Christian-dominated world of today.
A defining characteristic of many pagan religions, especially Wicca, is the worship and closeness to nature. Pagans treat animals kindly and respect all things, living or nonliving, as though they were a person (Roy
N. p.). They also share the worship of their nature gods, which increases their respect for all that is around them (Roy N. p.). Pagans are very sensitive people that also have a high regard for personal privacy (Roy N.
p.). With this belief of privacy, many pagans have more time to keep in touch with their inner selves and with the nature around them. Wicca, a more popular pagan religion, focuses on the Earth and uses pure white magic to help others (Roy N. p.). In fact, the Wiccan creed is, “An it harm none, do as thou will,” which agrees with the “good” philosophy
(Beliefs N. p.). Altogether, pagans have a great deal of emphasis on the life and beauty of the nature that thrives around them and are radically different than the mythical rumors of witches that have been given to them over time.
Another defining characteristic of many pagans is the dedication to knowledge and self exploration (Roy N. p.). In fact it has been said that, “Witchcraft is the oldest, most irrepressible religion in the world because it stimulates the intellect, promotes a simple, practical way of life, and most importantly, is emotionally satisfying” (Art N. p.). There is a set of beliefs, called the Laws of Magic that help illustrate the beliefs supported by Wicca and other pagan religions. Many of these la...
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General Beliefs. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP: http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/wicca.gen_beliefs.txt, 15 Dec.
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Hicks, J. Brad. Ceremony of Initiation. Online. Necronami Net.
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Hunter, Ryan. Handfasting Ceremony. Online. Necronami Net. Available
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Roy, R. Thirteen Questions. Online. Necromnami Net. Available HTTP: http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/13Questions.txt, 30 Nov. 1996.
The Ancient Art. Online. Necronami Net. Available HTTP: http://www.necronami.com/d/paganism-celtic/craft.intro.txt, 30 Nov. 1996.
The Sabbats. Online, Teleplex Communications, Inc. Available HTTP: http://www.teleplex.net/SCNPA/sabbat.html, 8 Dec. 1996.
Sabina Magliocco, in her book Witching Culture, takes her readers into the culture of the Neo-Pagan cults in America and focus upon what it reveals about identity and belief in 21st century America. Through her careful employment of ethnographic techniques, Magliocco allows both the Neo-Pagan cult to be represented accurately, and likewise, scientifically. I argue that Magliocco's ethnographic approach is the correct way to go about this type of research involving religions.
The Wiccan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States as well one of the most misunderstood due to the controversies surrounding its history and mystery shrouding its beliefs and doctrines. Due to a series of popular TV series that have shown Witchcraft in a positive light, such as Sabrina, the Teen-aged Witch and Charmed, the popularity of Wicca has grown, especially amongst teenagers; but sadly this popularity has not been partnered with a growth in understanding and respect (Kaminer). Although Wicca offers a nature-oriented, egalitarian belief system with a rich collection of customs and rituals, ignorance and historically-rooted misconceptions still dominate public opinion.
For the average Pagan and perhaps even some Christians, it would be a surprise to find out that in many places in the world the Celtic Cross is not seen as an ancient, powerful symbol, but instead as a negative, ‘evil’ symbol that represents the worst of the white supremacist. The Celtic Cross is an equal-armed cross with its intersection being surrounded by a circle. This symbol once spanned many cultures and religions, being used by Christians and Pagans alike. However, despite its ancient and long history, the Celtic Cross has become twisted and corrupted in the majority of the world, and is now actually banned in more than one country.
Out of the original emptiness(chaos), three immortal beings emerge: Gaea (mother earth), Tartarus (underworld), and Eros (love). Gaea by herself conceived Uranus (father sky), and made him her equal, then together Gaea gave birth to three hundred handed giants and the three cyclopes, in which Uranus threw his children into the Tartarus (underworld). Gaea hiding her feelings, gave birth to the next children of Uranus known as the thirteen titans. Eventually he was overthrown by his youngest son, whom took his father’s position as ruler of the universe and started the age of the titans. Uranus is a greek god that plays a crucial role in the start of greek mythology, has a great thirst for power, and had his power taken from him by his son Kronos.
1.Like his father before him, Kronos was the god of the sky, ruler of all. Also like is father, Kronos feared the Hundred-Hand Giants, and Cyclopes. Kronos ignored Gaea's promise, so he through his brothers, Hundred-Hand Giants, and Cyclopes, and imprisoned in Tarturus. Gaea is the goddess of the earth and prophecy. Gaea got upset with Kornos for throwing Hundred-Hand Giants, and Cyclopes in Tarurus, and said someday your son will over
Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide of the Solitary Practitioner. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1988.
Wicca, commonly known as the “Craft” or “Old Ways” is an expression used to describe various traditions of contemporary Paganism, an earth-centered religion that shows a substantial amount of respect for nature; celebrating the changes in the season and lunar cycles (Mankiller, Wicca); As stated by Morrison Wicca celebrates, “the beauty of the moon, the stars, and the sun (5)”; and the worshipping of the deities (Morrison, 2001). Those who follow the path of Wicca are usually referred to as “Witches” or “Wiccans” derived from the Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which can be translated as “Sorceress” or “Wise One” (Morrison, 2001), they are nothing like the witches seen in modern media (Mankiller, Wicca). Throughout History Wicca has been depicted as a Satanist related religion, leading to mass persecution of those who adhere to its principles (as seen in the Salem Witch Trials); few truly fathom the Wiccan faith. The real truth about Wicca is that, it is a religion centered on the theology of the deities in form of the Patron Goddess and God, it is a matriarchal religion, with varying traditions and religious branches, that doesn’t believe in predestination, and has basic tenets that must be followed.
He was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He can be distinguished with an evil smile, the helm of darkness (which makes him invisible, so you can’t see the evil smile), black robes sewn from the souls of the damned, and hi sits on a throne of bones. After the overthrow of their father, Cronus, they drew straws and he ended up getting the short one, which is why he is the god of the Underworld. He isn’t considered to be the god of death, just the god of the Underworld. The god of death is Thanatos. Hades is greedy like his brother Poseidon, and he is mainly interested in increasing his subjects, and anyone whose deeds resulted in people dying are favored by him. The Erinnyes, A.K.A. the Furies, are welcomed guests in his kingdom. The other gods did not like saying his name for fear of causing some kind of reaction that would end up with them dead sooner than they expect, so they decided to give Hades another name, Plouton, which is derived from the Greek word for wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the Earth. Thus, Hades also became the god of wealth, but he is best known as the god of the Underworld. He rarely leaves his obsidian palace in the Underworld and he is in a bad mood most of the time due to the face that he has all sorts of employment trouble with his ghouls and specters. His weapon is a pitchfork, which he uses to create earthquakes, similar to the way Poseidon uses his trident. His helm was given to
Paganism is a loose word for the large variety of polytheistic, shamanistic, and mystical non-monotheistic religions. Paganism exists in all cultures, from paleolithic to technological, but has historically waxed and waned. The ancient Egyptians are an example of a highly pagan society; so are the ancient Romans; and all paleolithic cultures from the Old Stone Age to the present have strong pagan elements. An example of a less pagan culture would be the West for the last thousand years or so, since the centuries following the Fall of Rome. The domination of the Middle East by Christians and Moslems has also largely shut out paganism.
The first part of this paper will explore the mystery-religions, the reasons behind their popularity, and the Hellenistic world in which they grew that began with Alexander the Great. Next, their characteristics and connections first with Judaism and later with Christianity will be more deeply discussed. In the second part it will be shown that the mystery-religions helped to clear the pathway for the Christianization of the Greco-Roman world by men such as Paul the Apostle. Finally, the Emperor Constantine’s role in this story will be mentioned, during whose reign the mystery-religions declined and Christianity became the major religion of Europe and the near east. The paper will conclude with a brief speculation about the significance of these ideas to modern Christianity.
called the Great God, was sent down from the sky to the Chaos by Olorun, the
Not many heroes were worshiped in Ancient Greece, they worshiped their gods. Perseus was a widely known hero because he was a demi-god. He was the son of Zeus, the god of all gods, and his mother was the daughter of a king but she was not a god. During the Golden Age, when most of these gods were worshiped, they believed in the olympian gods that lived on mount Olympus. They all were gods of different areas of life and had their own unique symbol. The people would worship them and give them sacrifices, each specified for the god they were worshiping. Many believe that when Perseus died the gods made him immortal and placed him among the stars.
In the beginning, it all started with the gods and goddesses Cronus (God of the Sky) and Rhea (Goddess of the Earth). They met and got married. While they were married they produced six offspring. These offspring would turn out to be some of the most famous in mythology. The offspring consisted of Hestia, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and of course, the famous Zeus. Poseidon was the oldest son to be born from these two. Unfortunately when the offspring were born Cronus devoured most, even though Rhea tried many times to keep that from happening. Finally when Zeus was born she tricked Cronus into thinking it was his own son, when handed to him, and he eat him like all the others. But after doing so, Rhea told Cronus that she had given him a stone wrapped up in a blanket. Zeus later overthrew his father and released all of his other kin. After overthrowing Cronus, Zeus took over the ruler of the kingdom. With him taking the thrown on Mt. Olympus, he chose Hades to rule the underworld and Poseidon to look after the sea and land. Poseidon was a very powerful god and ruled with fury. He was made the god of waters in general and of the sea in particular (1). He is an equal in dignity to Zeus but not in power. This is important because it does not allow Poseidon to question his br...
Ares: Son of Zeus and Hera, who both hated him. He was the god of war. Some of his symbols were a spear, a helmet, dog, chariot, boar, Vulture, and a flaming torch. All his daughters, The Amazons, their mother was a peace- loving nymph called Harmony. His sister, Eris, was the goddess of Discord. And then there was Hebe was the goddess of youth.
WITCHCRAFT: The word witchcraft comes from the word “Wicca.” Wicca means the wise one. Witchcraft is to be believed as a pagan worship and or religion, a stereotype as a “magical phenomenon. In 1000 A.D., the practice of witchcraft became a threat to the Christians and their beliefs. They believe that wit...