So, what is a Pagan anyway?

I have been asked what a Pagan is or what it means to be a Pagan. There are as many answers for that as there are Pagans. Since there are so many misconceptions about Pagans, I will start by telling you what we are NOT.

Pagans are NOT

*Devil Worshipers
Pagans do not even believe in the devil. The "devil" or "satan" is a concept of the Christian religion. Hell is also a concept of some Christian religions which Pagans also do not believe in. So it's pretty hard to worship something you do not believe in.

*Atheists
Atheists do not believe in any god. We believe in many gods and goddesses.

*Sacraficers of Animals (or babies)
Pagans believe all life is sacred, so sacraficing animals (or babies, or whatever you have heard we may sacrafice) for any reason goes against our belief system.

*Evil
As Pagan, we try to live in balance. Most of us believe in Karma, meaning that whatever we do, will come back to us 3 (some believe 10) times over. So if we do evil, we believe that evil will come back to us. No one wants evil things happening to them right?


What Pagans ARE

*Polytheistic
That means we believe in more than one god/ess. Most of us believe in both god and goddess. Pagans follow different pantheons. This means some Pagans woship Greek or Roman or Norse or Egyptian gods and goddess. Some Pagans just pray to the Lord and Lady (god and goddess)

*Earth Based
We believe that the Earth is our Mother. She is sacred. We celebrate the seasons and life cycles.

*Believers in reincarnation
All of life is a cycle, including birth, death and re-birth. I, personally, believe that we are on Earth to learn, then we die and pass into the spirit realm for a while and then are re-born to learn more. It's kind of like being away at college. You go home to the Summerland (afterlife) for a while, then come back to school to learn more.

This is a VERY basic rundown of Paganism. I hope that it will clear up any misconception some may have about what it means to be a Pagan. If anyone has questions, I will ty to answer them. Also other Pagans, feel free to add anything you think I forgot.

Blessed Be!