A Pagan Primer

There's a new "meme" in the tradition of "Friday Five" (though it's neither on Fridays nor set at 5 questions per week) called the Witches Weekly. The questions it asks are from a Pagan spiritual perspective. While this blog is mostly political, I've also often made reference to my how my spiritual beliefs influence my views, and my spirituality is a very important part of who I am.

So, once a week, I'm going to share some of my thoughts on my spirituality by answering the Witches' Weekly. It sounds like a fun way to do it, and hopefully, it'll help you to understand how it is my faith relates to my life as a whole, and to my social and political views.

First thing I want to do is briefly (well, briefly for me - which may not be very brief at all, but...) explain why I sometimes use different terms to describe myself. I've referred to my spiritual category various as "Norse Witch", "Norse Pagan", "Pagan" and "Heathen".

"Pagan" is a very generic term for non-mainstream theologies that take their foundation from the pre-Christian Indo-European beliefs, and are generally "modernized" to take into account the 2,000+ years of development humanity has managed to make since most of the old ways were displaced (i.e. Pagans don't engage in human sacrifice. Humanity - for the most party, anyway - has figured out that it doesn't make a lot of sense to thank the Gods for their gifts by killing one of them, so we just don't do that anymore, even though our ancestors did.)

Pagans work with a variety of Gods depending on what tradition (similar to "denomination") they belong to. Some worship a male and female pair referred to as the Lord and Lady, some worship only the Goddess, some worship all the Gods and Goddesses of a certain pantheon (for me, it's the Norse Pantheon) - frequently developing a special relationship with one particular member of the Pantheon (for me, it's Thor). There are probably some who worship a single male God, though I have to admit I've not run into many. And then there are some who mix and match from various cultures. When I was first starting out, I developed a strong relationship with Isis, who is Egyptian (though she was widely worshiped thoughout much of the Indo-European lands - a temple to her was even found in a part of London, IIRC), and for a while, worked with both her and Thor. She's since let me know I've learned from her what I needed to, and I now work exclusively with the Norse Gods. This kind of transitioning isn't unusual in Paganism, especially when you consider most Pagans were either raised as Christians or even were Christians at one time themselves.

Mind you, that's not a perfect definition - there really isn't one (believe me, I've seen debates on this that have lasted years... but for general purposes, it's fairly workable). "Pagan" would be roughly akin to how the term "Christian" is used to refer to all of the various Christian denominations, including Catholicism.

"Witch" and "Witchcraft" refer mainly to a specific style of practice. Many people use the terms "Wicca" and "Witch" or "Witchcraft" interchangably, but it doesn't really work that way. "Wicca" is a specific kind of Witchcraft, developed by Gerald Gardner in the 50's which he said was based on traditions that originated in ancient times and have been handed down over the generations before he codefied it and began initiating others into the practice. In my own work, I do incorproate many aspect of general Witchcraft, but I am not Wiccan.

"Heathen" is a term used specifically for people who practice a spirituality based on the ways of the ancient Norse people (nee Vikings). Much as there's a distinction made within Christianity between Catholics, Protestants and Orthodoxy, there's also distinctions with Paganism, though some Heathens might get a bit testy if you try to lump them in with other Pagans. A lot of it, I think, has to do with the regretable image that seems to have coalesced around some aspects of Paganism, making it seem more akin to the "New Age" movement than actually tied to the beliefs our ancestors held.

Since I follow the Norse ways, I am, for all intents and purposes, a Heathen. I will sometimes use "Pagan", "Norse Pagan" or "Norse Witch" to describe myself because more people understand what a "Pagan" or "Witch" is right now than they do "Heathen", so I kind of toss around all three and hope most get the general idea.

Keep in mind, these are MY definitions and how I've found best to explain what I've seen and heard in the Pagan community. The old saying goes, as 3 Pagans for an opinion, get 5 answers. They're not exaggerating. But at least this gives you an idea of what I mean when I use various terms.

So, there's your basic "alternative theologies" lesson for the day :) On to the questions!