Neo-Paganism

What Do Neo-Pagans Believe?
by Isaac Bonewits

it's important to remember that not everyone would use the term "belief" in reference to these concepts, and that every concept mentioned has a wide variety of accepted interpretations within the organization

Thou Art God/dess
We believe that divinity is both immanent (internal) and transcendent (external), with immanence being far more important for us to pay attention to at this crucial phase of human history. Deities can manifest at any point in space or time which They might choose, including within human beings (through the processes known as "inspiration," "channeling," and "possession").

Goddesses and Gods
We believe that divinity is as likely to manifest in a female form as it is in a male form, and that the word "Goddess" makes just as much sense as "God." Women and men are spiritually equal, and "masculine" and "feminine" attitudes, values, and roles are of equal importance.

Polytheism
We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of Whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. We have a wide variety of nonexclusive concepts as to the nature of these entities. While some of us believe in a "Supreme Being," Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic. We have no figure of ultimate Evil.

Nature Worship
We believe that it is necessary to have respect and love for Nature as divine in Her own right, and to accept ourselves as part of Nature and not Her "rulers." Many of us accept what has come to be known as "the Gaia hypothesis," that the biosphere of our planet is a living being, Who is due all the love and support that we, Her children, can give Her. We consider ecological awareness and activism to be sacred duties.

Cautious Technophilia
We believe in accepting the positive aspects of Western science and technology, but in maintaining an attitude of wariness towards the supposed ethical neutrality of that science and technology. We also consider it important that scientists (like everyone else) pay as much attention to their means as they do to their goals.

Religious Freedom
We believe that monolithic religious organizations and would-be messiahs and supergurus are a hindrance to spiritual growth. We believe that healthy religions should have a minimum amount of dogma and a maximum amount of eclecticism and flexibility. Neopagan Druidism is an organic religion, and like all other organisms is growing, changing, and producing offshoots.

Positive Ethics
We believe that ethics and morality should be based upon joy, love, self-esteem, mutual respect, the avoidance of actual harm to ourselves and others, and the increase of public benefit. We try to balance people's needs for personal autonomy and growth with the necessity of paying attention to the impact of each individual's actions on the lives and welfare of others.

Religious Toleration
We believe that it's difficult for ordinary humans to commit offenses against the Gods and Goddesses, short of major crimes such as ecocide or genocide. Our deities are perfectly capable of defending Their own honor without any need for us to punish people for "blasphemy" or "heresy."

The Good Life
We believe that human beings were meant to lead lives filled with joy, love, pleasure, beauty and humor. Most Neopagans are fond of food, drink, music, sex, and bad puns, and consider all of these (except possibly the puns) to be of spiritual value. However, we do not approve of addictive or compulsive behavior and we support people with dysfunctional histories who have entered appropriate recovery programs.

Magic and Mystery
We believe that with proper training, art, discipline and intent, human minds and hearts are fully capable of performing most of the magic and miracles they are ever likely to need. Magical/miraculous acts are done through the use of what most of us perceive as natural (some say "divinely granted") psychic talents.

Liturgical Art and Science
We believe that there is an art and a science to creating, preparing and performing worship rituals. Our worship celebrations are continually evolving as we search for the most intellectually satisfying, artistically beautiful, spiritually powerful, and magically effective rites possible.

Connecting to the Cosmos
We believe in the importance of celebrating the solar, lunar and other cycles of our lives. We consciously observe the solstices, equinoxes and the points in between, as well as the phases of the moon. Such "rites of intensification" are human universals, as are the various ceremonies known as "rites of passage" -- celebrations of birth, puberty, personal dedication to a given deity or group, marriage, ordination, death, etc.

Born Again Paganism
Many of us believe in some sort of afterlife, usually involving rest and recovery in the Otherworld before reincarnating. We have no concept of "eternal" punishment, refusing to worship deities who could be that cruel.

Hope and Action
We believe that people have the ability to solve their current problems, both personal and public, and to create a better world. Our utopian vision, tempered with common sense, leads us to a strong commitment to personal and global growth, evolution and balance.

Mystic Vision
We believe that people can progress far towards achieving personal growth, evolution and balance through the carefully planned alteration of their "normal" states of consciousness. We use both ancient and modern methods of concentration, meditation, reprogramming and ecstasy.

Community Responsibility
We believe that human interdependence implies community service. Some of us are active in political, social, ecological and charitable organizations, while others prefer to work for the public good primarily through spiritual means (and many insist on doing both).

Authenticity
We believe that if we are to achieve any of our goals, we must practice what we preach. Neopagan Druidism, like any other religion, should be a way of life, not merely a weekly or monthly social function. So we must always strive to make our lives consistent with our proclaimed beliefs.

Cooperation and Defence
We believe in cooperation and ecumenical activities with those members of other faiths who share all or most of these beliefs. We also believe in resisting efforts by members of dysfunctional religions who seek to persecute us or suppress our human rights.

There's more to our beliefs than these few details, of course, and a great deal of variation in how these beliefs are extended to cover other topics. Some of our members are pacifists and others are in the military; some are animal rights activists and vegetarians, others are carnivorous hunters; some are committed to conservative and others to alternative life styles. We actively encourage everyone to apply these principles to the practical questions of their daily lives.

This is a great post Kaidia! :)I also wanted to know, what is the difference between Neo-paganism and Paganism?

Rozel

Great question! I'm sure there are other people wondering the same thing too

The word pagan derived from the Latin word "Paganus" mean a country dweller, and "Heathen," a dweller on the heath. Paganism is a broad term used to describe any nature oriented religons that believe in both a Lord (God) and a Lady (Goddess) to some extend. Wicca and Witchcraft are both form of Paganism;

Neo-Paganism, an umbrella term for most modern earth-based and shamanistic religions. Through the work of the Golden Dawn, as well as anthropological and archeological research, many of these traditions have been rediscovered and incorporated into what we known as Neo-Paganism or New Age Paganism

Now, there are three kinds of pagans:

1) The Reconstructionists- These are who want to re-create a lost tradition. Two example could be the neo-Hellenists (they worship worshiping the Greek deities) and the neo-Wotanists (they follow the Norse religions that worshiped Odin, Thor, Freya) These people rarely doing what we call "magick"

2) The Cultural pagans- These would be your typical "witch" the one that use spells, do divination, summoning...etc

3) The last group is the Neo-Paganism- they are more modern and mostly eclectic. Their magic are mostly ritual based with a hint of sympathetic magic. And Sympathetic Magic follower believe in three laws. First the laws of contact (something that has been touch by another person). Second, the laws of contagion (something that belong to someone such as their hair and nail..etc) and third, the laws of similarity (such as color, candle correspondence...)

If you're still confuse or have any other question please let me know

This really cleared up much on my conciousness, but I was also wondering about the laws. How are they used within their magickal practices and their religion. Also what pattern or range is their magickal practices. (What exactly makes them different from cultural witches)?

And also (though this has nothing to do with Neo-paganism, but many people would probably like to know), what exactly is a Cultural Pagan and their beliefs?

(Sorry for all the questions!)

Rozel

You're fine, we love to see members who's asking questions on stuff they dont understand

Sorry I didnt spend a lot of time on explaining about the Cultural pagans because you were asking about Neo-Pagan.

Anyhow, It's hard to distinguish between these two because unlike Wiccan, the Cultural and Neo pagans dont have a set of belief, remember I said earlier it is mostly an eclectic path. A person can be one or the other or both. But a person who is both would ultimately situate their community within a spiritual or religious context bigger than it.

Let me even go farther.......

Neopaganism is a term used to identify a wide variety of pagan modern movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various beliefs of pre-modern Europe. Although they do share commonalities, contemporary pagan religious movements are extremely diverse, and there is no set of beliefs, practices or religious texts shared by all of them. The various beliefs can include culturalism, but don't always.

A religious pagan is one who practices their beliefs alone or meets with a community of practitioners, such as a coven, blotgroup, grove or nest. The major reason for doing so is to interact with the Sacred More-than-human. Crucially, focusing on a context bigger than simply dealing with human affairs is central to religious Paganism.

A cultural pagan is a person who identifies with Pagan practices or symbols but does so as a member of a human community. This community may see itself as extending backwards and forwards in time, and it may emphasize its connection to a particular place, but the context of concern remains the purely human. Not much differ from the Neo-Pagan, more or less it is just a label

Thank you so much Kaidia :) This really clears things up for me!

Rozel