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| Home > Pagan Primer | Search |
| A Pagan Primer |
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If you are new to Paganism or magick, or if you are just interested in finding out about Paganism and magick, this page here to help provide basic information on modern Neo-Pagan religions and magick. The information here will give you a basic understanding of Paganism and help direct you to fairly easy to find good books for Pagan beginners and information seekers.
What is Paganism?
One important thing to remember is that Paganism isn't a religion any more than Monotheism is a religion. Both Paganism and Monotheism are collective terms used to group very different religions that happen to share a few important classifying traits in common. For example, Monotheism includes the all the various forms of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (and many minor faiths). The beliefs of the individual religions grouped under the term "Pagan" probably vary even more than (say) Reform Judaism differs from Shiite Islam. As Wicca is currently the most well-known modern Pagan religion, many people tend to assume that all modern Pagans share the specific beliefs of Wicca (e.g. belief in a God and Goddess, the eight festival "wheel of the year," the Wiccan Rede, etc.). That assumption is simply incorrect. People who make that assumption generally end up very confused when they encounter some of the many modern Pagan religions that are not based on Wicca.
You may have heard a number of definitions of Paganism mentioned in books, on TV, and in newspapers and magazines. Most of these definitions are far too narrow. For example, modern Pagan religions are often described as "earth-based" or "earth-centered." This is certainly true of Wicca and some other Pagan religions, but many Pagan religions are only "Earth-based" in the sense that their adherents live on the planet Earth. The common dictionary definition of Paganism is a religion that isn't Jewish, Christian, or Islamic. With a slight modification, that's actually the best definition of a Pagan religion the author has seen: A Pagan religion is a religion that is not Jewish, Christian, or Islamic and self-identifies as Pagan. "Heathen" is an alternative word for "Pagan" that some groups, especially those of Northern European origin, prefer to use.
A Few Pagan Religions
When many people think of modern Pagan religions, they think of Wicca. While Wicca is probably the largest Pagan of the modern Pagan religions and certainly gets the most media attention, there are actually many Pagan religions. Listed here are a few of the religions that many consider to fall under the collective term "Pagan":
- Asatru
- Church of All Worlds
- Discordianism
- Druidry
- Feri
- Gwyddons
- Hellenismos
- Kemeticism
- Religio Romana
- Religious Witchcraft
- Senistrognata
- Thelema
- Wicca
And sometimes individuals and sub-groups of the following religions self-identify as Pagan:
- Candomble
- Santeria
- Satanism
- Voudon
Answers to Basic Questions About Paganism
One of the members of our message board has written a short article with the answers to some of the most common questions we get from those new to Pagan religions. If you are new to Pagan religions or are just curious about them, you might want to read Common Questions About Paganism before going any further.
Critical Reading for Pagans
There are a large number of books and thousands of web sites on various Neo-Pagan religions. Some provide excellent information, some provide good information, but many provide questionable or bad information. Most (including this site) provide a mixture. It can be hard to tell the good from the bad on a subject you aren't familiar with -- unless you read critically. Here's a link to an excellent article on reading Pagan material critically.
Here is a link to an article that explains, from a Neo-Pagan point of view, what a credible book is and ways to determine if a book should be considered credible.
This site also has over 225 reviews of books (and divination decks) which can help you decide if a given book is worth your reading time and/or your purchase money.
Questions and Answers
For general information about Paganism, the best place to start are these lists of frequently asked questions (and their answers) from the world of usenet newsgroups. Note that while the answers these lists give may sound dogmatic and authoritative, they should only be taken as representative of the authors' personal experiences and personal beliefs about Paganism. Not every Pagan would agree with all of the answers provided.
The Witches' Voice
The Witches' Voice is a large, excellent Wiccan site. While it is aimed mainly at Wicca (the largest religion within the umbrella of modern Paganism), there are a couple of features there useful to anyone seeking information on Paganism or Wicca.
- Pagan Sites on the Web
Thousands of links to Pagan sites, both Wiccan and non-Wiccan on the web. - Witches of the World
If you are looking for other Pagans or groups of Pagans in your area, or if you want information on Pagan festivals around the world, this database is the first place to check. Many non-Wiccans list themselves here as well.
Other Beginner-oriented Articles at The Cauldron
Our web site contains a number of articles (most from a Wiccan point-of-view unfortunately) that are useful to the new Pagan. Just remember these articles do not contain "the truth," they only contain what the authors believed to be true at the time they wrote the article.
- Reconstructionist Paganism
An introduction to Reconstructionist Pagan religions, non-Wiccan Neopagan religions noted for their reliance on solid academic and historical sources regarding deities, worship and symbolism. - An Introduction to the Old Religion
Eight lessons in outline form from an Introduction to the Old Religion course. Over 200K of text. - The Wheel of the Year
A collection of articles on each of the eight major holidays of the Wiccan year. - Introduction to Ceremonial Magick
Eleven lessons in the basics magick, with a somewhat ceremonial style. - So You Want To Join A Coven?
An article on things one should carefully consider before deciding to join any Pagan group. - Secrecy and Wicca
Just how much secrecy is really neccessary in Wicca, or any other Pagan religion? - Problems with the Rede
The word "rede" means "advice." While the Wiccan Rede is excellent moral advice, this article shows that the Rede makes a bad moral law. - Basic Candle Magick
A simple method for performing candle magick, including a candle color chart. - So You Want To Start A Coven?
A good number of things to consider before you decide to start any Pagan group. - A Wiccan Glossary
A glossary of basic Wiccan terms. While useful, you will, of course, find that other Pagans and even other Wiccans define some of these terms somewhat differently.
