The three parts of Paganism.

Hello, I am a Pagan Priest nearing the age of 40. I'm English and rather frustrated at the lack of consistent knowledge in general about my religion. In my experience, there are two things getting in the way- Paganism is restricted in the media in the UK, which means that healthy Paganism is not widely understood, leading to a whole load of misunderstandings. Secondly, I saw an item for sale online today which changed the way that I understood Witches to operate. Of course, for the sake of trade, habits change in order to create new products but there is such a thing as taking it too far. I shall write of that item in my second post. As a Pagan Minister, my abilities are mainly within the realms of mental health, as well as traditional blessings and knowledge. Many of the priesthood are counsellors, which makes sense and in order to help or advise someone, we need to know how they live. A Pagan lifestyle is different to a Christian or mainstream one for example and it all changes the way in which we think, so any talking therapy needs to embrace this.

The First Part of Paganism is a respect shown towards nature. This can range from those who recycle and re-use items, understanding that we are supported by the Earth and thus we should support and respect the Earth in return- to those who view the Earth as a Spirit being in itself, a living creature to be worshipped. For people who recycle, we can do it in the usual way using recycle bins and services, using charity shops or we take things further and re-use items as well. I like to clean out paint tubs and use them as plant pots. I know of one person (no names) who will wash out plastic carrier bags of all kinds and re-use those. We often support Eco-friendly causes, avoid chemical products and we will use modern Western medicine but also use natural medicines and alternative therapies with the aim of preventing illness in the first place.

The second part of Paganism is the celebration of cycles. The modern Pagan calendar is based around european farming traditions. We used to rely on the Earth and the seasons more than we do today for our food supplies and healthy livestock. Not all Pagans celebrate these festivals, some of us light a candle or have a special family meal, others take a holiday. They are focal points for worship and revolve around the two solar solstice and two equinox events within each year. The other four festivals are in-between these giving us a religious celebration every six weeks. Most of these occasions coincide with bank holidays and school vacations as well as modern Christian holidays. A huge part of Pagan belief is reincarnation; the belief that our soul is reborn into a new body after death. This aspect has various connections to the psychic industry and mediumship which is partly why the religion seems to be restricted within the media. Re-incarnation is illustrated within our marriage ceremony, called a 'Handfasting', where we are bound to our partner beyond this life so that we can meet them again in the next. Variations occur among the ceremonies just as they do with mainstream marriage ceremonies. Because of this belief, we cannot 'convert' anyone to our religion and it's difficult to convert a Pagan to any other religion. Either the path fits or it doesn't.

The third and final part of Paganism is the aspect of worship and the path each of us fit into. There are many old gods who are still worshipped today, often taken from ancient Greek, Rome, Egyptian, Norse and European traditions. There are those who are polytheistic, believing in many gods and goddesses and those who believe in one god or Great Spirit with many ancestor spirits alongside this singular energy. Not all Pagans are active in this worship. The different paths are usually described as types of Witch, Druid and Shaman. When it comes to witchcraft, if prayer is carried out in conection with a house or family deity; it is religion. When prayer and ritual is practiced without a deity involved, it is the Occult -another reason Paganism is restricted in the media. There are dangers within every religion, if we have more experienced members to guide us, these dangers can be avoided.

Volk B 2019

Volk; Russian; 'Wolf'.
Volkhv; Russian/Norse; 'heathen/sorcerer/priest'; originally 'Volva'.
Volva; Norse; female witch priestess/midwife. When raiders/Vikings settled in Russia they took their religion but not their women, thus became the Volkhv, the male priests.