Paganism 101 Course

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Permalink Reply by Benjamin on August 27, 2010 at 9:08am

You wrote: "Another term which should be mentioned in brief is “Heathen”, which means “a person living in a heathenry area”. This term can be used interchangeably with Pagan, though is often used to describe Pagans who follow a Germanic or Northern European tradition of Neo-Paganism, such as Asatru.
So who or what is a Pagan, and what does the term mean nowadays?"

Your heading says - What is paganism - yet you start the first line giving me a definition of NEO-PAGANISM, is it the same - is it different ?? The the paragraph I quote says "OH YES THERE ARE ALSO THESE NAMES" If I did not have some clue as to what I was reading I would be lost...
Further down the page you drop CHRISTO PAGANISM, I thought we were learning about Paganism...

You see what I am getting at - you have all this information but you have it all over the place... which is why a glossary for example will add a lot of structure to it. But will also make you see how confusing it gets.

You then say most pagans are earth based - yet you also say they are nature based, is there a difference?

I really want you to carry on with this so I dont want to destroy your article. But I want you to re-think the thought process - for example - focus on WHAT IS PAGANISM. Only explain that - every time you add a word like NEO-PAGANISM see where it links with the question WHAT IS PAGANISM. If it doe snot then it needs its own chapter - if it does then you briefly explain and then put it in its own chapter...

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Permalink Reply by Luke Ironside on August 27, 2010 at 7:05pm

For the purpose of this course I am using "Pagan" and "Neo-Pagan" interchangeably, though maybe I should mention that somewhere. Technically there is a difference - in that Paganism usually refers to the pre-Christian polytheistic religions of Europe whereas Neo-Paganism is the term technically applied to us Pagans nowadays.
I do mention various traditions, such as Asatru and Christo-Pagan, in order to make my point. The reader does not need to know any background information about these traditions - I am going to go more in detail about these paths in Lesson 2. What I was saying was that the related term, Heathen, is usually used to describe someone who practices a tradition based on the mythology of Northern Europe, such as the tradition of Asatru. The reader does not at that point need to know any more about Asatru, except what I mentioned.
I do understand what you're saying however, and I will add a glossary at the end of the lesson. Lesson 1 is dealing specifically with defining Paganism, and mentioning some of those other terms is neccessary in order to do so effectively. The reason I mentioned Christo-Paganism, for example, was to prove that even the non-Abrahamic (non-Christian/Jewish) definition could be considered out-dated, and that rather than trying to pinpoint an underlying foundation for what a Pagan is (which is rather impossible to be honest - it is said that if you ask 100 Pagans a question, you should expect 101 different replies!) we can instead realise that the only factor all Pagans have in common is self-identification with the term.
Also, for the purpose of this course I am using Earth-based and Nature-based interchangeably, as I do not really see a difference between the two. Do you find that too confusing? I could just stick to one term if that is easier to follow.

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Permalink Reply by Benjamin on August 28, 2010 at 5:15am

I would find it confusing if I just started out - which I think is your aim - to write a "course" for the beginners?

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Permalink Reply by Megan L Herrod on August 28, 2010 at 3:00pm

I would add to the end of the lesson a simple terminology list. and tell "students" to refer back to this list.

Incluse simple definitions for your words HOW YOU will use them.

Like

Asatru: A revival and Reconstruction of historic northern European pagan religion and mythology.
Neo-pagan: modern paganism
Pagan: The follower of a pagan or revived pagan religion (unless otherwise noted- see historic paganism)
Historic Paganism: The religions of pre-christian Indigenous Europe and the British Isles, Egypt, some of Africa.
Occultism- the study and practice of systems of mysticism of magic, with or without the practice of a coinciding religion.
Hybrid Paganism- Pagan religions that are unified with non=pagan faiths or occultism, such as hinduism, buddhism, christianity, judaism etc. This includes christo-paganism, kabbala, Native North-American influenced paganism or shamanism ETC.

In the second lesson I would go into depth about THESE terms at least, being the foundations of any study in theology.

"Deism"
"Henotheism"
"Monotheism"
"Polytheism" (hard and soft)
"Kethenotheism"
"Athiesm"
"Agnosticism"
"Pantheism"
"Panentheism"
"Autotheism"
"Animism"

AND

Religious Magic
-Sympathetic Magic
-Contagious Magic (read the Golden Bough)- free over the internet through
"Project Gutenberg" or Amazon Kindle software
Ritual (as religious practice... not specific to witchcraft)
Worship
Ethics
Superstition
Myth
Dogma
Theology
Tradition
Ceremony
Context
Eclecticism
Revivalism
Reconstructionism


And any interesting concepts those lead you to. You need to thoroughly UNDERSTAND the incredibly diverse world of theology and religion before you can presume to analyze it, and further, before you can assume to lead others to their path.

If you can afford it, I would try to sign up for a college course in either theology, or cultural anthropology... perhaps there is an online one you could take! The more you learn, the more doors you open up...

I highly advise you read the book The Golden Bough, in fact it is your homework! (hehehe evil grin) it is a little outdated, but still a wonderful book because it was written precisely at the same time as the Revival or reconstruction of several pagan faiths... so it is a perfect read in-context to reflect on how we got from the early part of the 20th century- to here! Follow that book with modern works on anthropology, and you can see how thought, religion and culture evolve and carry on a "dialogue" with each other.

I have a feeling that as you start reading and studying more, you will discover how little you know (which is a wonderful thing) because you will be opening a whole world, and if you do it right, you could be the guide to this world for others... in a few years, after editing...

Blessed Be!

Good job so far!
-Megan

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Permalink Reply by Luke Ironside on August 28, 2010 at 5:47pm

Thanks Megan - great suggestion, I shall do as you say :D

I have been wanting to get around to reading The Golden Bough actually, and also The White Goddess by Robert Graves. I will go into depth about the terms mentioned above, as well as into some of the predominant Pagan traditions of today.

Thanks everyone, I will keep you posted on my progress!

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Permalink Reply by John Thomas on August 26, 2010 at 11:18pm

This is a very ambitious course, Orion. Wicca needs more industrious individuals such as yourself.

I echo the advice of others here in stating that research is important when tackling these kinds of things.

This entire WitchSchool Ning site is similar to what you have in mind -- teaching on a broad number of topics related to Paganism and Wicca.

Have a look at my personal thoughts on it all here. http://kira3696.tripod.com/magick.htm

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Permalink Reply by Luke Ironside on August 27, 2010 at 2:14am

Thank you John!

I realise that it is indeed an ambitious course - I'm a very ambitious person!

I'll keep everyone up to date on my progress :)

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Permalink Reply by Saturn's Child on September 2, 2010 at 2:58pm

Here I am! Finally found the time, the group and the space to join. Sorry I am late. So much going on... School, work now, and we are proud pet parents to three 4 month old puppies. Duke, Bear, and Sable. By the way, our Bear was born with a crescent moon on his chest. We think he is special and he is a huge cuddle monkey, part dachsund and their mother was, chihuahua/jack russel. so we have three furbabies we are going through training "potty" mostly... with. I got a job finally and it is WalMart, but it is money. So it looks like there is a lot of good discussion going on. Give me time to read and then I promise I will reply.

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