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When you hear/see the word pagan, many different meanings may surface. However, within my site "pagan" stands for a person following one of the "old" religions, i.e. pre-Christianity.

The incredible resurgence today towards paganism can be traced to many causes, but I feel that it comes from a combination of disillusion with mainstream religion and politics, especially for women and those concerned with the earth. Women's interest in paganism is obvious, since the main monotheistic religions put women below men and at the mercy of men. Over the centuries, women have begun to realize we are equal to men, certainly not "less" or below them, and we want our spirituality to reflect that. It seems only natural that as women question and research their beliefs, they begin to search for a spirituality that honors and respects them.

For those concerned with the earth, paganism honors the earth unlike Christianity (I will from here on refer only to Christianity, although I certainly acknowledge the other major religions), which believes the earth is here for humans' plundering. As Arnold Toynbee, in a 1972 article in the International Journal of Environmental Studies: "The Religious Background of the Present Environmental Crisis," stated:

"The plight in which post-Industrial-Revolution man had now landed himself is one more demonstration that man is not the master of his environment--not even when supposedly armed with a warrant, issued by a supposedly unique and omnipotent God with a human-like personality, delegating to man plenipotentiary powers. Nature is now demonstrating to us that she does not recognize the validity of this alleged warrant, and she is warning us that, if man insists on trying to execute it, he will commit this outrage on nature at his peril."

Polytheism, the belief in more than one god. The image is not that of nude native dancing around a fire, paying homage to multiple wood-carved idols. It is a new, open way to perceive the world. In Margot Adler's book, Drawing Down the Moon (see my bibliography), she quotes a Craft priestess: "When worshippers view deity in a single way this tends to feed back a homogenous image. The worshippers begin (1) to see homogeneity as good and (2) to become homogenous themselves. Eccentricity becomes "evil" and "wrong." Decentralization is seen as a wrong since what is wrong for "A" cannot possibly be right for "B." A polytheistic world view allows a wider range of choices...Differences become acceptable, even "respectable," (34).

Animism eliminates the difference between animate and inanimate. All things contain the life force. According to Adler, "The Pagan revival seems to be a survival response to the common urban and suburban experience of our culture as "impersonal," "neutral" or "dead."" (25). Pantheism is the belief that the divine is within everything.

Here are some basic beliefs of Pagans:
• There is an aliveness and presence in nature.
• We strive to live in harmony with nature, ending the alienation created over the centuries by humanity's technological advancements. We do not want to cease advancement, but merely re-connect with the natural world.
• Ritual is the means to that re-connection.
• Basics of belief begin in the pre-Christian nature religions of Europe and add new ideas, combining into new world views that focus on harmony, peace and the acceptance of all people, while honoring the power that exists within us and beyond us.

Pagan paths are many and varied, from Wicca to Shamanism to Druidism to many, many more.

Modern conceptions of Paganism are rife with stereotypes and misconceptions, along with downright animosity and fear. If you have an interest in Paganism, I strongly suggest picking up a book, as there are many good ones on the market which delve fully into the subject. I hope I have given you a very simple, basic concept of modern Paganism, while acknowledging I have touched on many areas without fully developing, or even defining, them. This page will never be completed...as I learn and grow within my own spirituality, I will add to this (at present sadly simple) description of paganism. It will expand and grow over time.

Many thanks to Margor Adler's book, from which much of this information was taken. If you would like to add information to this explanation, please feel free to e-mail me.