PRINCIPLES OF PAGANISM
1. You are responsible for the beliefs you choose to adopt. You are in
control of what you choose to believe, especially when it comes to ideas
about spirituality, ethics, values, the nature of the Divine, the nature and
purpose of the physical world, and your place in it. The power to choose
your beliefs resides in you—not in an institution, church, or government.
It is important that you take responsibility for the beliefs you adopt
because beliefs act as templates around which you build your reality. You
will tend to interpret experience and information to fit what your beliefs
tell you to expect, while filtering out information that does not fit. To a
great extent, then, your beliefs shape both the interior and exterior world
you create for yourself. Regardless of the beliefs impressed on you in the
past, you are in control of what you choose to adopt as your beliefs now.
Pagans accept their responsibility to become more self-aware, identify the
beliefs they are allowing to operate in their lives, and then to examine the
merits of those beliefs periodically.
2. You are responsible for your own actions and your spiritual and
personal development. The development of a conscience, or personal
ethic, and then the application of that ethic to everyday life is the
responsibility of every person. Any resource, teacher, practice, or holy
writing that helps you move toward your goal of spiritual maturity can
and should be used. Resources, teachers, and holy books cannot be
substituted for the effort each person must give to his or her own growth,
however since growth is a muscle you must exercise yourself. Spiritual
muscles don’t get strong by letting other people do your work for you.
Pagans strive to become spiritually mature and to take responsibility for
their beliefs, actions, and spiritual growth.
3. You are responsible for deciding who or what Deity is for you, and
forming a relationship with that Deity. Someone who joins a particular
faith has gone through the process of deciding what Deity is for them and
that the faith they are joining is a good match. Pagans openly
acknowledge this process and are open to a variety of ideas about Deity.
Pagans have many images of Deity, including multiple images, male,
female, animal, energy or spirit images, or no images at all.
4. Everything contains the spark of intelligence. From the smallest atom
to the largest planetary system, each part of the world contains a form of
consciousness or spark of intelligence. In the physical realm,
consciousness exhibits as awareness, personality, energetic vibrations, or
other characteristics that are in keeping with the particular physical form.
Science and mysticism both suggest that consciousness is
multidimensional, that it folds and unfolds into physical reality from
unseen realms, and its expression in the physical world is only a part of
its greater reality.
5. Everything is sacred. Sacredness means different things to different
Pagans. To some it means that all parts of the universe are precious, and
worthy of respect and careful handling. To others it implies a feeling of
kinship, of connection, a kind of cosmic brother- or sisterhood. To others
sacredness means that something is holy, having been created, blessed, or
approved by a Deity.
For some Pagans, this principle also relates to how Deity is involved
with the physical and nonphysical universes, and whether by its nature
the universe is good or evil. Many Pagans see Deity as penetrating the
universe in one way or another. The result of this particular view, however, is that if
Deity permeates everything, then everything is sacred. Nothing is cut off
or isolated from the Divine Ground. The dualism that says that the
physical is bad and the spiritual is good has no meaning to a Pagan. The
dualism that says that what is physical is at war with what is spiritual has
no meaning to a Pagan. This brings us naturally to the second point, then,
questions to discuss since if nothing is cut off from the Divine Ground, then neither are you.
Your human nature is not inherently flawed. Do not confuse this issue
with one of behavior. People can choose to act in ways that are
destructive, but Pagans tend to treat behavior as a separate issue from the
question of whether or not human nature is corrupt.
6. Each part of the universe can communicate with each other part, and
these parts often cooperate for specific ends. Here is the crux of magick. Magick is a completely natural process, which, in its simplest
form, is the communication and cooperation of many consciousnesses.
Other religions call this same process prayer, meditation, inspiration,
synchronicity, or miracles.
7. Consciousness survives death. Consciousness, as was earlier suggested,
exists on multiple levels simultaneously, and physical reality is only one
expression of it. Physical existence can be seen as the intrusion of
consciousness into the world of matter, and death as the withdrawing, or
enfolding, of it back into other dimensions. Pagans hold a variety of
views of what happens after death, and most, though not all, believe in an
afterlife.
Source: Paganism An Introduction to Earth- Centered Religions (book)
1. You are responsible for the beliefs you choose to adopt. You are in
control of what you choose to believe, especially when it comes to ideas
about spirituality, ethics, values, the nature of the Divine, the nature and
purpose of the physical world, and your place in it. The power to choose
your beliefs resides in you—not in an institution, church, or government.
It is important that you take responsibility for the beliefs you adopt
because beliefs act as templates around which you build your reality. You
will tend to interpret experience and information to fit what your beliefs
tell you to expect, while filtering out information that does not fit. To a
great extent, then, your beliefs shape both the interior and exterior world
you create for yourself. Regardless of the beliefs impressed on you in the
past, you are in control of what you choose to adopt as your beliefs now.
Pagans accept their responsibility to become more self-aware, identify the
beliefs they are allowing to operate in their lives, and then to examine the
merits of those beliefs periodically.
2. You are responsible for your own actions and your spiritual and
personal development. The development of a conscience, or personal
ethic, and then the application of that ethic to everyday life is the
responsibility of every person. Any resource, teacher, practice, or holy
writing that helps you move toward your goal of spiritual maturity can
and should be used. Resources, teachers, and holy books cannot be
substituted for the effort each person must give to his or her own growth,
however since growth is a muscle you must exercise yourself. Spiritual
muscles don’t get strong by letting other people do your work for you.
Pagans strive to become spiritually mature and to take responsibility for
their beliefs, actions, and spiritual growth.
3. You are responsible for deciding who or what Deity is for you, and
forming a relationship with that Deity. Someone who joins a particular
faith has gone through the process of deciding what Deity is for them and
that the faith they are joining is a good match. Pagans openly
acknowledge this process and are open to a variety of ideas about Deity.
Pagans have many images of Deity, including multiple images, male,
female, animal, energy or spirit images, or no images at all.
4. Everything contains the spark of intelligence. From the smallest atom
to the largest planetary system, each part of the world contains a form of
consciousness or spark of intelligence. In the physical realm,
consciousness exhibits as awareness, personality, energetic vibrations, or
other characteristics that are in keeping with the particular physical form.
Science and mysticism both suggest that consciousness is
multidimensional, that it folds and unfolds into physical reality from
unseen realms, and its expression in the physical world is only a part of
its greater reality.
5. Everything is sacred. Sacredness means different things to different
Pagans. To some it means that all parts of the universe are precious, and
worthy of respect and careful handling. To others it implies a feeling of
kinship, of connection, a kind of cosmic brother- or sisterhood. To others
sacredness means that something is holy, having been created, blessed, or
approved by a Deity.
For some Pagans, this principle also relates to how Deity is involved
with the physical and nonphysical universes, and whether by its nature
the universe is good or evil. Many Pagans see Deity as penetrating the
universe in one way or another. The result of this particular view, however, is that if
Deity permeates everything, then everything is sacred. Nothing is cut off
or isolated from the Divine Ground. The dualism that says that the
physical is bad and the spiritual is good has no meaning to a Pagan. The
dualism that says that what is physical is at war with what is spiritual has
no meaning to a Pagan. This brings us naturally to the second point, then,
questions to discuss since if nothing is cut off from the Divine Ground, then neither are you.
Your human nature is not inherently flawed. Do not confuse this issue
with one of behavior. People can choose to act in ways that are
destructive, but Pagans tend to treat behavior as a separate issue from the
question of whether or not human nature is corrupt.
6. Each part of the universe can communicate with each other part, and
these parts often cooperate for specific ends. Here is the crux of magick. Magick is a completely natural process, which, in its simplest
form, is the communication and cooperation of many consciousnesses.
Other religions call this same process prayer, meditation, inspiration,
synchronicity, or miracles.
7. Consciousness survives death. Consciousness, as was earlier suggested,
exists on multiple levels simultaneously, and physical reality is only one
expression of it. Physical existence can be seen as the intrusion of
consciousness into the world of matter, and death as the withdrawing, or
enfolding, of it back into other dimensions. Pagans hold a variety of
views of what happens after death, and most, though not all, believe in an
afterlife.
Source: Paganism An Introduction to Earth- Centered Religions (book)