Curious about Pagan beliefs...?

Question

What are the general Pagan beliefs regarding the creation of the world/universe?

Answer 1

Early ideas. Ideas about the origins of the universe took shape long before modern science. In antiquity, the alternative to stories of divine creation was to present the world as eternal, perhaps self-existing. The Greek philosophical tradition particularly encouraged belief in an eternal universe. Aristotle, for example, argued that some sort of God was necessary as a First Cause, but he also presented arguments that the world was eternal.

Witchcraft - World of witches, wicca and spellsWicca also worships both a male and female deity, a female Goddess and a male God, who had together created the world and everything in it. ...
www.witchcraft.com.au/ - 11k - Cached - Similar pages

Modern Wiccan HistoryCarl Weschcke is Llewellyn Publishing the largest publishers of Wiccan and Pagan books in the world. Himself a Wiccan High Priest and Magician ...
spells-witchcraft.org/modern-wiccan-history.html


As Greek philosophy developed further, the notion of an eternal universe became more closely tied to philosophical ideas about divinity. The God of the philosophers had to be perfect: beyond time, beyond human passions, beyond anything subject to change. This meant that any direct involvement with the changeable realm of material objects would be an imperfection. Especially within Platonic philosophy, the highest divinity did not get its hands dirty with acts of creation. Instead, God “emanated,” out of necessity, slightly less perfect intermediate beings such as Reason or Wisdom. These intermediates then did the actual work of shaping the material world. The universe depended on God––it derived its very reality from the God which was ultimately the only truly Real being––but it was also eternal. And with a universe eternally emanating from the divine layers of reality, there was less change even intermediaries had to be responsible for.

The Hellenistic period following Alexander’s conquests, and the Roman Empire which followed, brought Greek speculative philosophy together with Near Eastern religious beliefs about creation. The version of Christianity that became the state religion of the Roman Empire tried to integrate philosophy and revealed beliefs in its theology, and later on medieval Islam faced a similar challenge. Reason and revelation agreed on many things such as the existence of a supreme being, but there were also points of friction. Pagan philosophy favored an eternal universe, but the guardians of revelation were reluctant to allow other eternal entities alongside their creator-God. The God of monotheism was much more personal, much more free to act, compared to the God of the philosophers who could seem too much in the grip of impersonal necessities. So monotheists developed a doctrine of creation ex nihilo. Creation from nothing went further than Near Eastern myths about divine forces shaping primeval chaos; not even raw material could be eternal like God.
http://www2.truman.edu/~edis/writings/articles/EncyclUnbelief.html

Generally, there is no conflict between observations revealed through science and Neo-Pagan beliefs on origins of the physical universe and of man. Many believe in a supreme intelligence that created a duality of God/Goddess who then created a spirit world of gods and goddesses as well as all of the universe and nature.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8058_1.html

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "a country dweller" or "civilian") is a term which, from a western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions. The term can be defined broadly, to encompass many or most of the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This group may include some of the Dharmic religions, which incorporate seemingly pagan characteristics like nature-veneration, icon-veneration, polytheism and reverence of female deities, and are thus diametrically opposite to the Abrahamic faiths. Ethnologists avoid the term "paganism", with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as shamanism, polytheism, or animism. The term is also used to describe earth-based Native American religions and mythologies, though few Native Americans call themselves or their cultures "pagan". Historically, the term "pagan" has usually had pejorative connotations among westerners, comparable to heathen, infidel, and mushrik and kafir (كافر) in Islam. In modern times, though, the words "pagan" or "paganism" have become widely and openly used by some practitioners of certain spiritual paths outside the Abrahamic and Dharmic religious mainstream to describe their beliefs, practices, and organized movements
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism

Since the Goddess is said to conceive and contain all life within her, all beings are held to be divine. This is a key understanding conveyed in the Charge of the Goddess, one of the most important texts of Wicca, and is very similar to the Hermetic understanding that "God" contains all things, and in truth is all things.[11] For some Wiccans, this idea also involves elements of animism, and plants, rivers, rocks (and, importantly, ritual tools) are seen as spiritual beings, facets of a single life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

The idea of primitive matriarchal religions, deriving ultimately from studies by Johann Jakob Bachofen, was popular in Gardner's day, both among academics (e.g., Erich Neumann, Margaret Murray) and amateurs such as Robert Graves. Later academics (e.g. Carl Jung and Marija Gimbutas) continued research in this area, and later still Joseph Campbell, Ashley Montagu and others became fans of Gimbutas' theories of matriarchies in Old Europe. Matriarchal interpretations of the archaeological record and the criticism of such work continue to be matters of academic debate. Some academics carry on research in this area (such as the 2003 World Congress on Matriarchal Studies). Critics argue that such matriarchal societies never actually existed and are an invention of researchers such as Margaret Murray. This is disputed by documentaries such as "Blossoms of Fire" (about contemporary Zapotec society).

The idea of a supreme Mother Goddess was common in Victorian and Edwardian literature: the concept of a Horned God — especially related to the gods Pan or Faunus — was less common, but still significant.[31] Both of these ideas were widely accepted in academic literature and the popular press at the time.[32]

Answer 2

There aren't any "general" beliefs. Each branch of pagan belief has a somewhat different idea about that. The Greeks, Norse, Egyptian, and others all ahve different accounts of the creation of the universe. The term Pagan actually emcomapsses a wide variety of pre-Christian beliefs from many differnt cultures and as such preculdes any sort of general belief in any area.

Among the Greek pagans the earth (Gaia) was said to have come out of the pre universal chaos that no one, not even her, can recall precisely when or how.

The Egyptians believed that the universe was born out of the sneeze of the chief deity Ra. (another account has the word translated as ejaculation rather than sneeze. This was due to the fact that the Egyptians did not use vowels when they wrote and the two words for sneeze and ejaculate had the same consonants in the same order and oly needed a differnt vowel to be the differnt words. It was a sort of pun for their king of ancient humor).

Among the Norse, the universe was created wehn the fire from Muspellsheim met the Ice from Niffelheim in Ginnungagap (the great magical void). This meeting of opposing forces resulted in a tremendous release of energies that caused the first beings to come itto being. Later the gods Odin, Vili and Ve created the world out of the body of the Giant Ymir after they had slain him.

Among the Celts there is no creation account recorded anywhere. No one knows if there never was one, or if it simply has been lost to time.

There are many others as well but as you can see the accounts are so different that any sort of generalization isn't possible.

Answer 3

Depends on the Pagan. "Pagan" is an umbrella term that includes many different religions and beliefs, and the creation beliefs are as varied as the paths.

Some believe in the creation myths of older mythologies and religions, some believe that the daily events are guided by the Divine, some believe that the Divine just put the matter and energy into play and let it go its way from there, etc.

My own beliefs follow the scientific theory back to the point of gravitational singularity, but unless and until there is something that I consider to be a "credible" answer to "but where did the matter and energy of that singularity come from in the first place?", I am comfortable believing that the source was Divine.

(I've done some reading into M theory and String theory and branes, and personally I find the ideas they're positing to be no less "out there" than "supernatural origin" ideas...)

Answer 4

Well, I'm not a general Pagan, I'm an Asatruar. And I can only speak for myself.

Our myths describe the beginning of the universe as the unfolding of a natural process, rather than an event requiring supernatural intervention. Followers of Asatru need not abandon modern science to retain their religion. The old lore of our people describes the interaction of fire and ice, and the development of life from these - but this is symbolic, and we will leave it to the physicists to discover how the universe was born.

Personally,I completely accept evolution and I favor the multiverse theory in regards to the Big Bang.

Answer 5

Pagan is a name for a large grouping of religions. They don't share a common creation story. I encourage you to read Charles Lelands Gospel of the Witches. It's a great retelling of the Vangello Dell Streghe. Which is an Italian Pagan Creation story.

Answer 6

Moden Pagan beliefs are varied. It is such a general term that very little can be said to be in common that would include ALL religious practices that come under the label "Pagan"

Answer 7

This book would be a good start: Wicca: A guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham. This book is geared toward Wicca which is one of many Pagan denominations. There are many traditions to Paganism (just as there is to Christianity such as catholics, protestants, episcopals, etc.)

Answer 8

Boy, THAT'S going to get you a variety of answers. Pagan is a VERY broad term encompassing an awful lot of beliefs.

Here are links to three articles, two I wrote, one someone else wrote about Pagans (I'm one), though not specifically about the creation of the world.

Answer 9

There are too many to list. I generally go by what Hesiod wrote in his Theogany, though I see it as metaphorical rather than literal. I find that Evolutionary theory does not conflict one bit with my beliefs.

Answer 10

pagan...the word pagan is used to describe any religion that isnt christain/catholic if you are talking about wicca you should just study it because there are many ppl that will tell you different things about it....as a green witch i can tell you my "religion" is about healing and the different cycles of the seasons i use plants as tools for healing
here is a link that might help you out

http://www.erowid.org/spirit/traditions/paganism/paganism.shtml

Answer 11

Depends who you ask. Paganism is an informal, do your own thing, make it up as you go belief system. Pagans believe whatever and worship whoever however they feel like it.