An actual question about Pagan spirituality?

Question

I'm really disappointed with the Religion and Spirituality section here, but that's beside the point. I am interested in the myriad Pagan sects there are out there. I feel as though I may fit into one of them, but there seem to be so many options, that I'm not sure. Can someone explain to me the main ideas? I know Pagan is a general term. I think I'm more interested in Celtic Paganism, but since I don't really know what that means, I'm not sure that's correct. Thanks for any help. (To Christians who want to tell me I am going the wrong way- I get it, I was raised Christian, I've studied the Bible backwards, forwards, and inside out, multiple translations, in multiple ways. I have my own theories on that, so don't bother.)

I should add that I am not completely ignorant on the subject, I just don't really know how to separate out fact and fiction, fantasy novel paganism and real life paganism. Nature is the only thing that has ever truly given me spirituality. When I was a kid, this quote from Anne of Green Gables (silly, I know), really struck a chord with me, "Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray, I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep woods, and I’d look up into the sky — up — up — up — into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I’d just feel a prayer. " I grew up on a river, with trees all around it, and this was how I prayed.

Answer 1

You ask 10 Pagans & you'll most likely 15 different definations.

The mosts simple one is that Neo-Paganism is a life affirmation of recreation/revival/restoration of Indigenous "Old World" Spirituality.

PS. [sorry ran out of time]

The Pagan path is a very personal one. I usually recomend that people take what they are taught as "Lore" (as in Folklore) and not "LAW" (as in inflexible carved in stone).

Always Trust your inner bell.
.

Answer 2

You hit the nail on the head with the quote from Anne of Green Gables. Yes there are numerous Pagan belief systems, but as a Pagan you must choose what feels best to you in your heart. A great many Pagans borrow from several beliefs to form their own. I use Asatru, Shamanic, and Wicca. I don't do spellwork, but meditate often. It is all up to you, read and choose. Its a beautiful religion that I follow and I hope you will continue in a heartfelt way.

Answer 3

As I read your question, a phrase from the book "The Diary of Ann Frank" came into mind. I think that is how I decided my path at an early age.
It was sort of like this " Do not ever give up hope even if you do not believe their is a God anymore. Everyone needs something to believe in, a God, a rock, a flower, anything that helps them keep faith and hope in tomorrow. If you want, believe in that flower over there. In the midst of all this destruction it is still growing. Believe in that flower will always come back and grow. Your faith is the same thing. Your faith gives you hope no matter what you believe in."
I have chosen to follow the Goddess and nothing else. I like to believe in the Fae and folklore and the possibility that some of the things did exist at one time. I'm also a sensitive and mild clairevoiant. I read books, talked to people, read some more, and decided my path. Have faith in yourself and listen to your heart. You will find what you are called to and you will have peace in abundance.
Blessed be

Answer 4

There is something called "Solitary Practitioner" that I consider myself to be. It is my belief that whatever is divine is equal within each of us, and for each individual to learn to hear that voice from within is the only spiritual path that will ever feel authentic. This also allows you to study all the wonderful Pagan traditions and use what speaks to your heart. Unfortunately, the Christians pretty well stamped out or usurped the Pagan traditions, and the best you will find are people trying to do the best they can with what is left. If you join a coven, you will find you are expected to be accept what the priest / priestess says as Divine, which is one of the things I find offensive about religion in general. As a very basic principal, I do not feel one human is more divine than any other, some are just more in touch with their higher self. Anyway, Solitary Practice lets me loosely affiliate with a group, yet remain true to my Spirit Walk. Best of luck to you!
Namaste'

Answer 5

Paganism at its core honors the earth and views nature as a living entity from which we draw our power. It follows the courses of the moon and the cycle of seasons.
Deities are varied from sect to sect.
In general the divine is seen an all encompassing energy
that can be male or female- or both -or no gender at all.
Most honor the esbats (full moon/new moon) and the eight sabbats of the year (again, depending on sect)
If you think you would be interested in Celtic paganism,
I would suggest reading Celtic folklore and customs.
Get to know the Celtic pantheon and see if it works for you.
Best of luck to you on your journey :)

Blessings~

Answer 6

in the beginning, paganism is, only approximately via definition, rather unorganized. you are able to in actuality do however you prefer, and there is not any critical employer which recognizes orthodox pagan doctrine. "Pagan" is in many cases used to describe those religious communities that are based in often used mythology and don't fall below the guise of any of the main prepared religions. consequently, what your grandmother does is technically pagan, however if your pal would not comprehend the prepare. the version between the two may well be adequate to maintain them from recongizing the different as being a valid practitioner, yet that doesn't advise that they are not the two pagan.

Answer 7

Merry meet, I follow the celtic pantheon, though mostly solitaire at the moment, I still belong to a coven, and from time to time I join them together outdoors and celebrate on the land, we believe in male and female polarity as in nature the male and female are important to the continious of life.
most of our rituals are based on the witches bible incorporating the celtic myths to help turn the wheel (Arrianrhod's) of the year. there are 8 major holidays esbats and the monthly sabbats.
Many of the celtic rites have ties to India the celts traveled throughtout ending in Ireland.
Though many practise skyclad in england, we americans tend to be too worried about our appearances and ( I live north, it snows in the winter) warmth.
I am a strict observer of the 3 fold law, what you do comes back to you, 3 times! Never try to manipulate someone even for good without their expressive wish, ( such as healing) you may think you are helping, but if they do not know or want it, then you are taking their freewill from them, bad Karma.
the witches league for public awareness will also tell you, that any witch that harms or claims to do negative majick is not a witch at all, the only safe way to protect yourself is to do a mirror spell that will send back any negative energy to who so ever sends it without karmic consequence to you since you are sending it back to whence it came, harming it none along the way.
there is herbal aspects, fairy magic, tree work, divination, many aspects to celtic wicca, please continue to read and ask questions, as that is one of the most important thing to our group, knowledge is power!
blessed be!

Answer 8

Namaste and welcome! (Although you were really already one of us for a long time I imagine.)

First I want to applaud your willingness to step outside of the mainstream and find a path that is meaningful to you. I further applaud you efforts to research fully the path you wish to trod.

As others have said before, Paganism is so vast and varied that even different opinions as to what exactly Celtic Paganism is will range several different spectrums.

There are sort of two main tracts in Celtic Paganism: Celtic-based NeoPaganism (usually Wiccan in my experience), and Celtic Reconstructionism. These are two very different things. Celtic Wicca will primarily use Wiccan thought, practice and ritual structure, but follow the Celtic pantheon and mythos. Celtic Reconstructionism is an attempt at recreation, to the best of academic ability, the actual beliefs, practices, prayers, rituals, etc of the ancient Celts.

Even within those two larger groupings of Celtic practice you'll find ALOT of variation. There are many almost fundamentalist Celtic Reconstructionists, and then there are those who are a bit more liberal when "filling in the historical blanks".
Then within Celtic NeoPaganism, you not only have your Celtic Wiccas (but then which denomination of Wicca is your poison - Garnderian, Alexandrian, eclectic, etc, etc). In this case you'll need to do alot more research into basic Wiccan sectarianism, so that you'll know if you resonate with a Gardnerian Wiccan structure, or if you'd prefer something more eclectic. Of course, within Celtic NeoPaganism, there are traditions that are not Wiccan at all...so in those cases you'd need to find out what kind of ritual structure and such they are working with.

Some paths (Wiccan or non-Wiccan) get very heavily, or exclusively by utilizing them as their pantheon, into the Celtic Faery lore as part of their path. Others don't focus on that much, if at all. If that's part of your "thing" than you may want to look for that, or avoid that if you don't like that. Some paths will be Goddess-exclusive or Goddess-centric, others will be more equal in their balance of Lord and Lady. There are some groups which only focus on one of two specific deities from the Celtic panthen. You'll need to discover what kind of focus you'd like to take in that regard.

My advice would be to get on Witchvox and Google and go to town with keywords "Celtic Paganism", "Celtic Wicca", and "Celtic Reconstructionism"! Find some local people that follow a Celtic path and start talking to them. You'll likely find some further resources (such as moots or other networking gatherings, or even discover some local study or meditation groups) in that way. You're lucky as there's no dirth of Celtic Pagans around! You'll nearly always find more than a handful of people who share your basic resonances.

Many blessings on your path. Finding exactly where you fit in is both a fun, and often frustrating process. So take your time and try to enjoy the search. Even if you can't find any local people right away (or more to the point, local people that you like and harmonize with), keep at your own personal study, devotions, and meditations. There's plenty of decent books out there if you look hard enough that can give you lots of material to start with, and there's no shame in being a solitary practitioner for a while - or even forever!

Answer 9

I wish you luck on your journey to find the truth, and I was exactly like you except the path i have chosen is Paganistic, it is Wicca.

here: I think Arial gave this to you as well, start here, and then do research on the other sects.
http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Celtic/celtictraditions.html

Good luck and Goddess Bless.

Blessed Be.

Answer 10

Ahhhh you just have to ignore the people that tell you you're going to hell... I've been told where I'm going often enough, you get used to it. There's some good people on here, though and some are pretty knowledgable; find them and connect with them! That's the best way to get good answers.

Peace and (((hugGs)))