By David
This is a simple, factual explanation of Paganism, written for anyone—non-Pagans curious about it or Pagans seeking more insight. It’s pure information, not meant to impress or convert.
Note: I’ve received letters from Christians who feel this essay is anti-Christian. That’s not my intent. Comparisons to Christianity are objective, offered without harm.
In its simplest form, Paganism is a religion of place—a native faith. Think of Native American traditions or Hinduism; both are forms of Paganism. These religions share a deep connection to nature and are typically polytheistic, honoring many gods and goddesses.
Modern Paganism, or neo-Paganism, as practiced in the West, often traces back to the native peoples of Europe, particularly Celtic roots. Though it takes many shapes, it carries these key traits:
Western Paganism’s revival owes much to Wicca, a modern term for Witchcraft. But Paganism isn’t just Wicca—Wicca is an occult branch of it. The old religion nearly vanished under Rome’s Church, which used propaganda, torture, and mass killings to erase it. Some clung to it—often wise folk or “witches” (from “wit,” meaning wise).
Around 1484, the Church intensified its purge, burning suspected witches and slaughtering thousands across Europe. The old faith went underground, preserved by secret covens. By the 1900s, it was nearly gone, but Charles Leland’s 1899 book, Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, documented Italian practitioners of “La Vecchia Religione” (The Old Religion). In 1921, Margaret Murray’s The Witch-Cult in Western Europe argued Witchcraft was a religion. Gerald Gardner, a British ex-colonial official, revived it as “Wicca,” publishing Witchcraft Today in 1951 after Britain repealed anti-witchcraft laws.
Wicca’s rise spurred broader Pagan renewal—Northern traditions, modern Druidism—while absorbing eclectic elements like Qabalah and Hinduism. Paganism’s ancient roots endure, still unfolding.
Pagans honor nature’s cycles through rituals, often celebrating up to eight festivals or Sabbats yearly in Western traditions (not all observe every one). These include the solar quarters—solstices (longest/shortest days) and equinoxes (equal day/night)—plus four Celtic fire festivals, marking life’s shifts and the Goddess and God’s changes:
Fire festivals (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas) traditionally feature bonfires, tied to harvests or seasonal turns—not fixed dates but natural cues. This “wheel of the year” blends hunting (Oak/Holly Kings) and agricultural (God born at Ostara) cycles, sometimes called Gardnerian (per Kenny Klein).
Pagans worship without fixed temples, forming circles in rooms, clearings, or stone rings. Lacking hierarchy, they freely choose their paths. Rites of passage—naming, puberty, handfasting (marriage, eternal or a year-and-a-day)—outnumber mainstream norms, fostering commitment with flexibility.
The term “Pagan” still unsettles some Christians, echoing Rome’s campaign to vilify it as an internal threat. The Church built an evil image—baby sacrifice, dark spells—through centuries of suppression, absorbing Pagan dates like Yule into Christmas. Jesus’ birth, likely April 7 BCE, shifted to January 6, then to December 25 at Nicaea (325 CE) under Constantine, aligning with Mithras’ festival.
Key Differences:
Pagans see complementary opposites—light/dark, yin/yang—not good versus evil. Patriarchal faiths split God and Satan. Ancient Babylonians and Persians held similar dualisms, but the Church honed Satan into “the Devil” (little god) by 447 CE, declaring him immortal in 547. Early Hebrew texts blamed God for all (e.g., plagues); later, Satan took the bad. Pagans don’t adopt this—Satanism, worshiping an anti-god, fits the Judeo-Christian frame, not theirs.
Islam (“obedience”), shaped by Muhammad around 630 CE, drew from Pagan roots but forged a patriarchal faith. It conquered Asia as Christianity did the West, tolerating other monotheisms more than local Paganism, which it suppressed.
Pagans view sex and nudity as natural, not taboo. Beltane’s holy marriage of Goddess and God celebrates fertility, free of puritan constraints.
Gardner’s “Wicca” (from Saxon “wicce,” witch) revived Witchcraft, blending mystique, gender equality, and freedom from Christian norms. It’s not all Witchcraft—witches span faiths—but a modern mix of ancient and new, often misfit pieces. Wiccans guard the Western Mystery Tradition, researching its roots, serving as priests/priestesses without hierarchy, focused on self-knowledge.
The 1960s-70s Eastern spiritual wave missed this native path. Wicca spans covens and solitaries, blurring into a religion, akin to a mystery school.
Pagan kids join simple rituals (Maypole, fire festivals) but skip esoteric Wicca until 16. They notice differences—Goddess altars, artifacts—unlike peers. Christmas blends Santa with Yule; Easter’s eggs and buns are Pagan. They celebrate nature’s cycles year-round, sometimes cautioned to avoid upsetting others, a challenge to explain.
The Christian Coalition’s push for school prayer tests the U.S. First Amendment’s church-state divide. In the UK, it’s standard, deemed a “Christian country.”
U.S. Paganism, led by Wicca, differs from Europe’s. Zsuzsanna Budapest (feminist Wicca) and Raymond Buckland (Gardnerian variant) introduced it, blending with traces like Salem’s traditions. It adapts to America’s fragmented culture—Starhawk’s Spiral Dance reflects this evolution. With 500,000 adherents, it’s America’s fastest-growing faith, open in some regions (TV talks, pentagram shops), persecuted in others.
We are a new people
We are an old people
We are the same people
Stronger than before
—David, Copywrong 1997 CE
David@strobotics.com
My apologies and thanks to anyone whose material I’ve used without credit—I struggle to recall sources! “CE” means Common Era, replacing “AD” (Anno Domini, Year of Our Lord), a neutral term for a global calendar.
Edited by Lewis Loflin with thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for formatting help. David’s original work remains intact.
John Nelson Darby
Christian Premillennialism