Paganism

[Antagonist]

I would like some first hand information about (modern) Paganism.

I have some questions:

- What is paganism about?
- What do you worship?
- How do friends/family or other non-Pagans react to your Religion?
- Do Pagans have some kind of Church or Holy Book?
- How where you converted/ What made you become a Pagan?

I'm just very interested. you don't hear much about Paganism and since there is no topic about it I decided to make one.

Non- Pagans feel free to reply. what do you think/know about Paganism?

[alexdocherty]

I wouldn't class myself as a Pagan as I am agnostic. However, I don't think many people will respond to this for two reasons:

a> Pagan means 'heathen' and those who believe in 'Pagan' religion find this classification inaccurate and sometimes offensive.
b> The main following of 'Pagan' religion was stopped centuries ago when Christianity rose. In Athens it is still against the law to display worship to the Olympic Gods, even though the law was made hundreds of years ago.

[Baphomet]

I think I'll disregard the 'Pagan' comment in order to give some information about my religion. While not 'Pagan' in the sense that most people think of (Wicca, mostly), I am a Satanist.

1) First of all, I believe my own brand of Satanism. I call it that because it draws loosely upon LaVeyan, Yezidi, Luciferian and Temple of Set beliefs rolled into one. For those that don't know, those are sects of Satanism. I believe in the diverse cultural 'devils' as dieties representing different aspects of said cultures. However, I believe in the Four Crown Princes of Hell. Those being Shaitan (An old spelling of Satan and representing the element of Fire and the direction South as well as hatred and warfare), Lucifer (the element of Wind, the East, peace, justice, and wisdom), Leviathan (the element of Water, the West, vengeance, trade, and aestheticism), and Belial (the element of Earth, wisdom and love). These elements form four points of the five pointed star representing the sigil of Baphomet (all four Princes combined into an asexual being that represents femininity and masculinity) with the worshipper representing the point of the star pointing down.

I am a peaceful practitioner. All the garbage about sacrificing animals, drinking the blood of prostitutes, capturing children and making candles out of baby fat isn't true. Dabblers and morons tend to lean toward those myths (which are quite often spread by christians to scare people into worshipping God, no offense meant). I believe that all people need respect, but slander against my religion will deal heavy consequences (following the LaVeyan concept of if someone slaps you on one cheek, smash him on the other).

2) Mentioned above. The Four Crown Princes of hell and the concept of being oneself without apology.

3) Friends and family are generally supportive, with a few exceptions (there's one in every family...). Christians tend to react with a pitying approach, viewing me as some sort of fallen angel or creature worthy of pity for being the anathema to their religion. This is not to say this happens with all Christians, it just seems to be the trend. Wiccans and other alternative religions seem to be more accepting.

4) Satanists have several sects. The Temple of Set and the Church of Satan (ToS and LaVeyan beliefs respectively) are the two main ones. The holy books are as follows: The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, The Black Book (unknown author, Yezidi text), and other lesser kown writings from Gnostic Luciferians and other groups.

5) Christianity, in short. The overwhelming hypocrisy of a being who both condemns those he loves and punishes them for a gift he gave them (free thought), is odd to me. This is just my view, but it scared me being in that religion for the rest of my life. As the pendulum swings, so did I. I swung to the other side and stuck. This is where I am comfortable.

[Antagonist]

I think I'll disregard the 'Pagan' comment in order to give some information about my religion. While not 'Pagan' in the sense that most people think of (Wicca, mostly), I am a Satanist.

1) First of all, I believe my own brand of Satanism. I call it that because it draws loosely upon LaVeyan, Yezidi, Luciferian and Temple of Set beliefs rolled into one. For those that don't know, those are sects of Satanism. I believe in the diverse cultural 'devils' as dieties representing different aspects of said cultures. However, I believe in the Four Crown Princes of Hell. Those being Shaitan (An old spelling of Satan and representing the element of Fire and the direction South as well as hatred and warfare), Lucifer (the element of Wind, the East, peace, justice, and wisdom), Leviathan (the element of Water, the West, vengeance, trade, and aestheticism), and Belial (the element of Earth, wisdom and love). These elements form four points of the five pointed star representing the sigil of Baphomet (all four Princes combined into an asexual being that represents femininity and masculinity) with the worshipper representing the point of the star pointing down.

I am a peaceful practitioner. All the garbage about sacrificing animals, drinking the blood of prostitutes, capturing children and making candles out of baby fat isn't true. Dabblers and morons tend to lean toward those myths (which are quite often spread by christians to scare people into worshipping God, no offense meant). I believe that all people need respect, but slander against my religion will deal heavy consequences (following the LaVeyan concept of if someone slaps you on one cheek, smash him on the other).

2) Mentioned above. The Four Crown Princes of hell and the concept of being oneself without apology.

3) Friends and family are generally supportive, with a few exceptions (there's one in every family...). Christians tend to react with a pitying approach, viewing me as some sort of fallen angel or creature worthy of pity for being the anathema to their religion. This is not to say this happens with all Christians, it just seems to be the trend. Wiccans and other alternative religions seem to be more accepting.

4) Satanists have several sects. The Temple of Set and the Church of Satan (ToS and LaVeyan beliefs respectively) are the two main ones. The holy books are as follows: The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, The Black Book (unknown author, Yezidi text), and other lesser kown writings from Gnostic Luciferians and other groups.

5) Christianity, in short. The overwhelming hypocrisy of a being who both condemns those he loves and punishes them for a gift he gave them (free thought), is odd to me. This is just my view, but it scared me being in that religion for the rest of my life. As the pendulum swings, so did I. I swung to the other side and stuck. This is where I am comfortable.

Thanks for your response,

I've been a mild Satanist for half a short period of time... I was a Satanist just to oppose Christianity. I didn't believe an actual Satan existed so I swung back to Atheism.

at the time I posted this topic I wasn't really aware that Paganism is a word that collects many religions. well, yeah.

I have a question for you, I've read some things on www.churchofsatan.com bout the 11 satanic rules. I don't know whether you follow them but, don't you think They're somehow odd? I like a majority of them, but 1,2,4 and 11 are pretty odd.
well atleast they're better than the 10 commandments

[alexdocherty]

Sorry, I've pressed 'submit' twice. See my post below.

[alexdocherty]

I think I'll disregard the 'Pagan' comment in order to give some information about my religion. While not 'Pagan' in the sense that most people think of (Wicca, mostly), I am a Satanist.

1) First of all, I believe my own brand of Satanism. I call it that because it draws loosely upon LaVeyan, Yezidi, Luciferian and Temple of Set beliefs rolled into one. For those that don't know, those are sects of Satanism. I believe in the diverse cultural 'devils' as dieties representing different aspects of said cultures. However, I believe in the Four Crown Princes of Hell. Those being Shaitan (An old spelling of Satan and representing the element of Fire and the direction South as well as hatred and warfare), Lucifer (the element of Wind, the East, peace, justice, and wisdom), Leviathan (the element of Water, the West, vengeance, trade, and aestheticism), and Belial (the element of Earth, wisdom and love). These elements form four points of the five pointed star representing the sigil of Baphomet (all four Princes combined into an asexual being that represents femininity and masculinity) with the worshipper representing the point of the star pointing down.

I am a peaceful practitioner. All the garbage about sacrificing animals, drinking the blood of prostitutes, capturing children and making candles out of baby fat isn't true. Dabblers and morons tend to lean toward those myths (which are quite often spread by christians to scare people into worshipping God, no offense meant). I believe that all people need respect, but slander against my religion will deal heavy consequences (following the LaVeyan concept of if someone slaps you on one cheek, smash him on the other).

2) Mentioned above. The Four Crown Princes of hell and the concept of being oneself without apology.

3) Friends and family are generally supportive, with a few exceptions (there's one in every family...). Christians tend to react with a pitying approach, viewing me as some sort of fallen angel or creature worthy of pity for being the anathema to their religion. This is not to say this happens with all Christians, it just seems to be the trend. Wiccans and other alternative religions seem to be more accepting.

4) Satanists have several sects. The Temple of Set and the Church of Satan (ToS and LaVeyan beliefs respectively) are the two main ones. The holy books are as follows: The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, The Black Book (unknown author, Yezidi text), and other lesser kown writings from Gnostic Luciferians and other groups.

5) Christianity, in short. The overwhelming hypocrisy of a being who both condemns those he loves and punishes them for a gift he gave them (free thought), is odd to me. This is just my view, but it scared me being in that religion for the rest of my life. As the pendulum swings, so did I. I swung to the other side and stuck. This is where I am comfortable.

I also read the eleven rules of Satanism and there was something which I thought was of note.
Like Christianity, it uses the pronoun 'he' rather than 'they' which suggests it is masculine.
In Satanism, are women also classed as 'inferior' to men?
What are Satanists' views on homosexuals?

[PC1]

I think I'll disregard the 'Pagan' comment in order to give some information about my religion. While not 'Pagan' in the sense that most people think of (Wicca, mostly), I am a Satanist.

1) First of all, I believe my own brand of Satanism. I call it that because it draws loosely upon LaVeyan, Yezidi, Luciferian and Temple of Set beliefs rolled into one. For those that don't know, those are sects of Satanism. I believe in the diverse cultural 'devils' as dieties representing different aspects of said cultures. However, I believe in the Four Crown Princes of Hell. Those being Shaitan (An old spelling of Satan and representing the element of Fire and the direction South as well as hatred and warfare), Lucifer (the element of Wind, the East, peace, justice, and wisdom), Leviathan (the element of Water, the West, vengeance, trade, and aestheticism), and Belial (the element of Earth, wisdom and love). These elements form four points of the five pointed star representing the sigil of Baphomet (all four Princes combined into an asexual being that represents femininity and masculinity) with the worshipper representing the point of the star pointing down.

I am a peaceful practitioner. All the garbage about sacrificing animals, drinking the blood of prostitutes, capturing children and making candles out of baby fat isn't true. Dabblers and morons tend to lean toward those myths (which are quite often spread by christians to scare people into worshipping God, no offense meant). I believe that all people need respect, but slander against my religion will deal heavy consequences (following the LaVeyan concept of if someone slaps you on one cheek, smash him on the other).

2) Mentioned above. The Four Crown Princes of hell and the concept of being oneself without apology.

3) Friends and family are generally supportive, with a few exceptions (there's one in every family...). Christians tend to react with a pitying approach, viewing me as some sort of fallen angel or creature worthy of pity for being the anathema to their religion. This is not to say this happens with all Christians, it just seems to be the trend. Wiccans and other alternative religions seem to be more accepting.

4) Satanists have several sects. The Temple of Set and the Church of Satan (ToS and LaVeyan beliefs respectively) are the two main ones. The holy books are as follows: The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, The Black Book (unknown author, Yezidi text), and other lesser kown writings from Gnostic Luciferians and other groups.

5) Christianity, in short. The overwhelming hypocrisy of a being who both condemns those he loves and punishes them for a gift he gave them (free thought), is odd to me. This is just my view, but it scared me being in that religion for the rest of my life. As the pendulum swings, so did I. I swung to the other side and stuck. This is where I am comfortable.

Do you believe in Satan as an actual being as understood by the Christian religion? (Just curious)

[beankitty]

I've been a mild Satanist for half a short period of time... I was a Satanist just to oppose Christianity. I didn't believe an actual Satan existed so I swung back to Atheism.

at the time I posted this topic I wasn't really aware that Paganism is a word that collects many religions. well, yeah.

Hi there,

Satanism is a form of Paganism. Satanists, IN GENERAL, do NOT believe in Satan. Satanism is a form of atheism. There are some groups of Satanic theists but this is not mostly what it is about.

[beankitty]

- What is paganism about?

Earth-based spirituality.

- What do you worship?

You will get as many different answers for this as there are Pagans. We all worship different things. But we all worship Nature. Some of us are atheists, some of us theists, agnostics, etc. When I first got into Paganism, I was an atheist, until I found my specific Pagan path (there are tons) of Hellenic polytheism.

- How do friends/family or other non-Pagans react to your Religion?

They think it is Satanic and/or Fantasy. Then when you tell them we don't even BELIEVE in a devil, they don't know what to think. But the majority of people who know about my religion are very interested deep down, and you see it manifest when they try talking about magic, witchcraft, etc. I have had a LOT of requests for spells and other such practices.

It's mostly just a big game of misunderstandings.



- Do Pagans have some kind of Church or Holy Book?

Not at all. Paganism is not structured, and we believe we are all priests. As far as a church goes, Nature is our church.

- How where you converted/ What made you become a Pagan?

I listened to the Earth, and the Earth spoke to me, and I felt like I had come home for the first time in my life. It is a very personal experience for most of us.

Brightest Blessings

[Catharsis]

>>>We all worship different things. But we all worship Nature.<<<

Why do you worship nature?