Pagans, FTW.

[kaishi]

LoL I am so lazy I didn't want to read much of this. BUT!! I got excited when I saw it. Most of its about people not knowing what we are, right? Ah well. Or giving it up!?
Anyway -- HEY OTHER PAGAN PEOPLE! Let's be awesome together.
I sadly have not read any good books lately :( Any suggestions?
(edit) Ultimate fail --
Anyway as I said here before, who are your patron gods/goddesses? XD; Mine are Bast and Diana/Artemis. Yes, I am... undiscerning when it comes to pantheons >_>;


If you are confused as to what a Pagan is, please use WIKI for a somewhat objective answer --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism

Or as I see it, it is an earth religion based around a God, Goddess, and many other Gods and Goddesses and earth spirits, etc. There is also a creator/source, but it's really nonspecific. We like to delve in energies and are very spiritual, but no, we can't cast magic spells as you know them. We are also very peaceful, and I am a very lazy one *rolls about*

D: ... lol King Arthur.

[Mika]

>> Buddhism can qualify as being pagan. That lifestyle is oozing full of magic, did you know? Not all magic is incantations and magic potions. :3 And you don't have to worship anything or recognize deities to be considered pagan.

Though, depending on how you cut your definition, you could cut out tonnes of things. Like rectangle-square situation. >> Works one way, but not the other? There's no concrete definition. It all depends on the point of view you choose to stand at.

I usually use the definition that a pagan is a magical practitioner of some sort. Which incorporates plenty of different things.


Oh, a footnote on what Kaishi just said:
Having (a) patron god(s) and/or goddess(es) is different than worshiping a deity. Or deities. :3 Our relationship with deities is far more mutual satisfying needs from both parties.


Kaishi: So far, you're the only actual pagan who came in here to chill with me. ;________;

There were others who dabbled in it, but they both gave it up for some reason or another. x3 So... HA~!! We can just be super cool together. x3
It's always cool running into fellow pagans and swapping stuff. I love it. There's not enough of us around. Really, there isn't. D:

I ran into a pagan the other day~!!
It was at a farmers market. She ran a massage kiosk. (Now, for people not to get the wrong idea: massage therapists aren't pagan in themselves, but most pagans are interested in these things like this, accupressure... and all sorts of things. She also offered information on things like Shiatsu and a bunch of other stuff. x3 Twas cool.)

That's not how I knew she was pagan. I knew she was pagan cause she had her "pretty rocks" with her. :3 Most people would think they were decoration, but I know what they were for!

As soon as I spotted the minerals, I started quite an awesome conversation with her. (She had a quartz, a rose quartz, a black turmaline and this other one I can't remember the name of, but I remember what it looks like and what it's used for.) It was amazing.


As for patron deities... if I had to choose one... I'd go after the norse pantheon. :3 I've always felt an affiliation with Odin and his brothers, Sif, and Loki. Fenrir... all of them.

Though, one of the deities I affiliate myself with more strongly than others actually isn't norse. It's Semjaza. There are variations of spelling his name. Samyaza... and anything in between. There are so many depictions of him too. Some say he's an evil demon, when he's really not. x3 A bit promiscuous, but not evil. *Snuggles heem*


As for books?
Anything by Judika Illes. :3 I love her.

>> Also, I stay clear from Sylvia Browne. She looks just so full of bullshit I think I'm going to throw up from the smell.

[riddle.me.this]

Silver Ravenwolf is a fantastic paegan author, she does a whole collection of witchcraft books, like To Ride a Silver Broomstick

[Mika]

Yepp. x3

My Kaachan has read a lot of her stuff. ^^ I haven't gotten around to reading any of it yet though. I can only read so quickly. xD And I have this habbit of not reading one thing at a time. I have a fiction novel, a manga, a spell book, and a few others all going at the same time.

Cause I'm just that cool.

[kaishi]

We're apparently ftl, as this chat is full of non-pagans and we're not talkin' XD


I personally don't like Silver Ravenwolf, but I suppose she's not bad if you're new to the practice. My first pagan book was something I don't even remember, but it was nothing mainstream or trite... the way it described everything to me was perfect. I could never find it again after I returned it to the library. I believe it must have been fate, as I had just sort of lost my way and I don't even remember what possessed me to look it up in the first place. XD
As a Pagan, of course learning is a part of the process. I took the Wiccan path at first, but I have kept only the basic structure for myself. However, I can suggest Cunningham's book as a good read if you are interested in the basics.
I did all my research on my own, and ended up with an eclectic sort of Paganism that is my own. The internet has a LOT of resources, lol.

Also, aside from that XD Sorry to anyone who isn't a Pagan who comes in here, but I tend to not explain myself. I am in here to talk to Mika (and any other Pagans who may wander in), so in general I'll just assume prior knowledge... but if anyone is curious, by all means, ask away!!


Anywho, Mika -- Do you celebrate the sabbats and esbats, or are you just as lazy as me? XD I generally observe the days, but I don't really have the resources to celebrate. I often just go outside to the park or something. I made a delicious cake for Imbolc, but it was TWO WEEKS after the fact. Hahaha. I think my best friend and I are planning on celebrating midsummer.... but I dunno what we'll do. I LOVE the stars and moon though, so I pay a lot of attention to that. Haha, I'm just not a very structured person... I find other ways to express myself.

And do you dabble in any divination? I like tarot, but I'm better at oracle cards. EERILY good at those, actually. And I'm not sure if it's a common thing or not, but as opposed to relying on faith I can actually feel when something is going on. I didn't do any training, but I've discovered that I can actually reliably use what I imagine would be called my third eye. I just don't willfully use it very often since I generally don't endeavor to manipulate energies. That, and it is a VERY annoying sensation XD; Sometimes I have no control over it, and it makes me very uneasy :<
(LoL I know I must sound crazy to everyone else... I've never actually admitted that to anyone before XD)

LoL, and I read a lot of books at once too XD;

[Aaya-Tan]

Personally, I haven't known any pagans personally, except one, whom I dated, and ended up scaring the living hell out of me.

He mentioned about a goddess (which in the end, as I realize that most pagan worship from what I've read is based on worshiping the earth, not a set god) that would come to him in a dream, then one day he'd just destroy everything and it would come back to him perfect.

Which was kind of a low blow to me, it was saying I wasn't good enough. I ended up breaking up with him and some of the other students reported him as 'wanting to blow up the school'. He was expelled shortly after, and that was about that.

I've known a lot of Wiccans but they had a strange practice, it wasn't anything that I'd heard of or anything, and I've looked up minor spells and what have you online to train your 'inner eye' or what have you.

I'm not even into Wiccan or Witchcraft or anything, but one of my friend's sisters (A full grown 40 year old woman, mind you) asked her if I was into witchcraft and stuff like that. I didn't know whether to be insulted or to try and find some kind of minor curse on the net to scare her with. :/

I've always wanted to check out Paganism, I've never had the courage to really practice it, though, seeing as my family is mostly mainstream church based (Super Baptist and Mormon). I was raised in a Mormon household after all, and I still uphold most of the values (Mainly common sense ones, no drinking or smoking, no sleeping around etc etc), but lately I haven't really been feeling up to snuff religiously.

Like, my luck / karma / I do not know has totally hit rock bottom. To the point where you'd think I'd only have one place to go, and that being up, right? WRONG. It just keeps getting worse, and I don't even do the cliche'd 'It can't get any worse' prose. ;A;

So, I don't know if I'm willing to go all out in something as intricate as Paganism just yet, but I wouldn't mind learning more about it, I think, just to say "I've tried it" and if I like it / it feels right, I'll stick with it, if not, then I won't have invested too much into something that won't work, right?

What do you guys suggest I do? I've been 'spiritually downcast' for so long, right now I'm mad at 'God', I think, for putting me in such situations that I know I didn't put myself into. Even my friends'll look at my life, then tell me, "Man, if I ever need to feel better about my own situation, all I have to do is think about yours."

Do you guys think it might be religion that keeps socking what good fortune I have out the window? Or am I just looking too into things?

[kaishi]

Well first of all, OMFG at your ex. That is really scary. He was no Pagan! Probably he was rather one of what I like to call the fad posers. There is REALLY nothing that irritates me as much as the people that go around saying they are Wiccan because it's cool. You know, like the goth kids that wear the pentacles just 'cause they can and they want to be different and rebellious. SO irritating.

Well, I don't believe God does anything to put you in any situation. Honestly, it's you and/or the people around you. Energy is a tricky thing. Maybe I can help, or help you help yourself.

And perhaps if I tell you how I came to Paganism, it will help you. I was a Christian for all of my life, and up until a point I was even going to church for 2-3 hours every Sunday (by my own choice). I was about 14, and, as I always had been, a very spiritual person. We were a little new to the church we had switched to, and so we went up to receive Christ into our lives. My mom cried. I felt nothing. Spiritually, I felt alone and lost after that day, and I did stop going to church. However, I've always had a strong connection with the earth. I suppose eventually I was led to discover Paganism through that book and I have never looked back. I'm not spiritually extreme or very religious, by any means, but I am happy. The very core of Pagan spirituality is what was right for me, though it may or may not be right for you. It won't hurt to explore.

And honestly, I believe everyone worships the SAME creator. If you research Paganism, you'll realize a lot of Christianity is taken from Pagan practice anyway. o_O

LoL, if I'm any example, Paganism takes VERY little effort once you learn the basics. XDD

[Aaya-Tan]

Hmm, that's how I've always felt when my mother would make me go and 'bare my testimony' at church. It was at 15 that I started feeling like church wasn't really my thing.

I've never really liked getting up early every Sunday Morning and sitting in church for four hours listening to people talk about themselves or how God's helped them. I never really cared, I don't know if that's just me being enpathetic or just really not liking these people.

I think it was my mother who really turned me off of religion. She and my grandparents were always fighting about what religion I should be, and they even got the cops involved once because I refused to make a choice.

And now, at 22, I've only been to church about 4 times since then. And I don't want to go back. I might just be too lazy for that whole 'mass religion' scene, and I know if I started practicing Paganism, my family would probably get seriously pissed at me. I think until I move out on my own, have a job, a place, whatever, I'll be able to freely be who I want, then. Until then, I'm stuck in this hell hole

And really? I've never really made any correlation between Paganism and Christianity. I've never been too religious when it comes to that kind of thing, even when I was younger, it was always more of a chore than anything. I hated the fact that I always had to get up early, and I usually fell asleep during the 'Sacrament' portion. I hated the kids in my sunday school class, too. They were all snooty little pains in my ass.

So I dunno, I'd like some kind of enlightenment. I've been told my negative energy is possibly the reason why my luck is so horrible. And no matter how many times I've tried to change it, my environment didn't change, so it just kind of flatlined on that. xD

[kaishi]

Well, you can easily be a Pagan and not have anyone know. If you're not going to church, they wouldn't really notice a difference. It's more of an internal thing, at least in my mind. I don't really consider it a religion, because for me it's not organized or a group effort. Religion is annoying to me. Certainly, being forced into a religion (and argued over o_O) would turn me off to it too. It also sounds like it's more of an inconvenience to you and that you just don't like the people there.

If you WANT a new faith system (not a religion), you need to learn and decide for yourself. If you think about it honestly and don't want it, then it's probably not what you need.

And as for the correlation between Christianity and Paganism, I wouldn't expect you to have noticed. XD;

[Aaya-Tan]

Inner peace sounds really good right about now. xD I can understand where you're coming from, though.

But that sounds pretty cool. I mean, so long as I don't have to go around 'OMG I'M THIS AND THIS AND THIS', I think I'd be able to do it. When it comes to faith, I'm starting to wonder, you know?

I mean, I'm at that stage of 'what if there's nothing after this? What if I'm already IN hell?' and all that stuff. It's aggrivating sometimes, but it's true. I just need some kind of outlet for stress, something to help me get over these slumps.

And something to help me figure a way around my chronic depression. There are days I just don't want to get out of bed. ;A; *flailail*

[Chere and Rose]

Well I'm not pagan and I really don't believe in magic. (I'm paranoid sometimes though:3)

It's still really cool
Even though I don't believe in magic it's the best 'specially in books and fantasy.

((Hey guys!))

[kaishi]

Chere - LoL, that's not the sort of magic we believe in. But thank you anyway, I suppose. And hello! ^^


Aaya - If you want to talk about it more in-depth, I do believe we are both online.

[Aaya-Tan]

Perhaps another time. I'm a bit hyper right now (Again) So I might not make much sense. xDD

[Chere and Rose]

Kai- I know what tyou mean by "that kind" of magic.
Even though I don't believe it the whole concept is actually really great.Or that's what I think.

[kaishi]