PAGANISM
Paganism is a diverse reconstruction and resurgence of European pagan religions. In South Africa Paganism includes syncretic neo-Pagan religions.
Etymology: pagan / Pagan / Paganism
The word Pagan comes from the Latin words 'pagani', meaning 'rural', and 'pagus', meaning 'country-district'. It was used in a Christian inscription of the early fourth century to describe rural civilians of Rome who had not converted to Christianity.
The 'pagani', more often than not, practiced ancient Roman, Greek, Celtic, Teutonic and Egyptian religions, religions very closely associated with Nature (as is evidenced in what we now know about their beliefs, their Gods and Goddesses and their relationship to natural places, elements and forces (wind, wave, rain, fertility etc.).
The general use of the word in ancient Rome however made no direct reference to religion at all. A pagan (or heathen) was simply a person who dwelt in the country and in this Roman context may have referred equally to members of very divergent belief systems and spiritualities.
Within a fourth century Christian context a pagan referred specifically to non-Christians not only in Rome but throughout the Mediterranean world. Colonization and the work of Christian missionaries broadened the usage of the words pagan and heathen to include pre-Christian and non-Christian religions of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The reader should bear in mind that adherents of these religions did not refer to their faiths as paganism or heathenism.
What is the difference between paganism and Paganism?
paganism, with a small 'p', is a term used as a form of derision by Christian Missionaries and Churches in reference to pre-Christian religious belief systems and practices. Today the term is commonly used to collectively define very diverse and divergent pre-Christian cultures and religions, cultures and religions which do not necessarily define themselves as pagan.
Paganism, with a capital 'P', refers to the modern renewal and revival of the ancient religious, spiritual and ritual practices of pre-Christian peoples. Modern Pagans have reclaimed the term 'Paganism' as an over-arching definition for reconstructed pre-Christian European religions (also refered to as Ethnic European Religions) and post-Christian neo-Pagan syncretic religions. Modern Paganism is characterized by a diversity of spirituality, belief and religious practice, and by tolerance of religious and theological diversity.
Note: The word 'Heathen' is a North-European equivalent of the Latin-derived 'Pagan', having similar connotations, i.e. dweller of the heath / country-side, and is the preferred term of many modern Pagans who adhere to Teutonic Traditions.
Is Satanism a Pagan religion?
Satanism is not a Pagan religion.
WITHCRAFT
A majority of South African Pagans define themselves as either Witches or as Wiccans.
Etymology: witch
The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology derives the origin of the word witch as,
witch n. About 1250 AD wiche, in Genesis and Exodus: developed from Old English wicce - ‘female magican’, sorceress (about 1000AD), feminine of wicca - ‘sorcerer’, wizard (about 890AD). These words are related to, and probably derivatives of Old English wiccian - 'to practice witchcraft', itself related to Old English wigle ' - divination', wiglian - 'to divine', and wig - 'idol', all cognate with Old Frisian wigila - 'sorcery /witchcraft' and probably with Middle Low German and Middle High German wicken or wikken - 'to bewitch', Old High German wih or wihi - 'holy', Old Icelandic ve - 'temple', and Gothic weihs - 'holy'. Before 1200AD wicchen; developed from Old English (about 1000AD) wiccian - 'practice witchcraft'. [1]
[1] The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology (1988) by Robert K. Barnhart, edited by Sol Steinmetz - The H.W. Wilson Company
The English word 'Witch' comes from the Anglo-Saxon words 'wicca' (meaning a male Witch) and 'wicce' (meaning a female Witch), and that these originated from an Old High German word 'witega', which means 'seer' (diviner, prophet). The word 'sorcerer' (male) and 'sorceress' (female) are derived from French words for 'Witch'. Sorcery and Witchcraft are the same thing.
Brief history of Witchcraft
European ideas of Witchcraft originate from the folklore and mythologies of ancient pre-Christian peoples of Europe, particularly from the Greeks, Romans, Celts (in Britain and on continental Europe) and Germanic speaking peoples, but also many others.
In many pre-Christian pagan European cultures certain men and women were identified as having some ability to read the signs of Nature and to predict the future. These people often had a good knowledge of plants and herbs and were credited with the ability to perform magic. In many ancient European cultures religion and magic were not always seperate things. Religious acts were believed to be magical acts. Magical acts (rituals) are always based on a religious belief. In many pre-Christian pagan societies rituals to celebrate the harvest or a new birth, to honour the dead and the living, and to commune with the Gods and Goddesses of Nature were believed to be sacred magical acts. Magic was also often used to protect the young, safeguard the fields and home, and strengthen and protect the hunter and warrior in battle.
With the spread of Christianity (from about the 4th century BCE) prominent Christian clerics and scholars promoted the idea that Witchcraft was associated with Devil worship and human sacrifice and that Witches served the Christian devil. From about 700 BCE Christians declared Witchcraft as a heresy (as a rejection of the teachings of the Christian church in Europe). Many European monarchs and governments instituted laws against Witchcraft because they believed that Witches really were dangerous devil worshipping heretics.
Real Witches were not dangerous devil worshippers. They were just ordinary people with extraordinary gifts (divination, magic, herbalism, the ability to read the signs and language of Nature, to understand the will of the Gods and Goddesses and Spirits of Place in Nature) and often, but not always, followed an ancestral pagan religion.
Both Christian churches and non-religious secular courts persecuted heretics (including suspected Witches). Witchcraft trials reached their peak in Europe in the early 1600's. Many of the victims, mostly women but including men, were usually innocent of the charges of Witchcraft brought against them. In most cases those accused of Witchcraft were cruelly tortured until they confessed whatever the witch-hunters wanted to hear. Many innocent men and women were imprisoned for life, banished, or executed by burning, drowning or hanging.
In the 1950's and '60's Witches in England publicly challenged centuries of religious propaganda against Witchcraft. In the 1960' and 70's Witches went public in both Europe and America in order to try and counter the propaganda being taught by Christianity about Witchcraft. In South Africa Witches went public in the 1990's after the fall of the apartheid Christian Nationaist goverment.
Some Witches today believe that Witchcraft is a sacred magical practice that is inherited - that the Craft runs in family lines from one generation to the next. Others believe that some lines of Witchcraft are only passed from one generation to the next by some form of initiation into 'the mysteries' of that Witchcraft tradition, and that through initiation these lines can be passed on to non-family members too.
What is Witchcraft?
Witches define Witchcraft as both a magical practice and a religion.
SAPRA defines Witchcraft as:
a) a craft (magical occupation) that employs the use of sympathetic magic, ritual, herbalism and divination, and
b) a religion.
Many Witches also define their religion as 'Wicca'.
What is modern Wicca?
Wicca is an initiatory, polytheistic (with exceptions), Pagan mystery religion inspired by various pre- and post-Christian western European beliefs and spiritual practices, whose central deity is either a Mother Goddess or a God and a Goddess of Nature. Wicca was popularized in England in the 1950's by Gerald Gardner. An initiate of the Wicca is one who traces his or her initiatory lineage back to Gerald Gardner or one of his initiates.
Are Wicca and Witchcraft the same thing?
Wicca and Witchcraft are not necessarily the same thing. Although the
Anglo-Saxon word for a male witch was 'wicca', and for a female witch,
'wicce', in modern usage the word 'Wicca' is used to describe both male
and female initiates of the Pagan mystery traditions of 'the Wicca'.
Today the term 'Wicca' refers to many different modern Pagan mystery
religions whose members adhere to an ethical code of conduct that
requires its adherents to refrain from harming others. Not all Witches
define themselves as 'Wicca'.
PAGANISM IN SOUTH AFRICA SINCE 1995
Since 1995 Paganism has received fairly positive television and media coverage and a number of Pagans have taken the opportunity to express their pleas for religious tolerance and an end to the discrimination of Pagans and Witches in South Africa. Many new Pagan groups (religious communities) have been formed, each of which have and are contributing toward building, through networking, sharing and teaching, the Pagan community of South Africa.
Census
Paganism is not the fastest growing religion in South Africa. To date (2007) – up to and including the 2001 Census - there is no accurate census of the number of Pagans in South Africa. Official government Census’s have not listed Paganism as a census choice. It may be assumed that Pagans, who registered for the 2001 Census, were collectively lumped with ‘others’ under either one of these listed figures:
Other beliefs 283815 - No religion 6767165 - Undetermined 610974
No official or definitive South African census on the number of self-defined Pagans exists.
Community Structure
Each Pagan community is bound by its own religious rules, regulations, and codes of conduct, traditions and religious theology.
Some communities define themselves as Witches. Others define their Pagan path as Wicca. Others again may define their path as Shamanism, Druidry, Hellenism, Asatru etc.
Conversion
Entry into many of these communities involves an initiatory rite of entry into the mysteries of their chosen Pagan path. Initiation, the introduction or admittance of an individual into a group, religion, or spiritual consciousness could be described as (a) the transformation of one's ideals and values into the ideals and values of a particular chosen path, but it is also (b) the moment of inner realization of greater spiritual awareness, one facilitated through Pagan ritual.
If the Pagan path is right for you, you will find your way to it, whether through devotion to Nature, reading published books on Paganism and Pagan paths, or through actual apprenticeship to an initiate of an already established Pagan tradition, Coven (a community of Witches), Grove (a community of Druids), Lodge (a community of Magicians), or Pagan study group.
COMMON PAGAN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
1. No central authority
Paganism nationally and internationally has no central religious authority.
2. Religious hierarchy is localized or absent
Pagan religious communities are governed by initiatory hierarchy or by democratic consensus.
3. No central religious theology
Paganism has no central doctrine or theology and embraces a number of theologies and belief systems including but not restricted to polytheism, monotheism, pantheism and animism.
Paganism draws spiritual and religious inspiration from many credible and authentic ancient and modern sources of religious doctrine, theology and philosophy. Modern Pagan theology is composed of beliefs and practices originating in many distinct pre- and post-Christian religious traditions. Modern Pagans may embrace all or part of this tapestry of belief systems.
Pagans may explore their family and ethnic heritage to discover the indigenous practices of their distant ancestors. Others do respectfully incorporate indigenous practices that belong to a wide variety of cultures. Many Pagans create new practices which in turn may form part of a new Pagan tradition.
4. A reverence for Divinity and Nature
Modern Paganism encourages a strong environmental ethic. This is expressed in our veneration for the Divine Feminine (God as Goddess), most often portrayed as 'Earth Mother' or as the 'Goddess of the Earth'.
Paganism encourages a personal inner relationship with the Divine, in and through Nature, whether through the worship of a Goddess, or through worship of a God and Goddess, or through the worship of many Gods and Goddesses.
Pagans venerate Nature by observing seasonal changes through religious ritual and ceremony. Pagans celebrate eight religious holy-days called Sabbats which occur on the solstices, equinoxes and four seasonal mid-points between them. These are the festivals that celebrate the seasons and the turning of the Wheel of the Year in the southern hemisphere.
The 8 Pagan Festivals:
1. Samhain
Also known as Halloween.
This sabbat celebrates the start of the new spiritual year with the veneration of the ancestors.
Date: 30 April / 1 May
2. Winter Solstice
Also known as Yule.
This sabbat celebrates the Winter Solstice Sun.
Date: 21 June (or on the date of the winter solstice)
3. Imbolc
Also known as Imbolg.
This sabbat celebrates the end of Winter and the quickening of stem and field to new life.
Date: 1 August
4. Spring Equinox
Also known as Ostara.
This sabbat celebrates the Spring Equinox and new life.
Date: 21 September (or on the date of the spring equinox)
5. Beltane
Also known as Beltain.
This is a fertility sabbat in honour of Sun and Earth.
Date: 31 October / 1 November
6. Summer Solstice
Also known as Litha.
This sabbat celebrates the Summer Solstice Sun.
Date: 21 December (or on the date of the summer solstice)
7. Lughnasadh
Also known as the Festival of First Fruits
This sabbat celebrates the First Fruits Harvest.
Date: 2 Feb
8. Autumn Equinox
Also known as Mabon.
This sabbat celebrates the Autumn Equinox and the second harvest of fruit and vegetable.
Date: 21 March (or on the date of the autumn equinox)
5. A reverence for the Ancestors
Paganism encourages respect for ancestral traditions and respect for the living memory of our Ancestors.
6. A reverence for the Spirit of Place and Nature Spirits
Paganism encourages reverence for the Divine within Nature, and the pursuit of the development of sacred relationships with Nature in many forms.
7. The practice of Magic and Ritual
Most, but not all Pagans practice or employ natural sympathetic magic and ritual.
Loosely defined, magic is the practice of harnessing the energy that exists in the natural world for a specific purpose. A magical practitioner, whether he or she is a Witch, Druid, Shaman or Magician, regards magic as a natural force of Nature.
A common phenomenon amongst Pagan traditions is the belief in the efficacy of magic and the realization that true spiritual religious ritual is by nature magical, both in its ability to manifest the practitioners will in consensus reality, and in its ability to induce visions of healing and transformation.
8. The practice of Divinations
Pagans employ divinations for a wide variety of reasons. Divinations include reading the Tarot, consulting astrological charts, scrying over a bowl of water, or interpreting dreams.
9. The practice of Magic Herbalism
Pagans employ traditional herbs (whether European or African) for both medicine and magic.
10. Ethical behaviour is encouraged
Pagans are encouraged to live ethically and to obey the just laws of the Land. |
