The Path of Paganism, by John Beckett

Praise for The Path of Paganism “This is an absolute gem of a book! John’s love of his Pagan path fills this book with incredible enthusiasm and confidence, and this is beautifully complemented by his down-to-earth engineering background and obvious love of science. I would recommend this book to beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Both will find many pearls of wisdom within these pages. Highly recommended.”—Damh the Bard, Pagan musician and Pendragon of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

“John Beckett’s The Path of Paganism returns power and meaning to the word ‘Pagan,’ and it perfectly illustrates the things that unite us as Druids, Witches, Polytheists, and Magick users. Beckett’s Paganism is a true ‘big tent’ with room for everyone who loves the Earth, the Gods, and their communities. The Path of Paganism made me fall in love with Paganism all over again and gave me the tools to keep my own Pagan fire burning.”—Jason Mankey, author of The Witch’s Athame and The Witch’s Book of Shadows “For the seeker setting out into the bewildering diversity that is modern Paganism, it can be hard to find one’s feet. This book is a lantern, shining a clear light to illuminate the paths leading into these mysteries. John’s gentle, welcoming writing style makes even complex and nuanced subjects accessible without shying away from examining the deeper issues and questions … I expect this book to take its place immediately as a classic volume for Pagan studies.”—Morpheus Ravenna, author and polytheist “This book is an excellent guide to modern devotional Paganism and is suitable for all levels of experience, from new seekers up to seasoned practitioners. It covers the foundations of current Pagan practices and how they may be implemented by solitaries and groups alike. This is an important foundational book that needsto be found on everyone’s bookshelf!”—Rev. Kirk Thomas, ADF Archdruid Emeritus

THE

PATH OF

PAGANISM

Photo by Tesa Morin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Beckett grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside his back door. Wandering through them gave him a sense of connection to nature and to a certain forest god.

John is a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin. Locally, he serves as the coordinating officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and is a former vice president of CUUPS Continental. His blog, Under the Ancient Oaks, is part of the Pagan channel of the multifaith website Patheos. John has been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals since 2003.

John lives in the Dallas–Fort Worth area with his wife, Cathy, and their cat Sophie. Blogging won’t pay the bills, so John earns his keep as an engineer.

AN EXPERIENCE-BASED GUIDE TO

MODERN PAGAN PRACTICE

THE

PATH OF

PAGANISM JOHN BECKETT FOREWORD BY KRISTOFFER HUGHES

Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota

The Path of Paganism: An Experience-Based Guide to Modern Pagan Practice © 2017 by John Beckett. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Edition First Printing, 2017 Book design by Bob Gaul Cover design by Lisa Novak Editing by Laura Graves Altar photos by John Beckett Interior Illustrations by Llewellyn Art Department Llewellyn Publications is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Beckett, John, 1962– author.

Title: The path of paganism: an experience-based guide to modern pagan practice / John Beckett; foreword by Kristoffer Hughes.

Description: First Edition. | Woodbury: Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016056981 (print) | LCCN 2017006209 (ebook) | ISBN 9780738752051 | ISBN 9780738752204 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Neopaganism. | Paganism.

Classification: LCC BP605.N46 B43 2017 (print) | LCC BP605.N46 (ebook) | DDC 299/.94—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016056981 Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public.

All mail addressed to the author is forwarded, but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to authors’ websites and other sources.

Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989 www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION

The Path of Paganism is dedicated to Brighid, who wanted this book written. It is dedicated to the MorrĂ­gan, who reminded me that my time is not unlimited. It is dedicated to Danu, who has been a steadying presence in my life since I started on this Pagan path. And it is dedicated to Cernunnos, Lord of the Animals and God of the Forest, who protected me from afar when I was young and who now challenges me to be the best Druid and priest I can be.

In your presence and in your service I have found fulfillment. May this book help others to do the same.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments xi Foreword by Kristoffer Hughes xiii Introduction 1

PART 1: BUILDING A FOUNDATION Chapter 1: Foundations 13 Chapter 2: Contemporary Paganism 35 Chapter 3: Nature 55 Chapter 4: The Gods 73 Chapter 5: The Ancestors 99 Chapter 6: Being Spiritual in a Materialist Society 113

PART 2: PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE Chapter 7: Daily Spiritual Practice 129 Chapter 8: Altars 153

Chapter 9: Faith and Fear 161 Chapter 10: Ethics 173 Chapter 11: Magic 187 Chapter 12: Living in Troubled Times 203

PART 3: INTERMEDIATE PRACTICE Chapter 13: Intermediate Practice 219 Chapter 14: Group Practice 231 Chapter 15: Rituals 251 Chapter 16: Initiation 273 Chapter 17: Priesthood 289 Chapter 18: Publicize, Don’t Proselytize 297

PART 4: LIVING AT THE EDGE Chapter 19: Continuing Education 303 Epilogue: Finding Your Place in the Circle 307 Bibliography and References 311

x CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Most of the material in this book was originally written for my blog, Under the Ancient Oaks. It’s been organized, edited, reorganized, re-edited, and then edited again. What you hold is not the result of copying and pasting text from blog to book. Rather, it’s an entity all its own.

There are many people who helped make this unusual book a reality, and I am extremely grateful to them all.

To the members of Denton CUUPS, you are my fellow priests and co-religionists, and my good friends. We’ve built a dedicated, functional, drama-free Pagan group that serves the public and our gods, and we’ve done it in Texas. There’s no place I’d rather be.

To the editors of the Patheos Pagan Channel: to Star Foster, who invited me to join Patheos. To Christine Kraemer, who completed the blog move and who convinced me there was a book in the blog. To Jason Mankey, who promotes and encourages me constantly.

To Morpheus Ravenna, who shared her book writing experience and who provided more encouragement than she probably knows. To Theanos Thrax, who makes many sacrifices in support of polytheism. xi

You both epitomize priesthood … and you’re fun to hang out with. I am honored to have you as colleagues and friends.

To the alpha readers: Yvonne Aburrow, Sean Harbaugh, Jason Mankey, and Cynthia Talbot. Your feedback and suggestions were extremely helpful.

To Kristoffer Hughes, for your encouragement throughout the writing process, for a magical day on Anglesey, and especially for your friendship.

And finally, to Cathy: you knew you were marrying an engineer, but you had no idea you were also marrying a Druid and a writer. I am so thankful for your understanding, your patience, and your support. I could not have done this without you.

May the blessings of the gods, ancestors, and spirits of nature be with you now and always!

xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOREWORD

At the heart of Pagan practice swims the fundamental concept of relationship, and it is the integrity and depth of relationship that breathes life into the intricacies, wonder, and beauty of connection. As a Druid, my entire worldview and practice is held firmly by the principle of honourable relationship and the sacred nature of connection. I am fortunate to have a relationship with the author of this book; a man I do not simply admire but hold in the highest esteem as a gentleman who epitomizes the sheer power and magic of relationship. Within the pages that follow I can hear his voice, an added bonus when one knows the author; this in itself holds another form of magic based on connection.

Not only do his words guide me to revaluate aspects of my own practice, but they also serve to challenge my own path through the glades and groves of the Pagan forest.

In my practice of Paganism—now reaching its twenty-sixth year—I have read a lot of books and indeed written a few myself. I have often considered that the role of an author is to inspire, to reach out by means of experience and relationship to touch the paths of others. John’s book xiii

does just that, and in typical tripartite Celtic fashion, this book genuinely serves to inspire, test, and transform the reader. If truth be told, a vast proportion of books contain a hefty dose of padding, and as my own practice has developed I find myself leafing through pages, passing over anecdotal accounts and verbosity to jump at pearls of wisdom that I long to find in the works of my fellow authors. Rarely has a book revealed such sagacious pearlescent treasures until now.

I am fortunate that I can call John a friend, someone I have had the pleasure to meet and engage in meaningful Druidic discourse over the previous few years. But this is only half the story, for not only has John written a book that inspires, he has genuinely written a book that can fundamentally transform the manner by which we connect to the nuts and bolts of our own practice. He does this as a friend, a guide, an experienced teacher, and even if you cannot hear his dulcet, soothing tones peeling out from the words of dry ink, I can assure that were you able to hear him, you would sense the passion, wisdom, love, and integrity he has for his journey through the dappled and sometimes bewildering forest of spiritual practice. It is in this guise as a gracious and sagacious friend that John guides you, the reader, deeper into a consideration of your Pagan spirituality.

When I first embarked on this path, a veil of secrecy hung heavily over Paganism; books were slowly becoming available, but in truth the ones I was led to read did little to inspire or inform my stumbling journey. If only a book like this had existed back then, one which takes the reader through a sequence of considerations that cover a vast array of important issues surrounding the practice of Pagan spirituality. John’s guidance is wonderfully profound without being overly complicated; at times he challenges the reader to look deeply at subjects that may cause us to twitch uncomfortably and turn the page—he tells us what to do with that information, how to be a Pagan and not just how to think as one. There are a myriad of important messages in this book, xiv FOREWORD

one of which states that the primary focus of your Paganism should be on what you do, not wholly on what you believe. Of getting down and dirty with the detail of Paganism, there are no spells here, no exercises thrown together for the sake of word count, but a gentle questioning and exploration of the very principles that bring vibrancy, life, pain, joy, and beauty to Pagan practise.

Contained within the pages that follow is a reflection of John’s personal story through the human condition. It is from that platform of having been there and done it that John serves to inspire his readers.

Paganism has the power to answer the big questions in life, but first we must figure out what those questions are and why they matter. John helps us to articulate those questions and then serve to answer them meaningfully. To find meaning—this is a theme recurring throughout this book—John asks us to consider that whilst religious experience is important, experience itself is literally meaningless unless we have a belief structure by which to interpret it. This leads to a sense that we are part of something greater than ourselves, allowing us to become our better selves. Another Beckett pearl of wisdom lies in his exploration of authenticity and genuineness: he asks that we always credit our sources, never pretend to be something we are not, and steal from the best. I intend to steal from the best. There is deep wisdom in the pages that you hold in your hands, wisdom enough to not simply inspire but affect the integrity, depth, and expression of your Paganism.

John really has been there, done it, and bought the T-shirt; his journey through turmoil, discovery, and wonder is laid before you, and his insights are worth their weight in mead. John describes himself as an enthusiastic participant, his Paganism is practical spirituality that brings to his life the utmost joy and meaning, and yet the journey has been coloured by issues, problems, the fight against programming, and the turbulent transition from one way of believing to another way of doing. One can sense that his journey has not been a bed of roses, and

FOREWORD xv

if it has, there are times when he laid upon those fragrant petals and grimaced at the thorns that pierced his skin. And yet through it all, there is love, dedication, and awe.

This book is an invitation for you to gather under the oaks, to add your story to the Tree of Tradition, to colour this Paganism with the authenticity of your experience and beliefs. John offers you the tools by which to do that.

Read on, be inspired, be transformed.

Kristoffer Hughes, Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order, Isle of Anglesey, June 2016

xvi FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

No matter how you came to this point right here right now, wanting to learn more about Paganism, you aren’t starting from scratch. You’ve been exposed to many religions, religious ideas, and ideas about religion throughout your life. Perhaps, like me, you grew up in a fundamentalist church where you were told you had to believe certain unprovable supernatural propositions or you were going to hell. Perhaps you grew up in a household where religion was scorned and you were taught to believe nothing that couldn’t be proved using the scientific method. Or perhaps you’re perfectly satisfied with your religion and just want to learn something about a religion that’s new to you.

Regardless of your personal background, you’ve probably sung “God Bless America” or “God Save the Queen” if you live in an Englishspeaking country. You’ve heard stories of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. You’ve seen religious art and had holidays from work and school for Christmas and Easter. You’ve seen The Ten Commandments on TV, heard them invoked as a moral compass, and heard arguments over their place in the public square.

1

You live in a world where Christianity infuses the very fabric of society, where Christian images, ideas, and values dominate politics, entertainment, and ordinary conversation.

You also live in a world where the Christian religions are given lip service and their teachings are used to serve the religion of greed. Nature is valued only for how we can exploit it for financial gain, species are driven to extinction for greater profits, and our fellow humans are seen as nothing more than “human resources” to be employed at the lowest possible cost and then discarded when we’re finished using them.

We all like to think we’re independent, sophisticated freethinkers.

But like fish who aren’t aware of the water in which they swim, even the most mindful of us can’t see all the Christian and materialistic concepts that influence our thinking and our lives. If we simply begin studying Paganism in isolation, our new religion and new spirituality will be built on the foundation of our mainstream society.

When I first discovered Paganism, I was thrilled. Here was a religion that honored nature, saw the divine as female as well as male, and didn’t insist I believe things I couldn’t honestly believe. I dived right into it … and floundered for eight years. The beliefs and practices I was trying to begin were at odds with the unstated assumptions I had learned from the mainstream society. It was only when I finally began to examine those assumptions—when I became aware of the water in which I was swimming—that I was able to start building a meaningful Pagan practice. In the fifteen years since I became aware of that water, I’ve become a full member of the Druid grade in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. I’ve served continuously as an officer in my local CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group and served three years on the national board of trustees of CUUPS. I’ve become a blogger, a teacher, and now an author. Most importantly, my devotional relationships with the gods I serve and with the natural world

2 INTRODUCTION

have been strengthened and are a constant source of meaning and inspiration for me.

Perhaps you’re looking to follow the same path I took. Perhaps you picked up this book out of curiosity—you wonder why people would leave a religion that holds such a prominent place in society. You’ll see as you read that while Christianity can be a fine religion, it overlooks vital parts of the human soul. There are huge gaps in understanding the agency of individual human beings and of nonhuman species, the acknowledgement of spirits other than just one god, full acceptance of the LGBTQ community, and the urgency to defend the environment. These are just some of the many reasons people are now flocking to Paganism. My goal is that even if you’re not considering Paganism as a path, you’ll come to better understand why people are reacting against mainstream society through these forms of spirituality and maybe be able to use some of the advice and exercises presented here to further your own spiritual growth.

So in addition to presenting an introduction to modern Pagan beliefs and practices, this book also examines the unstated assumptions of mainstream beliefs and practices. We’ll look at the tension they create, the difficulties they cause for Pagans, and how we can resolve the conflicts within ourselves … and how we can live lives that are authentic, meaningful, and virtuous.

This book includes questions for contemplation, suggestions for building a Pagan practice, and rituals to help integrate new concepts into your life. It can be tempting to gloss over these sections, but I encourage you to give them your honest consideration.

Becoming Pagan means more than adopting a new set of books, tools, and holidays. It means more than praying to different gods. It means discovering a new way of seeing the world and our place in it.

It means challenging the assumptions of mainstream society, keeping only those that prove true and helpful, and discarding those that show themselves to be false or harmful. It means building a solid foundation

INTRODUCTION 3

from which we can explore the nature of the universe, the gods, ourselves, and our communities. It means learning to form and strengthen good relationships with all of them.

Most introductory Pagan books begin by diving into their particular flavor of Paganism. That’s understandable—if you pick up a book on Druidry, you want to start learning how to become a Druid right away. If you buy a book on Witchcraft, you want to start practicing Witchcraft as soon as you can. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that approach, but this book takes a different path.

Part 1 will discuss the foundations of modern Pagan religion: of nature, the gods, and our ancestors. Part 2 will cover what we do with that foundation: daily spiritual practice, devotion, and dealing with the sometimes unpleasant realities of life. Part 3 will introduce intermediate level practice and the work that goes into Pagan leadership, and Part 4 will cover what to do when you reach the end of the instructions.

This journey is not easy—nothing worthwhile ever is. But it has proven meaningful and helpful to me over these many years, and I trust it will for you as well.

Shall we begin?

THE PURPOSE OF RELIGION For most people in most of the world for most of history, religion has been so tied up in basic questions of group identity that changing it has been something most people have never considered. “These are my people, these are my ancestors, these are my gods—this is who I am.” Despite that, the two largest religions in the world—Christianity and Islam—are religions with a definite beginning that have grown by conversion.

It’s one thing to convert under the pressure (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) of missionaries and evangelists. It’s a very different thing to realize that the religion into which you were born does not match your beliefs and your values. Many people who find themselves in this position 4 INTRODUCTION

stay in their birth religion anyway. Sometimes they ignore the teachings they find offensive—sometimes they actively seek to change them. Some abandon religion altogether.

Others become seekers, exploring the religions of the world to find the one that fits them best. Some know exactly what they’re looking for, some have only a vague idea, and some know nothing other than they’re looking. There are five main needs or purposes we seek to fill with our religion.

Religion helps us deal with the human condition. Despite the unsubstantiated claims of biblical literalists and the naïve fantasies of Pagan romantics, there was never a time when people lived a life of ease in a garden or a forest where food was always there for the taking and everyone lived in peace. Life is hard, and it has always been hard. Obtaining adequate food and shelter has always required work and has never been certain. Disease and predators have always been present—usually much more prominently than they are today. People have always fought over resources and claims of dominance. And at the end, death always awaits.

We are the descendants of those who survived, and their determination has been passed down to us. But that’s only a partial answer. We don’t just want to survive, we want to succeed. We want to live lives of meaning and joy. Religion helps us deal with life’s pain and complexity.

It helps us answer the big questions of life. Where did we come from?

What happens when we die? How should we live? What is good and what is evil? What is good and what is better?

Theologians, philosophers, and ordinary people have contemplated these questions for as long as we’ve been human. These are hard questions, but if you want to live consciously—if you want to be awake— they are questions you must contemplate. Even if we try to avoid them, they won’t go away. They sneak into our minds when faced with difficult decisions, in the middle of the night, at the death of an elder or

INTRODUCTION 5

even a pet. It’s better to think about death on a bright Saturday in July when all is right in your world than to wait until death is in your midst.

Any religion can give you answers to these questions. The fact that different religions give different answers—sometimes radically different answers—is proof of how hard they are. A good religion will help you explore the questions, contemplate possible answers, and find the ones that best fit your values, beliefs, and experience of the world. Good religion will give you tools for living when there are no answers.

Religion helps you become a part of something greater than yourself.

Contemporary Western society is very much focused on the individual.

Ironically, this emphasis on the individual has uprooted our identity in our wider society and made it much more difficult for us to know who we really are. This makes us susceptible to the evil sorcerers of marketing who want us to find an identity in the products they have for sale.

Religion helps us be part of something greater than ourselves. We may be small, but we are part of a community that is larger and stronger. We may only know our parents and grandparents (or perhaps not even them), but we are a part of a heritage that goes back millions of years. Our lives may be brief, but we are a part of families, communities, and religious traditions that will be around long after we’re gone.

What happens to the individual consciousness after we die remains a mystery. What happens in this world is not. We live on in our deeds, we live on in the memories of those who knew us, and we live on in the families and communities that continue for many generations.

Religion helps us become our better selves. We need not subject ourselves to guilt and shame to acknowledge that we do not always act in accordance with our highest values. We have millions of years of evolution telling us to do what feels good now. Sometimes that’s great.

Other times we choose what is easy over what is right. And sometimes the situation is so complicated that we don’t know what’s right because we haven’t considered all the factors involved.

6 INTRODUCTION

Any religion can give you rules to follow. A good religion will teach virtues and values—what is right and fitting, what works well. A better religion will teach you how to embody these virtues and values on a daily basis, so when you’re faced with a difficult situation, you know how you want to respond and you will.

Religion helps us understand religious experiences. Many of the world’s religions began with an experience: Yahweh spoke to Moses, Saul had an experience of Jesus and became Paul, the Buddha sat under a tree until he was enlightened. What was unique about these experiences is not that they happened or even that they were especially powerful.

What was unique was what the recipients of those experiences did after they had them.

Religious experiences still happen today. Sometimes they’re dramatic—more often they’re subtle. But these experiences are literally meaningless until we interpret them. Religion gives us a framework for interpreting and understanding our experiences, offers practices to reinforce them and to repeat them, and makes practical suggestions for implementing them in our ordinary lives.

Pagan religions do all these things, and they do them from a perspective that honors nature, the gods, our ancestors, and our own unique place in the world.

LEARNING: HELICAL, NOT LINEAR Throughout our lives, we are told how important it is to get a good education. Whether we want to or not, we’re sent to school for at least twelve years and usually much longer. We’re told we can’t get a good job without the proper education. We’re told, in not so many words, that we can’t be trusted to do serious jobs without the proper certification. This isn’t wrong. If I go to a doctor, I want to know she’s been to medical school and passed the state board exams. That’s no guarantee she’s a good doctor, but it’s a start.

INTRODUCTION 7

The problem with this emphasis on formal education is that it marginalizes other ways of learning. The vast majority of people still learn their basic life and social skills the same way humans have learned them for tens of thousands of years—from their parents, grandparents, and neighbors. For hundreds of years, the primary way of learning a trade was through apprenticeship—working directly under a master craftsman. Even in today’s high-tech society, it’s still possible to learn many things by diving in and figuring them out as you go.

If we can learn from classwork, from elders, or even from books, we’re less likely to make mistakes as we begin. But there are some things that can only be learned by doing—by experiencing them for yourself.

This is especially true in religious matters.

Add to this the many areas of emphasis within Witchcraft, Druidry, and other Pagan traditions. How much do you need to learn before you can start? How much history? How much theology? How much daily spiritual practice? How much hands-on magical work? You need not develop an Archdruid’s knowledge and expertise before you start practicing Druidry.

If you wait to start practicing until you’re “ready,” you’ll never be ready.

This book presents material in small segments. Read the text. Contemplate what it means and how it connects with your life. Then put it into practice, both with ordinary action and with the rituals that are included in the book. Review the segment and see what you’ve learned.

Then go on to the next segment.

Over time, both within this book and in your wider life, you’ll find that learning to be a Pagan is not a linear experience. It’s a helical experience. Like a coiled spring, you move around the circle, picking up bits and pieces of this and that. After a while, you come back to the same point on the circle, but it’s not the same place—you’ve learned more and you’ve moved forward too. Each time you come back to the same point, you’ll bring new experiences and new perspectives to your practice. Winter Solstice is always the same point on the Wheel of the 8 INTRODUCTION

Year, but with each solstice you know a little more than you knew at the last solstice.

Knowledge is important—otherwise I wouldn’t have spent so much time writing this book! But Paganism isn’t just about what you know, it’s also about the sun on your face, the wind on your skin, the dirt on your fingers, and the rain on your shoulders. It’s about that special feeling you get when you stand under the full moon. It’s about lighting a candle, pouring an offering, and saying a prayer.

So read on. But remember that doing is just as important as reading.

INTRODUCTION 9

PART 1

BUILDING A FOUNDATION

1

FOUNDATIONS

Before we begin our exploration of modern Paganism, let’s take a deeper look at the foundations of religion in general. Let’s look at some of the questions rarely addressed in Sunday schools, Beltane circles, or atheist meetings.

THE ORIGINS OF RELIGION How did religion begin? It depends on who you ask. An academic—operating from a non-theistic viewpoint—will talk about the need to inspire self-sacrifice for the good of the group. Whether you live in a huntergatherer society where you occasionally need to bring down large dangerous animals with spears or you live in a modern society where you occasionally need to defend your country against invading armies, the continued existence of a group often depends on the willingness of people to engage in activities that are dangerous but necessary. If they believe there’s an afterlife and that death is not the end of their existence, they are more likely to take those risks willingly and even enthusiastically.

13

A cynic—also operating from a non-theistic viewpoint—will talk about the desire of the powerful to control the masses. Kings and warlords look for justification for their dictatorial rule. Being a priest is an easier gig than being a soldier or a farmer—they look for excuses to maintain their status.

There is some truth to both of these propositions. People who are bound together through common bonds are more likely to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And we need only look at the abuses of religion throughout history to realize that some religious leaders are in it for themselves and not for their gods or their people. But these propositions are incomplete. They ignore the religious experiences that people have had for at least as long as we’ve been human: experiences of wonder and awe in nature, the experience of birth and death, powerful and prophetic dreams, and the interactions with gods, ancestors, and spirits that are sometimes faint and subtle and sometimes overpowering.

It’s hard enough to figure out the exact origins of a modern religion such as Wicca, the religion of Witchcraft first presented (or perhaps invented) by Gerald Gardner in the mid-twentieth century. Christians have been arguing for two thousand years about the key facts and myths around the origins of Christianity. We have no hope of reconstructing the origins of the original human proto-religion, assuming there ever was such a thing. But we are not completely ignorant. There are burials with grave goods dating back hundreds of thousands of years. Our ancestors left cave paintings. The famous ones in Lascaux, France, are 17,000 years old, while others—such as the ones in Chauvet Cave—are more than 30,000 years old. There are ruins, the oldest of which (Göbekli Tepe in Turkey) are more than 10,000 years old. All of these artifacts took effort to create—they represent an expenditure of time and energy, sometimes small and sometimes huge. People would not have left them unless they had a good reason—unless creating them was a meaningful endeavor.

14 CHAPTER 1

Our modern culture likes to think of ourselves as advanced and sophisticated, perceiving previous cultures as ignorant, primitive, and unevolved. But it’s important to remember that biologically, we are identical to the earliest Homo sapiens sapiens—humans as we’ve been for at least the past 100,000 years. We’re them and they’re us. When we stand outdoors at night and look up at the full moon, we are doing what people have done for thousands and thousands of years. When someone dies and we contemplate our own impending deaths, we are doing what people have done for thousands and thousands of years. When we feel moved to speak to the gods, to ask for their help, and to express our thanks for that help, we are doing what people have done for thousands and thousands of years.

The social scientists and the cynics aren’t wrong. But they overlook religious experience.

ORGANIC RELIGION Imagine that through some magical, mystical occurrence, all religion is suddenly gone. Churches, mosques, temples, and sacred groves disappear. Religious texts, commentaries, and literary references to them vanish. Religious music and artwork are gone. Devotional altars disappear and holy days are simply work days. Priests are transformed into accountants and monks suddenly become grocery clerks. It takes a pretty powerful imagination to visualize a world with no religion—and what I see is horribly bland—but it is possible.

Now in such a religion-free environment, imagine you walk outside on a clear dark night and look up at the full moon. What do you feel? Imagine you watch the sun rise every day for a year, marking the changing seasons and the ebb and flow of light and dark. Is that simply the mechanics of rotation and revolution, or is there something more?

Imagine you experience the birth of a child or the death of a friend, and you contemplate your own birth and death. Imagine you dream of a

FOUNDATIONS 15

long-dead ancestor. Imagine you realize the benefits you enjoy because of their lives and work. How might you respond to that realization?

Imagine you live in a place and it becomes yours—not in a sense of possessing it but in a sense of relationship: your home, your mountain, your trees, your city. How might you honor and strengthen that relationship? Even if religion were to completely disappear, it would quickly return because people have religious experiences all the time. This is organic religion, a religion not of doctrine but of experience, not of rules but of relationships, not of the intellect but of the soul.

Beliefs would flow out of those experiences as people attempted to interpret them and understand them. Practices would arise as people attempted to facilitate further experiences and live in alignment with their interpretations of them. Before long, people would be writing and talking about their new organic religions. Some would begin practicing together. Beliefs and practices that were most helpful would spread, and those that were less helpful would fade. Practitioners who were especially dedicated and especially skilled would be consulted for advice and assistance. Before long, organic religion would yet again evolve into organized religion. And contrary to the knee-jerk reaction from some, including many Pagans, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

As with every other human endeavor, religion in the present draws on the wisdom of the past. There is no need for everyone to invest time and energy into reinventing the wheel of religion. We can draw on the wisdom and teachings of our predecessors, build on them, and leave a stronger, more vibrant tradition for those who come after us to do the same.

Organized religions begin to lose their effectiveness when they move from spreading best practices to enforcing orthodoxy. When the affirmation of past beliefs becomes more important than the facilitation of present experiences, a religion loses its organic power. In a religious free society, it will begin to lose members and influence, setting it on a death spiral that may be long but that is certain. The modern Pagan 16  CHAPTER 1

movement is one example of what happens when those who are tired of lifeless religion return to organic religion.

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW? So much of what we think we know is no more than casual assumptions. When we’re very young, we accept what our parents tell us as fact.

We know them, we trust them, and they’ve always been good to us, so why should we at age four or five or six assume something they tell us isn’t the absolute truth? We spend years and years in school listening to teachers who are older and better educated than we are. We read books and listen to people on television who look and sound like they know what they’re talking about.

At some point, though, we start to develop our own intuitive ideas about how the world works. Every large antlered mammal we encounter is firmly on the ground, so we start to be skeptical that reindeer can fly on Christmas Eve. We stop taking people at their word and start asking for proof, or at least evidence that what people tell us is true.

We learn that some people will stretch the truth or tell outright lies if it helps them get what they want.

We turn to science and reason, and we learn that experimentation can help us know with greater certainty. We learn that water freezes at 32˚F and boils at 212˚F. We learn the strength properties of materials so we can design bridges that can safely support the weight we put on them.

But the longer we study science, the more we realize that some things aren’t so black and white. Some phenomena are so complicated it’s very difficult to fully understand them. What causes cancer? How can we cure the common cold? What is the long-term impact of raising atmospheric carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels? “Complicated” doesn’t mean “impossible”—it may be that some day we’ll discover the answers to these questions. But if we do, those answers won’t be simple.

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A butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil may not cause a hurricane in Florida, but it may very well make that hurricane stronger or weaker.

When it comes to matters of religion, science shows itself to be a good tool but a poor final arbiter. How many gods are there? None? One? Two? Many? How can we know? Some insist there is no more evidence for the existence of gods than there is for the existence of flying reindeer. Some are certain there can only be one god, while other insist they have experienced many gods. Who’s right?

The only answer we can give with absolute certainty is, “We don’t know.” There is plenty of evidence for the existence of many gods, evidence we’ll explore in greater detail throughout this book. But anyone looking for proof—either to satisfy themselves or to use in arguments with those of other religions—is going to be sorely disappointed.

The Age of Enlightenment brought many good things to the West, but it also brought the decidedly unhelpful idea that the only things that are real are things which can be touched, measured, and proved to be true using the scientific method. In contrast, if something can’t be demonstrated to be real using the scientific method, it can’t be real.

When it comes to religion there are other ways of knowing. We know through stories. This is how most of us first met the gods of our ancestors.

I still have a copy of The Greek Gods, a small book I ordered through an in-class book sales program in the third grade. It’s a collection of abbreviated biographies and stories of the twelve Olympians (well, eleven of them—they left out Ares), and while I read them as fictional stories, they obviously had an impact on me. While I ordered and read dozens of the Scholastic books, it’s the only one I’ve kept with me over the years. Every culture has these stories, though some are more accessible than others.

They give us basic information about our goddesses and gods: their parents, circumstances of their birth, their areas of interest or responsibility, their likes and dislikes, their heroic (and in some cases, infamous) deeds.

The stories give us an introduction, but they do not tell us everything 18 CHAPTER 1

there is to know about a god any more than a newspaper article tells us everything there is to know about an ordinary person.

Fundamentalists believe the value of ancient stories depends on their historicity. When it is demonstrated that certain stories could not have happened literally (Noah’s flood, a six-day creation), they are forced to deny established facts or see their whole religion come crashing down.

Pagans understand that even though ancient stories can’t always be read literally, they still give us valuable information about our gods and ancestors. More importantly, they are myths—stories that teach truths about who we are, where we come from, and why we’re here. They don’t just provide information to our left brains, they also provide wisdom to our right brains. Anyone who says “that’s only a myth” doesn’t understand the power of myth. Read the stories of our ancestors and take what information you can from them. Meditate on the stories and let them speak to your soul.

We know what we do through observation of the natural world. Our earliest human ancestors (and maybe some of the pre-human ones as well) recognized something special in the natural world. Something animated living animals that wasn’t present in the dead. Something made the sun rise and set, made the crops grow, and the seasons turn. Whatever that something or things or some gods was, it was bigger and older and wiser than us. These experiences of wonder and awe are still available to us today. Knowing the Earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa does not make a sunrise any less beautiful and meaningful. Knowing the science of evolution does not make the existence of life any less magical.

If anything, science has made the universe more amazing, when we think about how we’re all made from stardust, how every living thing on Earth shares a common ancestor, how things become more mysterious the further we go into the structure of an atom.

Observations of the natural world and the religious experiences that flow from them are a universal phenomenon. We see it in virtually every

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culture and time. But interpretations of those experiences vary greatly.

Some see gods and goddesses, some see elemental spirits, and some see one great interconnected being or force. Go outside and look up at the sky. Travel to the mountaintops or the seashore. Look across the room at the cat or dog lying on your floor and contemplate all the ways he or she is like you. Ask what’s behind all that beauty and power and mystery.

Then listen and hear who answers.

We know through direct experience. There are no records of when and how a human first met a god. Perhaps it was in a dream. Perhaps it was in a trance-induced vision. Perhaps it was at one of the magical times “neither within nor without”: dusk, dawn, Samhain, Beltane.

Whatever it was, it started the steps to go from being in awe of the sun to recognizing a god of the sun to knowing that god as Apollo or Helios or Ra. We’ll talk more about this in chapter 4.

I don’t think I could be a polytheist if I hadn’t had direct personal experiences of gods and goddesses. Our mainstream culture is heavily monotheistic and there is a strong pressure to interpret any religious experiences in that light. But I have met gods and goddesses. I prayed and they answered. I quieted my mind and they spoke. I invoked and they graced me with their presence. I made offerings and they responded. I asked and they gave … and sometimes, they asked for something in return. On a few occasions, that experience has been intimate. These have been the strongest, most real religious experiences I’ve ever had. Those experiences outweigh any argument any skeptic can make.

My experience is not authoritative for you. And that’s one of the reasons Paganism is a growing religion—you don’t have to accept someone else’s experience. You can have your own.

Myths, the natural world and direct experience all tell us something about the gods and the universe. I like to think of them as three streams flowing into a common pool. Each stream of knowledge comes by a different route; it carries different water, different minerals, and different 20 CHAPTER 1

water creatures with it. What the deities look like to you depends which of the streams you let flow and which you block. Let only myths flow into your pool and your gods will look very much like the gods of the people who wrote the myths. Let only the natural world flow into your pool and your goddesses will be powerful but difficult to distinguish and name. Let only direct experience flow into your pool and your deities may look a lot like yourself. But let all three streams flow into your pool and you start to get a complete picture of who and what a god really is.

Will your pool look identical to mine? Of course not. Will either of us have a perfect understanding of even one god? Of course not. But if you and I share our stories and experiences then we have six streams flowing into a common pool. Bring in a third person and we will have nine, and so on. With cooperation, good will, and a lot of hard work, we can come to know our deities very well. Modern Paganism is a new religion, but we have the advantage of working with and for gods and goddesses who are very old. Much of the work of learning who and what they are has been done for us by our ancestors. Our job is be open to them, learn what they’re doing in our time, and listen for how we can be a part of their great work. experience

practice

belief

Virtuous Circle

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RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE The exact origins of religion are lost in pre-history, but much can be deduced. What’s important is that every religion began with a religious experience. A person had a dream, vision, or a transcendent experience in nature, or perhaps a visit from a goddess or god. And that experience was so powerful it changed the person forever. In an attempt to understand the experience and communicate it to others, the person then developed beliefs about what it meant. And then out of those beliefs grew practices designed to re-create the experience, commemorate it, or carry out its instructions.

Fortunately for those of us who aren’t looking to start a totally new religion, we can begin at any point in the process and we can move in either direction. And that’s important because while true religious experiences come in their own time, and our beliefs can be influenced by much that’s out of our control (like what the church we grew up in pounded into our heads), we can always choose to alter our religious practices.

For example, we can begin a meditation practice. Eventually, that will lead to an experience of peace and tranquility which in turn will lead to the belief that our happiness doesn’t depend on having this or that. Or we can begin to practice magic, even though we’ve been told it doesn’t exist.

By repetition, we begin to believe that it’s real. And then with the blinders of modern Western culture removed, we can recognize the magical experiences that happen all the time. Of course, sometimes it goes the other way—you try the magic, it works, and you’re forced to believe in it.

Ultimately, Paganism is a religion of orthopraxy, not orthodoxy— what matters most is that you do what’s right, not that you believe what’s right. While the majority culture usually thinks of religion in terms of beliefs, that idea is actually very modern, very Western, and very Protestant.

I frequently mention this in terms of caring for the warth: it doesn’t matter if you care for the earth because you see it as the body of the Goddess

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or because you see it as God’s creation or because you see it as the only planet we’ve got. What matters is that you care for the earth.

Religious experience is important. But experience by itself is literally meaningless—it has no meaning until we interpret it, and we interpret our experiences based on our beliefs. Put a Wiccan, a Baptist, and an atheist on a beach at sunset. They will feel the same breeze, smell the same smells, gaze at the same horizon, and hear the same waves. They will have the same experience, but they will interpret that experience in very different ways based on their beliefs about nature, the god(s) of nature, and their place in nature.

Some people have intimate experiences of the gods that leave no doubts in their hearts and minds. Others have experiences that are absolutely real in the moment but doubts begin to creep in afterward.

Perhaps their experience wasn’t strong enough. Perhaps they’re too rooted in the mainstream culture. Perhaps the fundamentalist religion of their childhood isn’t as gone as they think it is. Perhaps they’re simply too skeptical. What are they to do? Are they to ignore the call of the gods? Should they lie to themselves and insist their experiences are more than what they really are? No. We reinforce our experiences with beliefs. We draw on the wisdom of others who have had similar experiences both ancient and contemporary. We compare our experiences to theirs; we compare them to what we know of the universe and the way it works. We form hypotheses of belief and test those hypotheses with further practice, and that practice generates further experiences. As our experiences grow, we refine our hypotheses into theories—ideas about who and what the gods are and how we relate to them.

My experiences of the gods I serve may not be as strong as the experiences of some Pagans, but they’ve been strong enough to give me a clear sense of direction. And a big part of that direction is introducing the gods to the people. Oh, the gods can speak to whomever they like—

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but will those people hear them? Or will they dismiss what they hear as fantasies, delusions, and mixed-up brain chemistry?

People will only hear what they’re prepared to hear. People will only see what they’re prepared to see. In order to be ready to hear and see the gods, people must first believe that such things as gods might actually exist and that we can interact with them. That’s a tall order for a culture where the loudest voices on one side scream there is only one god and the loudest voices on the other side scream there are no gods. People need stories, theories, and beliefs. Belief comes as we try to interpret our experiences. What do they tell us about ourselves and our place in the grand order of things? What do they tell us about our place in the community? What do they tell us about how we should live our lives—what is of ultimate importance and what is trivial? Why did this practice generate this experience? The meaning we take from our beliefs motivates us to practice deeper and more frequently. More and deeper practice generates more and deeper experiences. More and deeper experiences further reinforce our beliefs.

Practice, experience, and belief are a virtuous circle.

AM I DOING IT RIGHT? Practice any religion for a while and sooner or later you may start wondering, “Am I doing it right? How can I be sure I’m doing it right?”

Many Pagans tend to assume whatever they’re doing is right—“Do as thou wilt is the whole of the law” doesn’t just apply to Thelemites. To be fair, practitioners of most religions do this too—Pagans are just more honest about it than the fundamentalists who like to argue “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” without ever examining the source or interpretations of what their god supposedly said.

In any case, wondering if you’re doing it right is a more humble and more mature approach. It’s a realization that we’re dealing with questions of great importance. It’s a realization there is much we can learn from our 24 CHAPTER 1

spiritual ancestors. It’s a realization that even the wisest and most spiritual among us can benefit from consulting with our coreligionists. We are responsible for our own spiritual journeys. We must make our own decisions, but we need not rely solely on our own counsel.

If you wonder if you’re doing it right, the first question to ask yourself is what kind of confirmation you’re looking for. What would convince you you’re doing it right—or that you need to make some changes?

What level of proof do you require? There’s nothing wrong with wanting rock-solid assurance, but you’re not likely to get it.

There is no such thing as religious certainty. There is certainty in mathematics. There is certainty in physical sciences. There is even a type of certainty in the behavioral sciences, though finding it is usually more complicated than we like to think. But religious experiences and especially religious beliefs are inherently and unavoidably uncertain.

No matter how confident you are, you might be wrong.

A more helpful approach is to judge your beliefs by the results they bring. Do your beliefs provide you with a useful model of the universe and help you find your place in it? Does your tradition help you wrestle with the big questions of life? Does it help you figure out how to live here and now? Does it challenge you to examine your assumptions and your values, and then to live up to them? Do your practices encourage you to honor the past, build for the future, and live in the present? Do they promote connections with and respect for other people, other species, and other ecosystems? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you’re doing it right. Your confirmation won’t come in a flash of divine light. Rather, it will come in the slow, steady change that consistent spiritual practice brings.

Religious practice in a multicultural society (and we live in the most diverse society in the history of humanity) carries the risk of feeling like you’re doing it wrong, because there’s always someone out there doing it differently—and there are always some who will be happy to tell you just

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how wrong you are. Spiritual growth requires taking that risk. It requires saying “This isn’t what the mainstream teaches, and I can’t be sure, but it makes sense and it feels right, so I’m going to follow it.”

The reality of Paganism is rooted in experience. If our culture had a heritage of polytheism, we’d grow up learning who our gods are, how to interact with them, and how to know when they speak to us. We don’t have that heritage—we’re trying to rebuild it for future generations.

We’re trying to learn to hear the gods.

There are times the gods speak to us and we don’t recognize them because we’re expecting Zeus to speak in thunderbolts. Those thunderbolt experiences can be amazing, but they’re not the only way they communicate with us. Sometimes they speak in soft voices: in signs, in feelings, in dreams and waking visions, and in stray thoughts that might be your own … except you know they’re not. And that’s a good thing, because big, dramatic, ecstatic experiences are like a drug. Used occasionally they can be helpful. Get addicted to them and your life will change dramatically. Historically, while shamans, mystics, and prophets have done good and necessary work, their lives have been difficult, unpleasant—and, frequently, short. Many of them would say it was a fair trade, but be careful what you wish for. Besides, while ecstasy is good, a religion that constantly searches for ecstasy is just as misguided as a religion that constantly prepares for what comes after death. Both minimize the beauty, wonder and joy of this life and this world.

And if you do these things and the gods don’t speak to you? Then continue your spiritual practices anyway. You’ll be more informed, more relaxed, more confident, more committed, and more reverent—those are all good things, whether or not you hear directly from them. And you never know when a deity will decide you’re needed to help with their work.

Wondering “Am I doing it right?” is a good thing. It’s a sign you’re taking your religion seriously. Make sure you understand what kind of confirmation you’re looking for and whether you’re likely to get it. Keep 26 CHAPTER 1

practicing. Then stop and reflect every so often—see how far you’ve come. You may be surprised just how right you’ve been doing it all along.

INTERPRETING RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES We all have religious experiences. We all experience that most basic and universal phenomenon: wonder and awe. We experience the presence of a god, of our ancestors, or of the spirits of nature. We have dreams, visions, or intuitions. We see omens and auspices. Virtually everyone has some of these experiences at some point in life. But an experience in isolation has no meaning. It is simply data: a collection of observations and sensations. We give our experiences meaning when we interpret them. How we interpret them—or if we even recognize them—depends largely on our beliefs. Our beliefs, in turn, are dependent on our practices and on our spiritual foundations.

It takes mindful effort to not interpret your experiences. If your brain doesn’t have the frame of reference it needs it will grab whatever it has: a religion you left but whose hooks are still in your subconscious, a foundation that says there is nothing beyond the material world, a framework taken from a movie or TV show.

A few years ago a friend asked me for my opinion of a certain author and teacher. After reading their website and looking over their books, something became very apparent to me. Many years ago this person had a very strong religious experience … most likely a series of experiences.

But when they tried to interpret their experiences, they didn’t have a good spiritual foundation. So they interpreted their experiences through what they knew, which in this case was fantasy literature. Over the years they built up a whole system of belief and practice that has more in common with works of fiction than with what Wiccans, Druids, and other Pagans believe and do. Call me gullible, but I think this person is sincere and not just trying to make money off people who desperately want fantasy to be real. If they had been able to interpret their experiences through a

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modern Pagan framework—or even through a mystical Christian framework—I think they could have made a nice contribution to our overall religious movement. Instead, they have a small, cultish following and the general disdain of people who should be their allies.

A Pagan spiritual foundation is a little harder to build than, say, a Buddhist foundation or a Christian foundation. This is primarily because Paganism is a much newer religion. Designing foundations and frameworks is the job of theologians, and so far modern Paganism hasn’t produced very many theologians. But it can be done, and it needs to be done. There are four major areas where Pagans need enough knowledge to be able to interpret their experiences.

We need a foundation in science. Paganism is at least, in part, a nature religion. Science is knowledge of the natural world. If we truly love nature, we will want to know as much about nature as we can. We need a basic knowledge of biology—what was called “life science” when I was in seventh grade a million years ago. We need an understanding of evolution, which supports the interrelatedness of all life. We need a basic understanding of the origin of the universe. We encounter a lot of bad science in the religious world, from New Agers with quack ideas about “energy” to fundamentalists who are willfully ignorant about evolution.

We don’t need a PhD in physics, but we do need to be able to tell real science from misinformation and misinformation from garbage and lies.

We need a foundation in history. When asked to define Paganism, I usually give a three-fold definition that includes “a resonance with the beliefs and practices of our pre-Christian ancestors.” That presupposes we know a thing or two about what our ancestors believed and did. I grew up being taught that history began with Adam and Eve and went from there to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, and Paul. It wasn’t until I was long out of school and reading history on my own that I realized this “history” was as much mythology as fact, and, more importantly, that it was the story of one small group of people.

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We need to know as much as we can about the origins of humanity and what life was like for the Stone Age hunter-gatherers responsible for cave paintings and objects like Venus of Willendorf. We need to know as much as we can about the origins of civilization and the religions that began with civilization. We need to know as much as we can about our ancestors who first worshipped the Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, and other gods and goddesses whose worship we are reviving and reimagining.

We need to know as much as we can about the origins of the modern Pagan religions of Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry, and others. The last fifteen to twenty years have seen an explosion of real Pagan scholarship.

That scholarship has frightened some, but to our credit most Pagans understand that we gain nothing by clinging to myth-as-history when those myths are shown to be incorrect.

And since we live in a world still dominated by the Abrahamic religions, we need to know a thing or two about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and about their real origins.

We need a foundation in tradition. Religious liberals in general and Pagans in particular are suspicious of anything that smells like establishment and orthodoxy. But one of the advantages of being second or third generation Pagans is that we don’t have to figure out everything for ourselves. There are deities, holidays, correspondences, liturgies and other elements of religion that are readily available. There are techniques, symbols, concepts, and myths that have been built up for decades upon which we can draw. Instead of starting at the beginning, we can start where our predecessors left off. This lets us go even further and deeper, which in turn builds a stronger foundation for the generation that comes after us. While we don’t have to figure out everything for ourselves, we do have to validate everything ourselves. As the Buddha taught, don’t believe something just because some authority says it. But nonfundamentalist religions are notoriously utilitarian—if something doesn’t work, it’s likely to be discarded. It may be that some hundred-year

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old practice doesn’t work today, or it simply doesn’t work for you. If so, try something else. But give tradition the benefit of the doubt.

We need a foundation in practice. Though belief is important in any religion, Paganism is first and foremost a religion of practice. Spiritual practice reinforces our beliefs and facilitates religious experiences. As with tradition, we don’t have to reinvent the proverbial wheel. There are plenty of people and books that can teach us meditation, prayer, journaling, devotion, rituals, visualization and other practices. Try to find a teacher or resource within your path. Buddhist meditation is not the same as Christian meditation and neither is the same as Pagan meditation.

Build a spiritual foundation. Ground yourself in science, history, tradition and practice. Build on the work of those who’ve gone before you.

Then let your experiences add to our collective knowledge and wisdom.

WRESTLING WITH THE GODS There’s a T-shirt I see regularly at Unitarian Universalist gatherings and occasionally at Pagan ones. It says, “Some questions are too important for answers.” I respect the humility in that sentiment. Philosophers, theologians, and ordinary people have struggled with the big questions of life for thousands of years. Many of these questions aren’t simply beyond our current knowledge, they’re beyond our capacity to know.

Assuming we have certainty when we do not has been the source of countless problems, most notably fundamentalism. In practice, though, many of the people wearing these shirts seem more interested in proclaiming our lack of answers than in actually engaging the questions.

The Old Testament tells the story of Jacob, who wrestled with an angel all night, refusing to let go until the angel blessed him. In the end, the angel gave him his blessing but also put his hip out of joint. In the church where I grew up, it was said that while Jacob was rewarded for his persistence toward a worthy goal, the injury was his punishment for arrogance. Like most good stories, this one has many possible meanings. Blessings—wisdom, 30 CHAPTER 1

enlightenment, magic—do not come easily. The blessings of the really important questions do not come from simply acknowledging their presence. Their blessings come when we wrestle with them: when we propose answers, when we try them on and see how they fit. Their blessings come when we weigh the various answers for strengths, weaknesses, and meaning. Their blessings come when we read and study and meditate and contemplate, and when we discuss our findings with others. As Jacob’s injury shows, wrestling with big questions is not without risk. You may have your assumptions challenged. You may lose your comfortable ignorance. You may be forced to confront parts of yourself you’d rather leave hidden. Initiations—whether in ritual or in the ordinary world—leave you changed.

Those changes aren’t always pleasant and sometimes they’re painful.

There is perhaps no bigger (and no more dangerous) question than that of the gods. What are they? Who are they? What do they offer us, and what do they want in return? There are many possible answers. If after an appropriate amount of wrestling you’ve settled on one that is meaningful and helpful to you, then I’m happy for you. That doesn’t mean every answer is right. It means this is a big question we can’t answer with certainty. I’ll judge your theology by how it motivates you to be a good person, not by how closely it matches mine.

There are many thoughts on the gods in the Big Tent of Paganism: hard polytheism (the gods are individual deities), soft polytheism (all gods are aspects of one god), duotheism, pantheism, and non-theism.

As you try them on, though, remember that we live in a culture dominated by Christianity and by materialism. It is very easy to view the goddesses and gods of our ancestors as variations on the popular view of the god of Christianity: omniscient, omnipotent, and greatly concerned with our well-being. But if there are many gods, they are by necessity limited in power and scope.

Though my early rituals were heavily influenced by Isaac Bonewits’s work, I also mindlessly copied some other rituals that “summoned” and

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“dismissed” deities. But when I came to the conclusion that the different experiences I had with different deities meant it was likely they were different beings, I started being more polite in my rituals. I began to understand that the gods have their own ideas and their own priorities. My personal growth was a secondary concern, and my comfort and convenience wasn’t much of a concern at all.

Like all the big questions of life, the nature of the gods is ultimately uncertain. We can choose to ignore these big questions and carry on with our lives. We can give them some casual thought, then drop them when they lead us to places that are inconvenient. Or we can wrestle with the gods, in full knowledge that we may be injured and we will be changed, and through our wrestling find answers that bring us meaning and wisdom.

BAD SCIENCE MAKES BAD RELIGION I see a lot of bad science in popular religion. Science has a clearly defined method and protocols to insure that method is followed rigidly.

Intuition and leaps of faith may point scientists in helpful directions, but until those directions are explored and verified by the scientific method, they cannot be called science.

We are free to look at the results of science with wonder and awe— how can you do otherwise if you have a soul? We are free to interpret the results of science in myth and metaphor. But the probabilistic nature of subatomic physics is no more proof of the efficacy of magic than are the anecdotes of the times my spells have worked. There is no documented, repeatable, falsifiable, experimental evidence for the existence of the gods or the validity of magic. And I don’t expect there ever will be any.

When we misuse and misunderstand science we are doing exactly the same thing Christian fundamentalists do when they insist the Bible is inerrant, the Earth is only six thousand years old, or that there is scientific evidence of intelligent design. The foundation of their proof has crumbled, and they are forced to deny established facts to pretend otherwise.

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Claiming scientific backing or proof for spiritual ideas where none exists isn’t just bad science, it’s also bad religion.

Why do we even bother with this? Why is it important that our beliefs are validated by science? Few Pagans accept the authority of the Bible or the church or of governments—we want to see proof. We want studies and data and the incontrovertible evidence that exists more in TV crime dramas than in real laboratories. Science has become the arbiter of truth in our materialistic society and we want science to bless our religion. At the root of this desire is the idea that the only truth worth having is the kind of truth science can validate, that the only knowledge is literal, material knowledge. This is why fundamentalists insist the Bible is literally true—if it’s not literally true, they think it’s worthless.

They ignore the value of mythical and mystical truth.

When we look for science to affirm our conversations with nature spirits, we devalue mystical experiences. When we look for science to affirm our communion with gods, we devalue mythical experiences. When we look for science to affirm after-death communication, we devalue spiritual experiences. And that, I suspect, is the core reason behind the desire for the validation of science and the discounting of non-ordinary reality: we fear what lies beyond death. Few Pagans worry about going to hell. Instead, we worry that the atheists may be right and beyond death lies nothing. We trust only science to assure us that our consciousness lives on after our bodies die. Science can’t do that.

I believe that after death I will enjoy a time of rest, reunion, and reflection before plunging into the Cauldron of Rebirth and returning to this world to continue the great work of my soul. Science can’t prove that. It can’t disprove it either. I believe it based on the long tradition of similar beliefs in many cultures. I believe it based on the myths of my ancestors. I believe it based on my own mystical experiences. But I freely admit I might be wrong.

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I’m certain of a few things. After death I am certain my body will decay and return to the Earth Mother, where the elements that currently make up my bones and muscles and organs will be recycled into other living things. I am certain I will not be forgotten by those whose lives I have touched—what is remembered lives. I am certain my actions have influenced processes that will continue indefinitely—the world will feel my impact long after everyone who has ever heard of me is gone. And I am reasonably certain the very words you are reading now will be preserved indefinitely, giving me immortality of a sort. Even if the atheists are right and after I die my consciousness simply ceases to exist, the essence of who and what I am will live on. And so will you.

Mythical and mystical truth is just as real and just as important as literal truth. It can tell us things science can’t. Use the right methods for the right subjects: bad science makes bad religion.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE EXERCISE Go outside on a clear night and look up at the stars. Think about how far away they are and how long the light you’re seeing has been traveling through space. Consider how big the universe is, even just the part we can see. And yet here you are, contemplating it all.

Now imagine you’re someone living 30,000 years ago. Your life is very different, but you’re still looking at the same night sky, seeing the same stars, still wondering what it all means.

Stand or sit comfortably for several minutes. Don’t think, don’t analyze, don’t interpret—just look at the stars. If you find your mind wandering, gently return to your star gazing.

When you feel you’ve been there long enough, go inside and write your impressions in your journal.

34 CHAPTER 1

Body, Mind & Spirit / Paganism “This is an absolute gem of a book! John’s love of his Pagan path fills this book with incredible enthusiasm and confidence . . . I would recommend this book to beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Both will find many pearls of wisdom within these pages.

Highly recommended.”—Damh the Bard

An Experience-Based Guide to Modern Pagan Practice Paganism is a way of seeing the world and your place in it. It means challenging the assumptions of mainstream society and strengthening your relationships with the gods, the universe, your community, and your self. The Path of Paganism provides practical advice and support for honoring your values and living an authentic Pagan life in mainstream Western culture.

Discover tips for establishing or deepening a regular practice. Explore how your spirituality can help you deal with life’s inevitable hardships. Learn the basics of leadership roles and other steps to take as you gain experience and move into more advanced practices. With questions for contemplation as well as rituals to help you integrate new concepts, this book guides you through a profoundly meaningful way of life.

John Beckett is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, and Ár nDraíocht Féin. His blog Under the Ancient Oaks is part of the Pagan Channel of the multifaith website Patheos. John has been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals since 2003. He lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and can be found online at www.Patheos.com/Blogs/JohnBeckett.

$19.99 US / $22.95 CAN

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