Beyond

A large amount of the following material was written some years ago by myself, and I’ve attempted to join a number of partially-rewritten paragraphs together in this post, mixed with some newly-written sentences to make a more-in-depth article on this subject. Whilst I have covered a lot, both from writings I made several years ago and from new additions, I am unable to do full justice to this huge matter without writing a rather large book on the subject.

Whilst there is a lot of standard doctrine within Paganism; there is also a very deeply personal side which is unique to all Pagans individually. At this point I’d better mention that Paganism has nothing whatsoever to do with “Devil Worship”: The “Devil” concept is a myth of Christian origin; through which they attempted to discredit and demonise Pagan belief by colouring and utilising the image of the Horned God; partner of the Mother Goddess, as the archetypical representation of all evil within their own religion. - However this Devil character, referred to in the Christian Bible as Satan, is a relatively recent character in mythology, and has no relevance to original Pagan beliefs and doctrine; nor for that matter modern-day neo-Paganism.

No; it’s not “Devil worship”: This “Devil” is a Christian myth rather than a Pagan one - How can anyone worship something that they believe doesn’t exist?

So what would one do in order to become a Pagan? Of course there is no checklist.  : My experience of becoming a Pagan is most likely different to others; as all things are naturally individual and unique. : Organised religion has attempted to unify and simplify understanding of the spiritual to such a vast extent that it is now neither proper understanding, nor is it really spiritual. Certain religions have succeeded in producing programmed clones carrying a payload of a few simple viruses of belief, with which they seek to infect others who don’t use the firewall of discernment, the anti-spyware of education, and the anti-virus of intelligence.

Firstly in becoming a Pagan one will come to develop the understanding that all natural things are unique, and that all life is sacred; human, animal, and vegetable. As a result of this understanding one will not be unnecessarily discriminatory of others, and will recognise the sanctity of all life, regardless of nationality, race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

There is no way of making oneself believe it, or forcing oneself to do so: Either you do or you don’t - But it’s no rigid doctrinal requisite though as such: There is no set structure that one has to adopt to the letter - All things are not equal just as all things are not deserving: Therefore favouritism can be an emotional outlet, but nevertheless favouritism in the light of recognising that no matter what one’s preferences may be, both the preferred and the partially-shunned are nevertheless unique and sacred

I personally found it helpful to study about, and often even to meet the deities; remembering that all spiritual deities are simply an aspect or sub-aspect of Divinity, whilst bearing in mind that Divinity is such an infinitely massive and supreme being - the union of all that exists, all that ever has and ever will exist, on this plane of existance as well as others, that it would be impossible to come to know all of Divinity in its entirety within a single lifetime; possibly even within infinity. (Imagine Divinity as a huge diamond with millions of different cut faces to it: Each deity is the aspect of each of those faces or aspects of the unfathomable whole of the one Divinity: This is where many err; seeing the entirety of Divinity as a single being with a single personality embodied in a master-god such as Yahweh. - (Who is a three-faceted god.) The fact is that Yahweh is a single aspect of Divinity rather than Divinity itself. (The idea of the Trinity was itself borrowed from the Sumerian Tri-Une Goddess legend.)

Whilst proceeding as above one will eventually and inevitably, as a result, at the same time as and by default, come to know oneself, and understand the personal unique individual nature of one’s own being, as well as seeking one’s own wills, desires, and aspirations. This requires a huge amount of individual honesty with oneself, as in doing so one must also confront and accept one’s own inadequacies and failings in addition to one’s assets and attributes, before seeking to deal with them. Once one has come to the understanding of who one is, as well as the true nature of one’s own individuality, one will respect oneself and others more, and also will reach a higher understanding of the reverence for the spiritual uniqueness of all things.

So what’s the best way to go about finding out more about Paganism?

You want to know about Paganism and Witchcraft; therefore, quite logically, you go to Google and type “Witchcraft” into the search bar: Google presents you with thousands of websites; a lifetime’s worth of study; but you didn’t want to spend a lifetime studying it; you wanted to glean the basic truths and make a decision on whether it was a path you wanted to follow - So you start on page 1 with the first site; http://www.witchcraft.org/ - ‘Good site; but maybe this site is a little too, shall we say, commercial and glossy, for your current needs. So you proceed through the listings, selecting sites at random, and studying those that you feel comfortable doing so with. 100 or so sites later you have learned a number of conflicting views; all backed up by other sites, yet seemingly contradicted by still others: One site may tell you that Witchcraft/Paganism, is all about love, peace, dropping out and becoming a “fluffy bunny”, being at one with nature, and displaying unlimited love for all things, while another informs you that there is no need to change a thing, as the divine resides within you, and bringing that out will give you all you need. Yet another site tells you that you should adopt a moral code based upon your newly-found Pagan ethics; while yet another seems to indicate that no moral code is necessary by the words “‘An it harm none, do as ye will.” Following this you stumble upon a Christian-edited website regarding Paganism which tells you that all Pagans unknowingly or secretly worship the Christian “Devil” and have been cleverly duped away from the “One true path that leads to salvation.” - Supposedly the Christian path; although that path probably has as many or more variations than the individual paths of Paganism.

Confused and mentally battered you ponder, and feel like giving up. So many sources and so much information; seemingly in disagreement with itself and each other depending upon its source. Which is the correct piece of information? Apart from the Christian view of Witchcraft; which is simply a method of gaining converts by denouncing any and all other paths, in a way they all are: Each individual has an individual understanding and path to Divinity which is in some way a variation of sorts upon others.

I’m going off the point here. The point I was trying to make is that one cannot use such a widely-defined search term as “Witchcraft” to find a single path within Paganism. There are many different “denominations” of Witches or Pagans. However unlike the case with regard to Christianity; nearly all, if not all, Pagans, interact peacefully with one another; whatever the denomination, whether Wiccan, Druid, Shaman, Buddhist, Hedge-Witch…Whatever. (Having said that though; there can be factious rivalries built up between male Pagans - The usual male sociality issues…) Uniting us are three major principles; firstly the universal Pagan belief that all paths lead to the same goal. : If you’re all climbing a mountain you all get to the identical summit eventually if you make it to the top, no matter which route you take. Second is the universal Pagan principle that all life is sacred and is a part of Divinity. Thirdly the Rule of Three, which is not exactly universal in its entirety, but appears in a similar form throughout Paganism; that being “Whatever you give out will be revisited upon you three times in this or future lifetimes.”(Similar to the Christian version; “What a person sows; this they shall also reap.”.) : So in short, then. : 1. We’re all going to the same objective “event”; that being ultimate enlightenment. 2. We don’t want to harm life, as life is sacred no matter whose life that is. 3. If we do harm others then we will get three times that harm back, yet if we do good to one another we get three times that good back.

What are the Paths up for choice as regards Paganism? Well there are many more than one could imagine; depending upon the individual who takes that path. The best path is the path that’s right for you. There are no “Book religions” in Paganism: (Genuine)Pagans are knowledgeable and responsible people as a whole, and we are fully aware that it is ours to bear the responsibility for every reaction resulting from our own actions. (That’s not saying that we never get it wrong or make major cock-ups.)

Auntie Sharron doesn’t have all the answers, and I’m speaking from my own personal experience of my own personal path at all times; although everything I write is in agreement with Pagan doctrine as far as I am aware. I’m not advising everyone to become a Pagan, unless it’s right for them. I have no insecure desire to “convert” people to my way of thinking. I’d just like people to start thinking; thinking for themselves, rather than blindly following blind halfwits like the proverbial sheep to the slaughter. When people have decided upon their path for themselves, using their own reasoning with a totally unbiased and fully open mind and without any coercion or brainwashing whatsoever, then their opinion is a valid one as far as that person is concerned at a personal level.

Having gained this understanding one also gains perception of the energies and powers available to one, and learns over time in tandem with Spirit and deity how to use and manipulate those energies both for the good of others, of the earth, of the universe, as well as for the good of oneself. As a consequence of this one becomes empowered with true spiritual understanding, and receives one’s “awakening”; learning how to perceive using one’s third eye, gaining intuitive insight and perception of things both seen and unseen with one’s physical eyes: One therefore gains further knowledge and understanding, contributing to the overall enlightenment of the soul, deepening one’s understanding of all of the above; and from there is an upward spiral of enlightenment, with the added bonus of “sight beyond seeing”, (Which I actually asked for at an earlier stage, and was granted: Since I was at that time much more physically routed than in the spiritual, I saw the wiring under the board, the invisible structure, of modern society; and believe me it was pretty ugly, (I love these sensible oxymorons!) and shocked me to the core from the insight into the corruption, intrigue, mass subterfuge, and intrusion form virtually every facet of the politico-religious framework of the mass-hysteria we call a “free-society”. In fact a so-called “free society” is about as free as a high-security prisoner under 24-hour guard; but it could be worse, indeed it has been in certain places at certain times throughout history.)

Coupled with the action and implementation of true positive wholesome magick within one’s life, and the knowledge, joy, peace, love, and understanding which flows from Divinity through deity to one, and returns to Divinity charged with the power of the circle, to flow out once again on its journey invigorating, empowering, renewing…Just a tiny part of the universal whole which is a mere dot within all of existance. - But that’s another story.

Peace.

Namaste’

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