Merry Meet and Bright Blessings

Talliesin

As discussed briefly on the An Fáinne List there's a few of us Pagans amongst Boards users, so there may well be a value in this board.

Rules for this Board (subject to revision):

1. No Spam
2. This board is not affiliated with any particular group, coven, grove, list, moot or association. However, it isn't unfriendly with any of them either.
3. No Spam
4. Respect other people's traditions and practices. Including non-Pagan faiths. Disagreements are okay, bigotry is not.
5. No Spam
6. No Bitchcraft. I am better at bitchcraft than you, and can ban you from the board
7. No Spam

This board could do with at least one more moderator. Let me know if you are interested. If you are of good standing on this site (i.e. I'll ask DeVore and Regi about you) or in the Irish Pagan Community (anyone involved in running events etc) then you are more likely to succeed in applying.

Nevyn

Thead looks about for a spot to park her broom.

Panda

Hmm, Pagans eh i thought that species died out there a while back.

anyway, i heartily endorse this product and/or service, whatever it is.

Carbiens

/me adds token "whats this all about then" on new board

Talliesin

/me adds token "whats this all about then" on new board

Paganism is a term for a range of spiritual and religious beliefs and practices. As such it labels a group of religions (similarly to the term "Judeo-Christian-Islamic") rather than a religion.
That said there are plenty of people who call themselves Pagan, but don't consider it a religion. It depends on exact definitions of "Pagan" and "religion" and if you ask 2 Pagans for an exact definition of Pagan you'll get 3 slightly different answers.

Pagan paths include Wicca, other Witchcraft traditions, Druidry, Asatru/Heathenism and various forms of Shamanism. There are other paths, and a large number of people who don't identify themselves with any term more specific than "Pagan".

Almost any statement about Pagan beliefs and practices will find plenty of exceptions. So all of the below are items that can be said about many, but not all, Pagans:

• Pagans respect and venerate nature. Some worship nature, nature Gods or nature-spirits, some merely hold the Earth to be sacred.
• Pagans look to pre-Christian beliefs and practices as a source of their beliefs. Whether or not they claim to be "descended" from these beliefs, or a modern revival or revisitation of them varies
• Pagans generally hold to a strong moral imperative. However many Pagan paths have little or no moral legislation. In other words almost all paths tell you to be a good person, but many don't tell you how.
• Many Pagan paths practice some sort of magick or ritual that is intended to have results on this plane. Many do not, and most that do consider it to be something slightly apart from the actual religious beliefs of the path.
• Most Pagan paths have some degree of ritual practice. This varies from elaborate and structured to simple and impromptu.
• Most Pagan paths have a strong emphasis on oral tradition. As such the closest that most of them have to a scripture is modern printings of tales that were originally communicated orally (e.g. The Irish Mythological Cycles, The Norse Sagas, etc.) or serve as a medium for education when meeting F2F is impractical or as an aid to memory (for example, most Wiccans have a book called "The Book of Shadows", the term referring to it as a shadow of the oral tradition it represents).
• Pagans generally frown upon prosyletising, some even so far as to consider any religion prosyletising as a wrong done to the person they are trying to convert. As such we are happy to discuss and describe our beliefs and practices, but just as happy that other people's differ from ours.

There's been a few threads about Paganism on boards.ie, and one thread about boards.ie on a Pagan Mailing list, and there appears to be a few of us here, so it seemed like this board might be worth setting up.

stormkeeper

I definately see myself visiting this section a lot, hopefully as I'm beginning to get an interest in it all

Cloud

Would anyone mind if I shortened the name of this board to Pagans?

Other options: Pagan, Paganism.

J.
--

Talliesin

I'd prefer that. T'was Regi that named it, not I.

Go for "Paganism" - the "-ism" makes it clearer that it's not some game or something

stormkeeper

I haven't heard that game mentioned in ages... Shame my PC won't let me play it now