Pagan Paths

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[Earendil]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

[Hannah]

What path do you follow?

I'm still exploring and learning, so as of now I define myself as an eclectic pagan. However, I know I am a very soft polytheist and I agree to a great extent with the principles of chaos magic, which I want to read and learn more about.

 Evidently since I don't find that I fall into a particular category currently, I would consider my path to be one I've created for myself rather than a structured one. I'm definitely all over the place and my beliefs seem to be a big juxtaposition of all sorts of views.

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

As far as ethics go, my sense of ethics and morals is constantly changing, so I don't really have an answer there.
Like I said, I am a very soft polytheist, leaning closer to the pantheist category. I believe that One is All and All is One, and to me, deities are personifications of the great all-encompassing energy that makes up this cosmos. I don't actually believe there are deities; to me--for lack of a less insensitive-sounding word--they are tools of belief and intent. So you can see where my beliefs tie in with chaos magic.

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

It's probably evident already that I'm all over the place, and there is no traditional path or whatnot that I follow or use as a guideline, though I do read and consider structures from all sorts of paths. Overall, I'd definitely say I'm creating this path for myself as I go.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Not as of now. It is not uncommon for me to light a candle and do a very, very simple spell of some sort before going to sleep, but I do not have any sort of daily ritual/prayer/routine/etc.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

Well, this is a little hard to answer. I do not worship any deities, per say. I do invoke them as personifications of universal energy, though. Strange to some, but it makes sense to me! I am currently exploring deities of all different pantheons. Since I am very much a mutt and can claim origin in several parts of the world (as can most, if you look back far enough!) I have trouble with the whole "staying loyal to one's roots" concept. I don't know which heritage to choose! Ironically enough, I've been most comfortable with the Hellenic pantheon (most likely because I know the most about them from interest in Greek mythology as a younger girl), which is one culture that is actually not applicable to my ethnic background.

So that's my crazy summary of my beliefs thus far. Hope it wasn't too all-over-the-place!

[Dance2MothersRythm]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spell work? If so, what does it involve?
Mostly Candle magic and some work with Tarot cards but usually nothing spectacular
What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

I guess you could say I'm an Eclectic Pagan, i mix a bunch of stuff together and make it work for me   I like the idea of the Triple Goddess (Maiden Mother and Crone) and I consider all things in nature to be the physical portion of a greater spiritual being (God/Goddess)  I'm fond of the names Mother Earth, Father Sky and Sister Moon, but i have prayed to specific Deities in certain situations, from any Pantheon (Celtic, Egyptian, Nordic and so on). And while i have done this because of that Deities specific aspects, i"m more comfortable seeing the God and Goddess in a much more broad light, as mentioned above...

Kinda explained that above

Defiantly one I've put together myself although if there is a name for it and I've just not come, across it that would be interesting to know...haha

daily? no, I pray and give thanks often but im not a stickler about it, essentially when the moment feels right, no matter where i am or what I'm doing I'll take a moment and say a prayer or what-have you.  I do celebrate the Sabbaths, though not usually in a big way, sometimes it's nothing more than a lit candle a few words of prayer and sometimes it's a full blown ritual/meal/celebration! it just depends on whats happening at the time.  I figure, as long as i do take the time to acknowledge the day then i am happy

Mostly Candle magic and some work with Tarot cards but usually nothing spectacular

Like i said above, it's quite mixed up

[RootRealm]

What path do you follow?
I find it quite synchronistic that this was the first post I read after joining this forum today, and the first question you are asking is actually THE question that is up for me right now.  I am working quite a bit right now, and doing a lot of study and connecting with others, to try to more clearly define and find some name/terms for my path, which seems, like that of many others, to be unique.  I might call it "Hermetic Witchcraft" or "Alchemical Witchcraft" or maybe "Celtic Slavic Hermetic Witchcraft" but that seems too cumbersome...

What are your basic beliefs/practice?
The "guiding light" of my practice is the poem "The Charge of the Goddess" by Doreen Valiente, as  it captures the "essence" of my feeling about the Divine, which I experience pantheistically, and I believe it very well represents the feeling of being a follower of a Path of the Moon, which is what I believe the Occult  paths are, in essence.  I also believe that it's a principal purpose of my Path, to develop my Soul, which I attempt to do using Dreamwork, Psychotherapy, and using the Hermetic Psychology of Carl Jung, his elucidation of Alchemy, and yet I believe that Alchemy, Hermeticism, Witchcraft and Magic are more than metaphors for psychological processes, and cannot simply be "reduced" to metaphors.  I do believe strongly in working the 4 elements, which to me correspond to Jung's 4 functions.  Hermetically, and Alchemically, I have a strong orientation to "The Marriage of the Sun and the Moon", and I look for balancing the Solar and Lunar energies in all aspects of myself and life, thus to journey towards the Holy Grail.  The primary practices of my path are of devotion/surrender/dedication, of Art, Word (eg poetry, Magical Alphabets) and Symbol/Sigil Magic, keeping a Grimoire, work with herbs and stones,  as well as Divination using Scrying, Tarot, Ogham, RUnes and other divination methods I've received from the Gods & Goddesses. Some of these practices require that I take long solitary walks in wild places.    Use of music and journaling also figure in quite a bit.  Also, ongoing study, whether into Celtic or Slavic or other European mythologies, or aspects of Magic or Hermetic Arts, Alchemy or Witchcraft, or RuneLore or Ogham Lore, is important.  I attempt to follow the cycles of the moon, and do rituals to mark the moon's cycles and year's seasons, though these rituals and celebrations may not be very similar to "traditional" Wiccan or Pagan rituals for these same points of the calendar.  I base my path strongly in Celtic poetry and mythology, particularly evocative poetry such as the song of Amergin, and the Arthurian and Grail Legends, but I have Slavic ancestry too so I look for ways, such as folk recipes and customs, culture, and Slavic myth or fairy tale, to bring elements of the Slav soul and the dark, deep Russian forests, (where Baba Yaga lives!) into my Path as well.

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?
Completely self-created as a whole system, but most of its parts are practices that I'm sure many other people do. 

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?
Some type of Magic work, and daily devotional practice of surrender to the Great Mother. 

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?
I can't reveal that.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?
I have an overwhelming sense of devotion to whom I and Doreen Valiente (and probably many Wiccans or Witches or Pagans) call, "The Great Mother", who has many names, and many faces.  Other figures I may work with, I don't experience as deities, but as companions or guides. 

[Toriach]

What path do you follow?

I am a Quantum Mage

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

I believe that everything is energy and everything is one.  I believe that reality is dynamic not static.  I believe that each of us together create a consensus reality.  I believe that a person of sufficient will, focus, and clarity can alter reality.  I practice meditation, divination, and magick.

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

I created it myself, drawing from "low" magick, buddhism, Quantum Physics, and other divers sources.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Meditation.

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

I work Magick as needed.  I largely work with visualization and sympathetic magick.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

Deity free and happy to be.

[yewberry]

What path do you follow? The path description below my avatar sums it up.  Not really a path as much as a long and winding road.

What are your basic beliefs/practice?   Connection with spirits-of-place via a variety of means.  Scientific understanding (which most often manifests as botanical knowledge because that's what most interests me).  My beliefs involve the value of connecting with where I live.  I believe the earth is awake and alive.  I don't believe it cares for me the way other people describe their gods looking out for and interacting with them.  She's the turtle mother who leaves her eggs buried on the beach, as it were.

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?   Definitely the latter, although my rituals developed a loose structure as time went on.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?  Walk my land.  Commune with spirits-of-place.  Garden and cultivate.  Listen.

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?   I do spellwork, but it's not directly connected to my spiritual beliefs.  The two inform each other, but that's where it ends.  My rituals are the same as those I do daily, plus seasonal offerings of food, drink, flowers, and candles.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?  I don't work with deities.  My only god is the land itself, and as it's impersonal and largely unaware of me as an individual, I see no point in worshiping it per se.  My seasonal offerings are kind of a nod in that general direction, though.

Brina

[Cybella]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

1.  I'm recently back on the path after about 3 very difficult years, so I'm still feeling my way along (I feel like a newbie), I'm drawn to hearthwitchery, and the Celtic and Hellenic.

2.  I'm redefining those right now, I've never worked as a solitary before, I've been in a coven the whole time I've been practicing.  I basically have little issue with things as long as they don't bring harm to anyone and they don't interfere with another's free will.

3.  It's more of a I have no idea thing right now, I'm doing a lot of reading and listening.

4.  Pray.

5. I've limited myself to some healings and sending energies kind of thing right now.

6.  I have seen her but I don't yet know her name.  Red hair, pale almost translucent skin, eyes of blue or green )they change) white/green robe, with a bear, she has flowers under her bare feet when she walks.  She seems to be an Earth Goddess, and I get the feeling of a triple Goddess with her, but I just don't know.

[Earendil]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

I may as well answer my own question haha.

What path do you follow?

I am an Eclectic Pagan with Wiccan leanings.

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

I am panentheistic - believing that Deity is in everything and everyone. I am also strongly animistic. I believe in the Law of Three (karma), that what you send out will come back to you. I believe that everything is made of energy, and that energy can be worked with or manipulated to your will (magick).

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Well, I draw from a number of structured paths (such as the Correllian Nativist Tradition, of which I am a member), though overall it is my own path. I do what works best for me.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

I meditate and work on creating inner stillness. I also do psychic shielding in the morning and evening. I spend time with the God and Goddess every evening before bed at my devotional altar, and thank them for all they have blessed me with.

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

I use a Wiccan structure in ritual (casting the circle, calling the quarters etc), and usually perform spellwork at the Sabbats and/or Full Moon.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

I believe that all gods are one God, and all goddesses one Goddess, though I personally work with Odin and Freyja, and a lesser extent, Thor. I also feel called to Cernunnos and Aradia however.

[Aster Breo]

6.  I have seen her but I don't yet know her name.  Red hair, pale almost translucent skin, eyes of blue or green )they change) white/green robe, with a bear, she has flowers under her bare feet when she walks.  She seems to be an Earth Goddess, and I get the feeling of a triple Goddess with her, but I just don't know.

Bears have been linked to Brighid.  There's quite a lot of material on that in The Festival of Brigit:  Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman, Seamus O Cathain.  It's not an easy book to find or to read, but it's an interesting theory.

Feel free to PM me if you want more detail on that.

FWIW...   

[Altair]

What path do you follow?

I'm a Wiccan-like pantheistic polytheist

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

The universe is a manifest deity, of which we are all a part. The dynamic diversity of existence is what makes Her thrive.

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Self-created.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Meditate.

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

No, but I fumble with augury (divination from the flight of birds).

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

None you've heard of, since they're uniquely my own, but in essence they are: a triad of ruling gods (a sky father, a judge, an underworld trickster), an earth mother and a moon goddess, a death goddess and a sleep goddess, a god of fate, and a few other related divine beings. They are all aspects of the One, the Great Goddess, as are we all.

Reading Toriach's reply, I'm similar, but minus the magic/plus deity (largely as metaphor).

[Ellen M.]

What path do you follow?

Eclectic Pagan. I'm delving more into druidry as presented by ADF and am interested in hearthcraft and garden witchery, as well as elements from Hellanismos, Daoism, and, to a lesser extent, Asatru.

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

I don't have much codified, but I'm a fan of hard polytheism and believe if there are gods out there, they're all individuals and operate as separate personalities. Gods are so much above humanity as that they've got spheres of influence that we don't possess (and in return, humans can do things that gods can't accomplish) and are more likely to be invisible than the average human. I believe that nature is pretty cool, that human beings are pretty neat, and that we define our humanity by the stories we tell about ourselves.

I don't really keep up with a lot of practices. I've maintained several altars over the course of my Paganism, including temporary working altars (for rituals, holidays, spells, etc) and more permanent ones for deities. For example, right now I've got a permanent shrine for Aphrodite on top of one of my bookshelves that I light candles at (hopefully) everyday, and I've got an ADF-inspired altar set up on a small, wheeled dresser I use for ritual. I'm working on getting Athena and Dionysus their own spaces too, and I'm trying to decide if my makeshift altar for Bast should stay or go.

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Self-created from several different sources, including my own brain.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

I'm trying to get in the habit of lighting candles and praying daily. I've also been leaving offerings every night in my garden to the local land spirits to ask for blessings for my plants.

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

Nothing constant, I'm afraid. I've worked everything from very, very Wiccish rituals (still trying to pull myself out of that mindset, actually) to simple kitchen magic. I also honor the Wheel of the Year... when I remember.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

Athena and Dionysus have been with me the longest. Pan showed up last summer, Aphrodite a few months ago, Bast a few weeks ago, I've hung out with Freyja, Loki, and Odin, and I'm trying to learn about the Celtic guys. I've worked with Danu and Manannan before and am interested in pursuing more there.

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

I'll play!

I'm a Flamekeeper.  It's a structured path that I created myself.   (well, as structured as anything else in my life .....)

Basic core belief - all is Divine.  All is part of God.  That doesn't make individuals part of each other, but we are all part of a greater Whole, and we exist to make that Whole better.  Improve the Universe.

As far as gods - I personally look to Apollo and Neith.  Flamekeeping as a whole recognizes all of them/none of them, depending on your preference and mindset.  Flamekeeping itself is fairly agnostic on the subject, I personally am a believer because I prefer to believe I'm not TOTALLY batshit crazy.  (Partially I won't argue. *g*)

Daily practices - none/everything.  All is Divine, so separating out religion from other things is false.  When I wash the dishes, I'm serving my family which is honoring the Divine.  (doesn't mean I ever DO it ...)  Meditation, knitting, playing with my son .. it all counts.  It's the mindset that makes it religious or not.

[Rowanfox]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

BTW (Gardnerian)

Traditional Wiccan; dualistic pantheon, balanced polarity, initiatory mystery religion, orthopraxic

Structured tradition

Daily devotionals and meditation

yes. Much of it is oathbound.

The God and Goddess of the Craft..... not to be confused with the ONE god and ONE goddess of other faiths and belief systems.

[Nyktipolos]

What path do you follow?

My own, I suppose. I've been using the term "Dionysian Pagan" for a while, so I suppose thats the best way to put it. What I want and what He wants, and what His followers have done, seem to interact on a base level. I used the term "Neos Alexandrian" for a while, but its not so correct now. I could maybe place it as my 'birth place', however.

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

- Similar to Flamekeeping, we all have that Divine-ness in us. The more we deny it and corrupt it, the more horrible and depressing we become.
- Dualism is awesome. Most things in our created world can have some sort of dualism with another thing. Things also work pretty neat in threes (Apollon, Dionysos, Hermes).
- Panentheism: Divine is in nature, and yet Divine can stand apart.
- Never tell a God "You're not really real. Screw you". Bad Things happen.
- Never promise what you're not going to keep. I suppose thats the closest thing I have to "sin" within my personal view. I've skirted this issue several times to know enough to never do it.
- Enjoy life passionately. There is no point in wasting life away doing the same, boring, menial things that just drag us down (and I mean all those three things together. One can do the same thing over and over again and still be passionate, one can sometimes do boring things, and one can do menial things because they have to get done. But all three together I think kill the soul.)

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

My own path, wholeheartedly. I've tried putting myself in an already created path, and it just hasn't worked. I need room to grow and create and alter things, even fundamentals.

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Not currently. In the upcoming lunar month things are changing with that, though. Mostly I see them involving more focus on my Gods, as well as ancestor work. It's all mostly up in the air at this point.

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

No on the ritual, but that will probably change, and no on the spellwork, and that will probably not change. I don't know why me and spellwork don't jive. *shrugs* It may be because I find using things for spellwork tend to be a bit too.. open with its associations? Irony, I suppose. Either way, it just doesn't call to me right now.

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

Dionysos, first and foremost. Aphrodite, after that. After that I have varying interests and Their varying interests in me I suppose: Bast, Menhyt and Anhur, Pakhet, Hermes, Spider, Leopard, Hestia, Sekhmet, Selene, Rheia and Kybele, Semele/Thyone, the Nymphs and Apollon.

[Ghost Dog]

What path do you follow?

What are your basic beliefs/practice?

Is it a structured, traditional path or one you created yourself?

Is there anything you do on a daily basis?

Do you have any form of ritual or spellwork? If so, what does it involve?

What deities (if any) do you worship/work with?

Hmmm... well, I don't name my religion, but given half a chance I will will go on and on about it...heh...  My primary belief is polytheism. I see the world as not being the unified product of a single god... but as a dance of disparate powers.

A monotheistic world has one ultimate truth, one way, one law, one great authority... but the polytheistic world has many sources, many truths and many ways.... or gods... whatever.

To walk in a world of polytheism is itself, an act of worship. Acts of worship quicken the spirit.... and everybody enjoys a quick spirit now and again.... heh 

 

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