Self-identification with Paganism

The Cauldron's server is expensive and requires monthly payments. Please become a Bronze, Silver or Gold Donor if you can. Donations are needed every month. Without member support, we can't afford the server.

Or donate directly via Paypal

This message board is The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's SMF Archive Board. It is closed to new memberships and to posting, but there are over 250,000 messages here that you can still search and read -- many full of interesting and useful information. (This board was open from February 2007 through June 2011).

Our new vBulletin discussion board is located at http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/ -- if you would like to participate in discussions like those you see here, please visit our new vBulletin message board, register an account and join in our discussions. We hope you will find the information in this message archive useful and will consider joining us on our new board.

[HeathenHeart]

I posted a similar topic some time ago, as this has been on my mind a lot lately. I have had a look through some similar posts on this site however, and it seems the topic of 'what defines a Pagan' has been covered a few times before. Each time a lot of people seemed to agree on one thing: that the only thing you need to be Pagan is to feel it in your heart. Would this be a correct statement? If so, then I am definately Pagan.

As for the dictionary definition, that's not what I'm talking about here - it seems a little broad to me. I suppose the best way to sum up Paganism is someone who isn't a Christian, Islamic, or Jew, and who self-identifies with the term.

You get Pagans of all sorts: polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, duotheistic, athiestic, religious, non-religious, earth-centred, not earth-centred, the list goes on.

I'm quite new to Paganism, though I've been interested in it for years. I have studied it in depth and explored a few different paths. I have found that I would prefer to refer to myself as simply a Pagan rather than choosing a specific path, partly because I'm not as interested in ritual/meditation/spellcraft.

I feel Pagan when I go for walks among Nature or look at the stars at night. I pretty much feel Pagan doing whatever I would usually do in everyday life. I know some Christians who refer to themselves as such simply by believing in Christ and feeling comfortable with the term - they don't go to church or do anything out of their way to be Christian. The same can apply to Paganism right?

I do believe in gods/goddesses, I'm polytheistic. Though I don't do much in the way of worship, I do leave offerings of gratitude and respect every now and then.

So back to the main point: would I be correct in saying that if I feel Pagan in my heart, then I am one. Everything else is gravy right? I don't need to feel pressured to meditate everyday or do ritual or anything else? Is it fine to feel Pagan simply from going for a walk or from reading some mythology or whatever I feel like?

Sorry for posting a similar question to my last one, I would just like to get this cleared up. I want to be able to call myself Pagan comfortably, and actually BE Pagan in doing so.

Thank you everyone for reading this!

Blessed Be!

[Star]

So back to the main point: would I be correct in saying that if I feel Pagan in my heart, then I am one. Everything else is gravy right? I don't need to feel pressured to meditate everyday or do ritual or anything else? Is it fine to feel Pagan simply from going for a walk or from reading some mythology or whatever I feel like?

Well...  Yes, more or less, but the thing is that just saying you're "Pagan" really doesn't mean much, in and of itself.  It's not so much that there aren't any required practices or whatever, it's that the range of religious outlooks covered by the word "Pagan" is so very broad that it doesn't appear possible to be more specific.  It's rather like, when someone asks you where you live, responding with "the southern hemisphere".  Technically accurate, but without further elaboration doesn't really say much of anything about you.  It's pretty easy to legitimately lay claim to the term because it's so general.

I know some Christians who refer to themselves as such simply by believing in Christ and feeling comfortable with the term - they don't go to church or do anything out of their way to be Christian. The same can apply to Paganism right?

I think this same discussion is going on somewhere else in another thread, but the short version:  Maybe.  The thing is, in Christianity, the belief is the important thing.  There are many pagan religions, though, in which practice is important, and in which you would not be considered "of the religion" if you were not performing the actions that are a part of it.  But...  I don't guess that makes you "not Pagan", it just makes you "not that kind of Pagan".

A quick note, btw:  Please don't forget to put a blank line between paragraphs when posting.  Big chunks of unbroken text are kind of hard for a lot of people to read on a monitor.  (If you're typing posts in another program, such as Word, and then copying it in here, you may need to preview your post to be sure the blank lines are there.  Sometimes they get lost in the copy/paste.)  Thanks!

[Tags:]

Jump to: Please select a destination: ----------------------------- About The Cauldron ----------------------------- => Rules and Regulations => Cauldron Announcements ===> Volunteers Needed: Site Assistants and Projects => Introductions => Board Questions, Suggestions, and Feedback => Chat and CauldronMUX Support => Test Board ----------------------------- Religion and Philosophy ----------------------------- => Paganism For Beginners => Books and Other Resources => Pagan Religions => Pagan Spirituality => Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology => Worship and Ritual => Holidays and Festivals => History and Religion => Faith in Everyday Life => Philosophy and Metaphysics => Non-Pagan Religions and Interfaith Discussions => Miscellaneous Religious Discussions ----------------------------- Magic and the Occult ----------------------------- => Magic and the Occult for Beginners => Witchcraft, Hoodoo, and Folk Magic => The Western Magical Tradition => Chaos Magic => Lodges and Other Magic Organizations => Miscellaneous Magical Discussions ----------------------------- Special Interest Groups & Special Discussions ----------------------------- => Special Topic Discussions => Chavi Memorial Chronic Illness SIG => General SIGS ===> College Pagans SIG ===> Cooking SIG ===> Divination SIG ===> Home and Garden SIG ===> Pagan Parents SIG ===> Teen Pagans SIG => Religious SIGS ===> Asatru and Heathenry SIG ===> Cauldron Cill ===> FlameKeeping SIG ===> Hazel and Oak: A Celtic Polytheism SIG ===> Neo-Druidry SIG ===> Reformed Kemeticism SIG ===> Ta Hiera Hellenic Polytheism SIG => Book/Media Discussion Boards ===> Academic Book Discussions ===> Pagan Religion Book Discussions ===> Magick Book Discussions ===> Fiction Book Discussions ===> DVD/Video Discussions ----------------------------- Life, the Universe, and Everything Else ----------------------------- => Pagan Announcements => Prayer and Energy Requests => News and Politics ===> Religious News ===> Non-Religious News ===> Political Discussions => Social Discussion Boards ===> Art, Poetry and Writing ===> Books ===> Computers and the Internet ===> Crafts and Hobbies ===> Family Life ===> Gaming ===> Health and Medicine ===> Humor and Quizzes ===> Music, Television, and Film ===> Pets ===> Science and Technology ===> Sports and Recreation