Pardon my dust…OR…If it does not fit, do not use it and shut the f…f…f…front door

Banner made by Pa Osir Djutmosu Si Hat-Hor

(Intone the following few sentences with the most condescending and annoying voice possible) Oh, I just don’t know if I can call myself a Pagan anymore, the term is so watered down. Yeah, and it’s such a negative term anyway. Like, it’s so stupid now.)

So I have been awakened from my slumber by an identity crisis. I am not the Pagan police, but for the sake of all sanity can we get a few things straightened out here so that those whose poo poo smells like potpourri can move on. Yes, the term Pagan has become watered down, however, primarily by people who are way to cool and advanced for us anyway and those that are afraid what the neighbors will say.

Here we go folks, it is this simple: Modern Paganism began as a phenomenon in the Western world to recover those elements of pre Christian religious, spiritual, and philosophical practice that seemed the most beneficial to our own spiritual and psychological wellbeing and growth. What we found were truths and meanings of a reality that never went away because truth and meaning do not change with new management. The roots of its modern rediscovery are found in the currents of the nineteenth century’s philosophical, spiritual, artistic and literary sub cultures which, taken together, were questioning the entire project known broadly as Christendom or Western Christian Civilization. When Einstein’s theories blew apart the Cartesian universe and introduced the concept “relativity” to the masses, those crazy Romantic poets, artists, and philosophers did not look quite so far “out there” anymore. Both science’s mechanical universe and Christianity’s Biblical universe now had holes big enough to drive a locomotive through.

Modern Paganism at its core emerged out of this milieu as a fundamental rejection of Christian theology and cosmology. (I did not say it is anti-Christian you crybabies) Given Christianity’s roots, this extends to its cousins Judaism and Islam as well. That is why the moniker PAGAN was proudly taken on by the 1960s and 70s for crying out loud! Whatever the word’s origins, it is a term that came to symbolize the antithesis of Christianity and the other Abrahamic faiths long before the 20^th century rolled around. In reviving its use, it was meant to say unequivocally that “I think Christianity, and the stifling social and political culture it has created, have been a hindrance to my spiritual development, please do not bother me while I spend time and effort unlearning your teachings and rediscovering what your spiritual forefathers tried to destroy.”

If you are living by the precepts of our Pagan ancestors, you are most likely already doing your part to be amicable and play nice with the other children. The fact that we took on an “attitude” in our reclamation, in hind sight, was necessary considering the times. It gave us the space we needed to rediscover the enduring truths and meanings of the universe as manifested through the lens of our ancestors. The fact that some still take an attitude in order to break the centuries old programming they have been fed, should be understood for what it is, “Pardon my dust, I am remodeling here. Watch your step.”

In the last century or so we have plumbed the depths of classical  civilizations, early civilizations, and prehistoric culture. We have found a treasure trove of mythology, spirituality, religion, and philosophy. We have made missteps along the way, gotten sidetracked by charlatans, and both reconstructed and reconstituted many things from the ancient past. In this process we expanded our conceptual borders to accommodate the fact that there was a natural diversity in the pre-monotheistic world, and when politics were not involved, a healthy religious tolerance. Most of all we discovered that this thing IS NOT STATIC.

It is not about who has more faithfully reconstructed the ancient past or broadened the tent wide enough to include every hyphenated Pagan on the planet. It is the rediscovery of truth and meaning, as filtered through a primarily European lens, which was sublimated in the onset of monotheism in the Western/Mediterranean world. It is rooted in the indigenous, classical, and mystery traditions of the broadly European and Mediterranean world. Some of it survived through art and the written word; we know what the Renaissance artists were getting at! We know what the artists and poets of the 19^th century Romantic Movement were getting at. It is different from the Eastern, African, Caribbean, and Pacific traditions. However, it also has many similarities with these. It is most significantly different from, and an open rejection of, the Abrahamic traditions. Certainly the truth and meaning that permeates creation is the target we are all aiming for, but in our meager human conditions we understand and approach that project a little differently depending on a number of factors that shape who we are.

In the 20^th century Western world a group finally said, “We are Pagans damn it! I do not believe in the Abrahamic version of truth and meaning. I am reclaiming the beliefs of my ancestors the best I know how and then moving on from there.”

The only identity crisis going on is the one being had by those who say Paganism is having an identity crisis. They don’t approve of this or that, this is too much, this is not enough, I still feel Christian, I think I’m an atheist…blah blah blah. If the name does not fit, do not use it, and by the way shut the front door on your way out, I am busy here.