A Statement Of My Beliefs, A little about me

[WizardofOwls]

Since Wicca and paganism are very personal faiths, and since there is so much variance in beliefs, I think that all pagans should sit down and put their thoughts about the Divine on paper. I think it should be the first page in anyone's BOS. I wrote this piece to put in my own BOS. Please let me know what you think...

A Statement of My Beliefs

I consider myself an eclectic pagan - primarily shamanic with a little Wicca and Druidry thrown in.

I am not Wiccan. I don't believe that there are only 2 deities, thus I do not worship the Lord and Lady. I am polytheistic, believing in the existence of many gods and feel especially drawn to Celtic beliefs and Native American spirituality. While I do believe in a 3-faced moon-goddess, the Earth Mother, Lugh and many others, the only god I truly worship is the one who called me, my patron, Cernunnos.

My relationship with my god is a complex one. While I love, respect and worship him, I also fear him. I feel that Cernunnos is a very primal deity, a force of nature, and - like nature - is chaotic and unpredictable. He is both light and dark, good and evil, hunter and hunted, life and death. I feel that Cernunnos is related to several other horned deities. These deities include the Horned Lord of the Wiccans, Herne, Actaeon, Hu Gadarn, and Pashupati. I do not, however, feel that he is related to Pan. I have never understood the solar connection many pagans have made for Him. I see Him as many things: the Lord of the Wild Hunt, god of hunters and hunted, lord of animals, guardian of the gate to the afterlife, male fertility personified. But sun god? Nope. I don't see it.

I don't believe in reincarnation or past lives. I find it hard enough to believe that the Divine are cruel enough to make us go through this hell-on-earth once, but to willingly believe that they are sadistic enough to make us come back and endure it time and time again until we somehow "get it right" is just something I can not do. I believe that when we die, we go to the Summer Country - Tir nan Og - where we are reunited with our loved ones and the Divine.

I do not follow the Wiccan law "An it harm none, do as ye will." I feel that light and dark exist side-by-side in nature. Good and bad, life and death. Cruelty and darkness exist in nature just as they do in men. A cat will toy with a mouse for hours before killing it, and a lion will protect its territory. To deny the dark is just as bad and unbalancing as denying the light. I do not condone violence or murder, but I see nothing wrong with using magic to get a little non-violent revenge.

I am not a vegetarian and never will be. The gods, in their wisdom, made us omnivores and I will not turn my back on the wisdom of the gods. I will not, however, ever eat deer meat in honor of my great Horned Lord. I have nothing against hunters and hunting - I know that hunting is necessary in order to prevent over-population. I also know that hunters are special to my God. I, however, am a pacifist and will not take part in the killing.

I don't like anything which even has the flavor of Eastern religions. Things like Aikido, Chakras, Tantras, Mantras, Yoga, Feng Shui, Taoism, Shakti, Reiki, Yin/Yang, I Ching... mere mention of these are enough to make me cringe and instantly lose interest in a conversation. I do, however, like Taiko drumming and am interested in learning more about Pashupati.

I have a deep reverence for life which borders on the silly sometimes.
* I cry if I hit anything with my car.
* I won't use a cut Christmas tree... I cry when I have to carry the poor dead thing out to the curb.
* I have an interest in Bonsai, but I won't try because I'm afraid of killing the poor little trees.
* I often talk to plants and animals.

I have always felt that there was a living, intelligent presence in the woods. I get the distinct impression that it is male - most likely a green man. I do not believe that there is only one green man. I believe that every forest, grove, wood and copse in the world has its own green man. I believe that this green man is the spiritual manifestation of the collective consciousness of all of the plants in the grove, and that it is this spirit's duty to watch over and care for the copse it lives in.

I believe in the sidhe though I don't worship them. I usually find myself looking in the underbrush for eyes looking back at me. I find myself in a state of awe when I'm in the woods..

I have always loved the moon, even before I converted to paganism. Every time I go out the door at night, I always look to see where she is, notice what phase she is in, and pause to admire her beauty. I actually feel disappointment when I look and find she's in the new moon phase. Whenever I see her, I always tell her just how beautiful I think she is. I even find myself at times telling her my deepest thoughts, my deepest secrets, my innermost feelings. I don't consider myself called by the moon, nor do I worship her, but I definitely feel a bond with her. I do not observe Esbats.

I love divination. I work with the Tarot and with the Ogham. I am just starting to get into pendulums. I also have a Ouija board, a black mirror and a crystal ball, though I have not yet mastered the use of them. Astrology, however, bores me to tears.

I am fascinated with Celtic and Native American cultures. I like reading about the Druids and the Shamans. I feel Stonehenge is a holy place and have 2 totem animals: wolf and crow. I also have a faerie spirit guide named Aceros, and a lunar spirit guide I call the White Lady. I feel that Holly and Oak are holy plants for me. I have a staff made of oak and my wand is holly

I practice shamanic drumming and journeying.

Obviously I am not a Wiccan, but I do practice rituals similar to those for the 8 Wiccan Sabbats. I would like to find some way to tie them into the first year of a deer's life since Cernunnos is a stag god, but I can't find a month-by-month description of a deer's first year of life.

When possible, I perform my rituals skyclad, wearing only a torc and bracelet which have been consecrated for ritual use only. I may also wear a Cernunnos mask when it seems appropriate.

I do not believe that my beliefs are the only true and right way to believe. I believe that each of us must observe and do what feels right to us spiritually. We all have a path to walk and we ourselves are the only ones who can determine which path we need to take.

I am interested in learning more about faeire, the Green Man, the Wild Hunt, and the Holly King/Oak King stories. I love wind chimes, fountains, bells, incense and candles. I am especially interested in learning more about primitive forms of worship: drumming, dancing, chanting, masks, face and body painting, tattooing and piercing, etc. I love Celtic music and I am slowly teaching myself to speak Scottish Gaelic. I want to learn more about Spirit Quests and OOBEs.

[Nightchild]

Okay, I meant to reply to this already last year, but I lacked the time to do so.

I for myself do not think that the first thing in a BOS is supposed to be a statement of belief. That is due to the fact that I strongly believe that belief does change over time as you learn more about the traditions and theories and the history of your faith.
As for me I stared out believing that there were several deities. By now I believe that there's one form of deity and all those names we call the gods and goddesses are just some kind of shortcut, like the direct phone number of some special office in an office building.

So what do I believe?

I do believe that there is some kind of deity, devinity. It inhabits the land, the water, the trees and animals, the air, everything that is around. It's connected to nature, it is nature. And it is us.
I believe that I am part of everything and everything is part of me. I am connected. I know it and very rarely I may also feel it, which does feel unbelievable.
I do believe that Lord and Lady, as you call them, are two parts of that deity. I also call to Lord and Lady, meaning two different aspects of devinity.

I do believe in reincarnation. I really strongly do, for I again and again meet people and feel deeply connected to them. For example I met one of my friends and after half a year it felt as if I had known her forever. By now I know her about 7 years.
I believe that that phenomenon is caused when you find someone whose soul you've known in a past life. With whom you might have experienced some great things during a past life.
I do believe that there are currently several people who gather again and that they do so, because there's something they need to do.

I do not believe in good and evil. Those are terms made and defined by mankind and depend on perspective and the greater context. I therefore am careful with making wishes for myself and others. Whatever I wish might in the long run turn out to be not as positive as I might have thought.
And I do believe in educational measures. Meaning that I won't turn the other cheek when someone slaps me in the face. I try not to be aggressive, but I will stand to fight.

I do believe in the circle of life. I eat meat, I use leather and whatever. I just hope that there's no wasting of what mother earth gives to us and I try to say thanks for whatever I consume once in a while.

I believe that all kinds of believes got some things in common. That's true for the asian systems, for the european and the american systems and all others. That means I use the symbols of my land, of Europe, but I try to also learn about the similarities to other beliefs and in the end, I think, Earth will respond to all of them.

I believe in local spirits, which we call "Ortsgeister". They are connected to some place, they may leave it if they choose to, but usually only do for good reasons. They exist for different reasons, some are strictly natural, while I also know one that's an ancestral spirit. They guard their land, they are guardians, guidances, sorces of knowledge and friends.

I'm not quite sure whether to mention that I believe in leylines. As far as I'm concerned that's nothing to believe in, they are fact.

I greet the spirits, when I encounter them, and I do greet the moon, although I try to keep in mind, that it's not the moon itself I worship, but the principle of life that's so easily visible in her periodic waning and waxing.

Although it's nothing about my belief I might also mention that I am part of a circle, I guess you could call it a coven, we ourselves say "Zirkel" which translates best to circle, I think. We learn together and we celebrate the eight feasts of the year.
It's hard to say what we do practise, since all of us have a different background. I usually also refrain from saying that I'm wicca and settle with the word pagan, leaving the rest open.

Okay, that's all I can think of right now, I might come back and add something, though.


I'd be interested in how your "similar rituals" as you say differ from the wiccan versions, Wizard. So I'd be glad if you cared to explain.

[Rhymer]

I consider myself a Celtic Christian.I beleive in one God although he is part of the Holy Trinity-the three in one- The Son , the Father and the Holy Ghost. I see God in everything whether land ,water and wildlife, as He created all things even the herbs for healing.God has many angels which make themselves known to us at times.All things are available to us as food that is why we say thanks before eating.All things have worth.I do not beleive that the old gods are evil, although I beleive satan/Lucifer/Beelzebub exists.To my thinking folk like Tuatha De Danaan did wander the earth as did the Norse deities and the Greek. as it states in the Bible in Genesis Chapter 6 "that there was giants in the land, who were there before the flood and after. One of which was Nimrod the great Hunter. These were the "Nephalim".Esp verse 4 "They were the men of renown, the heroes of old". I beleive as the Celts do not in heaven as such, but as a place of blessedness-the otherworld. if one does good in this world then eternity will be blessed alternatively if one does bad things in this world then the otherworld will noy be a good place to be. I also beleive that Christianity has nothing to do with man made religion such as protentasim or catholicism. Jesus Christ is above these things, belief in Him is not about legalistic rules and rituals. His message is about love, for one another, about looking after the environment, people, discussion rather than fighting. Not killing, not cheating one another and on not cheating on your wife. Not being materialistic or wanting what you cant have. It is about being content, spending time with family, treating employees with respect and equaly.I could go on for hours, but i think you know where I am coming from.

Slainte.

[Dogshirt]

The Sun is the creator of life. His right hand is Napi, who settled and created the fine points, much like a finish carpenter. This is what the olde people have told me.

[ShadowDarkFyre]

It's been a couple years since I've been here...



I'm a Christian Mystick. In shorthand, I'm a Christian who believes in and practices magick. That's severe shorthand. And not to be mistaken with Christian mystic. As everyone can tell you, the spelling makes all the difference.

I serve but one Deity. God. And I'm not talking about how mainstream Christianity explains Him, because honestly, that's a severe limitation about that, and besides, for being the PR of the Divine, they get things assbackwards. God - Who I name the Eternal, Illuvatar, Eru, the One, the One-Above-All, you get the idea - is far too big a Spirit: the biggest there is, to be copyrighted by any one belief. Call Him Ahura Mazda, the Great Spirit, the Goddess, etc. She encompasses both genders, and It really is neither at the same time, so if He's not worried about it, and She's not, then why are we? Move along folks.

I believe in God as the holy Trinity - Father, Son, Holy spirit - and that She came down in flesh as Jesus. Why doe this sound impossible to some people. This is the Eternal we're talking about. It can do anything He likes and wants and needs to do, because frankly speaking, She Is What It Is. You follow me? Good.

That being said, I believe in the existence of all other deities. I do and don't ascribe to the philosophy that all deities are but the One. Because that takes away from variety, and the Creator loves variety. I believe in a certain hierarchy. The Angels, of course. Then a singular group of High Gods who serve as personifications of the different aspects of Reality. And then the regular gods, with each God corresponding to a particular High God that they answer to. Then demigods that do the same. And that in one way or another each has their job and part in watching over different areas, aspects regions and personalities of Reality. Like a philosophy goes, there is a spirit to everything.

I believe in the Good people of the Native Americans, the Fae of the Isles, the unseen people of the Orient, etc. I believe in the existence of demons, as I've fought a few minor ones. I talk with the trees. Stood in battle with the Morrigan, chatting briefly with the Green Man, trying to peg down Hekate for some mead, ran into Cernnunous briefly, nearly got set up on a date with one of Orion's earthly daughters by Orion himself, am on family terms with the majority of the personifications, etc. etc. etc.

I am a minister, mage, and sorceror. Wanderer and rover. Traveller and seeker. Cartographer and heraldrist. Vexillologist and scolar. Book geek and warrior. Guardian and leader of a micronation. Learner and elementalist. Some call me a shaman, walk-in, and wise man,... though that's in the eye of the beholder, honestly. I just figure I know enough to know better.

I hold the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, the works of Tolkien, the works of Robert Jordan, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming, Vampire the Masquerade, Mage the Ascension, and all their sourcebooks as being sacred. You might call any or all of them fiction,... but there's cores of truth to every fiction: some larger than others. Oh yeah, and don't forget the Chronicles of Narnia, the works of Terry Brooks, His Dark Materials, among some of my holy and semi-holy books. They parallel too much in reality for it to ever be completely made up. At least in mine and others' opinions.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND The Dresden Files too!

To put it shortly, as this is just another nutshell, there's little that I wouldn't believe in, and even less that would surprise me. I've seen too much, fought too much, died too much, came back too much, and live too much to disbelieve much of it at all. Just think of the parable of the Six Blind Men and the elephant, and then sit back and take a better look at Reality.

And tell me what YOU see.

Good Dreaming and Blessed Be.

[LordAldwyn]

Hello Everyone,

Wizard : I think you are correct that everyone should define their faith, and should define it yearly.

I am a pagan, started off as a Wiccan, and still hold some of the Wiccan beliefs, but I have grown from there. When i have more time I will share my take on things.

I thought I would share a comment that I took to heart many moons ago.

Where you find truth use it.

BB!
Aldwyn