Some Differences in Priestesses and Witches - Personal Transformations

La Belle Dame sans Merci

I am Renounced. I am no longer a Priestess, though I am still a witch, and possibly still an abbess. It's a disconcerting and enlightening sensation, replete with relief and disappointment. I have been Dedicated for two decades, and had forgotten what it was like not to be constantly connected with Deity. Since becoming Renounciate, however, the change in perception has been so quick and profound that I feel more qualified to speak on the difference in roles, abilities, and experiences of each.

Being a witch and being a priestess are manifestly not the same thing, though many of the current crop of books imply otherwise. A priestess is a conduit of Deity in the world, and can be from any tradition or set of practices, including wizardary. Invoking Deity during a ceremony, feeling Her move you occasionally or hearing Her is a completely different experience from dedicating yourself to a manifestation of the Universe. It is a contract; a Covenant between you and the Deity, where you are both matched and agree to it. You may hear the Call, but your deity must also take you on... Your inner Divine slowly, or sometimes radically, creates a constant communication with the outer Divine, learning from it, hearing it, and aligning yourself with it. You also represent Deity on earth, and channel that into spellwork and ceremony. Eventually, as you practice and feel the Calling, you take on aspects of the Deity, which manifest in your daily life. It greatly increases your abilities, sometimes even giving you new ones, since they are automatically Divinely channelled. As you become more aware of the bigger picture, and your mind is expanded to encompass it, you envision better your place in the Universe, and what you need to do to achieve it. Priestessing therefore touches Destiny, and you are filled with Purpose, and the passion for it. When you are an accomplished priestess, you are always in contact with Deity. Everyone talks to themselves, but priestesses sense the echo that their words, thoughts, feelings, and wishes are heard directly by Deity. In a way, they are always praying.

In our relatively safe Western world, we forget that many of these paths are actually dangerous, so therefore the tests can be as well. Not all Shamans or priests make it through their Initiations and Trials with whole skins or minds intact. It sometimes isn't simply a case of passing a sword over someone's head or anointing. It can involve passages to other worlds, links with other hearts and minds, and can threaten one's very physicality. Because that's what the job can sometimes entail and it can be pretty tough. Especially for priestesses, who are the Deity's representatives, doing Her work in the physical realm.

Priestesses and witches both have Initiations. Like most spiritual or mystical beginnings, they can be extremely similar or even simultaneous, often confused with each other. Both also share the concept of Trials, where major changes in life circumstances or spirituality are marked with an ordeal. In the case of priestesses, however, it isn't merely the inner self or circumstances and how one reacts that denotes the Initiation or Trial and its success or failure: it is the intervention and channelling of Deity itself that, if not creates the circumstance, then at least does the judging. Passing means that entirely new paths, powers, or perceptions open up. Think leveling. Failure in a Trial as a witch can mean that no movement into a particular new life path is possible for a time, perhaps ever. Failure for a priestess can mean much the same. However, it can have graver consequences. It can result in penance, with the promise of further chances to rectify, or punishment, or in the loss of favour from Deity entirely.

The latter such was my case recently. My Goddess has only benevolent aspects, so my Trial was, if you will, subcontracted out to another, less merciful manifestation of Spirit. Or simply not interfered with as another borrowed me for Her own purposes, which works out the same. I was geased with a task last October. Rather like a command function, it is a fundamental set of instructions that overrides any other code, to the exclusion of all other orders. It overwhelmed every part of my mind and body - the strongest Sending I have ever received in my life. Therefore, I never questioned its authenticity or imperative. Though seemingly simple, it was made clear that my entire future depended on its execution. However, since it conflicted with other self-imposed restrictions and needs, the task became more complex and harder to complete. The sacrifices became greater and, though I was willing to pay them, came with fewer results. I burnt everything - my sense of self, my defences, my university work, my ties to my family and home - none were worthy of acceptance. Uncompleted, though still running, for months the geas drove me mad. Ironically, I have never worked so hard at my spirituality in my life. Every single night without fail, for months I lit my candles and concentrated for hours. Spells, prayers, meditation, writing hundreds of pages, fasting, altering my biochemstry to dull the pain and make me functional... I prayed for mercy, and tried everything to break the geas or complete it. Waking or sleeping, it consumed my every moment, and I had no relief for my torment, except for brief periods of joy when a newly Initiated Priest took pity on my plight. For which I remain deeply grateful. Judgement was finally realized in the form of the new priest in the name of his Deity, and I was found wanting. My strength and honour were not enough to overcome the obstacles to the task, particularly my personal demons. Though I was responsible for his Initiation, even his introduction to his new Matron deity, which was part of my task, it was not enough of a boon to switch the judgement in my favour. It took me some time to process that, and all the while the geas continued unabated. Finally, only a few days ago, I realized that the only way to release it, since I wasn't going to be able to complete it, was to cut off the Divine conduit itself.

My Deity was clearly disappointed in my service, and had removed Her protection and dismissed me, though in Her kindness, rather allowed me to resign. So on April 1, without even an auspicious date, since it seemed pointless, I Renounced my Deity. Never having participated in such a ritual before, I had to wing it a bit. I announced my intention to my family to prepare them and took off my pentangle, some version of which hasn't left my neck in over two decades, as a symbol of repudiation of our Covenant. The results were astonishing. The overwhelming pain of the uncompleted geas was gone almost instantly, and the dominant sensation was one of a burden lifted, though not without sorrow, particularly in my proven failure and weakness. So in case I was still in doubt, I was proven correct - the source of the geas was Divine, and though this destiny remains unfulfilled, it no longer matters.

As I return to being a humble witch, my perceptions and abilities have been altering rapidly, as I discover which parts of my life were intertwined with my constant channelling and which are my own inherent gifts and skills. For example, for me that means I retain my precog, which I've had since I was a child, but all the Destiny and grand epicness that I used to manifest on a daily basis is gone. No longer connected to the Divine, I am suddenly cut off from the bigger picture, and cannot touch the filaments of Destiny that weave through life. Sidelined, if you will...

That does beg the question, however: how much of my witch skills were boosted by Divinity?  I can no longer perform some duties, clearly, but others remain as my own, though lessened. Will I be able to help others heal anymore? Can I teach? Will I even want to, as I am bereft of the sense of passion and destiny necessary for such grand schemes? I have known what I was supposed to do since I was 12, with every single skill, task, risk, and relationship in my life, including that with Deity, moving towards that goal, and now, I literally have no future in front of me anymore. Even my cooking is off. Apparently, even that was a prayer, since my Deity is a Healer and Hospitaler. Now I have to re-learn how to do that without channelling, too... My daughter, who has never known me when I wasn't a priestess, says that I'm 'all here' now and that when she speaks, all my attention is fixed on her. She claims that part of me was missing when she used to talk to me, since I was in constant communication with Deity. Which I agree with, since now it seems like my universe has shrunk, and it's only me inside my head. She insists that I even smell differently.

Part of me still retains hope that I can be Redeemed and finish my task, returning to the Divine in humility but triumph. Fulfilling my Destiny by completing my quest and moving on to the next level. However, that requires the relenting of my priest judge, and neither he, nor his matron, are known for their mercy. So it's a false hope. Turns out that he'll make a far better Manifestation of his Deity than I ever did of mine, though, so at the end of this, it's a net gain of Priests, right? I do feel that this withdrawal could eventually change, however. Perhaps, once I learn who I am, by myself, and again increase my natural gifts, in a number of years I might be able to rededicate to Deity - though not necessarily the same one, or Her and another, and maybe reintegrate with Destiny, being useful on a grander scale once more. Or I might not, since I'm not enough of a optimist to believe that She is doing this in the long run for my 'own good'. Maybe I just failed and got fired, because that is what happens sometimes.

Manifesting the Dream: On Religious Orgs, Pagan Abbeys and our Order in particular

Pentagram - Church of Santa María d'Azougue,Betanzos, A Coruña, Galicia, Gallaecia

In previous posts, we have already covered: how to join or create pagan communities; and historic and modern cloistered communities. Next up in our Abbey series; more of the benefits of establishing modern religious organizations and how we envision our Order creating those spaces.

Advantages of our non-denominational (and not just different varieties of Wicca) pagan organization, and religious institutions in general, are many.

Incorporation and Societies

A legally religious corporation or society in Canada has the ability to:

- Own property. i.e. creating and maintaining safe space. Not just renting. Including ministry work such as permanent churches, inner city safe spaces, etc.

- Ordain, a perform legal ceremonies, such as marriage. Currently, the only forms of Paganism that have organized to this degree in Canada are Wiccan. I'm not Wiccan, and like Spiritual Humanism and other forms of Humanism, the evaluation of one's channelling of the divine should NOT be a requirement for clergy. We can all do that. Or not, depending on your personal belief system and your skill level. Heh. All I need to know is, say, can you MC a good wedding or funeral, or counsel well, and does your community support you? That is mostly enough to satisfy the need.

- Support Native Elders and other professional religious who are having difficulty obtaining legal status or are being otherwise hassled by institutions. It's friggin' hard even to do smudges working with prisoners and guards or in hospitals or schools sometimes, for example. Legal docs can help solve some of those problems by lending legitimacy to fellow professional religious that request it.

- Projects get easier to do, like co-ops, or microloan programs, publishing houses, or abbeys. Also encourages full time clergy, such as nuns, monks, and other priests.

Our problem in paganism in particular has always been organization and communication, and everyone has to re-invent the wheel in every new location. A seriously inefficient, as well as illogical, situation. A national supporting body, providing information and other resources, would save oodles of time, money, and effort. There is also the problem of where those who have different influences from many traditions, like Christian witches or Jewitches or eclectics, go to worship and get together, to organize, and to be validated and do work in the world. Pagan Humanism is ideally suited to provide that space. Paganism have always been tolerant of other traditions, as well as pantheist, and can provide an emotionally and spiritually satisfying experience for those who might otherwise not feel welcome in most other communities, without insisting on following any set of traditions or deities, or even, and this is the kicker, any deity at all. It's always better to be MORE inclusive than less, wouldn't you say?

Structure

Our choice, being who we are, is:

- Collective environment, with overseeing bodies to ordinate, provide continuity and support, and solve disputes. Like the entire Green Party of Canada, it's not actually difficult to achieve, especially with modern tech. Groups or individuals can propose projects, expenditures, visions, etc. The entire body can vote on providing funds, support, or other resources. Projects are all volunteer, no assignments. That way everyone brings their entire energy, and they can leave a project or the organization when they wish. A gestalt entity.

- Board of Directors - Emergency and day to day decision making, with ratifications by members where required. And to point directly at someone for holding the bag on certain issues, as it were... Also, required for a non-for-profit corporation in Canada, it turns out...

- Council of Elders - As a body of second thought, for those decisions that need some further consideration, if the Board may have got it wrong, if there is a dispute that the Board can't solve, and for moral and ethical drive.

- Up to three Leaders, largely as Spokepersons. Because you need someone the press can talk to... Movements have a tendency to fizzle out when the Leader(s) leaves or dies, unless they are deified, which is rare. Although it is actually easier to encourage members to join with a created Cult of Personality, and group loyalty is higher, it is far more vulnerable to corruption and ultimately more fragile if the Leader dies, leaves, or is discredited. Though harder to get going and generate group identity, I have no intention of having everything we've all worked for dissipate because we lose the face on the stamp. However, it can be handy to have a face as a known symbol and to rally around, so spokesperson Leaders are still a darn good idea. Used correctly, of course...

Funding

Donations vs. grants vs. fundraising vs. products and services:

Donations are always lovely, but never to be relied upon. We can't ever count on donations or grants. They are the gravy, not the meal. WAYYY too many pagan groups, for example, have hoped that the community will simply 'help them out'. It doesn't happen. The old abbeys used to support themselves by being as self-sufficient as possible, taking students, making products of use to the community, like medicine. It has to be funded with the same eco-capitalism in mind. The ends definitely does not justify the means in this case. Or most cases, really. 

In a University, there are oodles of disciplines working side by side, and each is finding fulfilment and increasing their own knowledge, but they are all working together. Modern abbeys must, as all abbeys have in the past, support themselves. We can produce items that are in keeping with the spiritual pursuits of our members, such as sacred crafts, but we can also consider services such as a publishing company, group home, health food co-op, holistic healing and retreat business, money lending co-op, pagan and women's insurance org., and an arts group. When we can, of course. Methods to support ourselves and our families in Right Lifestyle: with safety, purity, determination, and honour, should be a huge draw. (Hel, I was fired twice in one year for my religious beliefs alone; rather than my safety and ethics code, which were also too high, apparently. Darn integrity...) I also want more pagans or alternative lifestyle folk to be able to count on financial assistance for insurance, mortgages, etc. (without some idiot passing judgement), financial instructions like co-ops, microloan programs, and eventual credit union and insurance mutuals. It only took the women's mircroloan program in India ten years to go from a few hundred dollars to ten million. This isn't India, of course, but that kind of growth is still possible here. Don't let anybody tell you it's gotten better for women in the financial world, either. I've run and started my own businesses, and had a life insurance licence. It has been hell trying to get anyone to deal with me fairly. (And I'm smarter and more attractive than the average bear. Heh.) Apprenticeships will also help attract and train people, if we already got Masters teaching certain skills... We are open to the ideas, passions, and expertise of our members.

Currently, we generate income and promote with:

1) Retail and wholesale herbal and stillroom product business - online and itinerant.
2) Training and apprenticeship
3) Lectures and speaking engagements
4) Food and whole foods co-ops

With capital, those can easily expand into:

1) Microloan programs
2) Physical retail locations
3) Training centres
4) Hospitality ventures
5) Healing and retreats
6) Cloistered communities

The Order is a facilitator for projects and expressions of spirituality. We can back members and non-members, providing space, funding, networking, or guidance.

Membership Criteria

Different levels of involvement will be available for different levels of commitment.

- Cloistered community: nuns, monks, hermits, etc.

- Professional in-the-world members: priestess and priests, Celebrants

- Lay members: beguines, outreach workers
- Volunteers

Different levels of privileges, e.g. voting, and differing resource support for different levels. For the most casual, they must only agree to accept and facilitate everyone's else's path, or be in agreement with our principles and goals, etc. Again, alot like the Greens. Heh. I'm not re-inventing the wheel or anything. I'm lazy. More like a combination of a full church, like Unitarians, plus the broadened focus of a Pagan United Way. For the most devoted, such as nuns, we will offer even more than other Orders of dedicants: room and board for as long as they stay with us, training, sponsorship in formal education and other bonuses for them and their families, and if they chose to leave us, a repayment of their sweat equity and any investment monies with interest, depending on how long they were with us. That way, no one feels they are taking too much of a personal risk, even when dedicating their lives to spiritual pursuits.

- No one can be ousted, except by conviction of criminal act that is in the moral realm. (Parking tickets don't count.) But no one has to work with you either, and if everyone wants to have you transferred 'cause you're acting like a dictator or miss the point of the project or any number of serious personality conflicts, that's final. You can decide where else you want to go or to be solitary, and still supported at your level of commitment. Thus, hermitage can be encouraged, and power plays or groups cliques discorporated.

- One of our goals will be to ordain locals, regardless of their affiliation. Humanist priests are usually called Celebrants. One of the primary questions an applicant for ordination have to prove to us is that you can professionally MC ceremonies. Local signatures and maybe a video would easily show that. Nobody can certify you as a Divine conduit, really. I CAN tell if you can give a satisfying performance for a wedding, though... 

Pagan Humanism solves the issue of the different pagan paths very nicely. This is really a boon for those who are having difficulty finding their place in major religions or philosophies, like Christian witches or atheists, or being recognized by government as legitimate.

Abbey of the Green Flame

Imagine: an actual place where one can dedicate one's life to voluntary simplicity, learning and using one's knowledge for humankind's benefit, providing a retreat to those who are ill and helping those who are ill to achieve full health, practising one's art, all without worrying about how to make one's daily bread... Interest has already been expressed for this kind of co-ordination and professionalism several years ago. I would join one if I could find it. If you can't find it, make it, is my motto... 

My abbey will be a modern one, designed to meet the needs of modern nuns and monks, not a re-creation. Collective structure, wholistic design, green tech... The entire abbey will be pagan humanist, with many diverse beliefs and practices able to be accommodated. Rather like the inclusiveness of Unitarians, but more active and In the World, if you will. Different Paths, like Facilities, will allow everyone to study, perfect, and perform the lifestyle of their Calling. The Path of the Spoon, for example, teaches cookery and food as an act of worship, providing Masters and a place to practice in that space, without requiring dedication to Deity. My own speciality is the stillroom, and I train in the traditional manner...

However, I personally need a Celtic reClaimist subset for those of us of that persuasion, so my own sect will be a female Brigantine order in the style of the original kelles, with a focus on the Flame of Kildare as Her manifestation. Music, bardic arts, poetry, healing, the warrior arts and scholarship will be the main focii.  A full religion, not just a congregation and some ceremonies. A Circle, but much bigger. I'm focusing on women because they usually get the circle concept faster, but men and other genders are free to join, of course.

One of the projects I'm embarking on if I move to Newfoundland is a co-ordination with local universities to complete a scholarly work that translates their research of the local folk trads into a practical Celtic magic manual. In Canada, European pagan heritage and beliefs have up until now only be recently recognized as a rich tradition of 'folklore', but it now has whole University departments dedicated to it. Like their music, some of it remains uncorrupted from the 16th century. My partner comes from the Codroy Valley, which is nearly all Scottish, many of whom came from Cape Breton. They still speak with a Scottish accent. There are also those of French decent, English that is linguistically nearly identical to Shakespeare's, and Irish. All remain relatively uncorrupted, as they left before the Removals, or Potato Famine, or Corn Laws decimated their relative folk cultures. Currently, there are in flux of scholars from the UK and other European countries who come to study the more primitive, more culturally complete music, tales, dance, and other folk traditions in Canada. For the Celtic nations, many of these traditions are accumulated in the halls of academia, but not yet reClaimed by Celtic trad witches of the world. A lifetime's worth of work, and many books, await the dedicated cult leader, I mean, spiritual guide. Heh, heh.


Each of our Founders and Affiliates has their own vision for doing sacred work in the modern world, with more inclusion of diverse spiritualities and encouragement of fulfilling lifestyles. One of our affiliates, The Copper Horse Abbey, for example, focuses on wholistic wellness for animals; horse medicine and natural training in particular. Pagan Humanism is a rich, accommodating environment and we very much welcome other viewpoints, input, energy, and spirit. Make suggestions or join us as a member, volunteer or group affiliate! We are here to support you!

Pagan Humanism: A Tradition of Rational Religion

Humanism is the concept that human reason, need, perception, ethics, and experience are the primary drivers of a satisfactory ordering of inner life, and of interactions with others and the world. Though humanists themselves disagree on many points, and the principles themselves are always being honed, the Canadian Humanists say "Humanists are guided by reason and scientific inquiry, inspired by music and art, and motivated by ethics, compassion and fairness." Currently more associated with secularism, Humanism was originally conceived as a revival of the classical Naturalism, with sacredness of the human condition and the true nature of reality at its core.

Happy Human logo of Humanism

History of Humanism

Humanism sprung out of the 19th century "ism"s of philosophical thought; when scholars were doing some serious rethinking in the Western world about how science, culture, economics, art, and individuals interact. Hot on the heels of the American and French revolutions, philosophers were forced to consider that top down authority of the Church and the State might not be the only way, or even the "natural" or "ordained" way of organizing society or human thought. Dogma and faith were no longer a good enough justification for any practice or organization. Reason, scientific inquiry and Nature had again become hugely popular and esteemed by all classes of humanity, no longer a mere hobby and curiosity for rich amateur eccentrics. The concepts were even occasionally worshipped as an Ideal in Western Europe as the Cult of Reason, especially during the last days of the French Revolution.

It was their own fault, really. Religious authority in Europe for the past 1500 years had derived from the top-down, fundamentalist, radical, and dogmatic type of Christianity, which had set itself in direct opposition to science, highly unusual in religious traditions. State authority, including economic and societal systems, had piggybacked on that authority for nearly as long, making opposition to either an offence against God. Now the peasants were not only revolting, but ruling. Everything that the Church and State had taught about class, natural roles, authority and how the world worked was demonstrably wrong. So paradigms more in keeping with what could actually be seen and proved were needed. Into this came the renewed regard for Science, Naturalism, and the need to find out how the Universe functioned, and how humans fit into it properly. Personal experience and provable measurements, not outside authoritative dogma, were once again the preferred meaningful interaction with Reality and Deity.

Philosophy of Humanism

From Wikipedia: "In modern times, many humanist movements have become strongly aligned with secularism, with the term Humanism often used as a byword for non-theistic beliefs about ideas such as meaning and purpose", largely due to the American school of Humanists who created the Humanist Manifesto in 1933. This has never precluded the original and continuing use of the term in other philosophies, only occluded it. More of a co-opting, really...

Religious Humanism is the philosophy of Humanism with a religious world view and symbology, including revealed religions. From What is Religious Humanism? Humanist Philosophy as a Religious Position by Austin Cline, 

"The functions of religion often cited by religious humanists include things like fulfilling the social needs of a group of people (such as moral education, shared holiday and commemorative celebrations, and the creation of a community) and satisfying the personal needs of individuals (such as the quest to discover meaning and purpose in life, means for dealing with tragedy and loss, and ideals to sustain us). For religious humanists, meeting these needs is what religion is all about; when doctrine interferes with meeting those needs, then religion fails." 

Many religious traditions, it has been argued, were already humanist in philosophy and rational in practice. "Science" is an agreed upon method of quantifiably describing reality. The only other methods we can use are religious or philosophical, and most traditions gave them varying weights as Truth. The "middle east' preserved scientific knowledge as a bastion of the Islamic faith for centuries into the Xian control-and-destroy Dark Ages. Buddhism insists on inner truth reconciling with outer experience, even though technically all around is illusion. Traditional aboriginal systems require accurate knowledge of biosystems and tech, or crops fail, animals die and humans starve. Taoism, kung fu, yoga and other forms of religion and spirituality are human centered in they defy the conventions they live under and provide a route for those who do not wish to integrate into surrounding systems of control.

Nearly all aboriginal worldviews, including European, were usually more egalitarian, democratic, pragmatic and scientific, with less blind devotion to dogma than the later Christian fundie conquerors - one of the reasons those usurpers put themselves in such opposition to those ideas. The pagans deal with the reality of the world: the crops, the animals, health and well-being... Human integration and sustainability with the environment, as its caretakers and partners, is a constant theme, with knowledge sought for, and altered as discovered, as natural and desirable to those goals. Though many traditions had a trained and specialized priesthood, usually as scientists, philosophers, healers, lawyers, performers, and poets, very few always required a mediator to the spirit world or deity. Most authority came internally; from personal interaction with the Unseen. 

Most forms of paganism, ancient and modern, were mature traditions that accepted most forms of the human condition as natural, and provided spaces for it. LBGT individuals for example were accepted and even revered as holy in many pagan cultures. Mental and physical illnesses were usually treated with respect and dignity, with suffering eased as much as possible. Pagan health care had surgery, disinfectants, and all manner of tech, which was obliterated in the Christian purges in favour of demon banishing. The longest documented continual democracy on the planet is on Iceland, which was only lightly veneered with Christianity, and at the very end of the conquests in Europe. When historians ask when the first democracy existed, where do they point? To the pagans! It's a Christian myth that pagans were primitive or non-rational, for it's what they hoped to exterminate in the population, largely for their own power.

Moderates have always existed, however, and reformist Abrahamics, as some of the original instigators of the Humanist Manifesto, also have some vibrant and continuous religious humanist writings. Modern Christian and Buddhist Humanist thought are dynamic examples of current popular religious humanist manifestations. As a widely inclusive version of religious humanism, Church of Spiritual Humanism preaches that "[a]ll humans have an inalienable right and duty to practice their own religious traditions. Spiritual Humanism allows everyone to fuse their individual religious practices onto the foundation of scientific humanist inquiry." It also encourages self-ordination and personal authority, instead of a divine calling or hierarchical structure. (I was in communication with the founder Zorger many years ago when he was launching this church, and my posts are still on his forum, I believe.) In Canada, we have a few branches of secular Humanism, as well as Unitarians already well established, but I do not find them personally satisfying for various reasons. As a scientist and academic, and a traditional witch with a personal relationship with deity since childhood, I have chosen to focus on championing the philosophy of Pagan Humanism.

Pagan Humanism Defined

Paganism is the current umbrella term of Earth based religions. Pagan Humanism is therefore Humanism with a pagan agenda and focus. Of course, upon investigation, I discovered that the term was used by a small group of Humanists, religious studies, and classics professionals in delineating Plato Hellenic-type Stoicism. A small number of persons from the modern pagan movement have tried to distance themselves from this incorrect usage by taking a page from the current camp and calling it Neo-Pagan Humanism. As that has far too many associations with the Crystal Rubbing Fruit Loop (TM) section of Paganism, I decided to forgo the prefix. The Classicists will just have to get more accurate in their terms is all... Therefore, Pagan Humanism in this case is not from the Classical, or Plato and Aristotelian perspective, but the more modern use. It would be more accurate, I suppose, to call it "Earth-based Religious Humanism", but that seems a bit much. 

Modern Paganism, or Neopaganism, with its subsets of witchcraft, Wicca, and heathenism, is the modern catch-all phrase for many organized and non-organized Earth based religions and spirituality.  Often seen as based on European Aboriginal practices and beliefs, it can also be used to describe traditional African, Asian, and North American spirituality, though less so, largely due to its primarily English usage. By declaring oneself "pagan", it specifically implies a resurgence in traditional Earth Based beliefs, sometimes in defiance of Abrahamics, depending on the area, and a reconstruction of traditional wisdom, knowledge, and connection with Nature as a completion of self and humanity.

Since most aboriginal traditions rely on observation and reason in combination with revelation as balanced forms of truth, pagan humanism as an evolved current derivative presents little conflict with its traditional forms. Reason and personal authority, with the human need for internal ordering of the inner life as the goal of satisfying religion, and the sacredness of all life has always been a natural fit with paganism, past and present. Pagan Humanism in particular can also be Naturalist in philosophy - in modern terms, that translates into non-theism, with no revealed religious experiences and no supernatural, relying instead on scientific inquiry and natural awe for the Universe for inspiration. Rituals and rites are to satisfy the human need, with deities as Jungian archetypes rather than actualities. As paganism reasonably accepts and respects different forms of truth, atheism, theism, and spiritualism are all at home and welcome in pagan humanism. 

Principles of Pagan Humanism

Pagans need to reClaim our heritage, not perpetuate this ridiculous Christian propaganda about "primitive" Aboriginal peoples, which relies on inherent racism. We are legitimate inheritors of rationalism, democracy, egalitarianism, science, and effective medicine, and we did it all, and *can* do it all, in a sacred framework that doesn't contradict itself. 

The common principles of modern secular humanism have had alot more debate than most forms of religious humanism, and there aren't many inclusive religious humanists that have had a great deal of input on the literature. Borrowing from modern secular humanist writings, then, there are certain principles that we can start to develop for ourselves in a pagan context. 1 2

1. Humanists affirm the dignity of every person and the right of the individual to maximum possible freedom compatible with the rights of others. Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity.
2. Humanism aims at the full development of every human being. We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings. We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence. We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences. We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.
3. The humanist ethic encourages development of the positive potentialities in human nature, and approves conduct based on a sense of responsibility to oneself and to all other persons.
   
4. We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.
   
5. Humanists advocate the use of the scientific method, both as a guide to distinguish fact from fiction and to help develop beneficial and creative uses of science and technology. We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems. We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life. However, it is not amoral; rather, it defines our morality. 
   
6. Humanists call for the continued improvement of society so that no one may be deprived of the basic necessities of life, and for institutions and conditions to provide every person with opportunities for developing their full potential. We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state. We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance. We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.
   
7. We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfil their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
   
8. Humanists advocate peaceful resolution of conflicts between individuals, groups, and nations. We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.
   
9. We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others. We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
   
10. Humanists affirm that human beings are completely a part of nature, and that our survival is dependent upon a healthy planet that provides us and all other forms of life with a life-supporting environment. We want to protect and enhance the earth and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.

We are all spiritual beings. We all develop a spirituality map and a personal mythology when we are very young and never leave it (even if that mythology decides there is no Unseen). Though the form may change, the basics do not. The symbology from youth that contributed to religious experience is the most powerful and remains so. It can never be substituted. That's why there are Christian witches, and Taoist witches, and Jewitches.. The irreplaceable religion and symbology of youth must be integrated with the witchcraft practices, often in later years. Teaching children especially to integrate their own experiences with their reason and practical worship, without perhaps some of the more potent magic or beliefs inherent in some traditions, is a valid compromise to ignoring religious practice entirely, in the hopes the harmful parts will just 'go away'. Because they won't, and neither will religion, so it is only logical to relearn how to use it properly, for the benefit of the individual, humankind, and the world itself.

Witch Heritage 101: European Aborignals or When Witch haters joke about anti-Witch films

I think I'll be doing my graduate work in European Aboriginal studies, since apparently, it's rumoured that they don't actually exist, or if they did, they don't now, or aren't continuous after all the Xian fundie persecutions. Thanks for proving how necessary that research is, and for giving me the idea..

This FB status of mine was universally Liked from so many of my friends, of all different heritages and faiths. It was one of my most popular ever. Yet, it was in response to one of my alleged friends who has continually seen fit to post anti-witch hate on my FB page, in a constant attempt to deny our existence, veracity, tradition, or continuation. I remain bemused why it is so important to insist that we either never existed, or were exterminated, or are a "traditional folklore monster", and that modern pagans are somehow using the term for 'shock value.' There are so many issues with this that I can't begin to deconstruct it all at once, but it is vital to defend our right to claim ourselves, and fight the dominant Christian narrative of who we are.

I've gone into some of the pathology on anti-witch bigotry and Blood Libel before, but clearly, there needs to be more said, with movies still being produced that encourage our 'hunting', called an "exciting and informative film about witches" by my totally non-hateful friend. But we're much smarter than the dolts who slurped up the anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda, and no one believes what they see on film, especially if it's about a myth, right? Yeah. Of course not. And my neighbours don't threaten to burn down my house, either, or my otherwise intelligent co-workers quietly whisper the question "Could Blair Witch actually happen?"

I feel a little helpless sometimes. When I have these discussions, I assume that my fellow debater has the basic grasp that they are living in a background radiation of the Christian narrative. When I realize that I have to drop the level to something of a first year University course, or maybe even high school, to have a reasonable exchange, I nearly despair of ever reducing the spectre of oppression and persecution. Hence, the title of this post.  I will be using actual public comments as an example to counter some of the most pervasive, harmful, and just bizarrely weird myths. 

Claims that still pervade the literature make it nearly impossible for us to legitimize ourselves and our heritage. Here are some comments on the latest witch hate movie, from an otherwise intelligent person.

"The film's characterization of witches was true to the original traditional folk tale the Bros Grimm collected and published 200 years ago, and that has clear antecedents stretching back centuries before that. Surely all that folklore, i.e. oral history, can't be wrong? Or is it only wrong if it says bad things about witches, but is right if it says good things? ...The film doesn't say anything about modern-day witches. "there are some good "white witches" whose magic heals rather than harms, and the common (evil) witches really hate them. No sign of this in the original folk tales (unless one is re-branding fairy godmothers), so I think that's a nod to modern ideas of witchcraft (as having good as well as evil elements)." ...I'm a lot more confident in the existence of Jews than of witches, sidhe, unicorns, or dragons."

He claims that witches are a "traditional folklore monster". Whose tradition? Well, not ours, surely. Though we have many magic 'bad guys' in faerie tales, which translates close to "witches" in Irish, they are usually part of the trial of the heroine or hero; the adversarial mentor they must overcome to learn their lesson or win their prize. It's not a quality of witches per se, but those witches in those stories do have that role. "Folklore" usually applies to stories and beliefs of the peasantry, that is, the country folk, where the term 'pagan' comes from in Latin. So not the learned Christians, then, but the propaganda spread by the power elite to the people, and not the pagan people, either, but their own leadable 'flock'. "Monster' is the most obvious smear. It's used for people who are so evil they are no longer human, which makes it easy to exterminate them without mercy, or even trial, in some cases.

Obviously, if a group tells horrific, disgusting or offensive stories about another people, that must be who they are.  No one would make up that stuff up to suppress, oppress, or exterminate them. (First Nations, Gypsies, gays...cough, cough...) I've gone into the (totally non-racist) problem of the perpetuation of the myth of "white" and "black" i.e. 'evil' witches before.  Relegating witches to the category of mythical creatures, usually horrible ones, since he later suggests he could call himself an ogre but that doesn't make him one, isn't a harmless or theoretically amusing trivialization.  It is deliberately associating us with fantasy, so we couldn't really exist, except in our own minds, and even if we did, we are inherently supernaturally evil.  (Hmm... supernaturally evil...Sorry.  My mind wanders... Where were we?)

No, my ancestresses did not live in "candy cottages, worship Satan, conjure demons, eat children, ride brooms through the air, or cast spells to dry up dairy herds, blight crops, spread pox, or otherwise harm the community". Defining witches as only those who fulfil that criteria, and then insisting that I therefore cannot be a witch because I don't do all that is a most circular argument, and again, impossible to comply with. Satan is the Christian Antagonist. You have to believe in the Christian world view to be a Satanist or have any business with Him. Pagans do not, and never have. Besoms are, for most varieties of witches, sacred because of their symbolism, so most of us use them in ritual. We can't fly on them, though, so we must not be real. Another attack is confusing medieval Christian propaganda with modern reClaimist, largely Wiccan mythology to make them seem somehow equatable and equally untrue. Modern witches, the argument goes, have created themselves, and historical witches are fantasy, because they are both story sets. "Medieval Christians told stories of women who served Satan and hid in forests eating children. Modern-day witches tell stories of women who followed pre-Christian traditions and harvested forest herbs for healing. I don't actually believe either set of stories - each served or serve a purpose for the people who told/tell stories of them."  Medieval Christians told stories about their rivals, the witches, in a propaganda extravaganza. Just because those stories are ludicrous doesn't mean the real witches didn't exist. They told nasty stories about the Pope being Satan, too. Does that mean he didn't exist?

The Church adopted pagan traditions when it couldn't destroy them. Many forms of paganism survived under a veneer of Christianity. Many of those were a discrete, independent faith and tradition surviving under those very priests, and would have resulted in accusations of witchcraft if the more orthodox and especially non-local authorities got wind of it.

The word Witch is of middle Germanic origin. Similar traditional beliefs and practices were called by a different names in different languages, but they would be called 'witch' in English, and would be persecuted by the same people in the same way with the same accusations were they discovered. Witches were and are real, regardless of what they were called in that language or area, and some of those caught in the net of persecution were authentic. Many were not, of course, and some were simply heretical, which is quite different. However, the term has been co-opted by the Christians to define us, especially in the English tradition. Healers, seers, midwives, abortionists, and local authorities were often accused of witchcraft by the Church, and yet many of those were in fact authentic pagan practitioners, even with a touch of Christianity for camouflage.

This is still one of my favorite pics. It's an official witch group that made it into the 20th century, from a real institution and with the uniform intact. They weren't playacting or at a costume ball. They were healers, there were 13 of them, and they wore their traditional red robes as well as the hats. Deniers claiming that they can't be witches because they were "Christian holy sisters who attended chapel every day" and the hat shapes were just co-incidence is pushing even the bounds of common sense. WHY did those hats and those robes and that number become associated with the healing tradition, and why does that follow the witch healing tradition so exactly?  Because the tradition existed before they became Christian holy sisters.

It's actually impossible to believe that so many of these 'hunts' went on wherever fundie European Christians went without a shred of real witchcraft traditions to back up their claims. One could only consider it wilful ignorance. Social science backs up the claims of these traditional aboriginal beliefs and practices, known as witches in English, from all over Europe, in a continual line to this time. From Estonia. From Bulgaria. 1 2 From Germany. 1 2 3 

The Sami People: Shamans and Symbols

Map of Europe's tribes at the beginning of the Common Era. Click here to enlarge. 

Every culture has its magic workers, and some are professional or semi-professional, serving their communities, usually with varying degrees of respect and local power. Witch is a real term that was used with pride, and described a very specific group of English professional pagans, usually women. It was therefore the term used when the Christians wanted to usurp the power positions and land the pagans owned. In other areas, they were called by their traditional names, of course, though when translated into English, the term 'witch' is the equivalent. In Ireland, it was often 'faerie' or various forms of Druid. In Italy, it was strega. In German, it was Hexan. All of those terms and professions were attacked by the Christian fundie patriarchy that coveted their land and power. Nearly all of those terms are now being reClaimed by the traditional witches in their homelands, too, by the way...

Of course, each variety of magic worker had different traditions, but most still go by certain general roles and specialities: healers, seers, shamans, and sub-sets of those. Many had a mystical relationship with animals and plants, some could communicate with or visit the Other World, many told fortunes, some were priestesses and priests of the Old Goddesses, Gods, and Spirits of their area. Many were local judges, who carried the authority of common law and officiated at life events- another reason they were tempting targets.

ROMANIA: Stag on New Year’s Day“These traditions come from Neolithic times—
from shamanism — and they have never stopped,” Charles Fréger 
More living European Aboriginal costumes
 and descriptions here.

When the push from the Christians began, many collaborators saw it as an opportunity to remove the balance of power, which was usually more egalitarian in pagan societies, and grab everything they could. So the anti-witch hysteria was blown up as much as possible. Not only was your local professional witch suspect, but anyone who also did a bit of usual pagan magic, or healing or seeing, or hinted of it was now in the line of fire. Most weren't going to believe it at first, and even at the height, most didn't believe it anyway. But like the Communist McCarthy trials, it became political death to defend or even fight the anti-witch craze when they got going. Adding to the fuel was the bizarre torture porn of the sexually deprived monks, who conceived all manner of disgusting intercourse with Satan, and all manner of punishment for these suspected deviants. Of course, that was all part of the attack on traditional cultures. As the saying goes, a people is not gone until "the hearts of its women are on the ground", and the Christian fundie takeover was entirely patriarchal. Since witches in most European aboriginal cultures are primarily women, it was the women who were the primary targets for extermination, humiliation, and disempowerment, whether they were pagan or not. Pretty young girls were accused by local power mongers and disappeared, never making it to trial. Old women who had land were accused, and charged for every part of their own incarceration, like bits of rope to tie the witch with, soldiers to guard her, the food she ate... It was hugely lucrative, and completely transformed the political and social structure of Europe.

Options for survival were limited. Like the Jews who were persecuted in places like medieval Spain and more modern Germany, if one wanted to remain, and not flee (and where would all the magic workers go?), you had to hide in plain sight or hide out of sight. Now, in most of their persecutions, some of the Jews chose to get baptised, even though they kept most of their family traditions intact. In a few generations, they seemed like other Christians, but sometimes the family would recover and reconvert to their traditional heritage when the all-clear was visible, and the danger largely passed. Are they still real Jews? The pagan shrines and priestesses and priests who survived with most of their traditions intact did so by making a deal with Christianity: they got to keep their deities, put Saint on the front of their name, stick a cross on the lot, say your vows to Christ, and you got to keep most of your land, sacred stuff, and culture. The nuns at Kildare did that, for example. Before it was a Bridgetine Christian nunnery, it was a pagan Bridgetine nunnery. Kildare's sacred Flame to Bridget as the Sun aspect didn't go out for over a 1000 years, quite seamlessly with the Christian takeover, too. Many of the Abbeys and monasteries made the same deal. Their holy orders carried on much as usual, but under a new banner. The families experienced the same problem, and usually opted for the same solution. We are always there, however, passing on our knowledge to our children, helping out our neighbours, worshipping in the Old ways and places, even if those places now have crosses on them, and we use Saint in front of their names. During less dangerous times, however, like the Jews and Gypsies, we tend to sneak back out, just to test the waters, because the myths encouraging self-loathing and living under a veneer are always oppressive.

We can see how long it takes for pagan beliefs to be truly usurped, and what happens when fundie Christianity finally takes over. Iceland, for example, was the last place in Europe to officially convert, in about 1000 CE. Yet they still maintained much of their egalitarian society, including their matriarchal naming system, and the oldest continual democracy in the Western world. As spirits of the earth, elves are still very real and negotiated with during any building project. In this recent economic crisis, the largely women leaders let the banks fail, jailed their CEO's and saved the people who were suffering.  That's what even the shadow of European Aboriginal paganism can do. It takes an eon to destroy most of our systems and beliefs and replace it with the unnatural and exploitive patriarchy. The rest of Europe was taken over much earlier, so less of our original systems are left. In some cases, only traces remain, except where the deals were made. Cultural archaeology is useful for uncovering those traces, and many folklorists and fam trad witches are recovering their heritage with these techniques and researches. Are they still witches, even when the rest of the family for generations called themselves Christian, believed they were Christian, and did Christian things in public? Were the Jews who recovered their heritage generations later really Jews? I'm no Rabbi. Maybe I'll ask one, but I certainly can't decide for them, nor can non-witches define who we are, either.

Wiccans, which was never used as a noun for magic workers in any language, are a modern amalgam of a gathering of presumed pagan traditions from around the world, largely from Western Europe. It's very recent, but obviously satisfies, since it's one of the fastest growing religions in North America. Few therefore have a sense of long term history, like the traditionalists, or of future centuries. They usually feel the threat of persecution as an empathy of possibility, as social slights, not an imminent personal danger, like stoning. (It doesn't feel real until one hits you. I can tell you that for a fact.) They are a valid subset of witches, new pagans for a modern age, and rely on the legitimacy of traditionalist beliefs, rituals, and reClaimed and recovered paganism from many areas to form their systems.

I am not a Wiccan. I'm a traditional witch, raised in an family of no faith, which maintained a few Christian rituals when required, like weddings and funerals (which always disgusted, since we totally weren't that. I always loathe hypocrisy, especially to maintain an illusion.) Our obvious connections to the old ways were strongly denied, and I am still ostracised for recognizing and celebrating them, rather than continuing to hide and secretly hate who we are. My sense of deity, beliefs, and abilities were always with me, my skills improved with practice and training, and I now teach a mixture of internal knowledge and external scientific learning, as witches have always done. I have had witch tools since my Initiation when I was 12. My cat-friend familiar was with me for 20 years, but she didn't eat souls or babies. (Go figger!) I am a professional witch operating in the traditional trade of healing. My faith has always been a source of unfailing joy and positive interaction for me. Just wish that would follow with the Haters I meet up with... My primary mentor was raised Eastern Orthodox, but the magic and witch rituals were part and parcel of her family's personal faith, even though it clearly had nothing to do with Christianity in any way, and would get them burnt in more volatile times.They would still call themselves Christian, though my mentor has always been more honest, and changed her name to a proper witch one years ago. She'll be 70 soon... My daughter is proud of her family and who we are. She has her new familiar (she picked the only non-black kitten.  Where did I go wrong?) and just cut her first wand. My son shows no inclination. Makes sense with his personality, though...

We are still here. We will always be here. Just like Aboriginals from around the world, the only way you can truly be rid of us is to exterminate us all. Like all oppressed people, we will hide, sometime for hundreds of years, but we will rise again the moment we can. Women led, women powered, women held, we hold the key to healing the Earth, bringing forth real change and egalitarian democracy, and creating social and environmental justice. I have always stood with my FN sisters, and my sisters all over the globe, since I have always known who I was and where I had come from. Women's magic can save the world, and I will do my part to nurture, illuminate, support, and disseminate it, against the context of the Christian fundie oppressors. We, too, must be Idle No More.

Idealized and romanized Celtic/ UK Aboriginal image, including face shape.

Quotes are from my FB friend's public posts, early March 2013, unless otherwise indicated. I think he should remain nameless...


An abridged version was printed on Witchvox., March 17, 2013.  

We Are the Other People by Oberon Zell (Unabridged)

Hugo van der Goes, 1470.
Ideal beauty is also a social construct. 

One of my personal favourites!  There is only one other blog I know of hosting this currently, and while I don't want to detract from them, I worry that this might not always be available. There have been several long periods when I haven't been able to find this easily on the 'net, so I'm going to reproduce it here to give it a bump.

This sentiment is one of the many reasons I personally don't resonate with the Abrahamic messaging of Sin or Salvation.  There is nothing to save *me* from...  In their mythology, we are all one family, but the pagans have strayed. In ours, they are a separate people; beginning from a very small group and now grown, but still, their myths and dogma are not ours..

This was published years ago in "Green Egg" magazine.  All the links I can find to the Chick tract satire version of this are broken.  If anyone can find me a copy, I'd love to see it again!

We Are the Other People

"Ding-dong!" goes the doorbell. Is it Avon calling? Or perhaps Ed McMahon with my three million dollars? No, it's Yahweh's Witlesses again, just wanting to have a nice little chat about the Bible... 

Boy, did they ever come to the wrong house! So we invite them in: "Enter freely and of your own will..." (Hey, it's Sunday morning, nothing much going on, why not have a little entertainment?) Diane and I amuse ourselves watching their expressions as they check out the living room: great horned owl on the back of my chair; ceremonial masks and medicine skulls of dragons and unicorns on the wall; crystals, wands, staffs, swords; lots of Goddess figures and several altars; boa constrictors draped in amorous embrace over the elkhorn; white doves sitting in the hanging planters; cats and weasels underfoot; iron dragon snorting steam atop the wood stove; posters and paintings of wizards and dinosaurs and witchy women, some proudly naked; sculptures of mythological beasties and lots more dinosaurs; warp six on the star-filled viewscreen of my computer; a five-foot model of the USS Enterprise and the skeleton of a plesiosaur hanging from the ceiling; very, very many books, most of them dealing with obviously weird subjects... To say nothing of the great horned owl perched on the back of my chair and the Unicorn grazing in the front yard. You know; early Addams Family decor. And then, of course, it being late in the morning, you can expect Morning Glory to come wandering out naked, looking for her wake-up cup of tea. Morning Glory naked is a truly impressive sight, and the Witlesses look as if she'd set titties on stun as they stand immobilized, hands clasped over their genitals.

With the stage set and all the actors in place, the show is ready to begin. Their mission, of course, is to save our heathen souls by turning us on to "The Word of the Lord"- their Bible. I guess they figger some of us just haven't heard about it yet, and we're all eagerly awaiting their joyous tidings of personal salvation through giving our rational faculties to Jesus. Every time they come around, I look forward to trying out a new riposte. Sure, it may be cruel and sadistic of me, but hey, I didn't call them up and ask them to come over; they entered at their own risk! This time should be pretty good. After letting them run off their basic rap while lovely Morning Glory serves us all hot herb tea, I innocently remark: "But none of that applies to us. We have no need for salvation because we don't have original sin. We are the Other People."

"Hunh? What?" they reply eloquently. It's clear they've never heard this one before.

"Right," I say. "It's all in your Bible." And I proceed to tell them the story, using their own book for reference: (Genesis 1:26) The [Elohim] said, "Let us make humanity in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth." Elohim is a plural word, including male and female, and should properly be translated "Gods" or "Pantheon." (1: 27) The Gods created humanity in the image of themselves, In the image of the Gods they created them, Male and female they created them. (1:28) The Gods blessed them, saying to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth."

Now clearly, here we are talking about the original creation of the human species: male and female. All the animals, plants, etc. have all been created in previous verses. This is before the Garden of Eden, and Yahweh is not mentioned as the creator of these people.

The next chapter talks about how Yahweh, an individual member of the Pantheon, goes about assembling his own special little botanical and zoological Garden in Eden, and making his own little man to inhabit it: (Gen 2:7) Yahweh God fashioned a man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus the man became a living being. (2:8) Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. (2:9) Yahweh God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. (2:15) Yahweh God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it. Now this next is crucial: note Yahweh's precise words: (2:16) Then Yahweh God gave the man this admonition, "You may eat indeed of all the trees in the garden. (2:17) Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die." Fateful words, those. We will refer back to this admonition later.

Then Yahweh decides to make a woman to go with the man. Now, don't forget that the Pantheon had earlier created a whole population of people, "male and female," who are presumably doing just fine somewhere "outside the gates of Eden." But this set-up in Eden is Yahweh's own little experiment, and will unfold to its own separate destiny. (2:21) So Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. (2:22) Yahweh God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. Right. Man gives birth to woman. Sure he does. But that's the way the story is told here. (2:25) Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame in front of each other. Well, of course not! Why should they? But take careful note of those words, as they also will prove to be significant...

Now this next part is where it starts to get interesting. Enter the Serpent: (Gen. 3:1) The serpent was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, "Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" (3:2) The woman answered the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. (3:3) "But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, 'You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death." (3:4) Then the serpent said to the woman, "No! You will not die! (3:5) "God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil." What a remarkable statement! "Your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil." The Serpent directly contradicts Yahweh. Obviously, one of them has to be lying. Which one, do you suppose? And, if the serpent speaks true, wouldn't you wish to eat of the magic fruit? Wouldn't it be a good thing, to become "like gods, knowing good and evil"? Or is it preferable to remain in ignorance?

(Gen. 3:6) The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. (3:7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths. The author makes an interesting assumption here: that if you realize you are naked you will automatically want to cover yourself. Further implications will unfold shortly...

(Gen. 3:8) The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. (3:9) But Yahweh God called to the man. "Where are you?" he asked. (3:10) "I heard the sound of you in the garden," he replied. "I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." (3:11) "Who told you that you were naked?" he asked. "Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?"

And so the sign of the Fall becomes modesty. Take note of this. The descendants of Adam and Eve will be distinguished throughout history from virtually all other peoples by their obsessive modesty taboos, wherein they will feel ashamed of being naked. It follows that those who feel no shame in being naked are, by definition, not carriers of this spiritual disease of original sin!

(Gen. 3:12) The man replied, "It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it." Right. Blame the woman. What a turkey! (3:13) Then Yahweh God asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman replied, "The serpent tempted me and I ate." So of course she blames the serpent. But just what did the serpent do that was so evil? Why, he called Yahweh a liar! Was he wrong? Let's see... (3:21) Yahweh God made clothes out of skins for the man and his wife, and they put them on. Out of skins? This means that Yahweh had to kill some innocent animals to pander to Adam and Eve's new obsession with modesty!

And now we come to the crux of the Fall. Yahweh had said back there in chapter (2:17), regarding the fruit of the tree of knowledge, that "on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die." The Serpent, on the other hand, had contradicted Yahweh in chapter (3:4-5): "No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil." So what actually happened? Who lied and who told the truth about this remarkable fruit? The answer is given in the next verse: (3:22) Then Yahweh God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil. He must not be allowed to stretch his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live forever."

Get that? Yahweh himself admits that he had lied! In fact, and in Yahweh's own words, the Serpent spoke the absolute truth! And moreover, Yahweh tells the rest of the Pantheon that he intends to evict Adam (and presumably Eve as well) to keep them from gaining immortality to go with their newly-acquired divine knowledge. To prevent them, in other words, from truly becoming gods.

So who, in this story, comes off as a benefactor of humanity, and who comes off as a tyrant? THE SERPENT NEVER LIED!

This story, to digress slightly, bears a remarkable resemblance to a contemporary tale from ancient Greece. In that version, the Serpent (later identified as Lucifer, the Light-Bearer) may be equated with the heroic titan Prometheus, who championed humanity against the tyranny of Zeus, who wished for people to be mere slaves of the gods. Prometheus, whose name means "forethought," gave people wisdom, intelligence, and fire stolen from Olympus. Moreover, he ordained the portions of animal sacrifice so that humans got the best parts (the meat and hides) while the portion that was burned to the gods was the bones and fat. In punishment for this defiance of his divine authority, Zeus condemned Prometheus to a terrible punishment for an immortal: to be chained to a mountain in the Caucasus, where Zeus' gryphon/eagle (actually a Lammergeir) would devour his liver each day. It would grow back each night. Zeus promised to relent if Prometheus would reveal his great secret knowledge: Who would succeed Zeus as supreme god? Prometheus refused to tell, but history has revealed the answer... The interesting thing about all this is that the Greeks properly regarded Prometheus as a noble hero in his defiance of unjust tyranny. One may wonder why the Serpent is not so well regarded. On the contrary, snakes are loathed throughout Christiandom. (3:23) So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. (3:24) He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

So that's it for the Fall. But the story of Adam and Eve doesn't end there. (Gen 4:1) The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain... (4:2) She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain tilled the soil. (4:3) Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as an offering for Yahweh, (4:4) while Abel, for his part, brought the first-born of his flock and some of their fat as well. Yahweh looked with favor on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favor on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. Well, why shouldn't he be? Both brothers had brought forth their first fruits as offerings, but Yahweh rejected the vegetables and only accepted the blood sacrifice. This was to set a gruesome precedent: (4:8) Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out;" and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.

Accursed and marked for fratricide, (4:16) Cain left the presence of Yahweh and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. We can assume that the phrase "left the presence of Yahweh" implies that Yahweh is a local deity, and not omnipresent. Now Eden, according to (Gen. 2:14-15), was situated at the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, apparently right where Lake Van is now, in Turkey. "East of Eden," therefore, would probably be along the shores of the Caspian Sea, right in the Indo-European heartland. Cain settled in there, among the people of Nod, and married one of the women of that country. Here, for the first time, is specifically mentioned the "other people" who are not of the lineage of Adam and Eve. i.e: the Pagans.

So let's look at this story from another viewpoint: There we were, around six thousand years ago, living in our little farming communities around the Caspian Sea, in the land of Nod, when this dude with a terrible scar comes stumbling in out of the sunset. He tells us this bizarre story, about how his mother and father had been created by some god named Jahweh, and put in charge of a beautiful garden somewhere out west, and how they had gotten thrown out for disobedience after eating some of the landlord's forbidden magic fruit of enlightenment. He tells us of murdering his brother, as the god of his parents would only accept blood sacrifice, and of receiving that scar as a mark so that all would know him as a fratricide.

The poor guy is really a mess psychologically, obsessed with guilt. He is also obsessively modest, insisting on wearing clothes even in the hottest summer, and he has a hard time with our penchant for skinny-dipping in the warm inland sea. He seems to believe that he is tainted by the "sin" of his parent's disobedience; that it is in his blood, somehow, and will continue to contaminate his children and his children's children.

One of our healing women takes pity on the poor sucker, and marries him... (4:17) Cain had intercourse with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. He became the builder of a town, and he gave the town the name of his son Enoch.

With both of their first sons not turning out very well, Adam and Eve decided to try again: (4:25) Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Seth... (4:26) A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. This man was the first to invoke the name of Yahweh. Now it doesn't mention here where Seth's wife came from. Another woman from Nod, possibly, or maybe someone from another neolithic community downstream in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. But her folks also, cannot be of the lineage of Adam and Eve, and must also be counted among "the other people."

But whatever happened to Adam? After all, way back there in chapter Gen. 2:17, warning Adam about the magic fruit of knowledge, Jahweh had told him that "on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die." So, when did Adam die? (Gen. 5:4) Adam lived for eight hundred years after the birth of Seth and he became the father of sons and daughters. (5:5) In all, Adam lived for nine hundred and thirty years; then he died. Hey, that's pretty good! Nine hundred and some odd years isn't bad for a man who's been told he's gonna die the next day!

Well, the story goes on, and maybe next time the Witlesses come to visit I'll tell more of it. But suffice it to say that those of us who are not of Semitic descent (i.e., not of the lineage of Adam and Eve) cannot share in the Original Sin that comes with that lineage. Being that the Bible is the story of that lineage, of Adam and Eve's descendants and their special relationship with their particular god, Yahweh, it follows that this is not the story of the rest of us. We may have been Cain's wife's people, or Seth's wife's people, or some other people over the hill and far away, but whichever people the rest of us are, as far as the Bible is concerned, we are the Other People, and so we are continually referred to throughout.

Later books of the Bible are filled with admonitions to the followers of Jahweh to "learn not the ways of the Pagans..." (Jer 10:2) with detailed descriptions of exactly what it is we do, such as erect standing stones and sacred poles, worship in sacred groves and practice divination and magic. And worship the sun, moon, stars and the "Queen of Heaven." "You must not behave as they do in Egypt where once you lived; you must not behave as they do in Canaan where I am taking you. You must not follow their laws." (Lev 18:3) For Yahweh, as he so clearly emphasizes, is not the god of the Pagans. We have our own lineage and our own heritage, and our tale is not told in the Bible. We were not "made" like clay figurines by a male deity out of "dust from the soil." We were born of our Mother the Earth, and have evolved over aeons in Her nurturing embrace. All of us, in our many and diverse tribes, have creation myths and legends of our origins and history; some of these tales may even be actually true.

Like the descendants of Adam and Eve, many of us also have stories of great floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other cataclysms that wiped out whole communities of our people, wherein "I alone survived to tell the tale." Nearly all of our ancestral tribes (and especially those of us who today are reclaiming our own Pagan heritage) lack that peculiar obsessive body modesty that seems to be a hallmark of the original sin alluded to in the story of the Fall. We can be naked and unashamed! Why, our Goddess even tells us, "as a sign that you are truly free, you shall be naked in your rites." Not being born into sin, we have no need of salvation, and no need of a Messiah to redeem our sinful souls.

Neither heaven nor hell is our destination in the afterlife; we have our own various arrangements with our own various deities. The Bible is not our story; we have our own stories to tell, and they are many and diverse. In a long life, you may get to hear many of them... May you live long and prosper!"

(Ed. note: This is written from the Wiccan perspective.  As far as I know, it's only their sect that promotes nudity for every rite.  The rest of us usually save it for special occations, though it is true that most of the rest of the world isn't nearly as body shameful as the Abrahamics...)