any pagans on board? (page 6)

bigwilly

Disclaimer: This is my personal experience and in no way reflects an endorsement of nor preaching about said group.

Locally (Portland, OR) I attended a UU service out of curiosity and my partner at the time's desire. I was pleasantly suprised when the "church service" started out with a Tibetan prayer bowl and the "main talk" was about Fred Rogers (Mr Rogers) and what a cool cat he was. It was a non-pushy, non-christiany, non-churchy (though in a church) church experience. After the initial visit (I rode my motorcycle to the place and walked in wearing tshirt, jeans and facial piercings) I attended a few more times and took a UU 101 type class. Interesting group, they described themselves as "athiests with children". Basically, not interested in religion so much as they wanted to gather with like-minded people and provide a social environment for their children. Still not my gig and I can't really be arsed to get up early on a Sunday to sit and listen to anyone (rather be riding).

The reason that I mention this on this particular thread is partly in response to some of Black Swan's experiences religion wise. The main reason though is that the local UU has a Pagan group associated with it. So within a technically Christian religion you have a subgroup of defenite pagans, athiests and mixture of eastern religions. It was a nice way to get aquainted with several different religious basics in one place. I no longer livein the area where this group was located, but may still make the trip back there for some of their pagan gatherings for the educational opportunities it would offer.

BlackSwan of Memphis

There seems to be plenty of us about....yey!

Yey!

I know that even though I was raised as a witness, my perspective has always been Pagan. Even when I was an active dub, I always believed that being close to the land and the results of creative force in general meant that I was closer to 'God' or Divinity. I always had a respect and reverance for all living creatures, and felt the movement of the seasons as something deeply personal and spiritual.

I had spiritual experiences when I was young that were difficult to rationalise away and as such I was led to believe that I was somehow under demonic attack or that satan was somehow trying to get me to turn to the dark side.

a) Wow what a beautiful energy connection!!!

b) Yep this is exactly what "they" want people to believe. That IF you have spiritual experiences of any sort, it's from the Devil or demons. Grr.

It was only when I started to learn about Druidism that it all fitted into place - almost like a coming home and stark realisation of all that I had experienced when I was younger.

Ahh Druidism. That very much interests me. I have browsed through several websites on the topic and found a few that were quite informative.

Nvrgnbk and Db74 what beautiful pictures!!!

Bigwilly, hey thank you so much for sharing that experience! I had forgotten that I have been to our local UU church a couple of times. And had the chance to meet a few pagans through there. It is a very open place.

Still not my gig and I can't really be arsed to get up early on a Sunday to sit and listen to anyone (rather be riding).

Whew, I feel way better about not wanting to get my butt off the couch and go to church Did the Kingdom Hall thing for all those years, I am pretty happy with resting on Sunday mornings and celebrating life with a few friends and beers. That is pretty much my church. We talk about life and the Universe, enjoy the view of a setting sun and enjoy the taste of a well bred wine ...and that is my idea of a happy communion

The main reason though is that the local UU has a Pagan group associated with it.

I forgot about that, CUUPS.

http://www.cuups.org/content2/

So within a technically Christian religion you have a subgroup of defenite pagans, athiests and mixture of eastern religions.

I have read the information that comes in the visitors packet regarding the history of the UU church and was surprised to learn of it's Christian heritage. It is indeed a great way to meet people from different backgrounds!

bigwilly

Thanks Black Swan, it was a cool group and they covered a wide variety of belief structures. I like the minister here and really liked the range of material covered. The Mr Rogers sermon was followed by a reading from the Tao Te Ching. Very comfortable environment to aquire a diversity of knowledge. I never quite got around to attending any of the pagan meetings (scheduling issues) but it seemed like a good learning evironment. I just don't crave the association portion, ya know?

I'm with you about the mellow Sunday with good company. Tho I also used to be a member of the "open road, wind in the face" church of Yamaha As long as people do what makes them happy, the rest is really superficial.

BlackSwan of Memphis

Thanks Black Swan, it was a cool group and they covered a wide variety of belief structures. I like the minister here and really liked the range of material covered. The Mr Rogers sermon was followed by a reading from the Tao Te Ching. Very comfortable environment to aquire a diversity of knowledge. I never quite got around to attending any of the pagan meetings (scheduling issues) but it seemed like a good learning evironment. I just don't crave the association portion, ya know?

Sounds like it was a really cool sermon.The Tao Te Ching, I have read very little about that. But when I read your experience I thought:

"How cool. Being able to learn and explore other philosophies and religions and being 'allowed' to assimilate it into your life if it works.... Very free spirited."

I know with the church I went to...<<i'm already grinning>> the Reverand guy was really cute so if that didn't give me reason enough to keep attending, the association wasn't going to work either. So, I'm right there with ya on that one.

I'm with you about the mellow Sunday with good company. Tho I also used to be a member of the "open road, wind in the face" church of Yamaha As long as people do what makes them happy, the rest is really superficial.

Amen

diamondblue1974

Ahh Druidism. That very much interests me. I have browsed through several websites on the topic and found a few that were quite informative.

Theres a fair bit of information out there to be honest - some great, some ok, and some complete crap but you take what you can and leave the rest which is always a good thing.

The attraction to my path has always been its flexibility, it can be combined with many others such as Wicca, Shamanism, and even dare I say it, Christianity (although I must admit I have my doubts about the latter lol)

Personally I am more Druidic but there are some areas (such as in Ritual) where I use elements of Witchcraft.

G /|\

Gretchen956

I'm a pagan as well. Though I do disagree about it not being a religion. I do sometimes say Wiccan because it seems to be a bucket non-pagans can understand better than the term pagan. Most christians seem to think pagan means anyone not christian and I want to narrow that down a bit.

Because I am a solitary practitioner of my religion, because it doesn't have prescribed doctrines, because the path is continually growing learning and changing does not make it less a religion. I have a very deep spiritual connection with Mother (my name for the divine). I guess I would call my path somewhere between a Gaia path and a Dianic path if you want to put a label on it, but I'm continually reading and taking what resonates with me and throwing off the rest.

BigWilly, aside from an apostafest I would love to meet up with you sometime and talk about all of this, I think its fascinating. I LOVE your ink. I've wated a tattoo for a long time, but I want something that has spiritual significance to me, yet I work in a "professional" setting, so I can't have something that shows. Makes it difficult to find something that fits.

Thanks for this thread, I'm surprised it hasn't been flamed yet, many times I bring up my faith I seem to be ridiculed by certain ones in this forum.

Blessed be,

Sherry

bigwilly

Gretchen the lovely wrote:

BigWilly, aside from an apostafest I would love to meet up with you sometime and talk about all of this, I think its fascinating. I LOVE your ink. I've wated a tattoo for a long time, but I want something that has spiritual significance to me, yet I work in a "professional" setting, so I can't have something that shows. Makes it difficult to find something that fits.

I would be hella stoked to hng out and discuss with you some time. Especially seeing that you are a solitary practitioner. The next few weeks are gonna be insane for me, but I'll plan on hooking up with after that if the offer stands.

Thanks for the compliment on my ink, it's near and dear to my heart on many levels. I'm in the same position as you when it comes to covering up the ink, so all of mine are in concealable places. I highly recommend browsing tattoo mags/websites just to get an idea of what's out there. Also, ask random people who's ink you like where they got it done, this will help you find a good artist by seeing a wide sampling of their work. Most shops have their artists' portfolios out on display which is good to help decide as well.My artist was recommended to me by a friend and I was seriously impressed with the quality of his work.

Can't wait to see ya again!

Sunnygal41

if not outright pagan, i definitely am a pagan sympathizer...........heehee

Open mind

i definitely am a pagan sympathizer

Me too!

Open Mind

bigwilly

Hobo wrote:

I'm an eclectic pagan as well- a solitary fire witch.

I haven't heard of "fire witches" before, any chance you'd be willing to explain? Or maybe recommend books/websites that would contain good information? I'd also love to hear more about your personal celebrations etc if it's not too much to ask.

any pagans on board?

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