What is Paganism?       Paganism reconizes that throughout all things-from the atom to the universe-there is a duality.  Night and day,  love and hate-the ancient Oriental concept of Yin and Yang which was long matched by similar concepts in what we now call Europe.           The Pagan realizes that there is no heaven except that which he himself makes,  and likewise no hell but that of his own creation.        Most Pagans believe that they have experienced previous lives in previous eras of this world.  And they can point to impressive evidence backing them up.           A Pagan refuses to believe that mankind is born innately sinful,  and realizes that the concept of "sin" is itself arbitrary and hurtful to human nature.  The Pagan knows that man is not better than woman, nor woman superior to man.   What one lacks the other can give,  and one cannot be truly alive without the other!  There is no greater magic than that of man and woman together.           A Pagan knows that what is called "magic" does truly exist,  and it is often worked by those who are in touch with certain forces of the natural world.           The Pagan believes that what cannot be seen is of the greatest importance-that much exists of which the present worls's science knows little or nothing.  And that anyone can experience what is normally considered to be beyond "reality."           Paganism has a deep love for things natural and wild,  as it knows that there are many beings which are intelligent and wise-and not all human.  Yet they may be met in places of seclusion and wilderness by those who earnestly desire to know them-and it is for this reason that the Pagan does not allow his or her heart and mind to become cluttered by the useless trivia of a commercial-technical society.           A Pagan knows that there are deep forces and tides which underlie all things,  and that there exist here on earth infinitely complex multidimensional matrices of living power which are far beyond the capability of a human to understand.  That there is intelligence here and the greatest wisdom-for such has always existed and always will.           The Pagan realizes that mankind has always known of the existence of this Supernal Intelligence,  and has called It by thousands of names for tens of thousands of years.  That men and women of all eras have drawn strenghth and power,  warmth and security from this source-at times in ways which would seem to transcend reality.           Paganism teaches that the Highest source is both female and male in its aspects and that,  though vastly beyond our capacity to understand,  we can perceive It-or Them-as individuals,  or as Goddess and God to whom we can speak,  and receive answers.           The Pagan knows that over the past two or three thousand years humankind has stressed a narrow portion of the God in his religions and ignored or denied the role of the Goddess-with the result that history has come to be a chronicle of disasters.  A balance is needed,  with perhaps a greater stress on the Goddess (right now) in Her many aspects,  to restore peace and to assure a meaningful survival of ourselves and our descendants. This is Paganism. ©1999 - 2008 - Aradias~Attic™