OT: A POLL How many pagans do we have on this Board?

Cyfiawnder · Post by **Cyfiawnder** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 2:31 am

I was just currious. No need to reply if you do not want other people to know your religious Beliefs... That's Perfectly fine. Being that this is a Celtic Music centered community I was currious on who has Celtic centered beliefs... I mean besides me...and the few others I know.

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 2:40 am

i'm one!! i'm away with the fairys

and i also like native american ceremonies, or any nature related religion that is past on for ages

DaftCorbie · Post by **DaftCorbie** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 3:31 am

Me too, me too! But not so much celtic.. asatru-ish upbringing here, I more or less knew my way around in the norse myths before I ever heard the name Jesus.. then attended christian religion classes at school and also looked into confirmation candidate lessons (?), but it's really not my cup of tea I guess. I'm happy with the gods and trees and the wee people..

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 5:51 am

Does anyone really have much idea what pre-Christian Gaelic or non-Gaelic celtic religious beliefs were really like? The English and Welsh celts and the Picts were from a different branch of the celtic family tree to the Gaels. Was pre-Christian Gaelic religion druidic? Was Pictic religion druidic for that matter?

A lot of people carry on as though they know with great accuracy and in considerable detail what druidic ceremonies were like. On what evidence are their beliefs based?

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 6:13 am

Wombat - From what I understand, the Picts were completely unrelated to the Celts anyhow (at least in terms of language and culture) and were indeed conquored by the Celts when they came to the British Isles. I've also heard they didn't even look like Celts, being a relatively dark-skinned population, but I don't know how much truth there is to that (FWIW, there are some darker-skinned individuals within the Welsh population. I once mistook a classmate of Welsh descent for a Hispanic, much to my embarassment).

Most European pagan religions were essentially lost as the population of Europe converted to Catholicism (not necissarily by choice in some places), and modern Wicca etc. are sort of "composite" religions made up of the bits and pieces of what's left of several of them, but I could be mistaken. *shrugs*

I'm not pagan by the way, just tossing in my 0.015 cents...

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 6:28 am

I am a reformed neo-druid myself. Instead of oak trees, we only worship blonde telephone poles.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 6:36 am

I am pagan, and my wife Shannon is as well.

I personally don't view my religion or my beliefs--which are dynamic, by the way, and not fixed, so that I'm not sure they even qualify as "beliefs" in the conventional way of speaking--as having any relationship with the beliefs and practices of pre-Christian Europe, by the way. There are many pagans who do, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I just don't see it that way for myself.

In summary, even among pagans, I'm considered somewhat odd.

--James

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 6:47 am

very old and original ceremonies are very strong. people living close to nature like native americans conduct them like in ancient times. the more these ceremonies are conducted, the stronger they get.

there are some good books on these matters like: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 9?v=glance
you can read 12 free pages

claudine · Post by **claudine** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 7:02 am

What do pagans believe? Do you have rites, ceremonies, prayers?
btw, I am an agnostic at heart (or should I say: at brain), although officially catholic.

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 7:19 am

Waving hello from Avalon...

Bendithion!!

~Andrea

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 7:29 am

claudine wrote:What do pagans believe? Do you have rites, ceremonies, prayers?
btw, I am an agnostic at heart (or should I say: at brain), although officially catholic.

As to what pagans believe I don't think there is any one answer. As to rites, most of us do at least sometimes.

Ceremonies? Definately! I for instance usually check the alarm clock about 5 times before going to sleep to make sure I set it--this is an ancient ceremony called the Dance of the Obsessive / Compulsives which is guaranteed to drive your spouse insane!

Prayers? At least for me, probably not if you mean in the traditional Christian sense. But in a very real sense, I consider my music a kind of prayer.

There are some good answers in the alt.pagan faq:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/paganism-faq/

--James

slowair · Post by **slowair** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 7:32 am

I'd like to know.....

Is there a book that describes the religious beliefs of Ireland before Christianity was introduced?

Something easy to read.

Mike

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 7:48 am

Mike, you could try to start with Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales, by Alwyn and Brinley Rees. Please avoid most of the Llewellyn publications... they may have catchy titles and covers, but they are generally not well-researched and have a good deal of misinformation.

HTH!

~Andrea

waitingame · Post by **waitingame** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 8:33 am

Blessed Be.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 9:37 am

By the way, an excellent (but very dry) informative read on modern paganism is the participant-observer study "Drawing Down the Moon" by NPR reporter Margot Adler.

Even though this is more of a sociological / psychological study of modern paganism than a "how to" book, it is considered required reading by many pagans.

This is typically the book I recommend to those who, upon finding out I'm pagan, immediately assume I have a flip-top head.

--James