Fellow Pagans?

[Crystalis]

Hello everyone! I'm Chrysalis, but you can calle Chrys! I'm new here, and whenever I come to a site like this where discussing religions is allowed, I like to look around and see if there are any other members that are of a Pagan-type religion. I know that there are few and far between of us, so I always like to find others that share my religious beliefs. And since I'm fairly new to the religion, I also like to discuss things like traditional stories/lore, holidays, recipies, spells and rituals, that sort of thing. Not looking for any haters here, just wanting to find a community and share ideas and experiences with those who fall under the same religion umbrella as I do!

[TheGlyphstone]

You're definitely in luck. While I'm not one of them, I know of at least one Asatru (I think) and numerous practicing Wiccans who post regularly here. Hopefully they'll come along and introduce themselves before too long!

[Crystalis]

You're definitely in luck. While I'm not one of them, I know of at least one Asatru (I think) and numerous practicing Wiccans who post regularly here. Hopefully they'll come along and introduce themselves before too long!

HOORAY! :D usually I don't have that kind of luck on sites like this.

[HairyHeretic]

I would be one of the Asatruar, though not sure if I'm the one TheGlyphstone is thinking of :) I know there are people from a variety of traditions here, so if you want to tell us a bit more about your own, we can take it from there.

[Yarnover]

I'm Pagan. My family leans toward the Wiccan side but we do a lot of our own things too. Nice to meet you, Crystalis.

[Iniquitous]

I, like Hairy, am one of the Asatruar on here.  Nice to meet you Chrys!

[Crystalis]

Nice to meet you all too! I'm still fairly new to the religion, and have yet to really learn all the branches available. I used to define myself as Wiccan, but I found it a little black and white for my tastes. The grey areas were too lacking for my tastes. I'd like to learn more about the other branches and what they have to offer :)

[Fierbali111]

People sometimes put forth that atheism is a religious belief system and therefor pagan but I don't see it and tend to step away from trying to believe in things I don't have enough information to conclude anything with.

[Crystalis]

People sometimes put forth that atheism is a religious belief system and therefor pagan but I don't see it and tend to step away from trying to believe in things I don't have enough information to conclude anything with.

I believe that atheism is a religious belief, but I believe that is the belief in an absence of a religious figure. That there is ni higher power. It counts as a religion, I think, because you are believing in something. You believe in nothing

[TheGlyphstone]

I'd classify strong/rigid atheism as a belief system, but not a religious one - that's sort of the central facet that distinguishes atheism from theism. It's definitely not pagan in any sense though, that has a more specific definition than merely 'non-Abrahamic'.

[Iniquitous]

I'd classify strong/rigid atheism as a belief system, but not a religious one - that's sort of the central facet that distinguishes atheism from theism. It's definitely not pagan in any sense though, that has a more specific definition than merely 'non-Abrahamic'.

^ Best answer. Ever.  Atheism isn't a religion.  It's just a belief, like the belief in science.

[Regina Minx]

I believe that atheism is a religious belief, but I believe that is the belief in an absence of a religious figure. That there is ni higher power. It counts as a religion, I think, because you are believing in something. You believe in nothing

My pat answer to this is that atheism is a religion in the same way that bald is a hair color. Atheistic belief is a religious belief in the same way that not collecting stamps is a hobby.

Also, you've mixed up atheism with nihilism. Atheism is the lack of theistic belief; usually boiled down to ~A in which A is defined as the statement "At least one god exists." Knowing a person's stance on that one particular truth claim tells you nothing whatsoever about any other belief that an atheist has, and I'm going to point out that not believing A is true is not the same as believing that A is false.

[Deamonbane]

My pat answer to this is that atheism is a religion in the same way that bald is a hair color.

[TheGlyphstone]

One of those cases where two words make all the difference.

An atheist believes in nothing after death.

A nihilist believes in nothing period.

[Regina Minx]

One of those cases where two words make all the difference.

An atheist believes in nothing after death...

I might even quibble with that suggestion. You can have a world system that features as an element of it atheism or at least supreme indifference to the notion of any god or gods, and yet also holds a belief in the afterlife. Some flavors of Buddhism, for instance, or a pantheistic system that holds to some form of meaningful reincarnation.

[TheGlyphstone]

I might even quibble with that suggestion. You can have a world system that features as an element of it atheism or at least supreme indifference to the notion of any god or gods, and yet also holds a belief in the afterlife. Some flavors of Buddhism, for instance, or a pantheistic system that holds to some form of meaningful reincarnation.

I guess so. Though  I do agree its probably quibbling at that point, also its super off topic for poor Crystallis's thread.

[Tamhansen]

^ Best answer. Ever.  Atheism isn't a religion.  It's just a belief, like the belief in science.

Belief in science? See, the difference here is that science has been objectively proven to exist. There's no need to believe, it just is.

Neither theism nor atheism have that. Hence why both are beliefs. In dutch there's a word that covers both and many others. 'levensbeschouwing' basically, how you look at life.

But on point, I myself am sort of in-between. I don't believe in supernatural creatures, yet I have witnessed firsthand what the belief in certain powers can do. I tend to believe this comes from inside people rather than some creature beyond our understanding. So while many of my rituals and practices resemble those of neopagans like Wicca and heathen covens, our source of power differs.

[karkas132]

Hello everyone! I'm Chrysalis, but you can calle Chrys! I'm new here, and whenever I come to a site like this where discussing religions is allowed, I like to look around and see if there are any other members that are of a Pagan-type religion. I know that there are few and far between of us, so I always like to find others that share my religious beliefs. And since I'm fairly new to the religion, I also like to discuss things like traditional stories/lore, holidays, recipies, spells and rituals, that sort of thing. Not looking for any haters here, just wanting to find a community and share ideas and experiences with those who fall under the same religion umbrella as I do!

What kind of Pagan friend? I am an Asatru ^^

[la dame en noir]

I'm pagan - learning - practicing when I can. I have a mini alter and all. I worship deities from the Yoruba culture(west africa - nigeria). It keeps me connected to lost ancestors and culture (I'm American, as is all my family).

[Kuroneko]

Hello everyone! I'm Chrysalis, but you can calle Chrys! I'm new here, and whenever I come to a site like this where discussing religions is allowed, I like to look around and see if there are any other members that are of a Pagan-type religion. I know that there are few and far between of us, so I always like to find others that share my religious beliefs. And since I'm fairly new to the religion, I also like to discuss things like traditional stories/lore, holidays, recipies, spells and rituals, that sort of thing. Not looking for any haters here, just wanting to find a community and share ideas and experiences with those who fall under the same religion umbrella as I do!

I'm also pagan, more towards druidry/indigenous Irish practices.

[TheHangedOne]

Animist here.

[Avalon]

I'm a bit of a loosely practicing Wiccan. It's not always something I actively pursue, but it definitely permeates my everyday beliefs. =)

[SidheLady]

Heya all!

I'm a pagan as well, with shamanistic leanings.

[CelticWitch]

Hey y'all!

I'd be a casual Wiccan at the moment.  I subscribe to their idea, haven't actually gone into practice yet, nor am I actually out in my home community.  I unfortunately live in a conservative part of my state, but I'm here for linking up with fellow wiccans, pagans, witches, etc, etc.  Welcome to the community!

[AmberStarfire]

Welcome CelticWitch and thanks for helping me find this thread (by posting). I didn't see it before.

I'm pagan (mainly in terms of spirituality rather than practice), with the exception of protection rituals. I discovered stregheria (and did a self-dedication) when I was in my teens, and wicca after that, and I was a practising wiccan until I reached the conclusion it wasn't for me (quite a long time ago now). It's my belief that what we face and encounter in life occurs for a very good reason, and to change things magickally has the potential to interfere with that. I also have OCD a bit and don't feel I have utter, complete control when it comes to anything magickal, so I generally steer clear of it now. Life will put in my path who and what needs to be in my path (and that's how I see it).

I read tarot and the runes, I have a number of Gods I believe in and worship (mostly the Greek and Egyptian), and I've had an interest in shamanism (and have been a practitioner) for around 20 years. I also studied reiki and have the reiki 1 qualification. I still practice it sometimes and haven't gone back to study it more. Religiously speaking, I'd define my beliefs as a combination of paganism and Buddhism.

[Oniya]

For those that might be less 'out' in public (as this is part of the public section of the boards), we also have a thread in the members-only side of the forums, here.