Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

[Steena_Renee]

Hello, I'm Steena and I'm 22 years old. I've been a Neo-Pagan for almost 3 years simply because when I was doing the research that was the closest religion I could find that mirrored my own belief system. My problem is that I feel like "Pagan" is too broad a term. I want to be able to tell someone about my religion and sound confident. I've taken the "Belief-o-matic" quiz a few times and it only tells me that I am, in fact, neo-pagan. The websites I've traversed offer me very little by way of answering more acute questions. I would like to know what branch of Neo-pagan I should look into. If there is a well educated individual who would be willing to walk me through the questions I need to be answering to find my perfect match I would be much obliged if you would shoot me a private message and give me just a little guidance. Thank you

[Shawn Cameron]

Re: Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

you are in luck, this sight is full of well educated individuals. I understand your desire to talk one on one with someone but if you would like to supplement that by describing your core beliefs (the things you are certain about) to the populous we can then pose more questions and make suggestions together we are a far deeper pool of experience then alone.

Welcome and Good luck! I'm sure there will be a number willing to help. (including myself if I can)

Some starter questions...
1. do you consider yourself: hard polytheist, soft polytheist, monotheist or none of the above?
2. do you have a particular relationship or interest with any particular pantheon or do you have a diverse attraction to the gods?

[Steena_Renee]

Re: Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

I suppose I'd call myself a soft polytheist. I see "The Gods" as a force that only interact with the world when they want and/or need to. I also like to think of these gods a secondary gods. I believe in a universal spirit that is a part of everything. I believe that this spirit is what guides us through life, like a moral compass of sorts.

As far as the second question goes, when reading through the few books I was able to find I felt a particular attraction to the Celtic Pagan religions. My only problem with them is a lot of them seem a little... Theatric. I like to practice my religion on a slightly more low key level.

I hope this helps...

[Shawn Cameron]

Re: Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

It does, every little bit helps. let me just clarify on the gods, as secondary gods to you see them as all being a part of the universal spirit or as individuals and the universal spirit is in them as much as in us and nature?

Ah Celtic stuffs... not my personal forte but I know there are others around here to whom it is. what I do know is that every branch of paganism has those who are very theatric, and those are usually the ones who write the books. I am of the opinion that even if you follow a named path (religion) walking it is very personal. if you feel more conferrable silently communing with nature and the gods rather than writing and performing elaborate and flashy rituals that is just as valid as those who do it the other way around.

as of right now I have two research recommendations. since you have an interest in the Celtic religions I would look into 1. Celtic Reconstruction, they are hard polytheist (each god is real and distinct individuals just as you and other person are two distinct individuals despite all being connected by a universal energy and collective unconscious) but they base their practices around personal interaction with the gods and what every they can peace together with the surviving history, trying to follow the faith in the same way the ancestors did. and 2. Celtic Wicca or Druidism (I know they aren't the same thing), they lean more towards soft polytheism and have a bit more wiggle room for personal creativity and expression, Wicca in particular being a revival of pagan faith is more likely to accept people using other cultures techniques in their practices Wicca itself has been subdivided a number of times which is why I specify Celtic Wicca.

I hope this helps a little, and if you want to keep us up to date or have any more information or questions please don't hesitate to let us know! just keep in mind that all paths are personal and in finding a name is really just a convenience should you ever be lost its nice to be able to go to other practitioner of a specific path for inspirations and it is nice to be able to tell someone is a few words exactly what you are

[Steena_Renee]

Re: Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

I see the secondary gods as individuals with as much free choice as we have. Sometimes they can help us and sometimes they choose to play with us. I don't believe in anyone or anything being truly evil but I think that, at times the secondary gods use us for amusement.


thank you so much, this was extremely helpful. I'll have to look into Celtic reconstruction and Druidism. I tried Wicca a while back and found I couldn't connect to it fully.


You're awesome, thank you!

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

The thing is, the path you walk is your own. So start walking. Don't worry what the signpost on the path happens to be, just walk it. And gradually things will start to make sense. Because once you start seeking the gods, they start seeking you.

Learn to walk and understand the world around you. Learn about local history, trees, plants, stars, folklore.... become curious about life...

I was brought up in a family of witches... but ultimately I struck out on my own and it was the best thng I've ever done. The path I found (which I called 'Seeking the Green') was right for me... so I stuck with it.

The thing about pathways is that a valid path will always lead somewhere. An invalid one will always come to a dead end. And even if it does, don't panic. Just retrace your steps and set off again... and good luck!

[SPhoenix]

Re: Too many pathways, not enough guidance.

Well, here's my take on it... your mileage may vary...

The biggest problem with describing our spiritual beliefs is that they've all been killed off. Most people in many cultures expect you to be either one of the big three (one of the judaic religions), or Eastern Religion, or Atheist. If you explain any other belief system, you've run up against what I like to call "the paradigm wall". No matter what description of your spirituality you express, they're not going to get it. You're also not going to find a "tribe" for it, either (although Wicca now sort of has a tribe, they're like the christians in that there are a billion 'denominations' of Wicca--and they all disagree and all think they're "THE RIGHT ONE").

So it's hard. I personally think that you may well be what I've recently come to realize I am... A Panentheist. I'd never heard of it before a few days ago... and you won't find that most people have.

Panentheist: Someone who believes that God is in all things, through all things (that's a pantheist), and above/beyond all things (now panentheist).

I am a panentheist who has a profound fascination with the Celtic pantheon, myself. Except that in my own personal gnosis, they're somewhat interchangeable. Hardcore Celtic revivalists will demand that you pick one specific Celtic pantheon.

I find, also, that smaller, more personal reverence is more my style. I like the fires of Beltane... but I do them with candles.

So I can't really claim to celtic paganism, because I believe that all things are, ultimately at the end of the day, avatars of The One Over-Arching Intelligence Who Created Everything. Whether it's a flower or a newborn baby. Everything has its existence within the mind of God. We are fragments of God's imagination--and so are the "gods". The energy that makes up all things is a thought in the mind of God.

So in essence, I am a panentheist... yet I pay homage to the Celtic Gods--and I pick and choose from among them, the ones who present themselves to me. I see them very much like humans, only "bigger". The Celts imbued their Gods with very human-like characteristics and personalities. The Morrigan got angry when her love wasn't returned by the man she had the hots for... that's a very human characteristic. But she could do something about it (select him for death on the battlefield), which is very much not a human characteristic.

The Celtic gods to me strike me as human personalities with godlike powers, lol. (Same with the Greek gods). So why do I venerate any of them, then? Because I also believe that they came here to help and assist us. They came here to offer those greater powers for the greater good. And they're still here in some form, wishing to assist us. It is our choice to accept or deny that offer of assistance.

So what religion is that? It's panentheism, because while I definitely venerate the gods, I only see one over-arching "god" as the ultimate, final answer (and only "worship" It, technically speaking).

Hope that helps you a little bit.

You're really up against the fact that certain warring religions have done their damnedest to destroy every other system of belief on the planet. It's no longer possible to say, "I'm a pantheist who venerates the Celtic Gods" and have the vast majority of people nod and get it. It's not because it's an invalid belief; it's because it's not one of the now-recognizable and well known religions.