The Old Ways

The old ways refer to the beliefs, practices and faith of a million cultures long before the reign of christianity.

Before I start, let me put one rumour to rest, pagans are NOT satanists or devilworshippers, we do NOT practice voodoo, or place curses or hexes on our enemies, and nor do we make blood sacrifices (human or otherwise) to our gods. Wicca, bhudism and shamanism are simply religions, ancient beliefs involving ancient gods and goddesses of many names.

I'm focusing on wicca because thats my religion, and what I know best. Wicca is what many describe as a "mystic religion" and means different things to different people. The followers of Wicca (known as wiccans or witches) pray to two main dieties, the Goddess (of the moon) known under many names, such as Cerridwen, Bride, Aradia & Diana (to name a few), and the GOD, often known as Cernunnos, Kayarna or Apollo to name a few. These two dieties bring a balance and harmony, each representing the three stages of life, for the goddess, they are the Virgin, the queen/mother and the hag/crone for the God, the youth, the warrior and the king.

Wicca is also an earth religion, that focuses on nature, and harmony, our "prayers" are more of a celebration, performed outdoors where possible, and channel the powers of nature, and the powers within ourselves to help people, worship the gods and gain a better understanding of ourselves. As I've said earlier, Wicca means many things to many people, because Wicca encompasses so much, its nature, its animals, its air, rocks, rivers, seas, birds, its you, and its me.

It's about the universe, and about ourselves, which may be why its a popular pagan religion, because unlike christianity and catholicism, its not just a book of rules and a promise of a pretty place after death, its a series of philosophies and ideas, of guidelines for finding out more about yourself, and helping you through LIFE. This is one religion where life is to be rejoiced in, and so is death, because everything is a continous circle. The circle of life.