One of the reasons that most of us are drawn to the 'old religions' is because it is, well, Old. We dress in cira clothing, act out rites and practices that we believe to be old, we try to embrace our ancestory. We revere Old Gods and Goddesses.
However, what we do today is often in direct contradiction to what was practiced in times of old. Our methods, actions, and beliefs are the anti-thesis of most Old Pagan Religions. Curious? Read on.....
Solitaire vs. Group Practice- The first and most obvious pitfall of modern Paganism is the Solitairy mind set. No where in recorded history was Paganism ever a Solitaire practice. From the Druids of Europe to the High Priests of the Aztecs, from the Shaman of the Native American to the Holy Men of Japanese Shinto, every Pagan path had some basic foundation or structure to it. Every Pagan religion was a group practice. Though everyone worshipped in their own way and in their own time, the individual was intimently linked to the next through a strong bond created by the religion of its people. In Times of old, Religion was the basis of everything - it dictated planting times, harvest times, war, prosperity, etc ... . In times of Old, the people worshipped as a group, relied on each other as a group, & lived together as a group.
Basic Structure of Old missing from todays Paganism
Traditional- In times of old, every pagan practiced a specific Path or Tradition. Within this specific path or tradition were specific Divine beings who acted and interacted with each other, the world, the universe, and the people. Stories were told that taught lessons, held moral & legal advice, and preserved esoteric knowledge. These stories were part of growing up within these specific societies. Everyone learned the stories and everyone learned the lessons contained within.
Most importantly, Traditions are used to preserve specific ways of doing things - time honored methods and practices that have been handed down from generation to generation, used to keep the path and practice directed toward a common goal and orientation.
Today's Pagan is taught to shy away from the group or traditional mind-set. Specific Paths and Traditions are discarded for the make-it-up-as-you-go belief systems of Neo-Paganism.
Cultural Context- In times of Old, Pagans were born, lived, worked, grew old, and died within a specific culture. This culture was different than other cultures of the same period, had different ways of doing things, and, had different belief systems. The Pantheon of this culture directly affected the way this culture went about their lives.
Again, today's Neo-Paganism teaches that it is ok to mix and match belief systems, Pantheons, Rites, and Practices. By doing so much of the esoteric knowledge is lost, as are any deeper meanings associated with the inter-relationships of the divine, the people, and the universe.
Pantheon Based- Each Pagan Tradition of old contained a specific Pantheon - that is, a group of specific Gods and Goddesses who act and interact with each other, the universe, the world, and the people of that specific tradition.
Today's use of the old Gods and Goddesses are relagated to one or two word descriptions of attributes or correspondences that somehow relate to them, and, they are freely mixed with other Pantheons, loosing much of their cultural context and energy in the process.
Moreover, some Pagan systems today have adopted a Duotheistic divine view - meaning that there is only one god and one goddess. Some even view all gods, of any Pantheon, to be a representation of the god, and, all goddesses of any and all pantheons, to be the representation of the goddess. Still, others have spun it even further to insist that there is one divine being whos man and female energies are represented as the god and goddess. All of these ideas are rather new inventions to Paganism, coming to us in the past 60 years or so.
Priesthood- In Time of old, there was priest who was the intermediatery between the Gods and the people. The priesthood, depending on the society, had many different tasks. One of these was keeping the stories and lessons alive. Another was appeasing the Gods and Goddesses. Yet another was calling on the divine for intervention. During this time, the priesthood was seen as a powerful individual, elevated to a position of a king or queen themselves. This Priesthood led the (group of) people in ritual and practice.
Today, in Neo-Paganism, we are told that everyone is priest or priestess. The role has been relegated to that of the common practitioner and little more.
