the meaning of PAGAN - please reply now!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Jan 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

RainbowFire	26 Jan 2002
hi! My friend says "pagan" means "un-christian" or someone who doens't believe in God and doesn't have a religion! What is the meaning of the word exaclty?? and how similar is it to Wicca?

Pollux	27 Jan 2002
There should be a wonderful explanation by nexy_jo somewhere around! I don't recall where. Try searching nexy's posts, or looking up in posts by me!

Malachite	27 Jan 2002
Technically, Pagan is a medieval christian word applied in retrospect to non-christian, non-jewish faiths.... by definition, it means 'country-dweller', in the same way as a heathen is officially someone that lives on a moor... Once society came into contact with non-european peoples following non-christian faiths, the word was applied to them too, so now, despite the fact that many 'pagan' faiths have their own names for themselves...

Kiama	28 Jan 2002
To add to Malachite's wisdom: The word 'Pagan' comes from the Latin, 'Paganus', or 'country dweller, one who lives in the country', as Malachite said. This has connotations of being Earthy, and natural, which is why some people use it today as a name for their religious system, or practices. For some it does represent a pre-Christian, or non-Christian system, and it is applied to loads of cultures and religions from Hellenistic Greek to Wicca and Witchcraft. However, not all Wiccans or Witches would call themselves Pagans: It all depends on what they prefer. I identify with the label 'Celtic Pagan' (Although previously on the boards there has been much philosophical discussion about labels and mnkind I am using one now!) because I follow the pre-Christian path from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Gaul, and Briton. Kiama

nexyjo	28 Jan 2002
websters says: [quote]pa·gan n. 1. One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion. 2. One who has no religion. 3. A non-Christian. 4. A hedonist. 5. A Neo-Pagan. adj. 1. Not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. 2. Professing no religion; heathen. 3. Neo-Pagan. [middle english, from late latin pgnus, from latin, country-dweller, civilian, from pgus, country, rural district. [/quote] since the dictionary reflects the most common word usages, the term "pagan" is used in all these ways. in the context of wiccans, and other religions refered to as "pagan religions", the term pagan means "neo-pagan". they use the prefix "neo", which means "new", because most of the original pagan beliefs and practises were lost or destroyed when christianity attempted to take over the world. today, we really don't know exactly what the pagans of old believed and practiced - we only have partial descriptions and definitions, mostly as written from the perspective of the christians who hated them. some old pagan practices and beliefs do survive - there's many written documents from ancient egypt, greece, rome, and a variety of other old civilizations. but when neo-pagans refer to "pagan", they are often talking about the celtic pagans, and european witches - much of which information was lost. by the way, thanks pollux. i wish i had that definition i wrote... luv and light, nexy

Ramses	02 Feb 2002
Wow...pretty interesting to see that many people here have some great knowledge of latin... Pagan, from the latin PAGANUS, meaning country dweller, as said before, or simply, peasant... Pagans were the people who lived in the countryside and had a religion based on Nature...its most known expression being the Celtic religion, as said before...they celebrated the harvest, the four seasons, etc...it was more like, they were thanking mother Earth for everything she provides us ... I , now, just remembered that cartoon " Asterix & Obelix " ...lol...really funny...and their druid(forgot his name)... It´s just nice...paganism is a beautiful way of thanking the house we live in, mother Earth...she provides us with everything we need...unfortunatelly, we´re destroying nature...so sad...

The the meaning of PAGAN - please reply now! thread was originally posted on 26 Jan 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.