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Pagan-
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin paganus, from
Latin, country dweller, from pagus country district; akin to
Latin pangere to fix
My family lives in the
hills of West Virginia
where many of the old
ways have been preserved
and I was lucky enough
to be exposed to them
from the very beginning.
My mothers side of the
family were farmers and
planted and harvested by
the cycles of the moon.
May people on that side
are guided by a deep and
powerful "intuition"
that never seems to lead
them astray. My
father's family is led
by a matriarch who has a
deep belief in
direct interaction with
"angels" and actually
conversing with the
Divine. Along with
many prophetic dreams,
the ability to see
through any lie, and
coming back from Death
several times because
"God said it just wasn't
time yet," the family is
all but typical.
My personal experiences
outside of the family
began quite early as
well. My parents
taught me to read at a
very early age and never
held me back as far as
that went. My
uncle fueled my passion
for unicorns and fantasy
and listened to me when
I told him that I
thought they were real
and tried to rationalize
it. At the age of
six, I had read every
book at the public
library on fantasy
creatures and had
stumbled across
mythology.
Mythology became an
undying passion in me.
Unlike the fantasy I had
studied before, these
were the actual beliefs
aof civilizations.
By the age of eight, I
was moved to a "gifted"
class because I kept
correcting the teachers
when they tried to teach
about the Greeks and
Romans. My parents
were really supportive
of my newest interest
and bought an entire set
of encyclopedias so I
could research whenever
I wanted. I read
each one cover to cover.
Finally, with all of
this knowledge in my
head, I began
questioning the popular
ideals of society and
mainstream religion.
My parents were very
supportive and carried
on deep conversations
about their personal
faiths with me on into
the nights.
Sometimes we would talk
for hours. Just
imagine having a
theological debate with
a ten year old! My
mother and father both
were Christian but with
their own beliefs.
My father, like his
mother, believed in a
personal connection with
God. Very
personal, in fact.
He also believed that
there was nowhere on
Earth he felt closer to
God than when he was out
in Nature hunting and
fishing. My mother
was raised Christian as
well, but had her own
interests in Native
American Shamanism.
So much so, that she
named my brother Seneca.
She incorporated her
Christian beliefs with
Shamanic ones.
Basically, the Great Sky
Spirit was God.
She also practiced many
Folk Arts and could cure
anything with Folk
medicine. She
bought me my first deck
of Tarot cards when I
was ten. Of which I
still have today.
I have to say, I was
very lucky to have
parents so open-minded,
supportive about
religion. And as
far as Faith goes, there
were no better role
models than my family.
As they years passed,
the myths of my
ancestors became more
than that. With
all that I had studied
of religion, I saw so
many universal truths.
I saw so many
reincarnations of the
basic beliefs of the
Ancients. I just
couldn't get the ideas
out of my head.
The idea of the wheel of
the year tied in with
everything I was ever
taught by my family.
And the idea of a Great
Mother became so
natural. I began
adopting the ways of my
Celtic ancestors and
cherishing the
traditions that still
exist within my family. I
certainly can't consider
myself New Age, since
all that I believe is so
old, some of it is lost
in time forever. I
try not to classify
myself under any
religion since my
beliefs are made up from
so many wonderful
influences. SO, if
you must call me
something, call me
pagan. |