An essay for school teachers about Paganism
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"You have a Pagan in your classroom:"
An essay for school
teachers about Paganism by Suzanne "Cecylyna" Egbert,
2000-NOV-2
A student in your school practices a religion with which you may not be
familiar. This leaflet is simply to give you information you may need to
understand the different experiences this student may share with you, and answer
any questions you might have.
What is a Pagan student likely to practice and believe?
Because Pagans generally follow a non-creedal, non-dogmatic spirituality,
there may be even more variants between Pagan religious beliefs than there are
between denominations of Christianity. The most commonly practiced types of
Paganism are Wicca, Asatru, Druidry,
or simply Paganism, just as a Christian
can be Catholic, Presbyterian, or simply Christian. All of
these are somewhat different from each other. Because of this, the following
statements may not be true for every Pagan you encounter. However, there are
some practices that are generally common among Pagans; the student or his
parents will tell you if their practices differ significantly from the
following:
A Pagan student will celebrate a nature-based, polytheistic religion:
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A Pagan student will honor Divinity as both God and Goddess,
sometimes with a feminist emphasis on the Goddess. One effect of this
is that the student is likely to treat gender equality as an
assumption, |
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A Pagan student will celebrate religious ceremonies with small
groups on Full Moons and at the beginning and midpoint of each season,
rather than with large congregations or at a set weekly schedule.
These celebrations are often called 'rituals' or 'circles', and the
congregations called 'covens', 'groves', 'hearths', or 'circles'. Some
of the items commonly found on the altar in a Pagan ceremony are
statues of the Goddess or God; candles; crystals; wands; the athame, a
blunt-edged dagger used as a symbol and not as a tool with which to
cut; cups; cauldrons; incense; and a five-pointed star called the
pentagram or pentacle. |
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A Pagan student may wear a symbol of his or her religion as an item
of jewelry. The most common symbol is the pentacle, a five-pointed
star in a
circle. The misconception of the pentagram as a satanic symbol is
based upon its inverted use by those groups, in the same manner in
which devil-worshippers may use the Christian cross inverted. The
meaning of the pentacle as worn by Pagans is rooted in the beliefs of
the Greek Pythagoreans, for whom the pentagram embodied perfect
balance and wisdom; inserting the star in the circle adds the symbol
of eternity and unity. Other jewelry that may be worn includes Celtic
knotwork; crosses; triskelions; Thor's hammer; the labrys, a
double-headed axe used as a symbol by Greco-Roman worship of Cybele;
Goddess figurines; crescent and/or full Moon symbols; the Yin-Yang
symbol; or the eye of Horus or horns of Isis from Egyptian mythology. |
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A Pagan student will view Divinity as immanent in Nature and
humanity, and view all things as interconnected. This often leads to a
concern with
ecology and the environment, and a fascination with the cycle of life. |
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A Pagan student will believe in magic, and may spell it 'magick' to
differentiate it from stage illusions. This may include belief in
personal energy fields like the Chinese concept of chi, and may also
include the use
of rituals and tools to dramatize and focus positive thinking and
visualization techniques. It does not mean that the student is taught
that he can wiggle his nose to clean his room, summon spirits or
demons, or do anything else that breaks natural laws, though if young,
like any child, a Pagan child may pretend these things. It also does
not mean that the student is taught to hex or curse; in our ethical
structure such actions are believed to rebound on the sender, and
therefore are proscribed. |
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A Pagan student may believe in reincarnation. It is the most common
eschatological belief held among Pagans, but is not universal.
However, a Pagan student is unlikely to believe in either Heaven or
Hell; she may believe in the Celtic Summerland, a place of rest
between incarnations, or Valhalla, a realm of honor in Norse
religions. |
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A Pagan student may call herself a Witch, a Wiccan, a Pagan or
Neo-Pagan,
a Goddess-worshipper, a Druid, an Asatruer, or a Heathen. He is
unlikely to
call himself a Warlock, as that is believed to come from the Scottish
word
for 'oathbreaker'. And while a Pagan student may or may not be
offended by the stereotype, she is likely to quickly inform you that
the green-skinned, warty-nosed caricature displayed at Halloween bears
no relation to her religion. |
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Ethics and rules of behavior:
A Pagan student will be taught ethics emphasizing both personal freedom
and personal responsibility. Pagan ethics allow personal freedom within a
framework of personal responsibility. The primary basis for Pagan ethics
is the understanding that everything is interconnected, that nothing
exists without affecting others, and that every action has a consequence.
There is no concept of forgiveness for sin in the Pagan ethical system;
the consequences of one's actions must be faced and reparations made as
necessary against anyone whom you have harmed.
There are no arbitrary rules about moral issues; instead, every action
must be weighed against the awareness of what harm it could cause. Thus,
for example, consensual homosexuality would be a null issue morally
because it harms no one, but cheating would be wrong because it harms
one's self, one's intellect, one's integrity, and takes unfair advantage
of the person from whom you are cheating.
The most common forms in which these ethics are stated are:
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The Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do as thou wilt,"
and |
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The Threefold Law, "Whatsoever you do returns to you
threefold." |
Religious plurality:A Pagan student will hold a paradigm that embraces plurality. Because Pagan religious systems hold that theirs is a way among many,
not the only road to truth, and because Pagans explore a variety of
Deities among their pantheons, both male and female, a Pagan student will
be brought up in an atmosphere that discourages discrimination based on
differences such as race or gender, and encourages individuality,
self-discovery and independent thought. A Pagan student is also likely to be taught comparative religions. Most
Pagans are adamant about not forcing their beliefs on the child but rather
teaching them many spiritual systems and letting the child decide when he
is of age. However, a Pagan student is unlikely to have an emotional
concept of Heaven, Hell, or salvation as taught by Christian religions,
though he may know about them intellectually. And a Pagan student will be
taught to respect the sacred texts of other religions, but is unlikely to
believe them literally where they conflict with
scientific theory or purport to be the only truth.
Personal interests:A Pagan student is likely to enjoy reading, science, and helping
professions. Margot Adler, National Public Radio journalist, reported the
results of a survey of Pagans in the 1989 edition of her book, Drawing
Down the Moon. 1 The results showed that the one
thing Pagans hold in common despite their differences is a voracious
appetite for reading and learning. Pagans also seem to be represented
strongly in the computer and health-care fields, so the Pagan child is
likely to be computer-literate from an early age.
Conclusions:Despite their sometimes misunderstood beliefs, earth-based religions
have grown steadily throughout the past few decades, and provide a
satisfying spirituality to their practitioners. With the current
appreciation of diversity and tolerance, more people now understand that
different cultural backgrounds bring perspectives that can be valued
instead of feared. It is our hope that as a educator this will provide you
with the information you need to be able to facilitate understanding.
References:
- Margot Adler, "Drawing
down the moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess worshipers and other Pagans in
America today," Penguin USA, (1997) Rated by Amazon.com in
the top 3,500 of all books sold. Read
reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
- Introductory books on
Wicca are listed elsewhere on this web
site
Copyright © 1998 Cecylyna Dewr; Reprinted
by permission
Distribution is welcome. Please include this notice:
For more information, contact the Pagan Pride Project Executive Director,
Cecylyna Dewr:
Web site: http://www.paganpride.org.
Email: [email protected].
Address: Pagan Pride Project, PMB 119, 133 W Market St., Indianapolis, IN 46204.
Phone: 317.916.9115 Posted: 2000-NOV-19.
Latest update: 2001-AUG-29
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