Polytheistic Religions or Pagan religions, what all is there?

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Permalink Reply by Aurelia Pontia on October 28, 2012 at 6:05pm

There are quite a few.  But some are ancient, some are modern, some are about spirits, others about nature, some about both and some have aspects of both.

You might want to go to a place like Witchvox and research or do your own research.

What are you looking for your religion to do for you?

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Permalink Reply by Crystal Ember on October 28, 2012 at 6:16pm

I want to become more at peace, like achieve a certain state of mind.  Become more spiritual and connnected.  If that makes any sense

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Permalink Reply by Malitiose Wildyew on October 28, 2012 at 9:03pm

All that is up to you and how you perceive the world around you.Spirituality and religion just supply the framework.

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Permalink Reply by Crystal Ember on October 28, 2012 at 11:08pm

I dont know where to start, its all so broad

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Permalink Reply by Malitiose Wildyew on October 28, 2012 at 11:44pm

:).It can be overwhelming I know.And wanting to have clarification is a good start.

I'm not going to overload you with info or books.What do you know/understand right now?

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Permalink Reply by fawn on October 29, 2012 at 3:48pm

This is pretty much the goal of nearly every religion, pagan or no.  To add every pagan path has it's own wisdom, and every god/dess has his/her own mysteries. 

Since you seem overwhelmed and confused, I'd suggest you first start with defining you own beliefs.  Write these down if you need to.  Figure out what you really believe, not what you think you should believe in order to be a good Wiccan or Pagan or whatever.  Stuff like What is the Divine? Is it singular, dual, multiple, nonexistent?  Is it personal?  What gender is the Divine?  What exactly do want from your path?  Power, connection (to the Divine, the natural world, the spirit realm, your ancestors), hidden knowledge, enlightenment?  Do you like the idea of dealing with spirits, or would you just prefer to work with the Gods?

Another thing to consider, are there any pantheons, single gods or goddesses, or ancient cultures that really speak to you?  This would be a very good start for research.  If you're still totally lost, then I suggest if you know your heritage you look into the religions of your pagan ancestors.  You may or may not relate to the faith of your ancestors, but it's at least a starting point.  Even if you don't find what you're looking for in your ancestors faith, at least you'll have an idea of what you're not into, and that's still worth something.

Many pagans use Wicca as a gateway into other forms of Paganism.  I don't see anything wrong with practicing Wicca while researching other Pagan Paths.  Actually this is what most Wiccan's do anyway whether or not they remain Wiccan.

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Permalink Reply by fawn on October 28, 2012 at 8:57pm

There are tonz.  These are some that I can come up with as of right now.  There are no doubt much much more.

Neopagan:

British Traditional Wicca (Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc)

Eclectic Wicca (Anything else calling itself Wicca)

Generic Eclectic Paganism

Goddess Centered Spirituality

Recon:

Asatru (Norse Paganism)

Kemetic Orthodoxy (Egyptian Paganism)

Hellenismos (Greek Paganism)

Druidry (I'm really not sure what the Celtic Recons call themselves)

"Paganism" outside of the Neopagan movement.  I put "Pagan" in quotes because most of these people would never call themselves Pagans.

Voodoo

Santeria

Shinto

Hinduism

Buddhism

Native American Spirituality (note: many Natives won't let you near their religion unless your a Tribal member).

Some other stuff that get's lumped under the Paganism and the Occult umbrella.

Core Shamanism

New Age

Witchcraft (as a practice)

Chaos Magic

Thelema

Satanism

Kabbalah

Golden Dawn

Christo-Paganism

Jewitchy

Strega

Gnosticism

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Permalink Reply by TuathaSidhe Jem on October 29, 2012 at 5:33pm

Druidry (I'm really not sure what the Celtic Recons call themselves)

Celtic Recons...lol :) Most CR's avoid the word as it usually implies someone in a position of a Priest/Priestess/someone with extensive knowledge. I'm sure some call themselves Druids, but Druidry and CR isn't one in the same.

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Permalink Reply by fawn on October 29, 2012 at 5:39pm

Thanks for letting me know.  I don't know much about Celtic Paganism in general. Was a bit confused about Druids vs Neo-Druids vs whatever.

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Permalink Reply by Tara Flower on October 30, 2012 at 2:39pm

I have always thought Freyja's Man has the right approach to goddesses and gods, to concentrate first on building a relationship with one of them.

However my experience differed in some respects. When I established a relationship with the god I worship,  he said to me that in ancient times when someone formed a relationship with a god they would go to that god's temple and learn his rites. Therefore he asked me to learn his religion. This approach does of necessity involve you in a religion whether it is seen as pagan, polytheistic, recon or whatever.

What I do is considered by most of those on this site as neo-Wicca rather than Wicca but that is another story, the point is that when a god wants to be worshipped that worship must be derived from a religious tradition of some kind, even if you adapt it for your own use.

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Permalink Reply by Callisto on October 30, 2012 at 3:38pm

Polytheism is but one form of belief found among pagan practices. Generally, among and within individual pagan religions one will find various combinations of animism, polytheism, henotheism, monism, duotheism and a few other 'theisms.  Also, not all pagans practice magic or witchcraft. Some modern practices are reconstructions of ancient pagan practices (collectively referred to as Reconstructionism),  drawing heavily upon primary source materials (i.e., ancient texts, artifacts) and secondary sources (i.e., scholarly texts). Other practices do not focus on authenticity or revivalism,  preferring to take inspiration from a multitude of sources and relying foremost upon UPG (unverified personal gnosis) to develop their personal system.

It might interest you to read Drawing Down The Moon by Margot Adler which provides an overview of the various Neo-pagan practices.

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Permalink Reply by Heliodramus on November 4, 2012 at 1:09pm

FULL GOSPEL COCK ROACH ...

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