Satanists are "NOT" Pagans.
There are two common definitions for Pagan, and neither one of them remotely eludes to opposing a Christian belief system.
Pagans have our own beliefs.
The pagan folk are a traditionally conservative group. We believe in law and order, property rights, individual freedom, and most modern pagan folk do promote Family, Community, and upholding Ancestral Traditions. Some of the most fundamental Pagan beliefs by far predate Christianity. The Pantheon I honor, are spoken of among the Norse Germanic Sagas, and they are historical figures that have walked among their followers. Their names are in multiple kings books in Europe, they are still declared to be their ancestors. They were the heroes and kings who descended from the ancestral lines of the Aesir Jotun. There is no pro-Jesus nor anti-Jesus aspect to it, Christianity, and Catholicism are not even mentioned.
What's modern about today?
Somehow, today… in an era that we call the information age, there are Satan worshippers who are are still being called “Pagan” by millions. These people have the gall to say they are doing community outreach, they go door to door handing out pamphlets about Jesus. Nearly every time one arrives in my doorstep, there is almost no hesitation, they see my tattoos, and tell me they are symbols of Satan. No sir, they are Runes, but you go and have yourself a nice life.
Even in public in America's “Bible belt” this is still quite common among the unknowingly propagandized masses. Random guy in a waffle House seems my forearm tattoos, and says “seek Jesus Sir.” To which I used to respond with something like “why buddy, does he teach people to mind their own business, by saying that we should live and let live.” That was the younger and more rambunctious me. Now I just ignore them, unless they actually touch me, or threaten my family… but who wouldn't go berserk in that situation. 🤷🏼♂️
Not much has changed.
These are the same bible thumping belief systems of the people who killed their neighbors during the Witch hunts, and called the FBI during the Satanic Panic. The people who have been programmed to believe that Pagan means evil, or that it is an unknowing worship of the Christian devil. That is all the same, what has changed slightly is that these Christians are once again now considered the extremists in the Government, and some of the publics eye. Political beliefs are still battling against the big religious beliefs. It's the Same ancient pendulum, but with a slightly different swing. Same as we always has been, us Pagan folk are out on our farms, or in the shadows of the city just watching it happen. Staying out of the controversy and conflict as much as we can.
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We are not the tribe of Vikings that raided Lindisfarne, most of us are just simple farmers, cooks, mechanics, doctors. We don't like politics, and because it has become part of popular culture, many Pagans are becoming homesteaders again. Why not, our ancestors were simple folks who were so inclined to keep their faith, that they sailed into an open ocean to find new lands where they could do so peacefully. Why can't we pack up our comfortable apartments or suburban homes and head back out into nature and live with the Creation of the Gods.
Many of our ancestors may have landed in Iceland in the 9th, and 10th centuries fleeing the forced Catholic conversion. When the forced conversions came to Iceland in the 10th and 11th and 12th centuries, the few surviving conservative Pagans Folks fled again. Many were sailing off into the Atlantic, knowing that they may never be heard from or seen again. Just as their distant ancestors, they were looking for a new world, free of the oppression of the Roman Catholic church. There were a lucky few though, just a handful of these boat loads of Pagans, that actually did make it to America. We know this now for a fact from evidence found at several North American archaeological sites. Their journey was against all odds, and they won. Their faith and traditions still survive to this very day. That wasn't the end of their struggles though.
After they got settled into the new world circa the 12th or 13th century, they began to set up trading networks. They lived for about 2 centuries as the only group trading items between Europe, and North America. Then in the mid to late 1400’s the same thing began to happen again. This time it was European Christians and Protestants who were fleeing the religious oppression of the Catholic Church. Then in the 1500’s the shit hit the fan in the Americas. Entire Armadas of British and Spanish troops began showing up and building forts and bases. Almost over night, they began hunting Native North American Pagan Folk, wiping out entire tribes. European pagan folk that had been here for centuries doing business with them, got the same exact treatment as the Natives. Yet they still survived, and so did their traditions and beliefs.
We have a valid “victim card”
Given these facts, it would be easy to argue from a Pagan perspective that we are victims of the Catholic Church, the English, French, or Spanish Monarchy, but we don't. We were hunted and enslaved for almost 1500 years. In order to preserve our traditions our ancestors had to pack their lives up and sail off with them over and over again. Rather than focusing on that, we just move forward and keep rebuilding our repeatedly shattered lives. Now that the citizens can no longer legally kill us and claim our land in the name of their God, we are just now rebuilding again. The Pagan revival is growing rapidly. These 8,000,000 + Americans identify as Wiccan, Odinist, Celtic, Baltic, and a few other Pre-Christian European Ancestral beliefs. They want their sacred spaces, and recognized religious rights.
Now that we are here, how do we rebuild?
It's been so long since we have lived out traditional pre-christian tribal life's, that funding that starting point can be hard.
How would you do it ? 👇
Paganism, Is It A Lifestyle, Or Is It A Religion?
Yes.
It's Both, or it's either. You pick.
The tenants of the Norse Germanic religion do actually include self sustaining. This is done in many ways, but the most direct are a pair of stanzas in Havamal. The meaning behind them is blatantly obvious, and doesn't need a priest, or historian to interpret.
It's better to have a hut and some scrawny livestock, than to depend on another for housing, or food.
There is such a deep logic tied into this idea. First and foremost, humans will need two things constantly throughout their lives, food, and shelter. These are still the largest expenses for most people in general, our living and food costs. If we can own our own land and home, we depend on no landlord. If we were to also grow our own food there, then we need no stores. Along with owning your own “meager hut” you can decide whether or not you will pay monthly for your utilities. With the ease of generating one's own power in modern day, becoming completely independent is far easier than it ever has been.
You can live a “Traditional Pagan” lifestyle, and still have technology. Odin himself was a firm believer in learning, and exploring new things. Just as all of the Sagas of the Eddas tell us, it takes determination and the will to act towards your ambitions in order to achieve these things. To put it simply giving up some of your most precious resource, time. You take away from your recreational time, and use it to reach for your goals. This could be becoming a member of or even building a community. Look at the community structure of the Amish folk, they all contribute to the success of maintaining their way of life. Yet they are all free to own land, and property. They maintain their peace because have common community beliefs, and that is due to the fact that they also have common religious beliefs. I don't share their religious or other beliefs around marriage, but that's fine and dandy, I don't live there.
We are not chaotic, and do not wish ill upon others. Our beliefs are built around something, rather than being built in opposition to another religion. We partake in a religion, where the Gods are also our ancestors. The sagas and seasonal celebrations have been preserved, and that is what we aim to continue.
We are our own people, with our own beliefs. That's all that we want, to be legally recognized. Then it's on us to build.
👉 We are Here ☝️
The Time is Now, so let's rebuild those communities, and our sacred spaces.
https://www.givesendgo.com/PaganSacredGrove
Come get to know us.
I'd like to make an addition to one point. There were European settlers who did flee religious persecution of the then-Catholic Church but the real influx came when Henry VIII established The Church of England around 597. His was a conservative protestant church, however, he was seizing assets owned by The Church of Rome at the time. The puritan settlers who came over thought that the Church of England had too many Catholic rituals and practices, making them a splinter group who were absolutely being oppressed by their own government. I could go on about puritanism but I can sum it up with they did start eating their own and becoming religious persecutors in and of themselves once they got settled in here in the US. Kind of a wild story that misses a lotta nuance when it's summarized, unfortunately.
Excellent article.