What does pagan beliefs mean?

Answer 1

Pagan is a term encompassing any religion that does not descend from early Abrahamic faiths (meaning, essentially, anything not of or related to Judaism, Christianity or Islam). This means that most world and ethnic religions are "pagan" and so their beliefs vary.

Most pagan religions had a reverence for nature, structured their religious beliefs around their interactions with the Earth (agricultural societies tended to hold celebrations at important points in the farming year, such as planting times and harvests), and believed in several gods.

Answer 2

"Pagan beliefs" are those spiritual beliefs specific to but not necessarily exclusive to pagans.

Not all pagans believe the exact same things, any more than all Christians believe the exact same things.

The generalities include:

- A reverence for Nature - observance of the cycles of the seasons and moon, living a responsible Eco-friendly lifestyle.

- Poli-theism - reverence of more than one deity, from one or more pantheons, both male and female.

- Ethical interactions with others - acceptance of other races, creeds, and life-styles.

Answer 3

Paganism is a religion. Things like witches, goblins, and magik come from it. The holiday Halloween comes from Paganism.

Pagan holidays are the celebrations of life on earth. All pagans value the earth as a precious thing. The changes of the seasons, sun and moon were very important for the people of old times for their agriculture and in some seasons they had to depend on hunting for their food. Our lives are closely attached to the collective life force of the earth, but we often forget that.

Pagan holidays marks the seasons and seasonal cross quarters of the year, the journey of the Earth around the Sun; and also the Full-Moon and New-Moon days.

Samhain is celebrated on October 31st. It is the third harvest (the blood harvest) for those of us living on farms it is the time in which the animals of our farms are culled and taken to be butchered. It is also the equivalent of our "New Year's Eve," this a serious gathering in which we honour our ancestors and those who have passed. Our group usually has a "Dumb Feast" where the meal is prepared, served and eaten in complete silence. It is not until the Ritual that we break our silence.

Yule is celebrated at the winter Solstice, it is a festival of lights when we welcome the sun in his return. For our group, this is a big family gathering where the Holly King joins our Ritual and stays afterward to distribute gifts to one and all.

Candlemas (aka as Imbolg or Brigit's Day) is observed on February 2nd, it is a celebration of the promise of Spring. In some groups this is a celebration of Brigit and we revere her as the Lady of the Forge and Poetry. In our Circle we welcome the goddess in her three aspects.

Ostara is held at the the Vernal equinox, it is a celebration of the returning Spring and sacred to the goddess Astara who's animal is the hare or rabbit. We celebrate by dyeing eggs, having egg hunts and in our group planning our group gardens.

Bealtain (aka Lady's Day) is celebrated May 1st and is a veneration of fertility in all its aspects. The most commonly recognised activity from Bealtain is people dancing around a May pole. In ancient times fires where lit and herds of animals were driven between the fires to bless them an assure their health and fertility. These days we build fires and dance around them in joy. We also bless fields and our animals.

Litha is held at the Summer solstice and is a celebration of all things summer. Our group has a large family picnic, games and outdoor activities and the children and youths are in charge of the Ritual.

Lammas is the celebration of the first harvest, held on August 1st in which we enjoy fruits and grains, specifically corn (maize). In our group we welcome the god in his three aspects to our Ritual.

Mabon is held at the Autumnal equinox and is the celebration of the second harvest. Many people equate this ritual with Thanksgiving, and our group holds a large harvest dinner for friends and family. During our ritual we gather food stuffs, gently used clothing and household items to be donated to local food banks and shelters.

Answer 4

Paganism is a religion made up of smaller ones, these religions range from the gods and goddess from the ancient Greek's, to native American beliefs and the spirits and dragons of East Asia, I'm pagan and I worship a female being who embodies the night, she has no specific name, but can be perceived as any god or goddess of night, my friend worships Norse gods and goddesses. Some pagan worship cosmic forces and nature, some (much like I) consider science to be a form of paganism, or that science is just the way of our deities way of explaining existence in a rational way.