Paganism

Magic, as practiced by Pagans, is as different as their various traditions. It would be impossible to give you a single definitive answer. What I can give you is the "basics" from our circle. As we are in the northern hemisphere, these are what we use.

Samhain (late fall - Oct 31) the third harvest.

The colours tend to be deep oranges, reds, browns and black.

The symbols are the scrying mirror, the cauldron, fall leaves, and on occasion jack-o-lanterns.

Yule (winter -Dec 21)) is the winter solstice.

The colours are: whites and blues (for snow), red and green (for the Holly King), and black and silver (for the Winter Crone).

The symbols include, the scale tipped fully with the moon high, the battle of the Holly King and the Oak King, holly, evergreen trees, candles, and stars.

Candlemas (late winter Feb 2) also known as Imbolg.

Colours include white (for milk and the Maiden) yellow (for daffodils), green (for the coming spring), red (for the Mother) and black (for the crone). Symbols include candles (we make and bless all the candles we intend to use for the coming year), and the triple goddess (in our tradition the goddess in her three aspects visits us).

Ostara (spring Mar 21) the vernal equinox.

The colours tend toward pastels, pale pink, lavender, soft blue, light green, pale yellow, and peach (for spring).

The symbols include a balanced scale, rabbits, eggs, and spring flowers.

Bealtain (early summer may 1) the Celtic begining of summer.

The colours are Greens and golds, as well as fire colours.

The symbols are: the maypole, wells, and fires.

Litha (Summer June 21st) the summer solstice.

The colours are sunny and bright, with lots of yellows and golds, oranges and bright pinks.

The symbols are the sun, the Oak King and the Holly King, and the scale tipped fully with the sun high.

Lammas (late summer, August 1st) the first harvest.

The colours tend to soft golds and tans (for ripe wheat and the Sun King), greens and berry colours (for the fruits of the vine and the Green man) and dark browns and black (for the earth and the Dark Hunter).

The symbols are a sheaf of wheat, the crescent boline, corn, fruits of the field, and the triple god (the god in three aspects visit us at this time.

Mabon (fall September 21) the autumnal equinox and the second harvest.

The colours are harvest colours - orange and yellow, red and brown.

The symbols include the balanced scale, fall leaves, the bounty of the harvest and the cornucopia.

Saturnalia begins on Dec. 17 and lasts til Dec. 24.

It sounds like someone who believes that Christianity and Druidism/Paganism/New Age are compatible. They are wrong.

Technically speaking, pagans do not practice Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday which is a Catholic holiday. However, practitioners of Santeria and Voodoo in the Americas blend Catholicism, Native American and African religious beliefs and practices, and as these religions all blend together in Latin and South America, some pagans probably do celebrate Marti Gras (especially in areas like Brazil) because it's more of a cultural/social thing, not really treated as a religious holiday by the mainstream.

It was at one time. The burning of the Yule log has been associated with having its origins in ancient Germanic paganism.

What are you talking about!?

Pagan isn't a place ( i don't think)

Pagan is a religion!!!

Pagan in this context probably means that the story came from a non-Christian culture.

We call it "Crossing the Bridge"

That depends on how you define "pagan". Strictly speaking it refers to the European people who did not practice Christianity starting around the 4th or 5th century. This included people who participated in the "mystery schools" which were an amalgamation of beliefs from the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Pythagoreans, and others. Gnostic Christians would also fall into this category, since they were branded heretics (and therefor, pagan) by the early church. Since the church came after many of these groups, there really is not one pagan group which could be called the first.

Etymologically, "pagan" comes from Latin meaning peasants, in which case anyone who was not part of Roman aristocracy was pagan, in which case, the Romans would be the first pagan people.

However, if one accepts the more specific, church endorsed definition of pagan, any religious practice outside of the church would be pagan, including Native Americans, Buddhists, Taoists, Australian Aboriginees, Aztecs, Mayans, etc. In this case, the earliest "pagans" would be the early Mesopotamians, which are the oldest known civilization from back around 31-3200 BCE.

Pagan sacrifices depend on which pagan religion you are referring to.

Generally, any religion that is not Christian, is a pagan religion. Not all pagan religions require sacrifices.

In the ancient northern Mayan culture, there were human sacrifices.

In the ancient southern Mayan culture, sacrifices consist of chickens and iguanas.

In Sri Lankan ancient paganism, the sacrifices were mostly chicken. Sacrifices were made only to demons (as a bait) and not for higher level Gods.

Human sacrifices were shunned upon and limited in unearthing treasure.

In ancient Hinduism, they sacrificed mostly Chicken and Goat.

In Wicca and Stregheria there are no blood sacrifices done, ever. However there are sometimes offerings of wine, fruit, and grains.

Modern Santeria and Voudon use chickens and sometimes goats.

There are as many viewpoints regarding spirits and demons as there are Pagans in the world. Some may believe in them, other may not, and within those beliefs there may be many strands of understanding. Tribal cultures with strong remnants of animist belief often incorporate work with spirits and demons into their everyday lives, while many western neo-pagans may concentrate instead on celebrating the changes in the agricultural seasons and never consider such things as spirits.

Only Two?

Clocks, candles, water-time-pieces, sundials, hour glasses, chronometers, and I'm sure there are more.

What I'd like to add is that there is not a "pagan standard time". Punctuality is respectful and important in all people of all paths.

When Christianity became the official state religion, other religions began to decline.

Well, it would be more accurate to say that the new age movement is linked to paganism. New Agers embrace anything that does not have to do with mainstream spirituality, i.e., Christianity, and any form of healing that doesn't line pharmacists' pockets. In most forms of paganism, they find what they are looking for. However, the difference between a New Ager and a serious pagan is that we tend to find one path among the pagan religions, such as Wicca, whereas New Agers happily mix and match Wicca, Voodoo, Santeria, druidism, and anything else they run across. I am not going to be so presumptuous as to say which way is better, but personally, I have chosen the wiccan path, and am working with a specific pantheon within wicca. I hope that clears things up for you.

A pentagram is a five-pointed star, whose points/sides are all similar.

So, you need to measure five angles of 72º at the centre of a circle. Mark where these meet the circumference and then connect each point to the second-next one, so that all are connected... 1 to 3, 3 to 5, 5 to 2, 2 to 4 and 4 to 1 again.

Lithuania and Iceland were of the last places in Europe to convert to Christianity. Lithuania converted sometime around the 14th Century. Iceland did not fully convert till the 16th Century.

It was an era of new Roman Christian states. By 966, much of the Polish region had sided with Rome, as did the of Hungary around 986. Large sections of Scandinavia adopted the Latin Church by 1000. Pagan lands were minimal.

Voodoo

There are no restrictions on what Pagans may drink.

Pagan is a general term that refers to people holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.

It is a broad, general description that encompasses thousands of religions over thousands of years.

It is called "Yom mum" and sometimes a Pointy but is also reffered to as a Witching Bonnet even though it does not look like the other bonnets of its era.

Yes. Wicca is a subcategory of Paganism. Gerald Gardner did not invent a religion he only gave it his own personal touches and then passed those onto his followers.

Ireland