Reawakening a Pagan TheologyGood morning. My name is Sable Aradia, and I’m very honoured to have been invited to do a keynote presentation here at the Canadian National Pagan Conference. Today I’d like to consider a contentious and many-layered subject: Pagan Theology.

Theology is either “the systematic study of the existence and nature of the divine and its relationship to and influence upon other beings,”i or “a specific branch of this study, undertaken from the perspective of a particular group.”ii We’ve tried to avoid this subjectin recent years for fear of angering everyone else. But I believe that avoiding a subject just makes it more difficult when it finally breaks through the surface of our repression. If it’s contentious, I think that talking about it is even more important.

Part One: The Importance of TheologyChaos theory tells us that at the beginning of a thing, even extremelysmall variations can have long-reaching and permanent effects. We live in interesting times. Paganism, as practiced in the modern era, is a new religion. Even if you practice a Reconstructionist tradition, our Paganisms are being interpreted in new ways, as part ofa broader spectrum, for a modern people. In other words, this is the beginning.

Here, now, in this room – we have found ourselves in the position of the Christian church fathers. Not because we are special snowflakes; not because we’re particularly bright, or particularly interesting, orparticularly charismatic; but because we are the ones taking an interest who are here at the beginning. Everything we write, everything we blog, everything we say about the subject, will become foundational doctrine for the Pagans of the future. That is, if Pagans exist in the future; and that’s by no means assured, especiallyif we’re willing to bury what makes us unique in the mire of fads and popular opinion.

Think of it! Someday someone in a school of theology, pursuing the future equivalent of a doctorate of divinity, will quote the works of Brendan Myers or Kerr Cuhulain in the same essay as the writings of St. Augustine!

Our Pagan ancestors had theology, and their theology was involved and complex. From our Stone Age animist roots to the elaborate cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt, our Pagan ancestors had consistent spiritual understandings of the world, though there were many variations and they debated those understandings extensively. They were faced with many of the same issues that we are faced with now, such as what to do when one encounters a vastly different theological perspective. Some (like the Greeks) chose syncretism and eclecticism; others (like the Romans) chose a mostly “live and let live” path; still others (like the Aztecs) chose to enforce their theology with war. We, too, will have to make such choices. We’re inthe process of making them right here, right now.

I doubt that Augustine considered the future impact of his work when he was creating it; and as I learned in the writing of this speech, thinking about it too much can result in paralyzing fear and self-doubt. Augustine was just giving serious thought to his young faith and trying to figure it out and understand what it meant. He probablyhad no idea that his interpretation of the myth of Eden, and his take on the concept of “original sin,” would result in the theologically-supported oppression and abuse of women and anyone designated as beingof a lower class for almost two millennia. He was just trying to understand why life was so hard when an omnipotent God could just fix all that. Small seeds will grow into very big thickets.

But one good thing about Pagans is that we tend to be pretty self-aware. I think we should consider this. I don’t think it should stopus from coming to the conclusions we believe are right, but we need toconsider the possible consequences of those conclusions.

We don’t want to have this conversation. That’s because of something I call the Curse of Pagan Niceness. The problem is that we’re so eager to get along and to not rock the boat in any way that we allow antagonists into our midst whose goals are not to have meaningful

exchanges of faith or even to just celebrate with other like-minded people. We respond to challenges with a recitation of our rights to individual beliefs, even when those challenges are intended to destroyrather than to merely invite debate.

Out there in the blogosphere the community is dividing itself along theological rifts. I think that, largely fueled by the black-and-white, right-and-left political climate of the United States, the Pagan blogosphere wants to separate things into dualities and then tell us why everyone not on their side is wrong and is trying to destroy civilization.

I think there’s a better way. I believe that perhaps Canada is uniquely suited to provide a model as a framework for that process. In Canada, at least in principle, we believe in a “cultural mosaic.” We are happy – again, at least in principle – to embrace anyone of anyrace or cultural background, who is willing to adhere to a handful of “core Canadian values,” as a Canadian.

I think we are present at a time at which we find it necessary to decide on some “core Pagan values.” We know what Paganism is – we recognize it when we see it – but we have difficulty articulating this. Then, once we have decided, collectively, on those values, we can embrace all those who would be part of Paganism without needing tofight so hard to assert who we are, lest we lose it.

Ultimately my goal for today is to consider some of these values; the things that unite and divide us, the things that make us who we are; and to propose a vision of Paganism that is as inclusive as possible without compromising its internal sense of identity. I hope to spark similar thoughts and conversations. Like most Pagan theologians I will qualify my statements by saying that these are merely my opinionsand in some cases, not even opinions, but thoughts and questions. I donot believe I have all the answers. But I’ve been doing this for a long time now and I practice, read, and write quite a lot about the subject, and I hope that at the very least, what I have to say will inspire all of you to think about it.

Part Two: The Big QuestionsOne of the reasons that faith exists is to confront, and possibly answer, some of the big questions about life, the universe, and everything. Perhaps there is a consistent Pagan theology in our beliefs about those things. What do you think?

As conscious, sentient beings, are humans alone in the Universe?

What happens to our consciousness when we die?

Is there such a thing as predestination?

Is everything explainable by physics, or metaphysics?

What is the purpose of love?

What is the meaning of life?

I bet that none of us have the same answers to those questions. I betthat some of us have even more than one answer for some of those questions! (Like me.) Part of that is because the modern Pagan movement is so new that we’re still trying to figure all of that out.

But remember that the title of this presentation isn’t “creating” Pagan theology. It’s “reawakening” it. Other Pagans who preceded theChristian world had their own ideas about those sorts of things, didn’t they? And though much of what we’re doing is new, we are looking to those old beliefs. I wonder what the ancient Babylonians thought about Du’at. What did the Egyptians think of Elysium? What did the Romans think about Annwn? When they collided with other cultures, did the ancient Pagans argue that the Otherworlds of those cultures were delusional? Did they view these other realms as the same ones they knew about, only with different names? Or did they decide not to worry about it on the assumption that Norsemen go to Niflheim and Asgard, and Celts go to Annwn or Tir Nan Og?

We don’t really know because for two thousand years or more the followers of some religions have been slaughtering everyone who

doesn’t agree with them; I suppose based in the belief that those who are right will be left. Even most of the literature we have from those cultures has been copied with particular spins by the peoples who ultimately supplanted them; “de-Christianizing” Pagan literature is a constant challenge for the historian. So anything we do at this point is starting over and rebuilding. The sleeping giant of Paganismhas actually been in a coma, not taking a cat-nap. That deep of a sleep, for that length of time, means that there will be significant changes in personality; and – let’s be honest – a lot of physical therapy is needed.

It’s a beautiful thing that we can all share the same faith, or faith-group, and have such differing beliefs. I hope we can maintain that because it’s one of the aspects of Paganism that I love most. But obviously, core beliefs about life, the universe, and everything are not what bind us together. I guess we have to look elsewhere.

Part Three: The Big Tent & the Four Poles of PaganismJohn Halstead, who, for those who don’t know, is a fellow Patheos Pagan channel blogger, wrote about a concept which he called the ThreeCenters of Paganismiii. He believes that they can be shown as three interlocking circles, and most Paganisms will fall somewhere in the middle:

John Beckett, another Patheos writer, expanded it into four centersiv:

He likened the Pagan umbrella to being a very big circus tentv that sheltered many disparate groups, and he figured that the tent had fourmajor poles around which we conglomerate. Most Pagan theology will include at least three out of the four. I think this is a really useful starting point for our conversation and I’d like to examine it in greater detail:

NatureObviously we go right to thinking about how many of us describe ourselves as being “earth-centered,” and that’s a big part of the Nature-oriented pole. But this also includes love of the body and being physical; celebrating rites of passage and the changes of the seasons; and wonder and awe for the cosmos and the natural universe. Related to these is the concept of imminent divinity; that is, the spirits, gods and holy powers we worship are part of this world and exist right here, not somewhere out there and beyond us. We give

lesser and greater emphasis to these aspects but I think we can safelysay that, understood that way, this is a core principle of Paganism.

SelfAt its heart, Paganism is a humanist faith group. Lately this has been used as a “polite” synonym for “atheist,” but that’s not the meaning of the word. What it means is “any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity predominate,”vi

or, in philosophy, “a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God.”vii Inother words, humanism believes that being fully human, and accepting and embracing the human experience and the nature of the human animal rather than trying to repress it, is the path to enlightenment and a good and ethical life.

Another element of the pole of Self is self-improvement. We are seeking to better ourselves. Our visions of what that entails sometimes differ, but having rejected the Christian doctrine of “original sin,” we spend a lot of effort in overcoming the programmingof guilt and shame that our culture indoctrinates us with (see what I did there? In-DOCTRINE-ate) and aspiring to be good and noble people.Brendan Myers writes in The Other Side of Virtue viii about reawakening the Pagan virtue of “honour.” Pagans aspire to be honourable; though again, what that entails is individual and personal. Kerr Cuhulain has also written about Honourix and I imagine he’ll talk more about it tomorrow.

We also talk about “following our bliss”; or, as the ritual magicians call it, our “True Will.” Some of us believe that each of us has a goal, a plan, that is our inner purpose; and pursuing this is the meaning of life. That, too, would be a Self-focused belief.

The third major area of Self-development is magick. Any tradition that makes use of magick, whether you believe it to be the manifestations of the powers of the gods, your own personal will, or the power of positive thinking and the placebo effect, magick is, by definition, a path of self-focus.

CommunityFor some, community and tribe are the focus of Paganism. These are the people who create Pagan festivals, found Pagan churches, and come to conferences like this. Community-centered Pagans are focused on coming together in fellowship and relating to others, so they concentrate on building relationships and structures and interacting with the outside world.

So this sounds like a bad joke, but: what do Asatru and Reclaiming have in common? The answer of course is that they are both community-centered Paganisms. Asatru is tribal, concerned with relationships with the ancestors and the good of the folk. Reclaiming builds big organizations and teaching structures and is charged with the energy of its activism.

DeityFor some of us, Paganism is all about our relationship with the gods and the divine powers as we understand them. From sworn service to the Great Goddess to keeping altars for the lwa, we look to several colourful pantheons to inspire, guide and direct us. Deity-centered Paganism tends to include most Reconstructionist and Polytheist traditions.

Let’s consider the Pagan concept of divinity. First of all, let’s start with how many there are? Wiccans conceive of a binary image of the Divine; we honor both God and Goddess. But are these two separatebeings, two aspects of a Divine One, or many gods and goddesses who are each separate and distinct individuals?

Let’s break it down further: what are the gods, exactly? Are they literal beings, metaphors, archetypes, or some personified consciousness that we will never truly understand?x If they are actualbeings with agency as opposed to symbols, are they so alien that we humans will never truly grasp what it is that they are, or are they basically people without bodies; or are they something in between that?

How do the gods relate to each other? Are they all harmonious aspectsof a whole that ultimately get along together no matter how you work

with them? Do the different cultural names for an archetype (such as the Goddess of Love or the God of the Harvest) refer to the same beingin different aspects, or are they all individuals? If they have personalities, how do those personalities interrelate (or clash?) Is it okay to call deities from different pantheons at the same time or is that an act of grave offense, or does that vary according to deity and pantheon?

What sort of relationship should we have with the Divine? Should we worship them with all due reverence? Should we merely respect them? Should we co-create with them? Are we their equals, their subjects, or something in between? How important are we compared to divinity? How important are we to the Divine?

How about other spiritual entities, such as angels, faeries, and so forth? Do they even exist? Are they gods of a sort or are they non-physical entities that rank on the same level we do (wherever we rank,) or do they fit somewhere else in the hierarchy (if you even believe in a hierarchy)?

What do the gods know? What kind of powers do they have? Do we have similar powers or different ones, or does all power come through them?Did we create them, did they create us, or did we create each other?

Let me ask you all a question, and I want you to consider the answer carefully; do you think belief in the gods is a necessary component of Paganism?

I ask because this is one of the biggest rifts in the Pagan world at the moment. On one side we have the Hard Polytheists. For them, the gods are individuals and They are real, and Paganism should be all about worship of the gods. Wiccans are insulting to them because of the hegemonic claim that all goddess are aspects of the Great Goddess,and Humanistic Pagans and Atheopagans, who believe in the sacred but not gods per se, are completely incomprehensible to them.

On the other side, many Atheopagans and Humanistic Pagans sneer at Hard Polytheists, Wiccans and Thelemites because gods, to them, are

archetypes of the human psyche and belief in supernatural magick powers is just stupid.

How is it even possible for two such different theological views to co-exist with one another?

Let me ask you another question: Is it possible to be a monotheist anda Pagan?

Why do I ask? Because we have those too. Some Dianic witches believethat the Goddess is the totality of Creation. Some Feri practitionersbelieve that their Star Goddess holds that position and title. Some Wiccans believe that in the beginning, there was the Universal One, and that Source divided into the polarity of the Lady and the Lord. Some of us are even Christian Witches.

I think that one of the most beautiful things about Paganism is that you have to embrace a certain multi-layered level of thinking. Ratherthan considering that if one thing is true another must be false, Paganism asks you to accept that many contradictory things can be trueat once. Rather than saying “either, or,” Pagans say, “yes, and.”

Think about where you stand within those four poles. What’s your primary focus? What’s your secondary focus? And so on? Or do you viewyourself as being balanced between them?

We’re going to come back to this later so I’m just going to leave thisdiagram here for you to ponder.

Part Four: Shared Myth, Shared PhilosophyIn general, we agree that Paganism is inspired by the polytheistic faiths of pre-Christian Europe, the Near East, and parts of Africa (although of course it includes a much wider variety of deities from many other cultures!) In North America we have also incorporated a

lot of First Nations mythologies. As such, we can draw from the worksof our ancestors to create a shared mythology and some shared values. Brendan Myers already asked this question a few years ago when he was writing this book (A Pagan Testamentxi) but I’ll ask it again: What do you think are the essential myths that a good Pagan scholar needs to be familiar with?

I would suggest that one needs a solid grounding in

Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Babylonian and Greek mythology The Vedas the anthropological myth-studies of the early twentieth century the feminist anthropological works of Marija Gimbutas the works of Joseph Campbell; in particular “The Hero with a

Thousand Faces” and “The Power of Myth.” the folk traditions of England, from Robin Hood to Beowulf to

Herne the Hunter to King Arthur and the Holy Grail the works of William Shakespeare the poetry of the Romantic age Magick in Theory and Practice and The Book of the Law some works of twentieth century literature; The Wind in the

Willows, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Sea Priestess, The Goat-Foot God, the poetry of Walt Whitman, Harry Potter, and Stranger in a Strange Land.

If you have studied all of that you are familiar with the cultural soup of mythology that forms the modern interconnected Pagan mythos.

Don’t worry if you haven’t read all of these things! You’ve probably picked up most of it by osmosis anyway. You can’t help it, because wetell these stories to each other; in ritual, in the Pagan equivalent of Passion Plays, in song and in the works of literature we create.

We also sing. We have a common liturgy of hymns in our tradition of chanting. I think more of our shared myths and shared symbolic language are transmitted in this way than any other. (So go participate in the Music Stream! There’s my plug.)

I think this gives Pagans a common element: we share interconnected mythology, and we do have a liturgy; though a very informal one. Our understandings of the meanings of these myths are very personal. But ultimately, each of us as individuals growing up in a Christian culture rejected the Christian mythos in favour of Pagan ones. So what do they have in common?

They are all heroic myths and they value the qualities of heroes; courage, honour, love, and a zest for life. We don’t believe that thephysical is evil and vile and must be transcended; we believe that it is good to be physical, and that physical pleasure and love of life isholy. We don’t believe that servitude and turning the other cheek areholy. We think it is holy to be brave and honourable; though our understandings of what that means may vary.

Also, let’s not forget that the great philosophers of ancient Greece were all Pagans. Though much of what they came up with was borrowed to become foundational elements of the Christianity we’re all rebelling against, Pagan values still clearly shine through many of the great works that have stood the test of time.

Nor should we forget the influence of what these days is derisively termed Orientalism. Many of the spiritual influences of the modern Pagan movement were occult orders such as the Theosophists, the GoldenDawn and the Rosicrucians. All of them were heavily influenced by Indian and Asian mysticism, re-interpreted through their Christian cultural lenses. Going back to our chaos theory, I’d like to point out that these roots, poisoned by Colonialism, are producing an amazingcrop of weeds, such as the Curse of Pagan Niceness, and a great big bastard of a briar called Racism.

None of us want to admit this, but we have borrowed as much from Christianity as they have from us. Humanism began as a Protestant Christian religious movement. Our eight Sabbats, or High Holy Days, or whatever name you want to give to our liturgical calendar, borrowedheavily from the Catholic and Anglican liturgical calendar known as the Roman rite (something I’m going to write a thesis on one day). The woodcraft movement was shown conclusively by Ronald Huttonxii to be one of the formative influences of modern Wicca. I was in Girl

Guides: it doesn’t get more Christian than that! And notice I put theChronicles of Narnia in our “required reading.”

I would add one more mythic influence into this already incredibly-diverse mosaic. I would suggest that modern feminist retellings of myths and folktales also have become integral to the Pagan mythic tradition. The stories of Mary Magdelene and Joan of Arc, Queen Maeveand Morgan le Fay, and even Elsa, Elphaba and Maleficent are part and parcel of the modern Pagan mythos. Our goddesses never play second fiddle and are always forces to be reckoned with.

We have more work to do to be truly diverse, but we’re getting there. It’s generally agreed that Pan and Loki are as happy to bed men as they are women; Artemis is a lesbian and Aphrodite loves everybody. We’re opening our arms to the lwa, especially here in Canada, and so Erzulie (who also loves everybody) is sharing spaces with Aphrodite and the Baron Samedi is standing next to Herne the Hunter with his boney grin (or hers; often the Baron is also the Baronne.) It’s by nomeans uncommon for Pagans to honour Kali, Shiva, Lakshmi or other Indian deities (I have a big bronze statue of Ganesh in my study.) And in Canada, First Nations spirits have been integral to our Paganism since Paganism first came here.

Part Five: Dynamic TensionsSome of us embrace this crazy jumble of influences and cultural tensions. Others believe that this mishmash, at best, creates a watered-down homogeneous hodgepodge of unclear and inconsistent beliefs; and at worst, fosters cultural appropriation.

John Halstead’s “four centers” might give you the impression that Paganism is a bunch of disparate groups with some views that overlap, firmly encamped in different sections. Of course, my experience (which, I’m sure, is similar to yours) is that Paganism is a constantly churning whirlwind of dynamic tensions. I think that rather than picturing Paganism as a square, we might do better to visualize it as a cube, with a sphere inside it that swirls like a spiralling, changing storm. Here are some of the high and low pressure areas that drive the winds:

Syncretism vs. FundamentalismI think we can collectively agree that Paganism’s roots have always been . . . eclectic. But just as we really mean “ceremony” when we say “ritual” and “altar” when we mean “shrine,” we say “eclectic” whenwe really mean “syncretic.”

Syncretism is “the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.”xiii Afro-Diasporic faiths are often used as examples of “syncretic religions.” Consider Voodoo’s unique mixture of Yoruban and Catholic elements, blended with a heavy dose of First Nations spirituality and Western occultism. To an outsider it could look as though there’s no rhyme or reason to it at all; just a bunch of weird charms and incompatible mythologies grafted onto one another.

And of course this is exactly the same sort of criticism that is oftenlevelled against Neo-Paganism, Wicca and the so-called “Wiccanate” Paganisms. The critics sometimes call it “smorgasbord Paganism.” Sometimes I even think they’re right. The danger of an eclectic religion is that it can seem to have no unifying elements and no core principles, and a practitioner who doesn’t want to apply herself mighttake a sip from each glass without ever really understanding any of the rich and complex vintages they represent.

Then again, I’m not sure this is a bad thing. In Wicca every one of us is a priest or priestess, but that was because Gerald Gardner believed that Wiccans were maintaining the traditions of the Pagan priesthood in secret, and that there would again come a time when the witches would be clergy and Paganism would come out into the open to embrace lay worshipers. The truth is that not all of us are called tothe commitment required of clergy. And I don’t see why we should haveto be. There’s a difference between not needing intermediaries between us and the divine, and taking on all the responsibilities of clergy. I have given my life to this calling, but people can be faithful and follow other callings. And in no other branch of Paganism is this expectation part of what you sign up for.

Another criticism of syncretic faiths, which probably isn’t unfair, isthe risk of cultural appropriation. I think it’s important that those

of us who embrace a syncretic path try to remember where the stuff we steal comes from. If we can’t give it the same meanings and associations that the culture of its origin gave to it, we should acknowledge that and not try to claim otherwise.

Syncretism is, in my opinion, a core value of Wiccaxiv; and if you don’tbelieve me, I’ll just point out that the original “Wiccan pantheon” included Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, and Sumerian deities, along witha handful of deified figures of folklore and Jungian psychology, and leave it at that. I think for us, that’s a good thing. Wiccan and Neo-Pagan traditions should stop apologizing for it and instead admit that we find this desirable.

But on the other side of the coin are the more “traditional” of our traditions; Reconstructionist and Traditionalist Movements, and also, some forms of Atheopaganism. This group might also be thought to include Wiccan traditions that insist that British Traditional is the only “real” Wicca and pretend that Huttonxv never existed. They might resent the use of the word “fundamentalism” because we associate it with a certain type of Christian that we often find ourselves in conflict with. But fundamentalism means “strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles.”xvi In a religious context it also means to take a myth literally (such as the existence of the gods, or whether or not nine million European women were actually burned as witches). That comes back to our question: do the gods exist, and if so, what are they?

The fundamentalist traditions share the belief that we should go back to a more “pure” form of Paganism. We should stick to one pantheon (or avoid “gods” entirely). We should try to get back to what our ancestors were doing. If we can’t imitate their ceremonies and devotionals precisely, then we should at least try to understand and worship the Pagan gods in the ways our ancestors understood them. They demand historically-accurate research, proper adherence to ritualforms, and scientific documentation.

I don’t believe that anyone is actually rediscovering the real “Old Religion.” We are not looking at Paganism in the same way, no matter how “historically accurate” we try to be. We could all be SCA-

attending homesteader heathens living in a longhouse, weaving our own clothing and growing our own food, but we would still be products of the modern era, with modern technology and modern ethics and modern laws and culture. No matter how precisely we re-create a faith, we are not the Pagans of the Ancient World and we never will be, and therefore we cannot possibly understand their gods and their faith in the same ways that they did. It might be educational, fun and meaningful to put on a traditional blot, however.

If I have to choose between these tensions, I choose syncretism. But a lot of good comes out of going back to the fundamentals as well. I think it’s essential that we have accurate research and that we constantly question and challenge our beliefs; how else do we know if they’re any good? I resent it when someone claims that it’s a fact because “it is known.” (Do you remember Season 1, Game of Thrones? Daenarys’ handmaiden – “it is known?” I have no patience for that stuff.) I also think it’s important that we maintain what traditions we’ve established. It’s especially important for our “New Old Religions” to maintain a sense of continuity and to build group identity. And as I said at the outset, I do believe that there are such things as “core Pagan values.” Without people willing to define limits, we’ll never learn what those are.

The modern Pagan movement is not a special snowflake. The truth is that religious systems do not spring fully-formed out of the forehead of Zeus like Athena and we humans do not exist in vacuums. The reality is that we all stand on the shoulders of giants. We need to remember where we came from so that we know where it is that we’re going.

Fundamentalism can lead to dogmatism, something that we Pagans claim to dislike. Another flaw in fundamentalism is that it tends to be very tribal, and while tribes are probably the most natural human social structure there is, it’s a thin line between tribalism and prejudice. And a third flaw is that it can lead to inflexibility and becoming hidebound.

Gnosis vs. OrthodoxySpeaking of becoming hidebound, the second set of high and low pressure areas to generate wind run along an interesting axis that youmight not expect.

We claim that Paganism has no dogma. We claim that it’s orthopractic;that is, it’s based in practice, not dogma. Perhaps that was once true when everyone was Wiccan, but it isn’t anymore. It isn’t even true of Wicca. We have no uniform rituals or teachings except within the confines of a tradition, and even then we have a lot of variation.

Gnosis is “received knowledge.” It’s when someone has a moment of mystical revelation that changes everything. In some religions they have a name for those who have received Gnosis: prophets. We have names for them too: we call them shamans, seers, high priestesses or hedge-witches. In other words, for us they’re by no means uncommon.

And some call them idiots, nutbars or liars, because as far as they are concerned, what Gnosis really means is “making stuff up.” The critics have even given their statements a special pejorative: UPG “unsubstantiated personal gnosis.”

We hesitate to use the word “orthodox,” which means “sound or correct in opinion or doctrine, especially theological or religious doctrine.”xvii But we have it all the same. For example, another Patheos writer, Asa West, was recently torn apart on her blog for saying that the Morrighan had given her a message of peace for Israel (and she’s Jewish, before anyone wants to take a side on that.) Peoplecouldn’t imagine that a bloodthirsty war goddess would give any kind of message of peace. But as Asa pointed out, the Morrighan is also a goddess of sovereignty, and perhaps that’s the aspect that she was dealing with.

Okay, quick survey: does Loki have red or black hair? Hands up for red? Hands up for black? Hands up for “who cares and why am I wasting time with this stupid and pointless question?” Because peopleget into rabid frothing arguments about it over the internet, that’s why.

We used to run into British Traditional types a lot in the 90s who were like this. The reason why we have the terms “eclectic Wicca” and“Neo-Pagan” is because every time somebody spoke up who couldn’t provide a line graph of their initiatory lineage, this obnoxious minority would show up to tell us that we were doing it wrong. We gottired of being told that so we started calling ourselves something else. Also the term “fluffy bunny” was coined by the same group to deride anyone who wasn’t one of them; along with IRAB (I Read a Book).Perhaps it’s a great irony that these days if you mention that you’re Wiccan, you’ve immediately got five “traditional witches” who are telling you that you’re the “fluffy bunny.”

This kind of polarizing pigheadedness seems like a bad idea to me. But on the other hand, we don’t respect our teachers, and that’s a badidea too. Do you remember me saying that at the beginning of a thing,even the smallest changes can have unintended consequences? One of the unintended consequences of our ethic of anti-establishmentarianismis to rebel against anything that looks like an establishment, even in our own ranks. We actively try to destroy any sort of organization that does appear and coven politics are kind of like living as a drow house noble; the Matron Mother has to expect that her daughter, a.k.a.the Coven Maiden, is going to rise up to try to replace her.

There are some of us who have gone so far out of our way not to listento anyone else and to march to the beats of our own drummers that we have to keep reinventing the wheel. I’ve been actively involved in Pagan community for . . . twenty-two years? Listen guys: you’re not the first ones to write inclusive Great Rites, you didn’t discover sexmagick and witches have been making flying ointment in England for a long time. It’s like teenagers always think they’ve invented sex.

I’m pretty sure that between gnosis and orthodoxy, I fall somewhere inthe middle. I see the need for both and I try to create and support structures that make room for both.

Part Six: The Big Tent RevisitedLet’s go back to our diagram. Here in our cube we have the Four Centers of Paganism; here in our sphere we have shifting winds that churn back and forth between these magnetic poles.

So now we come to the hard questions.

What are we doing here? What is the purpose of this conference? What is Paganism?

You know what I think? I think that as long as you’re flying around in this sphere somewhere, you’re a Pagan. That generally means you’re growing and changing between the four poles. You rise and fall on theair currents between Syncretism and Fundamentalism, Gnosis and Orthodoxy. You might be really close to one pole and really far away from another. But if you’re thrown out of the sphere by the force of the current you’re on, or pulled out by one of the poles, then you might not be a Pagan anymore.

There’s a movement happening in which some Polytheists are telling us that they aren’t Pagans. They are something different but related. Well, have they flown right out of the sphere? Maybe they’re right.

And there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s a big tent, but it can’t cover everybody. Hindus are related to us – my sister-in-law married into a Hindu family and the priestesses and my husband and I had a chance to chat about faith; as far as they were concerned we might as well be Hindus – but they’re not Pagans. On the other hand, some of the Afro-Diasporic faiths are starting to tell us that they are Paganswhen we didn’t have a lot of contact before, and I think that they areindeed. Part of that is decided by whether or not a group self-identifies as Pagan. But part of it isn’t. Part of it is about having enough in common with the group that others identify you.

Part Seven: The NexusSo what’s at the center of the hub? What’s the galactic core of this crazy structure that we keep whirling and swirling around? I’ve got atheory. It’s this:

DOUBT

In a way, Paganism is the natural conclusion of the Reformation. Protestants rejected Catholic dogma and came up with a novel idea: notby the power of any overseeing authority, but by the power of one’s own faith, one finds salvation. Everybody has the right to go to hellin her own way.

Paganism goes one step further. We say that faith is necessary, but everyone’s faith is individual. We can also choose whatever heaven we desire, or to choose none at all.

The only way in which this crazy storm of weirdness can exist; the only way by which we oddballs can get along with one another, is to realize that each one of us might be wrong. Or, more importantly, that each one of us might be right. We need to accept that truth depends a great deal upon one’s point of view. This is more than just license to pursue one’s own relationship with the gods and nature as one sees fit. It is also an admonishment not to dismiss the opinions of others out of hand just because you don’t agree. More than that, we have to acceptthat contradictory “truths” may be true at the same time; and we also have to accept that what is right and perfect for me may be completelywrong for someone else. We have no right to enforce our opinions on others. We do have the right to use our discernment.

I’ve had some pretty intense Gnostic experiences. I have seen beings that I believe to be gods and I have had some intense visions. I believe in them for myself. But I also accept that they might just be “bits of undigested beef.” I’m married to a schizophrenic; hallucinations are just as real to a schizophrenic as you and I are. I believe in reincarnation; but I don’t think it works the way that others do and I accept a whole host of other possible explanations forthe experiences that have inspired this belief. I believe I’ve done magick that has had potent and measurable results in the real world. But I also realize it could all be the placebo effect and confirmationbias. Furthermore, I believe different things on alternate Tuesdays and I believe whatever I have to for long enough to make the ritual work. And I have seen these rifts in the community do their best to tear it apart arguing about it.

Do you want to hear about the most valuable Gnosis I think I’ve ever received?

It was December 21, 2010. The Full Long Night’s Moon fell on MidwinterNight, and I had a dream. In this dream, I looked up at a stack of books that wound in a haphazard pile up to the ceiling of my house andthrough a trapdoor to an attic. I had a sense that I had to get to the top of the pile, so I started to climb the stack. I realized thatthere were all types of books in the pile; old hardcovers with no title save the gilding on the side, magazines, paperbacks, trade paperbacks, new hardcovers with fancy book jackets. When I reached the top and went through the attic, I was in a different house; all white walls and minimalist art in an upper middle class style.

The stack meandered through a skylight into a library of the old-fashioned sitting-room type, up to another skylight. I climbed up through that one, and found myself in a teepee, climbing up through the firepit and into the smoke hole. On the other side of that was a Mongol yurt; on the other side of that was a little apartment with peeling green paint. Then there was a Buddhist temple and a Gregorianmonastery, an old lady’s apartment filled with doilies, and a college dorm.

Up through probably twenty or thirty different dwellings I climbed andclimbed. The last one was a crowded camper of the sort that fits on the back of a pick-up, and the books finally ended at one of those upper level shelves that hold a camper’s bed. On the sleeping bags was an old TV, of the sort that still had rabbit-ears and a bubble screen and a UHF dial. It came to life as I approached and passed quickly from snow to an image. It was Pan, in His full glory with Hishairy goatee and His curly goat horns and His intense black eyes. “You wanna know the truth?” He said. “Well, here it is: there is no truth. You make your own truth. Do with that what you will.”

If you can’t accept that – if you really believe that you have THE TRUTH – maybe you aren’t Pagan anymore. That’s where I draw the line; if you’re anywhere in this sphere, centered on this nexus point, then you’re a Pagan to me. Just as I believe that as long as you’re willing to embrace a democratic process, be polite, swear to the Queen

and respect your neighbours, I don’t care what language you speak, what country you came from, or what your race, sexual preference or religion is; you’re a Canadian.

When I sat down to write this and I was trying to come up with what inthe world I was going to talk about, my partner said to me, “If you had the most influential Pagans in the country all in one room, what would you say to them?”

I would say that I believe that the core of Paganism – the key to reawakening our shared theology – is this: Your Mileage May Vary.xviii

Thank you.

i Source: Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theology?s=t, accessed May 10, 2015.

ii Ibid.

iii Halstead, John. “The Three (or more?) ‘Centers’ of Paganism.” The Allergic Pagan http://www.patheos.com/blogs/allergicpagan/2012/05/23/the-three-or-more-centers-of-paganism/, May 23, 2012.

iv Beckett, John. “The Four Centers of Paganism.” Under the Ancient Oaks: Musingsof a Pagan, Druid and Unitarian Universalist http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2014/05/the-four-centers-of-paganism.html,May 28, 2014.

v Beckett, John. “The Big Tent of Paganism.” Under the Ancient Oaks http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2015/01/the-big-tent-of-paganism.html, January 11, 2015.

vi Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism?s=t, accessed May10, 2015.

vii Ibid.

viii Myers, Brendan, Ph.D. The Other Side of Virtue: Where Our Virtues Come from, What They Really Mean, and Where They Might Be Taking Us (2008). John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Alresford, Hants, UK.

ix Cuhulain, Kerr. Full Contact Magick: A Book of Shadows for the Wiccan Warrior (2002, 2004). Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.

x Free, Esra, HPs. Wicca 404: Advanced Goddess Thealogy (2007). New Paradigm Press, U.S.A.

xi Myers, Brendan, Ph.D. A Pagan Testament: The Literary Heritage of the World’s Oldest New Religion (2008). John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Alresford, Hants, UK.

xii Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (1999). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

xiii Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/syncretism?s=t, accessed May 10, 2015.

xiv Aradia, Sable. “Wicca: A Syncretic Faith.” Between the Shadows: the Craft of aLiminal Witch http://www.patheos.com/blogs/betweentheshadows/2014/11/wicca-a-syncretic-faith/, November 15, 2014.

xv Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon.

xvi Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fundamentalism?s=t, accessed May 10, 2015.

xvii Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/br owse/orthodox?s=t , accessed May 10, 2015.

xviii Aradia, Sable. “Your Mileage May Vary – Embracing Contradictory Truths in the Craft.” Agora http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2013/11/seekers-and-guides-your-mileage-may-vary-embracing-contradictory-truths-in-the-craft/, November 25, 2013.