Good Pagan? Bad Pagan?

I sometimes find myself feeling like a “Bad” Pagan. Why? It’s because I don’t always follow the “rules.”

When you’re first starting out, the one thing almost every “baby witch” does is start reading. There’s an overabundance of resources out there telling you what to do and how it “should” be done. I have a stack (lets be honest, the term “mountain” might be more accurate here) of books I’ve collected over the years. There are a few I open often as resource guides when I’m interested in the more traditional uses and meanings of different elements I am wanting to include in spells. However, more often than not, I find myself turning to my smart phone and the internet for this type of research. You can find a vast amount of uses and traditions in a shockingly short amount of time. The internet is an extremely valuable tool. However, there is a downside.

There is a common theme to the questions I am ALWAYS asked by people just starting out:

• Where do you get your tools?
• What do I HAVE to have to start working spells?
• How do I find my God and Goddess?
• Can I do… ?
• Is … okay?
• What is the right color for …?
• What is the right moon phase for …?

These are all valid questions but the people asking them don’t realize they are questions I cannot answer for them. When they do eventually arise, I try my best to explain the nature of Pagan/Witchcraft traditions and a few things to keep in mind when you are reading about them.

1. Yes, there are “tools” used in ritual/ceremony/spell-work and NO you do not need ANY of them.

• The most important things you need to do spell-work are yourself, your own instinct, and your own intent. 
• Tools (I.e. wand, athame, candles, herbs, incense, etc) are used to focus the intent and energies you put into your spell-work. 
• Yes, you will probably notice you have more success or feel more positive about what you are doing when/if you do start using tools. 
• There’s a reason they have continued to be used for generation after generation. They help make what you do more effective because they help put you in the right state of mind and help you focus better on what you are trying to do. 
• This is also why many people find they develop a relationship with their tools and the longer they have them the better they seem to work. 

2. No one can tell you what is “right” or “wrong” for you.

• Yes, there are long held traditions about what tools is for what purpose, what herb is good for protection, what phase of the moon is good for certain types of spells, what you should do to celebrate Samhain, etc.
• While it is a good idea to research these long-held traditions, it is also good to keep in mind that the reason magic works is because of your belief in it and the intent you put into it. Because of this, what works for others may not work for you. 
• You decide your morals
• You decide when, where, and how you practice.
• NO ONE CAN EVER TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG
• That doesn’t mean that some won’t try. 
• Listen to them, if only to gain some insight into the beliefs of others. This is a great way to learn about the beliefs and practices of others and you might find some valuable information in what they have to say. That does not mean you have to follow exactly what they say. 
• Your practice is and will always be your own. 

3. Everyone interacts with the God and Goddess differently

• I won’t claim that they are not important because they are. However, their importance means different things to different people.
• Some people devote themselves to specific deities. 
• Some people change deities with the seasons.
• Some people simply use the terms God and Goddess and don’t specify a “who.”
• Some people work with deities from many different pantheons (I.e. Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Celt, Native American, etc.) while some stick to only one.
• Some people see their deities as defined individuals while others see them as different aspects of the same Great Divine. 
• What they are and how you interact with them is highly personal and something only you can decide for yourself. 
• If you do desire to seek out a specific God and/or Goddess to devote yourself to, it is more than okay to seek guidance into how to go about it. (There will probably be a future post dedicated entirely to this topic as it comes up so often.)

4. Paganism and Witchcraft are not the same thing

• Paganism is an umbrella term that covers MANY traditions across the entire wold. Most often it is used to describe any religion/spiritual tradition that does not fall into the “mainstream” type religions.
• The traditions that tend to fall under this category are varied but do tend to have a few things in common. 
• They tend to share a focus on the importance of nature and our connection with it.
• They tend to share a polytheistic belief in the divine
• They tend to be more personalized vs the rigid structure of a church. 
• Many people like to use the word “Pagan” to refer to their own beliefs when they don’t relate 100% to a specific tradition/path/set of beliefs. 
• I tend to use this term to refer to myself because my beliefs are very eclectic and I have never found a path or tradition that completely encompasses my beliefs and practices. 
• Witchcraft is a term used to describe the practice of working spells/charms/hexes/etc.
• You do not have to be pagan to practice witchcraft
• There are witches that identify with MANY different religions or spiritual beliefs
• I’ve known witches who otherwise identify as Christian/Jewish/Atheist/etc.
• You don’t have to identify as a “Witch” to practice witchcraft.
• Witchcraft can be as elaborate or simple as the practitioner desires
• You can hold long elaborate rituals
• Spells can be as simple as throwing salt over your shoulder for luck or taking a moment to simply focus on what it is you want to achieve. 

5. Your practices and beliefs are nothing more or less than what you make of them.

So, after all of that, I have a question to ask. Can you really be a “good” or “bad” pagan? I don’t think so. I get to decide what “Pagan” means to me and the rules I will follow. It is easy to feel like a bad pagan at times. When I do step out of my solitary practice to join in public rituals, there is always a sense of lacking something. The people around me know the chants being used. They know the steps the rest of the group will follow and know the words being spoken. At times like this, it is easy to doubt my own knowledge. It’s easy to feel like I’ve spent years of learning and practice for nothing because I’m doing it wrong.

The honest truth is, I feel this way because I haven’t been attending public ritual with this group for very long while they have been practicing together for years. They know the chants because they have been using them for as long as they have been a group. They know the words their High Priestess will speak because they have heard her speak them many times before. This does not invalidate what I do on my own. It doesn’t make what I do on my own wrong. What it does do is give me a good look at what works for others and ideas of things that might work for me. I’ve started including versions of their chants in my own practice. I’ve learned a lot about the way they practice that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. I've noticed a lot about my own practice that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. My solitary practice is highly lacking in music, humor, and fun. That’s something I’ve learned I want to change. We live and grow by experience.

Read all you can.
Experience all you can.
Use what speaks to you.
Don’t worry about the rest.

Until we meet again:
Peace, Love, and Incense,
Raven Rivers