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 Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:22 am
A pagan follows or believes in multiple higher powers. Or, finds a special connection to an older belief system known as paganism.
A witch can be of any religion or following. Or not follow anyone in particular. A witch isn't limited to just one system of magic. They use what they find useful to them. Or, what magic is given to them by forces they meet.
A follower is someone who models themselves after what they follow. Or, someone who follows the path of a force or tries to. After all, we are human. Because it gives them more comfort and sense of well being. Worship may or may not be involved in this scenario. The same thing goes for the last two paragraphs.
So, technically. You could be a pagan witch follower. Believining in multiple higher powers or finding truth in an older spiritual system, using what magic is useful instead of limiting one's self to a specific system, modeling yourself after another higher power's behavior...
Kind of strips away that whole needing a specific identity thing to be spiritual huh?
I'm about to blow your mind again. This was something I wrote about the universe. When I can find it. I had this long theory on the universe.
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:38 pm
well i like msot of your definitions but i disagree with one part of the pagan one. not all pagans beleive in many higher powers. there is a beleif called pantheism which means you belive there is one divine power but because the human mind cannot easily wrap itself around that concept and finds it even harder to connect to it we create faces to put on this Diety. so the greek pantheon is one power but we use these faces like zeus, hera and hades to make it easy to call on a specific aspect for guidance or power. another problem with this is that under this belief hindus would also be pagan which isnt true because they are hindu.
i like the witch definition. one source i heard a definition from is that a witch is someone who sees and uses magick in their day to day lives as if it were any other skill you learn. they dont belong to a specific faith and could be athiest if they chose but they do use magick of any system just like you said.
i have nothing to add to the follower portion.at first i was going to say worship would be needed but it wouldnt since if a child desires to be like his/her parents he doesnt worship them. though respect and proper treatment of them is essential in my opinion.
if i had to clasify myself, i'd say i am definitely a witch because magick is just a normal part of everyday life. I am not exactly a follower now because i am doing alot of meditation and introverted work to discovery what diety really is for me so i'm more able to achieve a closeness. i am pagan but only because i use a broader definition than you do.
(This wasnt meant to bash you btw, i just liked the topic and thought it was worth causing discussion.)
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:41 pm
Elfshaman well i like msot of your definitions but i disagree with one part of the pagan one. not all pagans beleive in many higher powers. there is a beleif called pantheism which means you belive there is one divine power but because the human mind cannot easily wrap itself around that concept and finds it even harder to connect to it we create faces to put on this Diety. so the greek pantheon is one power but we use these faces like zeus, hera and hades to make it easy to call on a specific aspect for guidance or power. another problem with this is that under this belief hindus would also be pagan which isnt true because they are hindu. i like the witch definition. one source i heard a definition from is that a witch is someone who sees and uses magick in their day to day lives as if it were any other skill you learn. they dont belong to a specific faith and could be athiest if they chose but they do use magick of any system just like you said. i have nothing to add to the follower portion.at first i was going to say worship would be needed but it wouldnt since if a child desires to be like his/her parents he doesnt worship them. though respect and proper treatment of them is essential in my opinion. if i had to clasify myself, i'd say i am definitely a witch because magick is just a normal part of everyday life. I am not exactly a follower now because i am doing alot of meditation and introverted work to discovery what diety really is for me so i'm more able to achieve a closeness. i am pagan but only because i use a broader definition than you do. (This wasnt meant to bash you btw, i just liked the topic and thought it was worth causing discussion.) Relax, I've grown up quite a bit. I more took the literal term of pagan unsure of how to approach it considering the many many different views on the term. And me not really being a fan of politically correct terms. I tried to find the best approach to phrasing, wasn't sure. So I took a wild guess and said the first thing that came to mind.
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:50 pm
Personally, I am growing to prefer the term Polytheist than Pagan. For one thing, at least when you say Polytheist you don't have to go into a whole discussion as to why Pagan doesn't mean Satanist. Plus, I am starting to find that Pagan is just a label that tends to be misused and misrepresented by a lot of people.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:59 pm
shadowflameguardian Personally, I am growing to prefer the term Polytheist than Pagan. For one thing, at least when you say Polytheist you don't have to go into a whole discussion as to why Pagan doesn't mean Satanist. Plus, I am starting to find that Pagan is just a label that tends to be misused and misrepresented by a lot of people. Yeah, really xD
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:39 am
shadowflameguardian Personally, I am growing to prefer the term Polytheist than Pagan. For one thing, at least when you say Polytheist you don't have to go into a whole discussion as to why Pagan doesn't mean Satanist. Plus, I am starting to find that Pagan is just a label that tends to be misused and misrepresented by a lot of people. It's also a lot more specific than "Pagan" and implies "Pagan" as well.
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 2:00 am
Sanguina Cruenta shadowflameguardian Personally, I am growing to prefer the term Polytheist than Pagan. For one thing, at least when you say Polytheist you don't have to go into a whole discussion as to why Pagan doesn't mean Satanist. Plus, I am starting to find that Pagan is just a label that tends to be misused and misrepresented by a lot of people. It's also a lot more specific than "Pagan" and implies "Pagan" as well. Too fancy. I'd rather just say pagan.
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Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:32 pm
shadowflameguardian Personally, I am growing to prefer the term Polytheist than Pagan. For one thing, at least when you say Polytheist you don't have to go into a whole discussion as to why Pagan doesn't mean Satanist. Plus, I am starting to find that Pagan is just a label that tends to be misused and misrepresented by a lot of people. as i've mentioned in other threads though not all pagans are polytheist. so it might work for you but since we're talking about a larger group we have to use pagan. plus the only way that word is going to get a new meaning and pagans get a new image is if we speak up a bit more. i'm not saying convert but i wear a pentacle on my neck 24/7. when i'm in uniform it has to be under my shirt but once i'm in civies it pops out and i never put it away. we're taking PAGAN back!!!!!
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Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 12:44 pm
Elfshaman shadowflameguardian Personally, I am growing to prefer the term Polytheist than Pagan. For one thing, at least when you say Polytheist you don't have to go into a whole discussion as to why Pagan doesn't mean Satanist. Plus, I am starting to find that Pagan is just a label that tends to be misused and misrepresented by a lot of people. as i've mentioned in other threads though not all pagans are polytheist. so it might work for you but since we're talking about a larger group we have to use pagan. plus the only way that word is going to get a new meaning and pagans get a new image is if we speak up a bit more. i'm not saying convert but i wear a pentacle on my neck 24/7. when i'm in uniform it has to be under my shirt but once i'm in civies it pops out and i never put it away. we're taking PAGAN back!!!!! Tempting.
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