Paganism and Homosexuality/Lesbianism

There are pagan groups strictly for homosexual and lesbian folk, or for the reverence and preference of the goddess over the god or vice versa out there. 

However, the placing of the Feminine above the masculine. or the masculine above the feminine. the reverence for only the feminine qualities of the divine (goddesses) or only the masculine qualities (god) is really a deviation from what was originally intended.

originally, it was based on equality. it takes two to tango. both the god and goddess to create.

even in Wicca, when Gerald Gardner "Created" it. or "Refound it" depending on which theory you follow, it was very sexualized and based on both male and female compatibility. the High Priestess and Priest would preform the "great rite" in front of their covens. they would come together for lack of a better term this being during the 60s anyway with the hippies and all that it was actually taken literally. today however, a high priest and priestess will symbolically "come together" by the priest placing an athame' (ritual knife with a very dull blade meant for directing *spiritual energy*) into a chalice (cup) being held by the priestess. there is various theories on why this is done, one being Gardner himself was a pervert, which i am sure probably plays into it somewhat. (I am watering this down for length and time constraints. Obviously, there is more to it than that.)

there is still toleration and acceptance for homosexual/lesbians however, as Paganism at its core is laid back and "liberal" (Again, probably watering this down.)

however like in any thing, paganism is not exempt from bigoted ideas, there are some people who work in pagan groups who do not like to work with homosexual and lesbian practitioners because they feel that is disrupts the flow of spiritual energy.

Me Personally: I have no problem with a homosexual or lesbian person from a personal standpoint, mundane, or spiritually. what being a laid back dirty stinkin' liberal "socialist" and all. (or at least that is what certain people have called me anyway.)

according to Science, people are born with a gene that predisposed them to their sexuality and all that - google is your friend - this is not the place to post and summerize scientific studies. If you are interested you will look it up on your own.

it also means there will be less guys looking for a female, and thus more of a chance for a straight male to find a mate, and vice versa for females.

and also, whos to say homosexuality/lesbianism is not a organic innate response built in that the gods gave humans for population control?

I'm Libertarian when it comes to people and what they chose to do with their own bodies. if a man and another man. or two women decide to have sex. does it really affect me? I guess if I have to see and witness it it would. but, to each their own. what 2 consenting adults do behind closed doors in a private place is their own business and not mine.

(*Disclaimer: This blog posting is obviously from a heterosexual male perspective. I have tried to present this as respectful and as fair as possible while trying to be as informative and as truthful as possible. No Disrespect intended for my Brother and Sister pagans who enjoy the company of their respective same sex, nor any intended for the homosexual/lesbian community at large.  If anyone from the homosexual/lesbian community (especially if they are pagan) has any thing that they would wish to add or to clarify -- then please do leave comments. Your feedback is invaluable. I look forward to reading it.*)

Thank You.

Pagans and The Afterlife!

It has come to my attention that some people don't feel that a tenet of being part of a Pagan belief system is that Pagans don't believe in any kind of afterlife nor a punishment/reward system for ones spirit after death based on their deeds and actions in life. Now, I cannot speak for every person that holds to religious/spiritual beliefs akin' towards a Pagan belief structure...as one of the common themes in Paganism is that of free thinking and free will...and the fact that there are hundreds if not thousands of ways to go about it....there is no central belief structure and Paganism as has been explained previously is not one religion but instead a grouping of multiple religions that generally share the same common themes such as belief in more than one deity, the feminine aspect of the divine, and earth stewardship...and sometimes but not always some form of reincarnation...or notion of a similar idea about the afterlife..which is the point of this blog.

If you ask three Pagans their opinion and ideas/beliefs about a certain topic you'll likely get ten vastly different answers. That is not to say that Paganism is not a serious spiritual path..it most certainly is, but by being a religion based on experiences and a more-some what mystical individualized approach...by being open ended like that and as such, causes it's practitioners to think and to decide for themselves what to believe instead of simply being told what to think and to believe...that is the blessing and that is also the curse of following a Pagan based spiritual path, however, nonetheless that same freedom of choice is what brings many to seek this wonderful life enriching path of ours.

The Greeks certainly believed is the afterlife, they had Hades ruler of the underworld, The Egyptians had Osiris the Ruler of their underworld and Anubis helped guide the ones who had passed on to him. These gods were not seen in a negative light, despite some Fundamentalist's extreme views of attempting to associate these gods of the underworld with the Christian idea of their adversary known as Satan or The Devil. (Of Course to most fundamentalists any belief structures god(s) other than their own is seen s being the "Devil" in disguise.) Even though Hades had his flaws...but that is what makes the Greek Gods so interesting, however those are topics best saved for another time.

In the Nordic/Scandinavian Vikings belief system when a warrior died on the battlefield he went to Valhalla where they got to fight each other To the Death (Ironically) by day and feast and drink and be merry and party with beautiful women by night, and the next day at sunrise it started all over again. on the flip side anyone who was not a warrior and who died of mundane or natural causes such as old age would spend the afterlife dining in the halls of "Hel" or to the Norse - eternal mediocrity.

These are just a few examples of Pagan beliefs in the afterlife, and in fact I could come up with countless other examples.

In Modern Neo-Paganism and "Neo-Wiccan" beliefs there is generally a belief in a stop off for a rest in the "summerlands" a paradise that is a temporary stopping off point on the road to being reincarnated. Then the Divine or whatever supernatural power one chooses to believe in while considering ones self to follow a Pagan path judges the persons spirit by weighing all their actions during life...this form of karmatic justice is borrowed from Eastern religions such as Buddhism (Who believe people perpetually are reincarnated until they reach Nirvana or the state of Enlightenment) - which is not to be confused with many westerners especially Americans views on Karma or the idea of what comes around goes around while the person is still living - what we view as Karma in Western culture is really what those in Eastern Philosophy calls "Dharma" or the idea of of facing consequences for ones actions on the physical plane of existence while still living.  Science calls this the Law of Motion as coined by Sir. Isaac Newton - "For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction." In Wicca and some Witchcraft traditions it is known as the Law of Three, that whatever energies you send out into the world be it good or bad will come back to you three-fold. Like I said these beliefs are actually considered "Dharmatic" in nature, where as real and True Karma and "Karmatic repercussions"  would be assessed on the spirit at the time of death.

So see, in Paganism there is in fact  beliefs in the afterlife and beliefs in facing consequences for our actions in this life, the afterlife, and quite possibly the next. Just because we don't share the Christian concept of Heaven and Hell and The Devil/Satan does not make Pagan afterlife beliefs any less, or any more valid for that matter. To Each their own.

I bet if you took the time to study on your own you would find a lot more examples than the ones I have provided you with.

Thank you.

ThePaganHeretic