Bridging the Gap between Ancient and Modern Paganisms.

2 Comments | October 7, 2008 at 2:22 pm by mahud
Filed under Paganism

My initial contact with Paganism came about through the discovery of a number of Pagan blogs in 2007. Up until this point my knowledge of Neo-Paganism was basically non-existent. At first I was sceptical, as I was aware that many of the ancient Pagan forms of worship and practice were In large chunks unknown, and my understanding of the modern Pagan revival, was that it was partly based on speculative reconstruction, intuition, and a kind of romantic projection into the past of what the original Pagans, whose practices were certainly many and varied according to each culture and the various cultic practices within these cultures that operated outside the mainstream religious structure.

Despite my initial reservations, and as I began to read many Pagan blogs (Mostly Witchcraft/Wicca, Druidism, Goddess-Centred, Christo-Pagan and others besides), I began to appreciate, that many Pagans, while recognizing the past, also pay heed to the present ‘scientific age,’ with it’s continually evolving ideas about the nature of things, rather than maintaining out of date mythical ideas, such is to be found in the culture-bringer myths that in the beginning the Gods and Goddesses instituted a perfect and unalterable way of human existence, from which any deviation was perceived as dangerous deviation from the divinely ordained idea, hindering the development of religious innovation and progress.

Of course over the period of millennia within various Pagan societies, new ideas, new philosophical insights, usually though unique individuals, Throughout the ages multitudes of unknown religious pioneers have broken away from these fixed divine principles and traditions and reshaped the old ideas into fresh recreations of divine insight. And if such fresh renderings of archaic religious themes produce fruit in the lives of others, than new systems of understanding become adopted and absorbed and reinvigorate new life into old ideas, and closer contact to the realm of the sacred and magical.

Likewise, Pagans (at least many I’m acquainted with Online) seek to modernize ancient Paganism, in its various forms. After all, Paganisms, are by their very nature, progressive, evolving, fluid religions, constantly adapting to the needs of the individuals including their own specific societies and communities (or excluded as the case may often be).

Modern Pagans (at least that’s my perception) want to bridge the gap between ancient and modern, a gap long filled by the ‘religion’ of Christianity. In other words, Pagans want to return to the past and rediscover what was lost and destroyed, by the political force of Christianity.

I’m curious as to the methods and efforts in which such forward thinking Pagans–ever with an eye on the past–attempt to bridge this gap, bringing their Paganism into the 21st Century.