paganism

[tilly13]

Hi,could someone explain to me what paganism is.

[Jenny Crow]

Religions and traditions other than Christianity such as Druidism, Wicca, Shamanism, etc. etc.

[GemDragon09]

Paganism or Polytheism is an umbrella term for those who believe in multiple deities, usually centered around the natural and spiritual world. Believing they are connected.
Paganism is a broad group of indigenous and historical polytheistic religious traditions—primarily those of cultures known to the classical world. In a wider sense, paganism has also been understood to include any non-Abrahamic, folk, or ethnic religion. Paganism is best described as a group of religions and spiritual traditions based on a reverence for nature. Like Hinduism, there is no single founder, scripture or religious philosophy. Most Pagans, however, believe in the divine character of the natural world and Paganism is often described as an "Earth religion".

There's Paganism, Neopaganism, Wicca, Druidism, and many more. You can work with the earth's natural energies, or deities, spirits, your own and other's energies, stones or gems, animals, symbolism, nature spirits, supernatural energies and more. It depends on what branch you want and feel drawn to.
Because it's so large and there is so many to choose from, I highly recommend finding some local group and ask some questions. Go to festivals or meetups, read material at libraries or specialty stores, find websites and forums to ask specific questions (like here). Always be cautious, never go alone and always meet in public spaces (like with anybody online). Get a feel for the people and idea. Go safely and alone in natural areas and feel around, feel the earth speak to you and see how it feels with that too. Meditate, find videos on youtube, dive deep within yourself and outside yourself. DO NOT dive headfirst, let yourself search and find what is right for you. There's no rush. :3

[tilly13]

Thank you gemdragon for your advice I feel drawn to earth religion I only have the internet for research were I live there's not any group s or met ups that I know of were I can ask my question's

[Jenny Crow]

There are hundreds of books you can get from Llewellyn and on Amazon

[GemDragon09]

Originally Posted by tilly13

Thank you gemdragon for your advice I feel drawn to earth religion I only have the internet for research were I live there's not any group s or met ups that I know of were I can ask my question's

No problem! The internet is amazing because you can find almost anything you need. You feel drawn to the Earth, perhaps you can also try environmentalism as a way to give thanks and worship. Cleaning up around your home, community, and helping the people and animals is a good thing too. The thing with religions based on the Earth is that we can use our energy and spirituality, coupled with our physical bodies to take action. We have the free will to help make it better.
You can research ways to lower your impact. If you have the room, you can start a small garden. Meditate and give thanks to the plants as they grow. From flowers to vegetables, you don't have to go nuts with how much you plant! You just research what your Zone is, what type of land you have and find plants that would do well in your climate without too much water. (Water conservation is also important.) If you don't have enough room, like if you live in an apartment complex, they have Window Gardens and the like so you conserve space, as well as water!
If you're not physically able to garden too much, you can even just have small containers with herbs growing. If not, then when you can you can visit outside and see the nature and meditate. On this forum there are some nice posts about meditation with trees and plants. Also meditations that help you connect and ground yourself to the Earth and feel it's energy help, support and heal you. If you don't leave often or want something to meditate to while at home, there are Youtube Videos that are helpful. I recommend finding some good channels to watch. Search words can be Paganism, Naturalistic Paganism, Pantheism, etc. Careful though, you will get jerks and quacks.

I HIGHLY recommend this channel: Pagan Perspective They're a group of Pagans that work together to answer all sorts of questions about Paganism, straight talk, spiritual talk, nature, spells, worship, gods and goddess, gender binary in paganism, and a whole lot more. They update often, answer questions and communicate with their watchers when they can. It's also nice because it's multiple people and their takes on different subjects. LOTS of videos!

What is the Wheel of the Year?
What is Paganism?
Naturalistic Paganism

Pantheism/EarthI found this site and it may be a nice read. It's good to check out different sites and places to get different sources under your belt. You can also bookmark them for later!

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones If you live anywhere in the USA, you can find what your Zone is. Then you can find plants that would do well in that zone and plant what you can afford and take care of!

Big thing though, don't worry about buying organic ANYTHING. It's unnecessary and too expensive, and it's a gimick to get people to pay more for fruit, vegetables and other products over the GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) scare. You are not what you eat, and they were only genetically modified to withstand harsher climates and need less water. You need to be careful of pesticides though, especially for the pollinators out there. Like bees. Bees are dying at an alarming rate, and they are the primary pollinators for all of our plant based foods. The best thing to do is find either home-made safe alternatives or look for sprays within your budget that are safe for bees. (I recommend researching home-made because pesticides are really harsh on people, pets and plants sometimes.) While starting your garden and watching for bees (Be careful if you're allergic though) also try to plant Bee Friendly Plants!

Llewellyn Is a nice site to search, they have articles to read, books to buy and magazines for sale.
Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com Search Pagan, Earth Religion, stuff like that for books and items you can buy.
Full Moon Calendar So you can plan any spells/worship/magick and the like around the phases of the moon.
Free Metaphysical BooksFree occult books, different kinds. Requires downloading some of them and a pdf reader. (Depends) Remember to use common sense, and understand some may be old and outdated with some information, but its a start.
Some more Online Books
Global Grey Books - Paganism Some other books, probably old but again, just check some out.
The Living Wiccan Download List A tumblr blogger who found and posted some links for books! Have not tested them.

This is what I had and could find! Good luck on your search and remember to ask questions!

[tilly13]

Thank you very much for your help

[GemDragon09]

Anytime! PM me if you have more questions!