Some General Pagan Concepts

Originally Posted by norseman

The Wheel of the Seasons is a prime rule of Life , the Master Clock !

in answer to Tillia's question: Viewing the cycle of the seasons as an important influence on life? Would many consider this a common thing?

Yes, The Wheel of the Seasons is important to pagans, as it goes through the gamut of birth/death/rebirth.

In modern society, we view the changing seasons as simply a time to change our wardrobe (flip-flops vs. snowboots), outdoor tools (snow shovels or garden shovels) and household climate conditions (a/c's or heaters).

Before the modern industrial age, modern refrigeration and superfast mass global transportation of food items, marking the seasons was all important. People had to know when to plant thier crops, prepare their animals, harvest the crops, preserve for the winter. Certain foods were available at only certain times of the year.

The myths of the gods and goddeses mirrored the changing seasons, with the god dying in the autumn, being born at Yule, and maturing thru Spring and summer, dying again and being reborn - this endless cycle mirrored in the plants - dying in the the autumn, laying fallow through the winter, being reborn in the spring, maturing in the summer and so on.

Pagans observe the Wheel for both cycles - the cycle of the God and of the plants.