Evening With A Pagan :: essays research papers

An Evening with the PagansA brief history of pagan religion everyplace 25,000 years ago, our ancestors across the continent formulad an ancient form of religious belief known as paganism. During theNeolithic and Paleolithic time era, our ancestors were in scare of thegreat manifestations of nature. Due to lack of scientific mind, theywere riddled with ignorance and superstition. Everything had a charmingexplanation.They associated each naturalistic phenomena with a typeof paragon, inscribing inanimate objects with life -like characteristics .This practice is referred to as animism. Every element ,be it thunder ,rain orthe sun ,was thought to be a god (or goddess) within it.Eventually their gods became an object of revere known as polytheism.Eventually many forms of polytheism evolved to what is known as paganism. new-made PaganismNow defined as The godliness of a god or goddess whose rootsare in pre-Christian Western Europe. Modern paganism is alive and well today. It consis ts of many sub-divisions .These include Wicca ,druidismSanteria and many others. Wicca focuses on the worship of a god and goddess .In Wicca ,there is a plethora of pantheon of deities that onecan claim from including Greek, Norse ,roman etc......Focusing on a Greek Wiccan tradition ,this leave be describing the pagan festival of Hectare.The Festival of HecateThe festival of Hecate is celebrated among the 3rd and 4thSaturday of August. (which ever is closest to the new moon)It is in maintain of the Greek goddess Hecate. She was first worshippedin ancient Greece -called the triple goddess of magic. She is oftenrepresented in triple form maiden (youth) ,mother (fertility)and crone (the rational woman). In ancient Rome ,she was known as trevia ,the cross bridle-path with three paths.Hecate is symbolized by the word forms of the moon.Each attribute correlates with a particular phase of the moon.The waxing moon (maiden),the full moon (mother) and the new moon( crone).The Ceremon yUpon reach at the festival in Georgetown Delaware,everyone gathers for the lecture. This is to educate the newcomersas to what the ceremonial occasion entails. The ceremony is always rehearsedbefore it is performed. After the lecture ,there is a large potluck facing pages to keep everyone energized for the evenings festivities.The processionalWhen the sun sets, the processional begins. With everyonein their appropriate magical attire,(consisting of a robe and jewelry)everyone lines up proceeds with the first phase.This is called consecration- each individual is consecrated . This is doneby covering the body in aggravate smoke and sprinkling of water.This is a purification process that cleanses the body of disconfirming