To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day (2 page)

your life.

Or you may find yourself drawn to one specific activity,

and that is okay too. More than one Pagan has discovered a

lifelong interest in herb magic after growing a few pots of

basil and sage! Developing your personal sacral calendar and

daily devotions could lead you to explore your spirituality in

ways you have not yet imagined. That is the wonderful thing

about walking a Pagan path; we are never quite sure where it

will take us, but the journey is always interesting.

f 4 2

NEW WAY OF LIVING

How do you express your spirituality from day to day?

The customs and spiritual practices of the early, pre-

Christian Pagan cultures were passed down from one gener-

ation to the next. These old ways were traditions for respect-

ing and interacting with the gods and other spirit denizens,

and they varied from one culture to another. The Anglo-Sax-

on, for example, gave due offerings before a wéoh, which was

an image or symbol of the honored deity. The early Roman

honored his family’s numina (guardian spirits) at a household

lararium, an object often resembling a small cupboard, which

served as a home for those spirits. The early Greek began

every ritual with an offering to the goddess Hestia. Each cul-

ture had its own customs. Many Paleo-Pagans—whether

Greek or Roman or Saxon—were undoubtedly passionate

f 5

f

2

5

seven steps to a new way of living

and sincere in their piety, but their spiritual paths were large-ly a matter of circumstance rather than choice. The Celt and

the Egyptian, the Saxon and the Greek, they observed their

respective customs because those were the only customs

they were familiar and comfortable with.

By contrast, contemporary Pagans—almost without

exception—intentionally choose the paths we follow. This

is necessarily true for the “first generation Pagan” who was

not raised as a Pagan, but in today’s multicultural environ-

ment even children born into polytheist households are usu-

ally encouraged to explore and appreciate other spiritual

paths, and to choose their own paths with knowledge and

intention. Today’s Pagan—whether or not raised in a Pagan

home—makes a conscious decision about his or her person-

al spiritual journey.

This intentional choice may be one of the most signifi-

cant distinctions between contemporary Pagans and our

Paleo-Pagan ancestors. We have expectations of our spiri-

tual paths. For the majority of today’s Pagans this includes

the expectation of a connection between us and the earth,

so much so that Pagan spirituality has often been labeled

“earth religion”, or “earth based religion”. Our ancestors had

no need to reconnect with the earth; they were immersed

in its whims and tides. In the pre-industrial world, the rural

population was much greater than it is today. Urban centers

like Rome and Athens were few and far between, and even

in those ancient cities the residents were far more directly

affected by the earth’s mood swings.

Today, in developed nations at least, we need not fear

starvation if the local grain crop fails. For the majority of us, f 6 2

seven steps to a new way of living

severe winter weather only means a higher than usual utility

bill. We are still dependant on the earth, but not as directly as our ancestors were, and for the most part this is a good thing.

Nevertheless we have lost something in the process, and it is

this disconnection from the natural world that has inspired

many people to explore “earth based” Pagan spirituality.

Because of this intentional spirituality, Pagans today

often attempt to follow what the early Saxons might have

called
Hal Sidu
, meaning healthy or holistic traditions. Hal Sidu engages and integrates all parts of the Self. Exactly how

many parts there are depend on one’s spiritual paradigm.

As a Saxon Pagan, I expect Hal Sidu to engage my rational

thought, stimulate my memories and emotion, arouse my

source of inspiration, balance my physical body and for-

tify my identity. In the Saxon tradition these are all equally

important parts of the “Self ”. Pagans who follow other paths

will have other definitions of the Self, of course. For the sake of simplicity let us make use of a popular contemporary paradigm and define Hal Sidu as the integration of Body, Mind

and Spirit.

I use the Old English term Hal Sidu for intentional Pagan

spirituality because I follow a Saxon path, but a Roman Pagan

might call it the Vetera Valens (“worthy traditions”). An Ice-

landic Pagan could call it Heildræn Venjur (“holistic habits”).

The name is not important. By any name, intentional Pagan

spirituality helps us reconnect with the earth and integrate

all parts of the Self into one whole being.

Hal Sidu—or whatever term you prefer—is not a matter

of belief. In fact “belief ” is relatively unimportant in polytheist religions. Yes, the Paleo-Pagans believed in their gods, f 7 2

seven steps to a new way of living

but it was in the way modern people believe in gravity or

electricity, not in the way a child believes in the Tooth Fairy.

When we apply the logic that we apply to every other aspect

of the human experience to our perceptions the divine, it is

patently obvious that the gods are real. We can conclude that

the goddess Athena is real, for example, because she has spo-

ken to and interacted with thousands of people over thou-

sands of years—and she is no “less real” just because Bob

decides, for whatever reason, to not believe in her existence.

Early Pagans knew the gods are real; for them it was not an

issue of personal belief.

What matters to the polytheist are not people’s beliefs,

but people’s actions; their words and deeds. Traditional

Pagan spirituality is
orthopraxic
, focusing on shared practices and traditions rather than beliefs. This remains true even

today in Pagan paths such as British Traditional Witchcraft,

in most forms of polytheistic Reconstructionism and for the

international Neo-Pagan fellowship Ár nDraíocht Féin. It

is your actions that define you and shape the world around

you. And as with all other things, it is by your actions that

you integrate Body, Mind and Spirit. Not by thinking about

it. Not by talking about it. It is something you do.

When we take no action towards developing an inten-

tional Pagan spirituality, it is often because we do not know

where to begin rather than from a lack of desire. Few books

address this issue; how to live as a Pagan after closing the ritual and washing up the chalice or mead horn. Many Pagans,

especially those new to polytheism, are unsure how to reach

out and touch the earth both physically and spiritually.

f 8 2

seven steps to a new way of living

Hal Sidu—holistic custom—demands that we do this

very thing; that we touch the earth, taking action to build a

personal Pagan lifestyle for each of us. How you accomplish

this will be a reflection of your own interests, needs and circumstances. The important thing is not what you do, which

will vary from one person to another, but that you do
some-

thing
, some little thing each day to connect with your gods and with the world around you.

There are many ways to do this. You might find a connec-

tion through rituals that sacralize your daily activities, or by mindfully working with a familiar. You might find it by literally touching the earth, armed with a spade and a hoe, rais-

ing some of your own food and actively participating in the

eternal cycle of receiving and giving back. Or maybe you will

find more inspiration in crafting your own ritual candles and

incense. Whatever the means, building an intentional, per-

sonal Pagan lifestyle will help you integrate Body, Mind and

Spirit into something whole and complete.

to begin by formally dedicating yourself to the work. This is

true for almost any change: beginning a diet, giving up a bad

habit, or learning a new language or skill. It is true also for those who would develop an intentional Pagan lifestyle.

We have discussed how Hal Sidu demands action, so why

not take action right now? If you would like to make changes

in your life to integrate Body, Mind and Spirit, read over the

following description of the Dedication Rite and then per-

form the ritual yourself.

f 9 2

seven steps to a new way of living

No, really. Do it now.

Of course this assumes that you are in or near some pri-

vate place where you can perform a rite without attracting

undue attention. If you are reading this at the public library or while riding a city bus, you should probably wait for a

more opportune time. Otherwise, if you have reasonable pri-

vacy, what are you waiting for? You may not know yet exact-

ly how you want to practice Hal Sidu, but you can take this

initial action, dedicating yourself to the work, nevertheless.

Think of it as your first step towards a new way of living.

The rite is short and simple, and requires minimal equip-

ment. All you need is a candle and something to give as an

offering, which can be incense, wine or mead to pour as a

libation, or almost anything else that seems appropriate to

you. The candle can be paraffin or beeswax, and can be any

color you happen to have readily available.

Of course you may tweak or expand the Dedication Rite

to suit your spiritual needs. If you have a personal relation-

ship with a particular deity, you might place a statue or sym-

bol of that deity next to the candle. If you are Wiccan, you

might want to cast a circle as a part of the rite. Your choice of an offering will likely be influenced by your spiritual orientation. As a Saxon Pagan, my first choice would be to pour a

libation of mead. A Roman Pagan might instead offer a liba-

tion of olive oil, while a Greek Pagan might choose to burn

sweet herbs on a charcoal disk.

The wording of the rite may also be altered to reflect

your needs and spiritual orientation. What is given here

should be taken as a suggestion; it is not a magical formula.

f 10 2

seven steps to a new way of living

Set your candle and anything else you might need on

your
myse
, or working surface. If you have been Pagan for very long this will very likely be your household altar. If you do not have an altar or other consecrated working surface,

any clean, level surface will suffice. For now, at least. Later in this chapter we will discuss why it is important to have sacred space—an altar, by whatever name you call it—at some place

in your home.

Take a few slow, deep breaths to relax and prepare your-

self mentally. Then light the candle as you say:

“Spirits who live in this place,

Ancestors who have brought me to this place,

Gods and Goddesses who bless this place,

know that you are remembered and bear witness to this rite.”

Again, take a few slow, deep breaths. Try to feel the pres-

ence of the spirits around you. It does not matter wheth-

er you feel, see or hear anything. Very often the adage “no

news is good news” holds true when interacting with the

spirit world. Our contemporary Pagan culture tends to over-

emphasize magic, and I have known some people who felt

there was something wrong because they were not receiving

vivid psychic impressions whenever they paused to listen for

their gods, their ancestors or local spirits. However this was

more likely because they were doing fine; there was no rea-

son for spirits to advise or admonish them. You may or may

not receive any impressions, but give the spirits the opportu-

nity to respond before proceeding.

f 11 2

seven steps to a new way of living

Now give your offering. You may use an offering bowl if

you are holding the rite indoors and have a libation or a food

offering. Such an offering should be poured or placed on the