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107-528: The Wiccan Rede / ˈ r iː d / is a statement that provides the key moral system in the neopagan religion of Wicca and certain other related witchcraft -based faiths. A common form of the Rede is "An ye harm none, do what ye will" which was taken from a longer poem also titled the Wiccan Rede. The word "rede" derives from Middle English , meaning "advice" or "counsel", and being closely related to

214-517: A hereditary witch . Its precise origin has yet to be determined. Adrian Bott, in an article written in White Dragon magazine, 2003, argues that the Long Rede's creation can be placed somewhere between 1964 and 1975. Bott bases his argument on the alleged misuse of archaic English in the poem, in particular of " an' " as an abbreviation of "and", and of "ye" instead of "the". Bott states that

321-946: A "Major Presentation" titled "Pagans in Interfaith Dialogue" By the end of the nine days, the academics attending the Parliament were saying "In 1893, America was introduced to the Buddhists and Hindus; in 1993, we met the Neopagans." One media person described the Parliament as "the coming-out party for the Neopagans." In 1995 both the United Nations and the Berkeley Area Interfaith Council celebrated their 50th anniversaries. Frew and other interfaith organizers in Berkeley created

428-614: A Gardnerian coven in Berkeley, California – Coven Trismegiston – with his wife Anna Korn. Frew's covens have been members in the Covenant of the Goddess (or "CoG", the world's largest religious organization for Witches), and in 1985 he was elected CoG's second Public Information Officer. He has, since then, served nine terms on CoG's National Board. Frew's work as Public Information Officer for CoG led him into communication and collaboration with parts of society traditionally in tension with

535-421: A category within modern paganism that does not encompass all pagan religions. Other terms some pagans favor include "traditional religion", "indigenous religion", "nativist religion", and "reconstructionism". Various pagans who are active in pagan studies, such as Michael York and Prudence Jones, have argued that, due to the similarities of their worldviews , the modern pagan movement can be treated as part of

642-750: A consultant on the occult , growing over the years to collaboration with law enforcement agencies around the country. Frew served as an occult expert / consultant on the McMartin Preschool Trial, the Leonard Lake serial killings, and the Matamoros murders , among others. In 1986, with his college friend Shawn Carlson , Frew proposed that the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER) investigate

749-581: A deep-rooted sense of place and people, and eclectics embracing a universality and openness toward humanity and the Earth. Strmiska nevertheless notes that this reconstructionist-eclectic division is "neither as absolute nor as straightforward as it might appear". He cites the example of Dievturība , a form of reconstructionist paganism that seeks to revive the pre-Christian religion of the Latvian people, by noting that it exhibits eclectic tendencies by adopting

856-435: A form of racism. Other pagan groups allow people of any ethnicity, on the view that the gods and goddesses of a particular region can call anyone to their form of worship. Some such groups feel a particular affinity for the pre-Christian belief systems of a particular region with which they have no ethnic link because they see themselves as reincarnations of people from that society. There is greater focus on ethnicity within

963-494: A framework, because while seeking a reconstructionist form of historical accuracy, Asatro strongly eschewed the emphasis on ethnicity that is common to other reconstructionist groups. While Wicca is identified as an eclectic form of paganism, Strmiska also notes that some Wiccans have moved in a more reconstructionist direction by focusing on a particular ethnic and cultural link, thus developing such variants as Norse Wicca and Celtic Wicca . Concern has also been expressed regarding

1070-598: A monotheistic focus and ceremonial structure from Lutheranism . Similarly, while examining neo-shamanism among the Sami people of Northern Scandinavia, Siv Ellen Kraft highlights that despite the religion being reconstructionist in intent, it is highly eclectic in the manner in which it has adopted elements from shamanic traditions in other parts of the world. In discussing Asatro – a form of Heathenry based in Denmark – Matthew Amster notes that it did not fit clearly within such

1177-416: A part of the "much larger phenomenon" of efforts to revive "traditional, indigenous, or native religions" that were occurring across the globe. Beliefs and practices vary widely among different pagan groups; however, there are a series of core principles common to most, if not all, forms of modern paganism. The English academic Graham Harvey noted that pagans "rarely indulge in theology". One principle of

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1284-510: A polytheistic world-view would be beneficial for western society – replacing the dominant monotheism they see as innately repressive. In fact, many American modern pagans first came to their adopted faiths because it allowed a greater freedom, diversity, and tolerance of worship among the community. This pluralistic perspective has helped the varied factions of modern paganism exist in relative harmony. Most pagans adopt an ethos of " unity in diversity " regarding their religious beliefs. It

1391-442: A range of ecologic and explicitly ecocentric practices, which may overlap with scientific pantheism . Pagans may distinguish their beliefs and practices as a form of religious naturalism or naturalist philosophy , with some engaged as humanistic or atheopagans . For some pagan groups, ethnicity is central to their religion, and some restrict membership to a single ethnic group. Some critics have described this approach as

1498-659: A revival and established the Roman academy which secretly celebrated the Natale di Roma and the birthday of Romulus . The Academy was dissolved in 1468 when Pope Paul II orderd the arrest and execution of some of the members, Pope Sixtus IV allowed Laetus to open the accademy again until the Sack of Rome of the 1527. Positive identification with paganism became more common in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it tied in with criticism of Christianity and organized religion, rooted in

1605-474: A secular worldview. Humanistic, naturalistic, or secular pagans may recognize deities as archetypes or useful metaphors for different cycles of life, or reframe magic as a purely psychological practice. Contemporary paganism has been associated with the New Age movement, with scholars highlighting their similarities as well as their differences. The academic field of pagan studies began to coalesce in

1712-626: A similar pair of edicts: I. — Ne nuis pas à ton voisin. II. — Ceci bien compris, fais ce qu'il te plaît. ("Do not harm your neighbor; this being well understood, do that which pleases you.") In Thelema , a similar phrase, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law", appears in Aleister Crowley 's works by 1904, in The Book of the Law . Although Gardner noted the similarity of the rede to King Pausole's words, Silver Ravenwolf believes it

1819-470: A single one. The category of modern paganism could be compared to the categories of Abrahamic religions and Indian religions in its structure. A second, less common definition found within pagan studies – promoted by the religious studies scholars Michael F. Strmiska and Graham Harvey – characterises modern paganism as a single religion, of which groups like Wicca , Druidry , and Heathenry are denominations . This perspective has been critiqued, given

1926-520: A single word his or her definitive break" from Christianity. He further suggests that the term gained appeal through its depiction in romanticist and 19th-century European nationalist literature, where it had been imbued with "a certain mystery and allure", and that by embracing the word "pagan" modern pagans defy past religious intolerance to honor the pre-Christian peoples of Europe and emphasize those societies' cultural and artistic achievements. "We might say that Reconstructionist Pagans romanticize

2033-406: A spectrum ranging from reconstructive , which seeks to revive historical pagan religions; to eclectic movements , which blend elements from various religions and philosophies with historical paganism. Polytheism , animism , and pantheism are common features across pagan theology. Modern pagans can also include atheists , upholding virtues and principles associated with paganism while maintaining

2140-634: A website to assist with their networking efforts. With the Expressing the URI in Music & the Arts CC (EURIMA) Frew helped create One World, Many Voices , one of the first interfaith songbooks; the first Interfaith Sacred Space Design Competition resulting in 160 designs submitted from teams in 17 countries and edited the final book, Sacred Spaces . In 2000 Frew was appointed to the board of directors of

2247-587: A working relationship with Lee Penn, the most vocal detractor of the United Religions Initiative and author of False Dawn: The United Religions Initiative, Globalism, and the Quest for a One-World Religion. Frew is one of the most often cited sources in Penn's book. Frew has worked to obtain recognition of Pagan and Indigenous peoples as members of interfaith councils. As a Wiccan, Frew joined

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2354-462: Is "a highly diverse phenomenon", "an identifiable common element" nevertheless runs through the pagan movement. Strmiska described paganism as a movement "dedicated to reviving the polytheistic, nature-worshipping pagan religions of pre-Christian Europe and adapting them for the use of people in modern societies." The religious studies scholar Wouter Hanegraaff characterised paganism as encompassing "all those modern movements which are, first, based on

2461-619: Is a "new", "modern" religious movement, even if some of its content derives from ancient sources. Contemporary paganism as practiced in the United States in the 1990s has been described as "a synthesis of historical inspiration and present-day creativity". Eclectic paganism takes an undogmatic religious stance and therefore potentially sees no one as having authority to deem a source apocryphal. Contemporary paganism has therefore been prone to fakelore , especially in recent years as information and misinformation alike have been spread on

2568-442: Is commonly known as the "Long Rede". Although Thompson wrote that this version of the Rede was in its original form, this declaration is disputed for several reasons, but primarily as the language of the poem refers to Wiccan concepts that are not known to have existed in her grandmother's lifetime. It is sometime ascribed to Thompson herself. Mathiesen and Theitic concluded that 18 to 20 of the verses are lore which would be common to

2675-461: Is held by a "significant number" of contemporary pagans. Among those who believe in it, there are a variety of different views about what magic is. Many modern pagans adhere to the definition of magic provided by Aleister Crowley , the founder of Thelema : "the Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will". Also accepted by many is the related definition purportedly provided by

2782-498: Is its inclusion of female deity which distinguishes pagan religions from their Abrahamic counterparts. In Wicca, male and female deities are typically balanced out in a form of duotheism . Among many pagans, there is a strong desire to incorporate the female aspects of the divine in their worship and within their lives, which can partially explain the attitude which sometimes manifests as the veneration of women . There are exceptions to polytheism in paganism, as seen for instance in

2889-491: Is more directly referencing Crowley. According to Don Frew , Valiente composed the couplet, following Gardner's statement that witches "are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, 'Do what you like so long as you harm none'"; he claims the common assumption that the Rede that was copied from Crowley is misinformed, and has resulted in the words often being misquoted as "an it harm none, do what thou wilt" instead of "do what you will". Thompson's attribution of

2996-447: Is one of the only spiritual communities that is exploring humor, joy, abandonment, even silliness and outrageousness as valid parts of spiritual experience". Domestic worship typically takes place in the home and is carried out by either an individual or family group. It typically involves offerings – including bread, cake, flowers, fruit, milk, beer, or wine – being given to images of deities, often accompanied with prayers and songs and

3103-707: Is that it is adapted from a speech given by Doreen Valiente at a dinner sponsored by the Witchcraft Research Association and mentioned in volume one (1964) of the Pentagram, a United Kingdom pagan newsletter then being published. Valiente did publish a poem The Witches Creed in her 1978 book, "Witchcraft for Tomorrow", which contains some similar concepts. King Pausole , a character in Pierre Louÿs ' Les aventures du roi Pausole (The Adventures of King Pausole, published in 1901), issued

3210-607: Is that of animism . This has been interpreted in two distinct ways among the pagan community. First, it can refer to a belief that everything in the universe is imbued with a life force or spiritual energy . In contrast, some contemporary pagans believe that there are specific spirits that inhabit various features in the natural world, and that these can be actively communicated with. Some pagans have reported experiencing communication with spirits dwelling in rocks, plants, trees and animals, as well as power animals or animal spirits who can act as spiritual helpers or guides. Animism

3317-415: Is the holistic concept of a universe that is interconnected. This is connected with a belief in either pantheism or panentheism . In both beliefs, divinity and the material or spiritual universe are one. For pagans, pantheism means that "divinity is inseparable from nature and that deity is immanent in nature". Dennis D. Carpenter noted that the belief in a pantheistic or panentheistic deity has led to

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3424-564: The Witchcraft Research Association ; at that time, the term was in use by Wiccans in the United States and the United Kingdom, but unconnected to the broader, counterculture pagan movement. The modern popularisation of the terms pagan and neopagan as they are currently understood is largely traced to Oberon Zell-Ravenheart , co-founder of the 1st Neo-Pagan Church of All Worlds who, beginning in 1967 with

3531-519: The ceremonial magician Dion Fortune : "magic is the art and science of changing consciousness according to the Will". Among those who practice magic are Wiccans , those who identify as neopagan witches , and practitioners of some forms of revivalist neo-Druidism , the rituals of which are at least partially based upon those of ceremonial magic and freemasonry . Discussions about prevailing, returning or new forms of paganism have existed throughout

3638-475: The gay liberation movement's reappropriation of the term " queer ", which had formerly been used only as a term of homophobic abuse. He suggests that part of the term's appeal lay in the fact that a large proportion of pagan converts were raised in Christian families, and that by embracing the term "pagan", a word long used for what was "rejected and reviled by Christian authorities", a convert summarizes "in

3745-436: The nemetons of the ancient Celts. Many pagans hold that different lands and/or cultures have their own natural religion, with many legitimate interpretations of divinity, and therefore reject religious exclusivism . While the pagan community has tremendous variety in political views spanning the whole of the political spectrum , environmentalism is often a common feature. Such views have also led many pagans to revere

3852-578: The " Satanic Panic " of the 1990s. Frew's interest in Wicca began at age 12 in a group mentored by nearby Witch Lilith St. John. In 1983 Frew was initiated into Coven Firestar, a NROOGD (New Reformed Order of the Golden Dawn) coven and later into a Gardnerian coven (Tobar Bhride) in 1985. He is an Elder in both the NROOGD and Gardnerian Traditions of Neopagan witchcraft or Wicca. He is High Priest of

3959-515: The "Celebrating the Spirit" conference, an official UN50 event that continued discussions concerning the "Global Ethic" document that had been signed at the Assembly at the 1993 Parliament. Frew has continued to represent CoG at all of the subsequent Parliaments—Cape Town 1999, Barcelona 2004, Melbourne 2009—and be active in key events. In 1997 Frew became one of only three Pagan representatives in

4066-481: The 1974 variant of the text, which was published by one of Thompson's former initiates, may represent one of the earlier drafts. Its publication prompted Thompson to publish what she – falsely, according to Mathiessen – claimed was Porter's "original" poem. The Rede is similar to a consequentialist formulation of the Golden Rule , a belief that is found in nearly every religion. Not all traditional Wiccans follow

4173-408: The 1990s, emerging from disparate scholarship in the preceding two decades. There is "considerable disagreement as to the precise definition and the proper usage" of the term modern paganism . Even within the academic field of pagan studies , there is no consensus about how contemporary paganism can best be defined. Most scholars describe modern paganism as a broad array of different religions, not

4280-552: The Berkeley Area Interfaith Council (BAIC) in 1985, and was elected to its executive committee in 1986. In 1987 he was appointed Executive Secretary, becoming the first Witch to serve as an officer on the board of a local interfaith council in the United States. BAIC was a member of the North American Interfaith Network (NAIN), an association of interfaith councils of Canada and the US, and during Frew's term

4387-502: The Covenant of the Goddess became the first Pagan organization listed in NAIN's Directory. Through Frew's efforts, in 1992 the Covenant of the Goddess became one of four Neopagan organizations to co-sponsor the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions, where over 8000 international attendees attended over 900 programs in the course of nine days. Frew was one of four Neopagans selected to give

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4494-575: The Craft community: law enforcement, conservative Evangelical Christianity , and the then-nascent interfaith movement. Frew and his wife wrote a revision of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows , annotating the basic text to multiple books of shadows from different parts of the US and UK to Gardner 's and Valiente 's book of shadows, and to many other historic documents. Since 1985 Frew has worked with San Francisco police Inspector Sandi Gallant as

4601-492: The English-speaking world have begun using the prefixes "modern" or "contemporary" rather than "neo". Several pagan studies scholars, such as Ronald Hutton and Sabina Magliocco , have emphasized the use of the upper-case "Paganism" to distinguish the modern movement from the lower-case "paganism", a term commonly used for pre-Christian belief systems. In 2015, Rountree opined that this lower case/upper case division

4708-461: The German Rat or Scandinavian råd . "An'" is an archaic Middle English conjunction , meaning "if." " Ye " is an archaic or dialectal form of "you" (nominative plural). If we take meanings of An as If and Ye as You in "An ye harm none, do what ye will" then modern english form would be "If you do no harm, do what you will. In its best known form as the "eight words" couplet, the Rede

4815-713: The Interfaith Center at the Presidio (ICP), becoming the first Neopagan to serve on the board of a regional interfaith organization. The ICP is a consortium of over a dozen interfaith councils, seminaries, and interfaith organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area that work together to maintain a permanent site for ongoing interfaith work in the Presidio's Main Base Chapel. Frew is a leading proponent arguing that modern Wicca stretches back to

4922-606: The Interfaith Center at the Presidio, in the Assembly of the World's Religious & Spiritual Leaders at of the Parliament of the World's Religions, and on the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative. He is the founder & Director of the Lost & Endangered Religions Project, focused on preserving and restoring the religious traditions of marginal communities. Frew has broached regular cooperation with law enforcement agencies and skeptics organizations, confronting

5029-592: The Internet and in print media. A number of Wiccan , pagan and even some Traditionalist or Tribalist groups have a history of Grandmother Stories – typically involving initiation by a Grandmother, Grandfather, or other elderly relative who is said to have instructed them in the secret, millennia-old traditions of their ancestors. As this secret wisdom can almost always be traced to recent sources, tellers of these stories have often later admitted they made them up. Strmiska asserts that contemporary paganism could be viewed as

5136-402: The Long Rede to her grandmother has been disputed, since Adriana Porter died in 1946, well before Gerald Gardner published The Old Laws , and no evidence for Porter's authorship exists other than Thompson's word. The poem refers to Wiccan concepts that, though ostensibly very old, have not been proven to pre-date the 1940s. Its attribution to Porter may have formed part of Thompson's claim to be

5243-678: The Lost & Endangered Religions Project and on the United Religions Initiative at the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, Australia. He also facilitated a panel of Australian Pagans and was interviewed by Patheos.com. In 1998 and 1999, Frew represented CoG (with Deborah Ann Light) at the Global Summits held at Stanford University to create the Charter for a new interfaith organization –

5350-533: The Parliament's "Assembly of the World's Religious and Spiritual Leaders". At the 1999 Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa: • Frew presented on Wicca. • He accepted invitation by Dr. Gerald O. Barney , author of the Global 2000 Report, to be part of a panel of religious leaders addressing his "Millennium Questions" asking representatives of different faiths to respond to the crises of the age. • As part of

5457-463: The Parliament, Frew created the Lost & Endangered Religions Project and (LERP), an interfaith nonprofit service organization that works with marginalized religious communities to preserve religious traditions in danger of being lost forever., at LERP was one of five "Gifts of Service" created at this Parliament's Assembly selected to be presented to the Dalai Lama . At the 2004 Parliament of

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5564-580: The Rede can be seen as encouraging a Wiccan to take personal responsibility for their actions. Neopagan Modern paganism , also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism , spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East . Despite some common similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse, sharing no single set of beliefs, practices, or religious texts . Scholars of religion may study

5671-453: The Rede is to actively do good for one's fellow humans as well as for oneself. Different sects of Wiccans read "none" differently. "None" can apply to only the self, or it may include animals and/or plants, and so forth. In essence, the Rede can be fully understood as meaning that one should always follow their true will instead of trying to obtain simple wants and to ensure that following one's will does not harm anyone or anything. In this light,

5778-599: The Rede. The debate centres on the concept of the Rede being advice, not a commandment. The rejection of specific exhortations and prohibitions of conduct such as those given in the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments and emphasis on the consequences of one's actions makes the Rede's character somewhat different from major religious texts such as the Bible or the Qur'an . The Rede is only a guideline which

5885-453: The Rede; some Gardnerians (a sect under Wicca) espouse the Charge of the Goddess as a guide for morality. Its line "Keep pure your highest ideal, strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn you aside, for mine is the secret door which opens upon the door of youth" is used as a maxim for ethical dilemmas. There is some debate in the neopagan and Wiccan communities as to the meaning of

5992-455: The SCP and members of the Covenant of the Goddess. Frew and Alexander have remained friends and advocates for dialogue between Witches and Christians. Frew contributed to Alexander's book Witchcraft Goes Mainstream in 2004. To pursue the belief that interfaith groups need to communicate even with the most conservative elements of Christianity and Islam , Frew also reached out to and developed

6099-566: The United Religions Initiative. In 2000 he attended its charter signing ceremony in Pittsburgh PA. In 2002 he was elected to the URI's first Global Council (Board of Trustees), becoming the first Neopagan to serve on the board of a global interfaith organization. The United Religions Initiative has grown to be the largest grassroots interfaith organization on Earth, involving over 2.5 million people involved in over 650 Cooperation Circles in 86 countries and Frew has stayed closely involved. He

6206-724: The World's Religions in Barcelona, Spain, Frew presented on the ongoing work of the Lost & Endangered Religions Project and on the Interfaith Sacred Space Design Competition (see below), coordinated an exhibit of designs from the Competition, participated in the Parliament Assembly (working specifically on access to clean water), and assisted with programming put on by the United Religions Initiative. Frew again presented on

6313-532: The anthropologist Kathryn Rountree describing paganism as a whole as a "new religious phenomenon". A number of academics, particularly in North America, consider modern paganism a form of nature religion . Some practitioners completely eschew the use of the term pagan , preferring to use more specific names for their religion, such as "Heathen" or "Wiccan". This is because the term pagan originates in Christian terminology, which individuals who object to

6420-416: The area of rural 17th to 19th century New England and compiled by the hand of someone who would have been born no later that the late 19th century, and that at least six of the verses which are deemed "The Wiccan Verses" were compiled and added by a second and later hand. Since Thompson was dispensing these 26 as a whole from around 1969 it is a reasonable assumption that hers was that second hand. Another claim

6527-619: The author of the poem was evidently unaware that this contraction of "and" is not an archaic, but a modern convention. According to Bott, in the "eight words" couplet originally cited by Valiente, "an'" is used correctly, in the Middle English sense of " 'in the event that', or simply 'if' " (as in the Shakespearean "an hadst thou not come to my bed") and thus has no apostrophe. In the poem, this has been transformed into an abbreviated "and" and given an apostrophe, with every "and" in

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6634-415: The belief systems of the world's Indigenous peoples because the latter lived under colonialism and its legacy , and that while some pagan worldviews bear similarities to those of indigenous communities, they stem from "different cultural, linguistic, and historical backgrounds". Many scholars have favored the use of "neopaganism" to describe this phenomenon, with the prefix "neo-" serving to distinguish

6741-653: The claim that leftist -oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in North America and the British Isles while rightist -oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe. They noted that in these latter regions, pagan groups placed an emphasis on "the centrality of the nation, the ethnic group, or the tribe". Rountree wrote that it was wrong to assume that "expressions of Paganism can be categorized straight-forwardly according to region", but acknowledged that some regional trends were visible, such as

6848-705: The conclusion, based upon her ethnographic fieldwork in California that certain pagan beliefs "arise from what they experience during religious ecstasy". Sociologist Margot Adler highlighted how several pagan groups, like the Reformed Druids of North America and the Erisian movement incorporate a great deal of play in their rituals rather than having them be completely serious and somber. She noted that there are those who would argue that "the Pagan community

6955-880: The conviction that what Christianity has traditionally denounced as idolatry and superstition actually represents/represented a profound and meaningful religious worldview and, secondly, that a religious practice based on this worldview can and should be revitalized in our modern world." Discussing the relationship between the different pagan religions, religious studies scholars Kaarina Aitamurto and Scott Simpson wrote that they were "like siblings who have taken different paths in life but still retain many visible similarities". But there has been much "cross-fertilization" between these different faiths: many groups have influenced, and been influenced by, other pagan religions, making clear-cut distinctions among them more difficult for scholars to make. The various pagan religions have been academically classified as new religious movements , with

7062-405: The early issues of Green Egg , used both terms for the growing movement. This usage has been common since the pagan revival in the 1970s. According to Strmiska, the reappropriation of the term "pagan" by modern pagans served as "a deliberate act of defiance" against "traditional, Christian-dominated society", allowing them to use it as a source of "pride and power". In this, he compared it to

7169-425: The early modern period. One reason was increased contacts with areas outside of Europe, which happened through trade, Christian mission and colonization. Increased knowledge of other cultures led to questions of whether their practices even fit into the definitions of religion, and paganism was incorporated in the idea of progress , where it was ranked as a low, undeveloped form of religion. Another reason for change

7276-517: The first part of the phrase is strikingly similar to the Latin maxim primum non nocere (first do no harm). A complete twenty-six line poem entitled "The Wiccan Rede" was published in the Spring 1974 issue of neopagan magazine Earth Religion News . Each line contained a rhymed couplet laid out as a single line, the last line being the familiar "short rede" couplet beginning "Eight words...". This poem

7383-534: The form of Ukrainian paganism promoted by Lev Sylenko , which is devoted to a monotheistic veneration of the god Dazhbog . As noted above, pagans with naturalistic worldviews may not believe in or work with deities at all. Pagan religions commonly exhibit a metaphysical concept of an underlying order that pervades the universe, such as the concept of harmonia embraced by Hellenists and that of Wyrd found in Heathenry. A key part of most pagan worldviews

7490-413: The gods reflected the dynamics of life on Earth, allowing for the expression of humour. One view in the pagan community is that these polytheistic deities are not viewed as literal entities, but as Jungian archetypes or other psychological constructs that exist in the human psyche. Others adopt the belief that the deities have both a psychological and external existence. Many pagans believe adoption of

7597-408: The idea of interconnectedness playing a key part in pagans' worldviews. The prominent Reclaiming priestess Starhawk related that a core part of goddess-centred pagan witchcraft was "the understanding that all being is interrelated, that we are all linked with the cosmos as parts of one living organism. What affects one of us affects us all." Another pivotal belief in the contemporary pagan movement

7704-644: The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and Romanticism . The approach to paganism varied during this period; Friedrich Schiller 's 1788 poem " Die Götter Griechenlandes " presents ancient Greek religion as a powerful alternative to Christianity, whereas others took interest in paganism through the concept of the noble savage , often associated with Jean-Jacques Rousseau . During the French Revolution and First French Republic , some public figures incorporated pagan themes in their worldviews. An explicit example

7811-484: The impact of Catholicism on paganism in Southern Europe. "Modern Pagans are reviving, reconstructing, and reimagining religious traditions of the past that were suppressed for a very long time, even to the point of being almost totally obliterated... Thus, with only a few possible exceptions, today's Pagans cannot claim to be continuing religious traditions handed down in an unbroken line from ancient times to

7918-465: The individual must interpret to fit each particular situation and unlike most religions, which actions "do harm" (and which do not) are not discussed in the Rede. What exactly does and does not do harm is therefore open to personal interpretation. The concept of ethical reciprocity is not explicitly stated, but most Wiccans interpret the Rede to imply the Golden Rule in the belief that the spirit of

8025-506: The lack of core commonalities in issues such as theology, cosmology, ethics, afterlife, holy days, or ritual practices within the pagan movement. Contemporary paganism has been defined as "a collection of modern religious, spiritual, and magical traditions that are self-consciously inspired by the pre- Judaic , pre-Christian, and pre- Islamic belief systems of Europe, North Africa, and the Near East." Thus it has been said that although it

8132-625: The lighting of candles and incense. Common pagan devotional practices have thus been compared to similar practices in Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Roman Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity, but contrasted with that in Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam. Although animal sacrifice was a common part of pre-Christian ritual in Europe, it is rarely practiced in contemporary paganism. Paganism's public rituals are generally calendrical, although

8239-551: The modern period. Before the 20th century, Christian institutions regularly used paganism as a term for everything outside of Christianity, Judaism and – from the 18th century – Islam. They frequently associated paganism with idolatry, magic and a general concept of "false religion", which for example has made Catholics and Protestants accuse each other of being pagans. Various folk beliefs have periodically been labeled as pagan and churches have demanded that they should be purged. The Western attitude to paganism gradually changed during

8346-511: The modern religions from their ancient, pre-Christian forerunners. Some pagan practitioners also prefer "neopaganism", believing that the prefix conveys the reformed nature of the religion, such as its rejection of practices such as animal sacrifice . Conversely, most pagans do not use the word neopagan , with some expressing disapproval of it, arguing that the term "neo" offensively disconnects them from what they perceive as their pre-Christian forebears. To avoid causing offense, many scholars in

8453-548: The natural world, bound in kinship to all life and the Earth itself. The animistic aspects of pagan theology assert that all things have a soul – not just humans or organic life – so this bond is held with mountains and rivers as well as trees and wild animals. As a result, pagans believe the essence of their spirituality is both ancient and timeless, regardless of the age of specific religious movements. Places of natural beauty are therefore treated as sacred and ideal for ritual, like

8560-470: The origins of modern pagan movements lies in the romanticist and national liberation movements that developed in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. The publications of studies into European folk customs and culture by scholars like Johann Gottfried Herder and Jacob Grimm resulted in a wider interest in these subjects and a growth in cultural self-consciousness. At the time, it was commonly believed that almost all such folk customs were survivals from

8667-516: The pagan movement is polytheism , the belief in and veneration of multiple gods or goddesses. Within the pagan movement, there can be found many deities, both male and female, who have various associations and embody forces of nature, aspects of culture, and facets of human psychology. These deities are typically depicted in human form, and are viewed as having human faults. They are therefore not seen as perfect, but rather are venerated as being wise and powerful. Pagans feel that this understanding of

8774-417: The pagan movements in continental Europe than within the pagan movements in North America and the British Isles. Such ethnic paganisms have variously been seen as responses to concerns about foreign ideologies, globalization , cosmopolitanism , and anxieties about cultural erosion. Although they acknowledged that it was "a highly simplified model", Aitamurto and Simpson wrote that there was "some truth" to

8881-410: The past, while eclectic pagans idealize the future. In the first case, there is a deeply felt need to connect with the past as a source of spiritual strength and wisdom; in the second case, there is the idealistic hope that a spirituality of nature can be gleaned from ancient sources and shared with all humanity." — Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska Modern pagan attitudes differ regarding

8988-514: The phenomenon as a movement divided into different religions, while others study neopaganism as a decentralized religion with an array of denominations . Adherents rely on pre-Christian , folkloric, and ethnographic sources to a variety of degrees; many of them follow a spirituality that they accept as entirely modern, while others claim to adhere to prehistoric beliefs , or else, they attempt to revive indigenous religions as accurately as possible. Modern pagan movements are frequently described on

9095-500: The planet Earth as Mother Earth , who is often referred to as Gaia after the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth. Pagan ritual can take place in both a public and private setting. Contemporary pagan ritual is typically geared towards "facilitating altered states of awareness or shifting mind-sets". To induce such altered states of consciousness, pagans use such elements as drumming, visualization, chanting, singing, dancing, and meditation. American folklorist Sabina Magliocco came to

9202-436: The poem is probable. He argues that its references to English folklore are consistent with Porter's family history. His provisional conclusion is that a folkloric form of the poem may have been written by Porter, but that it was supplemented and altered by Thompson to add specifically Wiccan material. Mathiessen also takes the view that the last line was probably a Thompson addition derived from Valiente. According to this account,

9309-558: The poem's additional lines then being written " an' " as if to match. Accordingly, Bott concludes that the poem was an attempt to expand Valiente's couplet into a full Wiccan credo, written by someone who misunderstood the archaic language they attempted to imitate. Robert Mathiesen repeats Bott's objection to "ye", but argues that most other archaisms are used correctly. However, he states that they all derive from late 19th century revivalist usages. Based on this fact Mathiesen concludes that early twentieth century authorship of at least part of

9416-545: The pre-Christian festivals that pagans use as a basis varied across Europe. Nevertheless, common to almost all pagan religions is an emphasis on an agricultural cycle and respect for the dead. Common pagan festivals include those marking the summer solstice and winter solstice as well as the start of spring and the harvest. In Wicca and Druidry, a Wheel of the Year has been developed which typically involves eight seasonal festivals. The belief in magical rituals and spells

9523-487: The pre-Christian period. These attitudes would also be exported to North America by European immigrants in these centuries. Donald H. Frew He is a National Interfaith Representative for the Covenant of the Goddess. He has been representing Wicca ("the Craft") in interfaith work since 1985 and has served on the Executive Committee of the Berkeley Area Interfaith Council, on the board of directors of

9630-528: The present. They are modern people with a great reverence for the spirituality of the past, making a new religion – a modern Paganism – from the remnants of the past, which they interpret, adapt, and modify according to modern ways of thinking." — Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska Although inspired by the pre-Christian belief systems of the past, modern paganism is not the same phenomenon as these lost traditions and in many respects differs from them considerably. Strmiska stresses that modern paganism

9737-594: The reconstructionist side can be placed those movements which often favour the designation "Native Faith", including Romuva , Heathenry , Roman Traditionalism and Hellenism . On the eclectic side has been placed Wicca , Thelema , Adonism , Druidry , the Goddess Movement , Discordianism and the Radical Faeries . Strmiska also suggests that this division could be seen as being based on "discourses of identity", with reconstructionists emphasizing

9844-668: The rising and widespread claims of " Satanic Ritual Abuse " or "SRA." A two-year investigation followed, by members of CSER, Robert Hicks of the Justice Department , and Ken Lanning of the FBI , with Frew, Carlson, and others. The results were published in as "Satanism in America: How the Devil Got Much More than his Due". This report, finding no evidence of organized criminal activity by Satanist groups, turned

9951-519: The same global phenomenon as pre-Christian Ancient religions , living Indigenous religions , and world religions like Hinduism , Shinto , and Afro-American religions . They have also suggested that these could all be included under the rubric of "paganism". This approach has been received critically by many specialists in religious studies. Critics have pointed out that such claims would cause problems for analytic scholarship by lumping together belief systems with very significant differences, and that

10058-613: The source material surrounding pre-Christian belief systems. Strmiska notes that pagan groups can be "divided along a continuum: at one end are those that aim to reconstruct the ancient religious traditions of a particular ethnic group or a linguistic or geographic area to the highest degree possible; at the other end are those that freely blend traditions of different areas, peoples, and time periods." Strmiska argues that these two poles could be termed reconstructionism and eclecticism , respectively. Reconstructionists do not altogether reject innovation in their interpretation and adaptation of

10165-452: The source material, however they do believe that the source material conveys greater authenticity and thus should be emphasized. They often follow scholarly debates about the nature of such pre-Christian religions, and some reconstructionists are themselves scholars. Eclectic pagans , conversely, seek general inspiration from the pre-Christian past, and do not attempt to recreate past rites or traditions with specific attention to detail. On

10272-921: The term wish to avoid. Some favor the term "ethnic religion"; the World Pagan Congress, founded in 1998, soon renamed itself the European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER), enjoying that term's association with the Greek ethnos and the academic field of ethnology . Within linguistically Slavic areas of Europe, the term "Native Faith" is often favored as a synonym for paganism, rendered as Ridnovirstvo in Ukrainian, Rodnoverie in Russian, and Rodzimowierstwo in Polish. Alternately, many practitioners in these regions view "Native Faith" as

10379-504: The term would serve modern pagan interests by making the movement appear far larger on the world stage. Doyle White writes that modern religions that draw upon the pre-Christian belief systems of other parts of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa or the Americas, cannot be seen as part of the contemporary pagan movement, which is "fundamentally Eurocentric ". Similarly, Strmiska stresses that modern paganism should not be conflated with

10486-554: The tide of law enforcement opinion against claims of widespread criminal activity by Satanic cults . In 1986, Frew approached and began a dialogue with the Spiritual Counterfeits Project , a Berkeley-based Evangelical Christian research organization focused against cults and the occult. Frew and SCP founder Brooks Alexander organized a ground-breaking series of ten four-hour dialogues on topics of interest to both Christians and Witches, between members of

10593-476: The utility of the term "reconstructionism" when dealing with paganisms in Central and Eastern Europe, because in many of the languages of these regions, equivalents of the term "reconstructionism" – such as the Czech Historická rekonstrukce and Lithuanian Istorinė rekonstrukcija – are already used to define the secular hobby of historical re-enactment . The spectrum of modern paganism includes

10700-531: Was Gabriel André Aucler , who responded to both Christianity and Enlightenment atheism by performing pagan rites and arguing for renewed pagan religiosity in his book La Thréicie (1799). Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn. — William Wordsworth , " The World Is Too Much with Us ", lines 9–14 One of

10807-480: Was "now [the] convention" in pagan studies. Among the critics of the upper-case P are York and Andras Corban-Arthen, president of the ECER. Capitalizing the word, they argue, makes "Paganism" appear as the name of a cohesive religion rather than a generic religious category, and comes off as naive, dishonest or as an unwelcome attempt to disrupt the spontaneity and vernacular quality of the movement. The term "neo-pagan"

10914-402: Was also a concept common to many pre-Christian European religions, and in adopting it, contemporary pagans are attempting to "reenter the primeval worldview" and participate in a view of cosmology "that is not possible for most Westerners after childhood." All pagan movements place great emphasis on the divinity of nature as a primary source of divine will , and on humanity's membership of

11021-724: Was appointed an At-Large trustee in both the second and third terms of the URI's Global Council, and a Continuing Trustee in its fourth term. Frew helped found many URI Cooperation Circles, including the Spirituality & the Earth CC (S&ECC) which he coordinates. It has been hosting annual "People of the Earth", conferences at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio since 2008; has arranged for English lessons, computer training, and video training for Latin American indigenous representatives involved in interfaith work, and maintains

11128-408: Was coined in the 19th century in reference to Renaissance and Romanticist Hellenophile classical revivalism . By the mid-1930s "neopagan" was being applied to new religious movements like Jakob Wilhelm Hauer 's German Faith Movement and Jan Stachniuk 's Polish Zadruga , usually by outsiders and often pejoratively. Pagan as a self-designation appeared in 1964 and 1965, in the publications of

11235-540: Was first publicly recorded in a 1964 speech by Doreen Valiente . Other variants of the Rede include: Another notable antecedent was put forth by the philosopher John Stuart Mill with his harm principle in the 19th century. "Mill argues that the sole purpose of law should be to stop people from harming others and that should people want to participate in victimless crimes , crimes with no complaining witness, such as gambling, drug usage, engaging in prostitution, then they should not be encroached in doing so." In addition,

11342-547: Was shortly followed by another, slightly different, version, entitled the "Rede of the Wiccae", which was published in Green Egg magazine by Lady Gwen Thompson . She ascribed it to her grandmother Adriana Porter , and claimed that the earlier published text was distorted from "its original form". The poem has since been very widely circulated and has appeared in other versions and layouts, with additional or variant passages. It

11449-585: Was the circulation of ancient writings such as those attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ; this made paganism an intellectual position some Europeans began to self-identify with, starting at the latest in the 15th century with people like Gemistus Pletho , who wanted to establish a new form of Greco-Roman polytheism. Gemistus Pletho influenced Cosimo de Medici to establish the Florentine Neoplatonic Academy and consequentially Julius Pomponius Laetus (student of Pletho) also advocated for

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