I am a Pagan. I am a part of the whole of Nature. The rocks, the animals, the plants, the elements, and the stars are my relatives. Other humans are my sisters and brothers, whatever their races, colors, genders, ages, nationalities, religions, or lifestyles might be. The Earth is my mother, and the Sun is my father. I am a part of this large family of nature, not the master of it. I have my own special part to play and I seek to play that part to the best of my ability. I seek to live in harmony with others in the family of Nature, treating others with respect, not abuse.
I am a Pagan. I honor the seasons of life within myself – of beginnings, growth, fruition, harvest, endings, rest, and beginnings again. Life is a circle with many cycles. With every ending comes a new beginning. Within death there is the promise of rebirth.
I am a Pagan. Magick is a part of my spirituality. For every problem there is a solution, and an opportunity for growth. I create my own reality with my thoughts, feelings, and actions. Whatever I send out always returns. I seek to abide by the Wiccan Rede: “and ye harm none, do what ye will.” When I do magick, before I raise and direct energy, I seek always to look at the larger picture of which my needs are just a part. When problems come my way, I seek to understand their cause and messages as a part of my finding a solution. In doing healing work, I seek to correct the underlying cause, rather than just treat the symptoms.
I am a Pagan. I acknowledge that the Divine is everywhere in the energy of Life. I honor Divinity in the oak tree on the hill, in the herbs in my garden, in the wild birds singing in the trees, in the boulders on the hill, in myself, and yes…even in “things” such as my car and my computer. I understand that everything with a physical body has a spiritual body also. The physical and the spiritual are deeply intertwined, not separate, in this world.
I am a Pagan. I attune myself to the four elements of Nature – Air, Fire, Water, and Earth – and to the fifth element, Spirit, which is the force that connects all. I see these elements as parts of myself…my physical body is my Earth, my intellect is my Air, my will is my Fire, my emotions is my Water, and my inner self is my Spirit. I endeavor to keep myself healthy and in balance in all these parts of Self.
I am a Pagan. I hear the cries of Mother Earth who is upset with the harm being done to the planet’s environment by humankind. I am upset too, by the pollution of air, soil, and water…and by the domination games being played by various nations and their weapons of mass destruction.
I am a Pagan. I am also concerned about spiritual pollution on the planet – selfishness, hatred, greed for money and power, addiction, violence, despair.
Yet, as I perceive these problems, I also perceive a cleansing and healing energy manifesting on planet Earth at this time. I know that I can help bring this planet into greater balance by seeking balance in my own life. I know that my attitudes and my way of living can help endeavor others to also be a channel for healing and balance. I make the practice of spiritual and mental responsibility a personal part of my daily life. I endeavor to live in harmony with the other members of the family of Nature.
This is the essence of Paganism… and I am a Pagan.
With special recognition to Selena Fox,
High Priestess of Circle Sanctuary,
author of the original “I Am a Pagan” article upon which this post is based
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
Beautiful! I felt as though I was reading my feelings in text.
I love your way with words.
Hmmmm… so I am a pagan, but I suspected it for a long time, but did not address it myself. You spoke my feelings.
I guess I am a closeted pagan.
Maybe we should all do one of these to show the diversity of Pagan belief and practice…
I’m very fond of that Selena Fox piece, “I am a Pagan”.
What can I say? This post rings true – crystal clear and with authenticity.
One of your best posts ever, Ocean… 🙂
Beautifully said and presented. 🙂
Thank you to everyone for their compliments.
I wish I could take credit for the eloquent words expressed in this post, but I have to be brutally honest here –
these are Selena’s words, not my own.
I merely did a little editing here, a little tweaking there, and added the pictures to give it a little extra meaning.
I know Selena personally, although it has been a couple of years since I last communicated with her (via email) and even longer since I last saw her in person. She was one of my earliest teachers when I first started studying the Craft. I am indebted to her for the lessons I learned.
Nevertheless, I think these words truly do explain what it means to be Pagan…in a way that many of us can understand and possibly even identify with.
It is my hope that this post can indeed serve as that beginning to erasing ignorance and intolerance, and replacing it with clarity and acceptance.
I like this post…
Without actually saying “I am a Pagan”, I must be because I practice everything you have wrote. Hubby and I have always felt a connection to the earth and we try to live without taking more than we should in everything we do.
It is a shame that ignorance can scare people away from paganism, when to me, it is a very soothing and harmonious way of life. Keep spreading the seeds and watch them grow… They are blooming beautifully here!
Well said. As I have known since childhood that my connection to the earth because it’s one of the element connect to my birth sign. It’s like I sing and praise to the soil, trees, leaves, air as calling to Mother Earth to hear my voice, feelings and so on. It has brought my harmony to one as it gives me peace. We all should live a life and thanking for the earth that we breathe. It’s a shame that other people has polluted the very sky and ocean that gives us life. We can show them to make a different to bring earth back the way it was a million years ago.
[…] 31st, 2007 by ocean1025 In my earlier post, “I Am a Pagan,” I talked about some of the beliefs of the Pagan Path, as explained by Selena Fox. In this post, we […]
Very well said Ocean, you have a rather special way with words. May the cool winds blow for you.
On behalf of the Greater Druid of the Nothern White Circle
This is so beautiful… in sign language it is even more beautiful.
I will learn it and practice it… I may even show the ladies and gentlemen at my next moot.
They all hear and I’m the only deaf person there. It’s tricky and we use some imagination, but it’s not impossible!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Ocean.
Love and light
Deafwitch
“and ye harm none, do what ye will.”
Their will is to harm other people lets face it being destructive is just plain fun.
[…] Oct 7th, 2007 by vegancatsg Read on…… […]
the earth is one and i am one. for always since the world begun. for i am spirit and spirit is me. living, breathing, happy. i live in hope that one day soon, we will join again to commune. With spirit, nature, sky and sea. Blessings all peoples and let them be. For what is now and what was then is only a moment since time began.
great site..loved it.
loved the feminine tree so so much..would love a copy of that photo for myself
love and light and many blessings
marguerite Iona
Well well…. I am Roman Catholic and a practicing one at that and I feel a connection to Mother Earth, feel the need to conserve and to love all things and beings around me..but I am most assuredly not Pagan! I love all things God has blessed us with…including all of you!
I think a lot of people could probably connect with many of the statements made in the above post… regardless of which spiritual path you practice. That’s one of the things I like about it – is that it reaches out to universal audience, regardless of whether you are Pagan, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever.
Certainly there is more to being Pagan than simply having a kinship with nature and Mother Earth, feeling a love for all living things, and a need to protect and conserve our natural resources.
But I think the original purpose of this article, as written by Selena Fox, was not merely to show what Pagans are… but also to clarify what we are not. We are not a bunch of god-less, demon-worshiping, unmoral crazies running around with complete irresponsibility and a license to do whatever we want, whenever we want. On the contrary, a true Pagan should be one of the most moral, responsible, life-affirming individuals on this earth.
Sadly… judging from my own observations of some of these so called “pagans” I see out there, as well as the stories I am told and the questions I am asked, I fear this is not always the case.
Thank you for visiting the Crossroads and leaving your comment, Mary… I love you also!
I am an artist. I will endeavour to put onto a series of paintings entitled 4elements, similar thoughts that you have so graphically explained – thoughts that I also share. Gavin
Hello, Ocean.
This really moved me! Being yours or Selena’s words, it really doesn’t matter, the truth in each letter is beyond this. Congrats for your beautiful blog, I just added it to mine in the fav section.
Blessed be, hugs from Rio!
this is amazinggg! :]
Hugs to you also, Nydia…from the Midwest of the USA!
Thank you for your kind words – it’s nice to know they are being read all the way down in Brazil! Ironically enough, Yemaya is one of my patron goddesses, and I know She is quite popular in Brazil.
I wish you brightest blessings, and please do stop by again soon!
your words articulate very well my core beliefs. for some unkown reason i have been suspecting i was a pagan for some years now. what does it mean? where are the origins and verifiable history?
[…] May 31 2007 by ocean1025 In my earlier post, “I Am a Pagan,” I talked about some of the beliefs of the Pagan Path, as explained by Selena Fox. In this post, we […]
What a Quandry I find myself in and unsure on how to get out of it. I was raised Wiccan by a wonderful woman who taught me her ways as well as the more commonly held beliefs and practices so I am what one would call Eclectic I suppose.
The problem is that I went through a loss of faith a while back and havent recovered, I am now a cross between a Very spiritual Atheist and a Very eclectic and deeply connected Wiccan.
I follow and believe in Wicca (The law of return, the wiccan rede, the holy days, random ritual days/nights, casting of lots as divination, magic, various spiritual practices, honoring and worshipping The Universe but I dont believe in deities….
Atheists tell me there is no such thing as a spiritual Atheist…
Wiccans tell me there is no such thing as an Atheist Wiccan….
Pantheism is something I have explored a lot but they believe that the Universe is GOD, this is not a belief I have, I believe the Universe is Sacred, Holy, divine but not God.
So, I am stuck. Atheist, Pagan, Pantheist, Nature lover? I dont know, thank goodness I am also a UU or I would be really lost. 😦
Beautifully written … just came across this site very randomly and felt an extreme connection to your words. Thank you for this. May you have a lot of happiness and peace around you always.
love and peace.
Humna Mustafa
Hi there. this is Gavin zapping. I completed the 4elements project last year and on my website are a number of the works I did for the project under the elements gallery page. Check it out and lat me know what you think. I know thAT A LOT OF THE IMAGES ARE RATHER DARK BUT ALTHOUGH i AM AN OPTIMIST IN MY OUTLOOK I HAVE A VERY PESSIMISTIC idea of what reality may become in the future. Still – I keep on smiling. Take care all. Gavin
Hi Gavin ~
Thank you for sharing your artwork… you are clearly a very talented artist! I saw several pieces that I truly enjoyed and wouldn’t mind having in my own home!
I can appreciate that optimist/pessimist viewpoint… I often feel the same way… trying to maintain that optimistic outlook, while at the same time feeling pessimistic about the realities that we are currently facing, and may be facing in the future.
But like you, I keep on smiling, and holding on to my spirituality as a source of strength, wisdom, and comfort to help me deal with these trying times.
Thanks for sharing!
~ Ocean
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