|
Beginnings of the Old Religion
Paganism is a very
ancient belief system. I say "belief system" in lieu of
"religion" because what Paganism started as was not a religion
in the sense of what "religion" means in modern times. It was
quite literally, a way of life. In the Paleolithic time period, the only
people around were those who dwelled in caves. They didn't have houses
for shelter, or a supermarket to buy their food. They were always
exposed to the elements, be it looking for shelter for their families or
hunting for food. Therefore, it was quite natural for them to come to
look at nature as a sort of life force, or spiritual entity. They had no
command over the rushing river, the howling wind, the vastness of the
sky, the plentiful earth, and so on. Therefore out of awe and respect
for it, they gave each a name that developed into a deity.
Woman also played a big role in life of that time. She was the
life-giver, the nurturer of the children. A woman was revered for this
power that man did not have. Out of this reverence, a Goddess became
known to represent fertility. Men were the hunter/gathers of the tribes,
always out in the forest hunting for the next meal. In order to do well
in the hunt and bring food back for their family, man began to look to a
God of the hunt. Paleolithic cave art seems to suggest that the early
peoples painted animals in a way connected with hunting, a way to draw
the animal to the hunter. This is likely the first stirrings of
sympathetic magick.
About 80,000 years ago, burials began to appear. While burials don't necessarily
mean a religion, they do show a belief in the afterlife. One sixth of
burials in the Paleolithic times were sprinkled with red ochre, and
ornaments have been found in conjunction with the burials.
Some of the oldest examples of Paganism are the statues of the motherly
figures, known as the Venus Statues. They date back to a period of about
35,000 to 10,000 years ago. They are the likeness of a woman, in all her
creative glory ... full bosom, very round belly and thighs. There was a
lack of identity with all other features ... no face, almost no arms or
legs. The reason being was that she was thought of solely as the
fertility aspect of the Goddess. She is the mother, the creator, the
bringer of life ... and was revered as such. The figures were carved out
of stone, bone, and clay among other things. The Venus of Willendorf is
the most well known. There are also the Venuses of Laussel, Sireuil, and
Lespugne.
As time went on and the early people began to understand agriculture,
the Goddess became associated with the fertility of the crops, as well
as that of the tribe and the animals. The year, then, fell naturally into two
halves. In the summer food could be grown, and so the Goddess
predominated; in the winter the early people had to revert to hunting, and
so the God predominated. The other deities (of wind, thunder, lightning,
ect.) gradually fell into the background, now of secondary importance.
As the
world developed throughout the years, Paganism slowly evolved with it.
With different cultures came different deities to worship. The Celts had
their Gods, the Romans and Greeks had their Gods, the Egyptians had
their Gods, and so on. Many portrayed the same traits, only the name
differed. Some had completely different aspects than another cultures
Gods. Magick was also evolving, from sympathetic magick to rituals to the Gods thanking them
for the bounties of the crops and of the hunt, celebrating the turn of
the seasons with rituals, and healing and herbalism. This way of life
abounded for many centuries.
art by Jessica
Galbreth
The Rise of Christianity and the Persecutions
Christianity
began to be introduced about 29 CE. It spread slowly and didn't really
grasp hold in the older cultures for many years. It wasn't until the
ruling of Emperor Constantine that the old ways began to change. From
312-320 Constantine was tolerant of Paganism, keeping Pagan gods on
coins and even keeping his Pagan high priest title, "Ponifex
Maximus". But from 320-330 he began to attack Paganism through the
government, although in many cases he persuaded people to follow the
laws by combining Pagan worship with Christianity. December 25 became
the holiday celebrated for Jesus' birth, when originally it was
celebrated as the birthday of the Pagan Unconquered sun god. He may have
also instituted celebrating Easter and Lent around the Pagan
holiday of Ostara. From 330-337 Constantine stepped up his destruction
of Paganism.
Until about the time of the Reformation (the spilt of the Christian
Church into Catholic and Protestant sects), Paganism still existed in
outlaying areas, despite Constantine's drive to convert everyone to the
Christian religion. Before the Reformation, the use of magick was well
known, and only punishable for use of it in an ill-mannered or baneful
way. Traditional attitudes towards witchcraft (a label for one who uses
magick) began to change in the 14th century. According to Carlo Ginzburg,
Europe was seized by a series of rumor-panics. Some malign conspiracy
(Jews and lepers, Moslems, or Jews and witches) was attempting to destroy
the Christian kingdoms through magick and poison. The Reformation
weakened the Church's moral authority and therefore brought about the
persecutions of so-called "witches".
Around 1550, the persecutions skyrocketed. The crazes, panics and mass
hysteria, what we call "The Burning Times", largely took place
in one century, from 1550-1650. About 40,000 men and women (mostly
women) were accused of witchcraft and burned or hung. Contrary to
popular belief, the persecutions were not based on getting rid of
Paganism, as a religion or as anything else. There was no one specific
thing that all witches had in common. They only thing that united them
was being accused of witchcraft. Therefore, this was not the Church's
way of wiping out an older religion. The persecutions were based solely
on wide-spread panic, brought about by rumors and a book against
witchcraft written by two infamous German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jakob
Sprenger, the Malleus
Maleficarum (The Witches' Hammer).
Modern Paganism
In England, in 1951, the last laws against
witchcraft were repealed. A man by the name of Gerald Gardner published
his book, Witchcraft Today in 1954. Because of the circulation of
his book, many "underground" covens began to emerge throughout
Europe. This became the start of what we call Neo-Paganism. Gardner was
the founder of Wicca, a religion based on the prehistoric culture of a
God and a Goddess.
Raymond Buckland was the first witch to stand up and be recognized for
what he was in America. At that time there were no covens visible in this country.
Initiated in Scotland by Gardner's High Priestess, he set out to to straighten out long-held misconceptions and to show
the Craft for what it truly is.
Today, across America, it is not at all unusual to find open Wiccan
festivals and seminars taking place in such unlikely places as family
campgrounds and motels. Witches appear on television and radio talk shows;
they are written up in local and national newspapers and magazines.
Witchcraft courses are given in colleges. Even in the armed forces Wicca
is recognized as a valid religion. Paganism and Witchcraft have a place in past history
and will have a definite place in the future.
Sources:
Constantine..., ...Great
European Witch Hunt, Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft
Home
|