The rules aren't written in stone
Pagan's ethics V articulated moral standards about what-not-to-do
Many hours of my childhood were spent sitting on a hard wooden church pew. First in the Mennonite church of my babysitter, and later in my mother‘s Presbyterian Church. The Mennonite church had a little adornment. The wood paneled walls of the building‘s basement supported Psalms painted on wood and which might have a sunset in the background. But that was all the color available. A wooden pulpit stood before the double row of pews, and as I recall, the pastor did not use a microphone. In that space he hardly needed it. The floors were bare, polished, asbestos tile, and there were no windows.
The Presbyterian Church was larger. It had a soaring, peaked roof and a huge cross in front of an altar with pulpits on either side. The place was big enough to have a sound system, and there were windows all along each side that allowed in sunlight. But still, the only splash of color were the drapes that adorned the altar which changed occasionally according to the season. White for Easter, red for Christmas, and green for the rest of the year.
Right now, I am reading Ronald Hutton’s Triumph of the Moon. It’s a classic for anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of neo-paganism. To my embarrassment, I’ve never read it before. What strikes me most about it so far, was his descriptions of the God, Pan, and how depictions of the Greek god of the wilds came to mean so many things and why. Hutton traces ideas and concepts and how they develop through literature. Poetry and storytelling that extolled the beauty of the English countryside, especially at night, not to mention the wild of abandon of sensuality and sexuality was a theme that began before the Victorian Era and threaded its way into the modern world.
Art is not contained by convention.
Certainly, a great deal of this literature had an aspect of rebelling against Christianity in great Great Britain. A Christianity that, thanks to the Reformation, had been largely stripped of mystery. Stripped of art. Put that religion on top of the industrial era in which all things could be explained by science, and what is left but raw rationality and the hard edges of machinary? But rationality is based on facts. Facts matter because they are guard rails beyond which we should be careful about treading. But facts can’t help us find meaning. The popularity of Gerald Gardner‘s Wicca, was an indicator that humans need much more than facts, rules and rationality.
The emergence of modern neo-paganism was a response to both the Enlightenment and the Reformation. What it is not, is a rebellion against Christianity. At least not the specific teachings of Jesus Christ.* Because Great Britain and America are both predominantly Christian countries, most of us have been raised with a Christian background, and I fully expect the study I’m currently working on to confirm that. My recollection of those hard pews and plain walls are shared by many in my community. But it wasn’t just the hard seats that drove us out of the fold, it was the hardened thought process those pews represented, that allowed no space for art or questioning.
That does not mean that we gave up Christian ethics. Pagans are deeply libertarian. [A statement which is likely to annoy.] But I really don’t see how ‘harm none, do as thou wilt’ is any different than ‘don’t hurt people and don’t take their stuff.’
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But here’s the thing about libertarians, which libertarian’s often don’t acknowledge. The idea that we can go about our business and that we should not be interfered with, is based on the idea that people have a standard of behavior. Among libertarians, as among pagans, the idea that you don’t murder people is so self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning. That wasn’t necessarily true for our ancestors, and clearly the 10 Commandments exist because it was necessary to articulate that. [Whether you believe it was a single clever person, or was placed on stone tablets by Yahweh, it was good to say it out loud.]
“Duh, of course we don’t kill people! Of course, we don’t steal.” Lying is stupid and unnecessary, and at the moment our numbers are small enough that reputation still means something. Much teaching is done in person and if a class is good - or bad - we talk about it.
This is not to say that Pagan and Christian ethics are the same. They are not. Especially in the area of sexuality. For women in particular, the Victorian sensibility was that women did not have libido. This went straight through to our Puritan ancestors, and while I haven’t quizzed any of my fellow female pagans on this subject, it was certainly my experience.
Not all religions, and even not all Christian, pretend that women are something they are not. However, acknowledging human sexual pleasure this doesn’t mean that Pagans do not have ethics and morals around sexual behavior. The majority of us are in stable relationships. While we have no ethical issues with people who are who want to try different family arrangements, such as triads, such things are actually rare, in practice. Since these relationship are incredibly difficult to maintain, most Pagans just roll their eyes a tell the experimenters, ‘you do you.’ And yes, legal adulthood is required.
Pagans may or may not keep a whole day for religious activities, but those don’t align weekly, more often they align with the phases of the moon. The reasons why having a specific day is less necessary for Pagans is a whole other blog post.
Taking a deity‘s name in vain there’s something you do with your own risk. But more to the point swearing is something we all grow up with and changing it to a word that means nothing to the most of the population simply isn’t satisfying. I don’t know a single Heathen who would say something like “Odin, dammit“ [I mean, seriously that sounds silly.] Although they might say, “go to Hel.” Hel being the Norse goddess of the underworld. [Which, by the way, is cold, and in case you were wondering, yes, I have heard puns applied to that effect.] Pagan‘s relationships with their gods is very personal and for many of us, it seems like our gods have a serious sense of humor. Especially when we do stupid things and get some kind of instant karma for it. For others, the relationship is much more reverent and respectful.
Pagans lean into the ethic of care. Going to a festival is like moving into a small town where everybody knows you for the weekend. People smile and nod at you. Strangers wish you a good day. If you look sad someone will offer you a hug, but only if you want it because personal space is respected.
While it is certainly possible to take that care ethic, too far, especially when it comes to the acceptance of trans-women in women’s spaces, that isn’t true with every group. There are Pagans in the military, and many in my personal circle would toss care out the window if they needed to protect their families or friends.
Pagans may not have a specific articulation of rules for behaviors to avoid like Christians and Jews, but we still all have to get along, and that requires ethics even if the rules aren’t written in stone.
*Yes, being angry at Christianity is common, but it’s directed at dogma within the religion, rather than the teachings of Jesus.
If you’re curious about Paganism/Heathenism/Wicca/Druidry, please feel free to message me and I’ll be happy to answer questions.
Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has been Pagan since she was 14 [which was a long time ago] and been to Hades in a handbasket. More than once. This has given her some opinions. She has direct communication with her gods and they’ve always given her answers when she asks. [One does have to ask.] Like most of her generation [X] she’s okay with snark. Most days she tries for good writing. But the snark, and side comments creep in. Be warned.
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