For those who whould like to know more about Paganism, we present version 3.2 of Mike's Pagan FAQ. This gets updated pretty regularly.

What do Pagans believe?
Firstly, know that "Pagan" is not a religion itself, so much as an umbrella term that groups many different beliefs together. In the same way the term "Judeo-Christian" includes Jews, Muslims, Christians, Mormons, and many denominations of each, "Pagan" can include Wiccans, Druids, and followers of aboriginal or ethnic spiritualities from all across the globe. The common ground seems to be that in general, Pagans believe in polytheism, magic, and the importance of nature as a divine force.

Because the term "Pagan" encompasses such a wide variety of beliefs and practices, this guide will, by necessity, use some very broad statements and generalizations. Pagans of most stripes tend to be very individualistic by nature, and there is no hope whatsoever for a document of this length to do justice to each specific spiritual path.

What is Polytheism?
Polytheism means "many gods". This is opposed to monotheism (belief in a single deity), or atheism (belief in no dieties). Again, this is something of a broad definition. There are Pagans who believe literally in many gods and goddesses, and there are Pagans who believe in a single deity who shows itself in many forms. There are also Pagans who do not believe in literal gods, but believe they are metaphors or iconic representations of particular values or ideals

What about the importance of nature?
Some Pagans believe in the Gaia Hypothesis- that our planet is an actual living entity, and that all living things on it are essentially parts of the larger organism. Some believe that all life is bound together by spiritual energy, and some believe that nature is simply the way divinity reveals itself to man. There are many other views that can be considered to be Pagan, but all believe that nature is a divine force that must be shown respect and reverence. Because most Pagan beliefs are grounded in the ideas of early farmers and hunter-gatherers, the cycle of seasons and the stars are of utmost importance. Many Pagans celebrate the change of seasons and other astronomical events, such as the solstices (shortest and longest days of the year), and equinoxes (the two days a year when night and day are equal length).

What do you mean by magic?
Most Pagans believe that there are energies that are still unexplained by science, but that flow through everything. Many believe they can use this energy in their daily life. Some spell this with a "k" (magick), to differentiate it from the theatrical art of illusion (like card tricks or pulling a rabbit out of a hat).

Alister Crowley defined magick as "the art and science of causing change in conformity with will". Others have described it as an awareness of the workings of the universe. A fan of Jung might describe it as a manifestation of synchronicity.

Do Pagans really cast spells?
Yes. Much in the same way that other religions pray to a deity to affect change, many Pagans appeal to the natural energies of the universe. Similar to the way that Catholics may use candles or rosary beads during their prayers, spells also sometimes incorporate items such as incense, herbs, or even cauldrons and wands!

Most spells I have come across tend to boil down to one of three things: First are essentially prayers with props, which is exactly the same thing as when other religions pray- it is paying respect to or asking for aid from a higher power. Second are visualizations, where the person concentrates on a goal or change they wish to affect. This is pretty much a standard of meditation. The third deals with moving energy. Similar to the way martial artists view chi or Reiki practitioners see bioenergy, many Pagans feel that they can move natural energies that not all people can perceive.

Do spells really work?
Does prayer? Same thing. There are people who would swear to it's effectiveness, and there are people who would refute those claims just as vehemently. Magic seems to work best when it is used to change oneself rather than one's surroundings. Whether you chalk it up to divine intervention, mystical forces, pure dumb luck, or simple psychology, the anecdotal evidence supports the power of magic, but it's not the sort of thing that can be proven or disproven through scientific means, as more often than not, the result takes the form of a series of coincidences. In general, anything that some people believe can be accomplished by prayer, others believe can be accomplished by magic.

What is for sure, however, is that magic does not work like on TV, in the movies, or in Dungeons & Dragons. Really- think for one second- If it did, there would be a lot more Harry Potter fans driving Ferraris and having threesomes with Victoria's Secret models.

What about putting curses or love spells and such on people?
Again, there is a general consensus against doing magic on someone without their consent without a very good reason for doing so. Unlike people of Christian faiths who are encouraged to cast spells on others (or "pray for them" as they call it), many Pagans tend to view any unwanted interference in another's life, whether for good or ill, as a moral crime. Many believe in a sort of "Instant Karma", or divine decree that what goes around shall, as they say, come around. Wiccans express this in "the Threefold Law" that states anything you do for good or evil shall come back to you three times over.

Add to this that most Pagan faiths have very few concepts at all relative to original sin, divine absolution, or preordained morals. With no concept of original sin, each Pagan must answer for his or her own actions and not the actions of others. Forgiveness, when possible, must be earned rather than simply granted by divine province. Finally, with no allegedly infallible text to rely upon, each moral decision must be thought out in context and be able to withstand objective scrutiny. Because of this, Pagans have little choice but to base their morality on an intimate understanding of ethics and justice that can stand independant of their faith as well as integrate with it. We never know to whom or what we may have to justify ourselves.

This is not to say that we never use curses or love spells, only that we think carefully about the ethics and consequences involved. Instead of casting a love spell on a specific third party, a witch may cast a spell to help her recognize her true love when she meets them, or to make the meeting happen sooner. (this way, they are not forcing their will on another person- only affecting the timing) And while one may use a curse as self-defense or as retribution, they do so knowing that the universe has a way of making it painfully obvious to them whether their act was in the interest of true justice of simple revenge.

As said, this is not to speak for all Pagans, and a full discussion of Pagan ethics and morality could fill several large volumes. For the simple answer, we go back to the initial statement: No doing magic on people without a good reason.

Do Pagans always wear black?
Most do- it's slimming and stain resistant, but no, there is nothing that says we have to wear black. As a matter of fact, Druids wear white robes for rituals, and some traditions call for certain colors for the different holidays, like autumn leaf colors for the harvest, or green for spring. Many Pagans feel that certain colors are better for certain things: white for purification, black for absorbing energy, red for love and sex, etc... Most of the time we wear whatever we feel like.

Do Pagans do sacrifices?
Not the way you're probably thinking of- My animal sacrifices generally involve barbecue sauce and a side of fries.

The literal meaning of sacrifice is "to make sacred", and it is done to thank or pay respect to a higher power. Many pagans will sacrifice by offering something during their rituals, such as a handful of grain, a song, a piece of artwork, or the first few vegetables out of their garden. It is very similar to the way that Christians tithe 10% of their income or Catholics give up something for lent.

Some Pagans do in fact perform animal sacrifice, but only when the animal is to be eaten and it is always killed as humanely as possible. While this may seem strange to some, it is no different from the Jewish process of kosher butchering. Kosher meat is butchered in the way specified by their sacred texts, and in both cases, the emphasis is on thanking the deity or nature for the animal. (As one person said, Christianity: Kill it, bless it, eat it. Paganism: Bless it, kill it, eat it.) Pagans who eat meat often consider this as a recognition of the food chain as part of the cycle of life.

What about all those scary crime scenes with the animal sacrifices?
The people responsible for that sort of thing are very disturbed individuals that no Pagan in their right mind would associate with. Some may call themselves Pagans, but then again, there are a number of truly horrible people who call themselves Christians. We do not accept them as members of our community, and in fact, there are a number of Pagans dedicated to helping law enforcement bring these people to justice.

Are Pagans Satanists?
Satan is a Christian concept, and since we are not Christians, we don't believe in the Christian bad guy any more than we believe in the Christian good guy. Neither of the two largest Satanic organizations in the US (the Church of Satan, the Temple of Set) describe themselves as Pagan, and while there is some lively debate on the subject, most Pagans don't see much of a connection either.

To most Pagans, especially Wiccans, the question itself is a slander- so inaccurate as to be extremely offensive. Asking a Witch if they worship Satan is like asking a Jew if they really sacrifice Christian babies on the full moon. (In fact, a little research shows that most of the rumors that tend to be spread about Pagans were once said nearly word-for-word about the Jews!) It is rooted in the whole "everything that is not like me is evil" mentality that makes people build concentration camps, fly planes into skyscrapers, or bomb clinics.

I will mention Satanism later in this Q&A, because some Satanists call themselves Pagans despite the protestations of both the Satanic churches and most of the Pagan community- but I do reiterate the quick answer: No, we don't worship Satan.

Doesn't the bible say Pagans are evil?
Yeah, pretty much (1 John 2:22). Then again, It also says not to let the handicapped into church (Lev 21:17-24) and that you should kill rebellious children (Dt 21:18) or anyone who works on sunday (Ex 35:2). As stated earlier, Pagans generally don't accept Christian doctrine as absolute truth, so that means that as far as we're concerned, none of that applies to us- Just like Jews and Christians not accepting it when Muslims call them evil.

Do Pagans hate Christianity?
Not really. For the most part, Pagans strive for tolerance and freedom of belief. "Love thy neighbor" and "do unto others" are just as much a moral imperative for us as for anyone else. The truth is, though, that we are a small community that hasn't been around for long. With very few second and third generation Pagans, the overwhelming majority of us in the United States are former Christians. True to human nature, there are some Pagans who accept a new direction in their life with a respect for past experience, and others who are less gracious. Whether they feel that they had been oppressed, lied to, or just mislead, there are a great number of Pagans who still feel resentment toward their former faith.

Add to this the rise of fundamentalist Christianity and it's influence in American politics. If a group with political aspirations were insisting on a literal application of a book that said you should be killed for your beliefs, how would you feel about them? Seriously- think of how you feel when you hear about some radical Muslim talking about how the west must convert to Islam or ranting about how the holy land must be cleansed of infidels. That's how a lot of Christians sound to us when they talk about the "one true way" or how "this is a Christian nation"- We don't hate them, but truthfully, hearing that sort of rhetoric makes it hard to muster up a sense of trust and good will.

That said, there's no reason we can't get along with everyone else, and usually do. The beliefs that all life is connected and that all spiritual paths have merit make it a little easier to play nice with others, as long as the others are willing to play nice with us.

It sounds like Pagans make a lot of stuff up as they go along- How can the religion be true if there is no central doctrine?
A Pagan would most likely ask the same question about the "book religions"- How could a religion be true if it relies on a book to tell you about God instead of telling you to talk to him yourself? After all, if spirituality is about having a personal relationship with God(s), how could you pray with someone else's words?

The fact is that all modern Pagan traditions are recreations of ways that were wiped out hundreds or even thousands of years ago. We do our best based on what archeological and cultural remnants survive, fleshed out with a few educated guesses, and tailored to fit our own personal relationship with the divine.

As far as making up rituals and spells, It's a lot like cooking. Anyone can follow a recipe, but once you really understand your techniques, cooking temperatures, and what flavors go together, you can create a tasty meal through improvisation alone. Pagans love to share the rituals they've created, just as a chef loves to cook for others. And like an exquisite meal, a well written ceremony demonstrates not just the artistry of the creator, but it's execution demonstrates their knowledge of the underlying principals.

Truth be told, this is one of the main appeals of modern Paganism- That one is free to explore a variety of spiritual paths and find the underlying common truths, then follow those truths as they see fit.