This question is mostly for Elexina, but any pagan is welcome to answer.

Do you believe in gods? If so, who? Do you believe their existence is literal or metaphorical? Do you believe that they are creators of the universe or products of it?

Hi, I hope you dont mind me adding another questions. Could you also tell/share with us the basis of those beliefs. That is if your belief is based on account of observation, personal exprience, a holy person or something else. If the question sounds rude, then apologies. You dont have to answer it. Thank you.

Do I believe in gods? No. That’s the simplest answer. I don’t believe in the actual physical existence of personal deities like the Christian God or the Greek Zeus or the Celtic Brigid, per se. I believe more in emotions, in energies, in the pull of the universe and the turn of the seasons. I may not be the best representative of pagan culture to answer this question, though. Most pagans do have a personal deity, or many personal deities, with which they commune and to whom they may pray.
I believe in the Cosmic Divine, that the forces of the Universe are fast and nearly incomprehensible. I believe that these forces have male and female/ dark and light/ life and death/ good and bad (etc.) aspects, and these aspects are easier for people to grab hold of if they are presented in the form of a god and/or a goddess and/or gods and/or goddesses.
In ritual I will occasionally address particular deities whose associations are relevant to my celebration or spell work. For example, if I’m performing a ritual of protection for a woman who is very close to me, I might invoke Hera or Diana. If it’s Earth Day and I’m communing with nature and the world around me, I might call on the Earth Goddess Gaia. When I buried my cat in the garden, I called on the Goddess Bast, the Egyptian cat-headed deity, to watch over her.
I don’t believe that these deities actually physically exist, but their attributes and attitudes can be comforting and helpful.

This reminds me of an excellent quote by Frank Lloyd Wright, “I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.”

These beliefs are based not on what I have been taught in church (I’ve never been religious), but on what makes the most sense to me. Other pagans are sure to have far different answers from this.

Blessed be,
El

Thanks, Elexina.

If you don't mind, I have a few other questions for you. I'm just curious, which I hope you take as a compliment -I think your thoughts are worth knowing about! But do let me know if you think I'm being too nosy and I'll back off.

Do you believe in life after death? If so, of what sort?

Also, do you believe that spells actually work, or do you feel that it is more of a psychological comfort for you than an actual spell you're casting?

No, I don’t mind at all. I’m glad to answer whatever questions I can (as long as everyone keeps in mind that I don’t intend to speak for all, most, or even some pagans, but only for myself and my experiences).

No, I do not believe in life after death. I believe in science. I believe that the body is made of energy and that when we die, we die. However, the energy cannot simply cease to exist, it must go somewhere. I believe that some part of us (maybe a soul, maybe a sliver of consciousness) does carry on after we die, because the energy still exists. Whether it is simply consumed by worms, or travels through the cosmos and entwines with other life forms I do not know. I don’t know that we can ever really know. And I’m okay with that.

Many pagans believe in a place (more of a plane of existence than a Heaven-type place) called Summerland, where spirits go to rest up before they are reincarnated. Many pagans believe that something called the Akashic Records is stored here and once you have achieved the appropriate level of awareness and consciousness and the appropriate lessons have bean learned through an adequate number of reincarnations, you are allowed to go there and look up your life, your past, your pasts, your future, the future of the universe, everything.

This is a fabulous dream and a great idea and it would be really nice, but it’s just not something I subscribe to personally.


As for spells, I have seen things come about after I have worked magick toward that purpose. I have also see things not come about after having worked magick, and seen things come about without having worked magick, etc. etc.
People say magick works whether you believe in it or not, and others say you have to believe in it to get the full benefit out of it. Well, I do perform spellwork and I have seen results and am comforted by the effort, so I believe that it works for me. Whether it is appropriate for anyone else is up to them.

You can always say “it would have happened anyway” or that I’m fooling myself into believing something that just isn’t there and just isn’t happening. But I could say the same thing about Christian beliefs in God. Regardless, I believe in what I can see and feel and understand, and the form of paganism that I practice (including magick and energy raising) is seeable and feelable and understandable to me, and that is why it works for me.

Thanks, Elexina. It's hard for me to understand your interest in spells if you don't see that they actually influence things any more than not doing anything, but I guess it must be comforting. Thanks for answering my questions- very interesting!

I guess it's touch to explain. I just know what I feel and it has a lot more to do with energy and emotion and aspects of that energy rather than deity and dogma.

The people created a God.
No one knows what the external characteristics
of this God are, a God who made himself known
with the name " I am who I am ".
Is it enough for us in the XXIc ?
Why didn,t the formula E=Mc^2 write in the Bible?
I explaine IT by simple laws and formulas of Physics.
============================
Each religion uses a system of symbols
(images, metaphors, ancient myths and legends ,
beautiful stories) to explain its truth.
But Bernard Shaw wisely remarked :
There is only one religion,
although there are a hundred versions of it.
It means that the source of all religion is one.
And I try to prove this idea with the formulas and laws of
physics. I don,t invent new formulas.
I use simple formulas which ,maybe, every man knows from
school.
Is it possible? Is it enough?
Yes. Because the evolution goes from simple to the complex.
So, in the beginning we can use simple formulas and laws.
For this purpose I explin what the first law of Universe is,
and second law is and ...........etc.
Step by step I creat a logical system of the Universe.I
think everybody can understand it.
======================
Best wishes.
(Link Removed Here. - DG)
Socratus.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

quote:

Step by step I creat a logical system of the Universe.I
think everybody can understand it.

Logically speaking, not all people can grasp the truth which is common to all. I would explain it as truth defined is that which is the best interest of ones life for as long as they live.

Therefore in all things is the element of truth such as 2+2=4. So no mater the subject, truth is the final proven answer. So it was written; Isaiah 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

So it is a heads I win, and a tails you loose situation we have in the world today. For if all men seen God as being the human mind, they would bring peace to it.

"...Isaiah 9:15 does not describe, imply, hint at or refer to a 'heads I win, tails you lose' situation. It talks about the head (the elder and honorable man) and the tail (the prophet who teaches falsehood) both being 'cut off', because they both lead people astray." answerpool.com

'14Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

15The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

16For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.'