What Paganism Means to Me

To me Paganism is simply the worship of the "old" gods and/or the Earth Mother. It is getting back to nature, and embracing the old ways, and honoring the life cycles of the planet.
It means respecting the life of ALL the Mother's children, no matter their species or type, and taking only what we need from the earth and the other beings and creatures that share our space.
It means living and letting live. Accepting the ways that others choose to live their own lives so long as it doesn't mean harming another. It means being kind and generous and willing to share with others in their need.
It means accepting others for what they are and helping them to reach their potential at the same time. Guiding those who WANT guidence and letting anyone else live the way that their hearts tell them is the right way to live.
It means NEVER pushing your beliefs on another being regardless of how much you might want to. And at the same time always being willing to share when asked.
It means being open to the possibilities of the impossible, it means believing that there is no such thing as impossible... it means believing in Magick.
The magick of the human spirit, the magick of Mother Earth and her children.
It means BELIEVING.
It means LOVING.
It means TRUSTING.
It means all of this and more, but it is not an easy path to follow. There are many stigmas to live down, many less than scrupulous people have called themselves Pagan, or witches, and have used the Mother's power to do harm for profit of one kind and another. But at the same time, can you think of any type of power that has not been abused at one time or another? I cannot.

There are now, always have been, and always will be people who will abuse any type of power that they are able to attain, and unfortunately, the power of a witch, the power of the Earth, is very easy to abuse. There are dangers for the abuser however, in the case of Magick as all that we do comes back to us eventually. Especially the power that the Mother grants us. If we use said power in a manner which is harmful, or goes against the best interests of another, then we can expect the Law of Returns to bring pay-backs 3-fold. Or more.
A wise witch would in no wise do what mainstream religions accuse us of, for that in itself would be an act against what ourselves and bring consequences which most are not willing to face.
The life of a witch is one of secrecy and denial. We are forced to live in "the Closet", for the most part, afraid to allow even our closest friends and family members know that we are pagan, that we are different from them for fear of persecution. For fear that they will reject us out of hand before they even know what the word "Pagan" means.
An aunt that I "came out" to recently assumed that "pagan" was the same as "satan worshipper", and I still havn't spoken to her since the day I told her. She stares at me as though I've grown another head when we are forced to be in the same room for a family function, and all because she has no understanding of who I truely am. This aunt was, and is, my favorite of my mother's family, and despite her reaction to my revelation, she always will be.
Her reaction saddens me, not because she doesn't believe in what I believe, but because she formed an opinion of me on what she believes about my beliefs, despite what she knows about me from watching me grow up.
It is things like this that witches must live with, and this is a mild example.

It is for people like her, actually, that I created this site. I want those who have loved ones like me, who don't understand the choices that we make, or the lives that we lead to have a source of understanding. A place where they can go for answers and perhaps a little bit of enlightenment. And, if we are all lucky, perhaps a little understanding and tolerance.

Brightest Blessings

~Moon's Daughter~