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Why did you become pagan?

Secret Chief

Secret Chief

nirvana is samsara
RayofLight said:
cuz Hecate called to me revealing herself to me.
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Lucky lucky lucky. Sorry, back in the gutter...:oops:

8C72A56B-6548-4BA8-A31E-8054D105C66D.jpeg
 
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Rival

Rival

se Dex me saut.
Staff member
Premium Member
I never went out of my way to become a Pagan. I found my former religion wasn't working for me, even though on every other level I believed it to be true and intellectually satisfying, as well as matching my world experiences and spiritual longings - but it also lacked a lot; it lacked too much for me to handle, when it came down to it. I had to choose another before I committed suicide - I knew it was time for change. I'm not an 'Earth Mother' kind of Pagan. I'm not a 'Nature is God' kind either. That's really not my thing.

So I treaded carefully, wondering first which religion would be spiritually and intellectually satisfying for me. Naturally I went immediately after the one I'd been fascinated with as a child, which was Ancient Egyptian - or 'Kemetic' - religion. I'd had statues of some of the Gods and Goddesses on my windowsill as a kid and I thought, what the heck, I'll look into that one properly. No other Pagan God called to me at all and I've noticed there are also very few Kemetic practitioners even as modern Paganism is taking off. I landed at Ramesside Theology, Amun-Re spirituality, which sees the various Netjeru (Gods and Goddesses) as Emanations or Aspects of Amun-Re. The same Aspects still call me as when I was a child - Heru, Re, as well as now Inpu, Usir and Hat-Hor.

So I just decided to call right back.
 
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JustGeorge

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I did not feel any connection with the Abrahamic god that I was raised with. I wasn't certain he existed, and if he did, I didn't like him very well. Prayers felt empty and unheard. It also didn't make sense to me that everything in nature manifest in both male and female... why wouldn't the divine be the same?

The popular monotheistic traditions also seemed unnecessarily cruel. I was raised in the Christian tradition. I couldn't fathom why a god would make a bunch of people, and then want to destroy them all unless they believed in one mythological story that occurred in one small corner of the earth. I never disliked the figure of Jesus, but the idea that believing this one story was so crucial didn't resonate. Why does it matter what I believe? What of my actions?
 
beenherebeforeagain

beenherebeforeagain

Rogue Animist
Premium Member
I was raised in a liberal Christian tradition, and I spent most of my life up to my 40s trying to get the Christian worldviews and natural worldviews to work together for me. I finally gave up. The natural world makes sense, and the various Christian constructions simply don't.

From early on, however, I experienced the world as a place that is alive, and all the things in it as alive...a who, not a what...

And more recently, I've been taken with the concept that the important part of reality is not the 'part' things (nouns), but the actions and being (verbs).

Also, that I am not (and by extension, others are not) singular and separable from each other and the 'others' in the environment.

Anyway, that's why I'm a pagan...
 
SigurdReginson

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
Well, that's a long long story. It was a process that took years, but I will try to sum it up the best I can...

The version of christianity I grew up with was very confining and restrictive, but it also set very high standards of perfection on itself. When I began pulling at those seams of perfection, it unraveled, so I followed the thread and it led me to where I am today.

I'm glad I did, too, because now I am a much happier and better person because of it - and I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin. :)

That's not to say that christianity was a bad thing, or that it didn't teach me valuable things, because it most certainly did. It just isn't for me, I suppose. :D

Edit: Something that just dawned on me was that I did always love the god of the bible for his caring nature, and even after leaving christianity I still was drawn to compassionate and loving gods... The gods I feel drawn to now are definitely not that way, though I still am very much a caring person.

I think my focus has changed. Where before I sought a loving God, I've come to embody that compassion myself, so I don't really need to focus on it so much - it is like second nature for me. The gods I feel drawn to now are much more about creativity and knowledge, which I definitely aspire to bring into my life more. :)
 
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Starlight

Starlight

Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
Rival said:
I never went out of my way to become a Pagan. I found my former religion wasn't working for me, even though on every other level I believed it to be true and intellectually satisfying, as well as matching my world experiences and spiritual longings - but it also lacked a lot; it lacked too much for me to handle, when it came down to it. I had to choose another before I committed suicide - I knew it was time for change. I'm not an 'Earth Mother' kind of Pagan. I'm not a 'Nature is God' kind either. That's really not my thing.

So I treaded carefully, wondering first which religion would be spiritually and intellectually satisfying for me. Naturally I went immediately after the one I'd been fascinated with as a child, which was Ancient Egyptian - or 'Kemetic' - religion. I'd had statues of some of the Gods and Goddesses on my windowsill as a kid and I thought, what the heck, I'll look into that one properly. No other Pagan God called to me at all and I've noticed there are also very few Kemetic practitioners even as modern Paganism is taking off. I landed at Ramesside Theology, Amun-Re spirituality, which sees the various Netjeru (Gods and Goddesses) as Emanations or Aspects of Amun-Re. The same Aspects still call me as when I was a child - Heru, Re, as well as now Inpu, Usir and Hat-Hor.

So I just decided to call right back.
Click to expand...
We need you on this earth. Many people love you so much. You are good enough. Never forget that :sparklingheart:
 
Jainarayan

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I was born into Roman Catholicism. The theology, cosmology, soteriology and ontology of Christianity no longer made sense to me. From an early age (preteen) I was drawn to Hinduism and Indian thought, philosophy and culture. I suspect I was Indian and/or Hindu in a past life or lives. I think it was a matter of returning to my roots.
 
Rival

Rival

se Dex me saut.
Staff member
Premium Member
Jainarayan said:
I was born into Roman Catholicism. The theology, cosmology, soteriology and ontology of Christianity no longer made sense to me. From an early age (preteen) I was drawn to Hinduism and Indian thought, philosophy and culture. I suspect I was Indian and/or Hindu in a past life or lives. I think it was a matter of returning to my roots.
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I have some Moroccan ancestry and Kemetic religion was also in Morocco in Antiquity. I wonder if that contributes.
 
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