Reflections Belief and Knowing By Jane Offer The use of words in different contexts, and the response this generates, is quite fascinating: big, indicating height, can be interpreted as fat by a person struggling with weight; easy used instead of simple, can imply to those that struggle with a concept, that they are stupid when they don’t find it easy to understand. It’s all in the interpretation and the intention behind what is implied. “Pagan is one such word introduced by Christianity as a broad term for any polytheistic tradition not centred on the Bible.” Pagan is one such word introduced by Christianity as a broad term for any polytheistic tradition not centred on the Bible. Originally, this term also included Buddhism and Hinduism, which are viewed today as mainstream religions. Pagans or paganism was not a term used by the people themselves, only by Christians who interchanged it with the word ‘heathen’, implying that pagans were savages living in trees and caves, with no cultural structure due to a lack of religious beliefs. This is far from the truth. Their practice has always been based on reverence for nature.
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Supernal Magazine
As far back as Man developed a perception of the natural order, this was normal practice, thus pre-dating Christianity by millennia.
“…Christians who interchanged it with the word ‘heathen’, implying that pagans were savages living in trees and caves…” After Christianity was adopted in the Roman Empire in the 4th century CE, non-Christian religions were gradually outlawed in empire-controlled lands. However, Christianity remained a minority religion in Britain, restricted mainly to the urban centres and their hinterlands. It coexisted with indigenous polytheistic religion in the villages and the countryside for many centuries, with the two often being combined.
Throughout Britain, paganism remained strong in the AngloSaxon country communities, despite a massive push between 590 – 690 CE by the Roman Church to convert the populous. Despite this, country people continued to use crossed ley lines and underwater energy lines as the centre of their sacred ceremonial sites. Ceremonies showing gratitude to the earth and the bountiful nature of the harvests enhanced the energy of these places, which were treated with deep respect. Following the Norse people arriving in the 9th century, bringing their polytheistic beliefs, British pagans incorporated Viking-based deities. Woden, the chief deity known as Oden in Norse mythology; Frigg, Odin’s wife, the Mother archetype. Tiw, the god of wars and treaties, Thunor, known as Thor, the god of thunder, lightning and storms
