General/Non-Specific: Thinking about becoming pagan

[femamerica13]

So I am thinking about becoming pagan, but one of the things that are holding me back is the fact that I have a good amount of traditional Catholic friends (as in some who go to Latin Mass). They are one of the few groups I have connected to since I moved across the country for grad school (this year, since I started playing DND, I have been more with them). I'm not feeling super connected to Catholicism; it's more of a social thing. My beliefs are more outside and not as formal as in mass, as I think nature in itself is divine, and people's view of the divine shape the divine in return. For me, no one tradition appeals to me, but Athena and Brigid are close to my hobbies of crafting and studies in semiconductor fabrication. Another thing is marking things to celebrate the seasons and the changes of life, so I feel a bit lost and spread out. Any tips?

[PerditaPickle]

So I am thinking about becoming pagan, but one of the things that are holding me back is the fact that I have a good amount of traditional Catholic friends (as in some who go to Latin Mass). They are one of the few groups I have connected to since I moved across the country for grad school (this year, since I started playing DND, I have been more with them). I'm not feeling super connected to Catholicism; it's more of a social thing. My beliefs are more outside and not as formal as in mass, as I think nature in itself is divine, and people's view of the divine shape the divine in return. For me, no one tradition appeals to me, but Athena and Brigid are close to my hobbies of crafting and studies in semiconductor fabrication. Another thing is marking things to celebrate the seasons and the changes of life, so I feel a bit lost and spread out. Any tips?

Take your time, there's no hurry.  Do some reading around (there are a few reliable online sources if finances are an issue - but make it an early priority to learn how to distinguish these from the less reliable, I'd say).

A lot of us live partially 'in the broom closet', as we very often put it.  So it may not be necessary to reveal your new path to your Catholic friends, if that's something you're worried about.

Also, just to note as you may be unaware, pagan doesn't necessarily mean nature-worshipping, nor polytheistic.  It's an umbrella term beneath which there's all sorts of different 'flavours'.  So you don't necessarily have to pick a deity right away (or at all).

Hope you enjoy the journey.

[Jenett]

So I am thinking about becoming pagan, but one of the things that are holding me back is the fact that I have a good amount of traditional Catholic friends (as in some who go to Latin Mass). They are one of the few groups I have connected to since I moved across the country for grad school (this year, since I started playing DND, I have been more with them). I'm not feeling super connected to Catholicism; it's more of a social thing. My beliefs are more outside and not as formal as in mass, as I think nature in itself is divine, and people's view of the divine shape the divine in return. For me, no one tradition appeals to me, but Athena and Brigid are close to my hobbies of crafting and studies in semiconductor fabrication. Another thing is marking things to celebrate the seasons and the changes of life, so I feel a bit lost and spread out. Any tips?

A good thing to think about early on is what you'd like out of your path. One key difference for a lot of pagan paths is that people come together because of shared practices, not shared beliefs - which is a big change from creed-focused religions like Christianity. Also, in general, pagans either have to create their own practice, or perhaps spend a fair bit of time learning a particular group's methods (which may not be a good fit with the demands of grad school). That isn't to say you can't - just that the process is going to be eaiser to sort out the more you're honest with yourself about what your specific interests are, what you hope to get out of it, and what time and energy you have for it.

(If you want a simple personal practice that honours the seasons, those are an option! Just you're probably going to have to do some experimentation to figure out what that looks like for you, in your life right now.)

Do you want to maybe do things with other people in person, at least sometimes? If so, looking at what groups and paths are active near you (either on a regular basis or things like festivals/conventions/events) can be a good way to figure out which of those appeal. A fantastic group across the country from you isn't going to do you a ton of good.

(One option, if you want something that's more open to nature-based practice would be to look at Unitarian Universalist congregations. Especially if you're in the sort of grad school that might involve another move (i.e. for a post-doc or for academic jobs), that might be a way to find a community now that would also possibly have some options after a move. UU congregations have some core principles they all follow, but can vary a lot based on the specific community, so trying multiple options if you have them near you might be useful.) A number of UU congregations include things for seasonal festivals like winter solstice, some have pagan groups associated (CUUPS), and can be a way to find other people with similar interests in a community space.

If you want something that's personally satisfying (and maybe want to talk to other people doing similar things), then you have different options open to you, depending on what you're drawn to, what you're interested in learning, and so on.

In those cases, you'd want to figure out more about what you're specifically interested in doing (or not interested in doing) and then read/learn/ask questions to help you find more resources for those specific things. (This forum is a great place to ask many of those questions once you get a bit more into looking at options.)

[SirPalomides]

So I am thinking about becoming pagan, but one of the things that are holding me back is the fact that I have a good amount of traditional Catholic friends (as in some who go to Latin Mass). They are one of the few groups I have connected to since I moved across the country for grad school (this year, since I started playing DND, I have been more with them). I'm not feeling super connected to Catholicism; it's more of a social thing. My beliefs are more outside and not as formal as in mass, as I think nature in itself is divine, and people's view of the divine shape the divine in return. For me, no one tradition appeals to me, but Athena and Brigid are close to my hobbies of crafting and studies in semiconductor fabrication. Another thing is marking things to celebrate the seasons and the changes of life, so I feel a bit lost and spread out. Any tips?

Ha, meeting tradcaths to play D&D feels very typical.

Outside of a Christian context there is really no such thing as "paganism." There really isn't much that unites Plotinus, druids in the old British Isles, or animists in Borneo, but these are all "pagan" because Christians invented this category (which means something like "hicks") for those who were neither Jewish nor Christian. In terms of actual content, many if not most of the important thinkers in Christianity- such as Clement and Origen of Alexandria, the Cappadocian Fathers, Pseudo-Dionysius, Maximus the Confessor, and Augustine- arose in an intellectual climate saturated with the thought of Plato, Aristotle, and their various followers (e.g. Plotinus, Iamblichus, Proclus, the Hermetists) which formed the backbone of what is called "classical theism" nowadays. If we consider neoplatonism to be "pagan" then Christianity is as pagan a religion as any.

There's really nothing that unites the category of "paganism." Not a reverence for nature, not magic, not polytheism. So I would say instead of trying to think through this very unhelpful category, think what your actual values are and see where they take you.