Paganism: Initiation Ceremony

Paganism: Initiation Ceremony

Sarah A. Teutla

Anthropology 125, T 7-10pm

Paganism. Ever wondered what that really meant or what it was? Many people in the United States and other Judo-Christian based countries tend to look at those who are Pagan as devil-worshippers or cults, but do they actually know what a pagan is? Pagans are those who "believe that everything from rocks, rivers, trees to animals and humans have a soul" (Anonymous, Q1). Pagans believe in nature and how people should respect Her [Nature] and the spirits as well. In my quest to understand what Paganism is, I came across a club at Long Beach City College that practice and encourage this belief. My main focus for this descriptive research is the initiation process of a new member into the Pagan club.

The following is an interview with the president, who asked to be nameless, of the Pagan club at LBCC on October 11, 2011 that answers a few common questions on the belief.

Me: How would define the term Pagan? In other words, what is a Pagan?

President: Well, a Pagan is someone who believes that everything from rocks, rivers,

trees to animals and humans have a soul.

Me: Does the Pagan religion have only one-based religion?

President: (laughs) If you mean if there's more than one Pagan religion, then yes. There

are actually hundreds of different Pagan religions. For example, in our Pagan club, we

have Wicca, Buddhism, Druidism, Asatru, and Native American spiritualities.

Me: Wow, that's pretty cool. So what do you guys do in your club?

President: We try helping others understand other spiritualities and help them with their

desired paths.

Me: So with all the different Pagan religions in your club, it's safe to say that there are a

variety of ethnicities huh?

President: Yes we do. We do not discriminate based on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity,

age, Pagan belief, or anything really.

Me: How many people are in the club?

President: We have a total of 16, well 17 including myself.

Me: Sounds like a good size group. Do you guys have fundraisers? If so, what do you use

it for? Like field trip wise...

President: We have our mystic fair coming up actually in mid-November, that's where

we give readings and healings...it's a fundraiser. We use the money for trips to

divination shops, temples, etc.

Me: Sounds interesting. So what's your opinion on people who say that Paganism is a

cult? Is it a cult?

President: I say they are ignorant and don't know what they're talking about. Paganism

isn't a cult, it's actually a major world religion that also has many branches. Any

religious tradition or spiritual tradition can have cults here and there, but that doesn't

mean the ENTIRE belief is a cult...sorry if I sound annoyed or angry, it's just there are

people here at school who say that we're a cult, if only they knew. That's why we try to

spread our beliefs through fundraisers, like the mystic fair we're having next month.

Me: It's alright, people tend to slur or ridicule things they themselves do not understand.

One last question, how does one become a Pagan?

President: Well that depends on the individual, more than not, people will look into

themselves, into their heart and ask if this is the path for them. Some are born into it

because of their parents, families or, like me, I searched my heart for a connection

between