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FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

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    #31
    Re: FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

    Originally posted by Roknrol View Post
    Aye...just wanted to make myself clear too I thought FW might benefit from seeing the other side, is all

    I always value your opinion! Its good to read it as always! Now back on topic lads and ladies? :P x
    "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me"- CS Lewis


    https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyHagenART

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      #32
      Re: FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

      Ok, so back to the original questions

      Why do you consider yourself "Pagan"? I mean, it's easy to understand why you include "Atheist" in your religion name, but why bother with the Pagan at all? What beliefs do you have that you consider to be Pagan?

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        #33
        Re: FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

        Originally posted by Roknrol View Post
        Ok, so back to the original questions

        Why do you consider yourself "Pagan"? I mean, it's easy to understand why you include "Atheist" in your religion name, but why bother with the Pagan at all? What beliefs do you have that you consider to be Pagan?
        Well this takes us back to the old habits thing.

        I still have a strong connection to my Tarot cards. They have never steered me wrong and I trust them even though I have no trust or knowledge of how it works. YET I find comfort in it and I feel that maybe it is just fate guiding my hand. I feel that there is nothing divine but that we are all heading to the same place, so maybe "fate" exists which is what takes us down our own paths.

        When I started looking into paganism properly I felt such a connection to the earth that I felt I could be swallowed by it. I felt so grounded when I stood on the grass and I could be on my own surrounded by it for hours. What better way to worship the land? That feeling went away for a while but it has come back with a vengeance and I want to spend more and more time alone, just me and nature. That feels pretty pagan to me because it's where I began.

        I'm finding this very hard to describe....
        "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me"- CS Lewis


        https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyHagenART

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          #34
          Re: FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

          Originally posted by FantasyWitch View Post
          Well this takes us back to the old habits thing.
          Old habits die hard...

          Originally posted by FantasyWitch View Post
          I still have a strong connection to my Tarot cards. They have never steered me wrong and I trust them even though I have no trust or knowledge of how it works.
          I suppose the question here should be: *DOES* it work? I used to read Tarot too...but once I started falling away from Paganism, I started paying a little bit more attention to how much "interpretation" was required when I did a reading. I discovered that - lo and behold - my "abilities" were significantly less than I thought. Not only that, my good vs bad readings were not nearly as well "balanced" as I had thought.

          Originally posted by FantasyWitch View Post
          YET I find comfort in it and I feel that maybe it is just fate guiding my hand.
          I've always had a difficult time believing in anything so neat and tidy as "fate"

          Originally posted by FantasyWitch View Post
          I feel that there is nothing divine but that we are all heading to the same place, so maybe "fate" exists which is what takes us down our own paths.
          Without something like "divinity", what could possibly exist about our persons that would exist in that "same place"? IS there a place?

          I struggled with this a bit too, to be honest. It was so goddamned HARD to think of "afterlife" and not picture myself there...in reality, it (to me) is more like "after life"...which means you're not around to enjoy it

          Originally posted by FantasyWitch View Post
          When I started looking into paganism properly I felt such a connection to the earth that I felt I could be swallowed by it. I felt so grounded when I stood on the grass and I could be on my own surrounded by it for hours. What better way to worship the land? That feeling went away for a while but it has come back with a vengeance and I want to spend more and more time alone, just me and nature. That feels pretty pagan to me because it's where I began.

          I'm finding this very hard to describe....
          It always is

          I have found, from time to time, my own connection with Nature following my conversion to Atheism. Most nights I smoke my last cigarette before bed by looking up at the stars. I occasionally head out to the middle of the desert to pan for gold. I absolutely love going out and hiking (getting lost) in the woods. None of these things detract (or add to, for that matter) the wonder that is our planet and the life that it has brought forth. Honestly? I think I actually feel closer to nature since converting, because it's forced me to actually look into the "why's" and "how's"...which, if you remove religion, is actually quite intriguing Did you know that when you kiss someone, your body is actually determining whether that other person is too close to a genetic match for you? True story - if you've kissed someone and had the thought, "That was weird...that felt like kissing my brother" it may just be that your DNA isn't far enough removed from theirs...your body "tells" you by making you feel uncomfortable. Stupid, silly shit like that can get REALLY interesting when you start seeing how it all works together...and it doesn't require God or questions for which there are no acceptable answers

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            #35
            Re: FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

            Hi
            I am new here but would like to say that to me at least Atheists do not see Nature as anything special, I have encountered many that love to be in Nature, they enjoy the Great outdoors but if you ask them if its Sacred to them or Holy, if it invokes the feelings of awe, reverence, etc they laugh and say NO.

            I have been struggling with this issue as of late, when I saw this thread while browsing the net looking for other Naturalistic Pagans such as myself, I knew I had to come here (I will ignore your Worf Pic, because we all know Tasha rocks!)

            I am Naturalistic in the sense that I have no Gods, No supernaturalism (except Magic), Im not superstitious as far as I know, I dont call myself a Pantheist because it doesnt feel right and most Pantheists do not believe in Magic and are not interested in the Rituals and such that I still engage in, I also dont want to be boxed in too much, for example as a Pagan, I now say I dont believe in say divination but someday you never know, that may change and I dont have to change the Pagan Label where if I said I was an Atheist or Pantheist, I would in good conscience.

            Well, Im sorry for such a long first post, I just get excited when I encounter other Pagans who are Naturalistic like me! Oh you are in Las Vegas too? Cool What is Hebro?

            Terr

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              #36
              Re: FantasyWitch on the Fence- Ask an Atheistic Pagan

              Sorry for the late reply - I have been absent for quite some time I only see one post from you so you're probably not going to see it anyway, but perhaps someone can benefit
              Originally posted by Irishdize View Post
              Hi
              I am new here but would like to say that to me at least Atheists do not see Nature as anything special, I have encountered many that love to be in Nature, they enjoy the Great outdoors but if you ask them if its Sacred to them or Holy, if it invokes the feelings of awe, reverence, etc they laugh and say NO.
              Well no, because "sacred" and "holy" are faith-based words. As you say, we can have awe and reverence (etc) for nature, which I'm pretty sure sums up how you're supposed to feel about "sacred" and "holy" items. To assume that we feel "less" because we're not spiritual is an assumption that you're making and not something grounded in experience.

              Originally posted by Irishdize View Post
              I have been struggling with this issue as of late, when I saw this thread while browsing the net looking for other Naturalistic Pagans such as myself, I knew I had to come here (I will ignore your Worf Pic, because we all know Tasha rocks!)
              I just snagged the Worf pic because he looks so retarded in it

              Originally posted by Irishdize View Post
              I am Naturalistic in the sense that I have no Gods, No supernaturalism (except Magic),
              Except magic? lol...not to be insulting, but that's like saying that I ignore gravity unless I'm on the planet. Magic = supernaturalism (as do many many other things). I assume you are referencing things like psychic phenomena, but to my knowledge those particular aspects of the supernatural aren't based on any religious or spiritual beliefs...at least not usually.

              Originally posted by Irishdize View Post
              Im not superstitious as far as I know, I dont call myself a Pantheist because it doesnt feel right and most Pantheists do not believe in Magic and are not interested in the Rituals and such that I still engage in, I also dont want to be boxed in too much, for example as a Pagan, I now say I dont believe in say divination but someday you never know, that may change and I dont have to change the Pagan Label where if I said I was an Atheist or Pantheist, I would in good conscience.
              I think that you're too hung up on the label. Be what you are - you obviously believe in something beyond nothing, so Atheist is clearly the wrong label for you. But a label doesn't really do anything more than identify you as something similar to someone else - it doesn't define you.

              Originally posted by Irishdize View Post
              Well, Im sorry for such a long first post, I just get excited when I encounter other Pagans who are Naturalistic like me! Oh you are in Las Vegas too? Cool What is Hebro?

              Terr
              LOL - Look through some of my older posts and you'll see some that I had to break up into 5 or more posts because the character count was too high I'm not in Vegas anymore - moved to Portland, OR last August...Hebro is kinda like Hebrew, only considerably more laid back I found out I've probably got some Jewish ancestry so am enjoying myself...after all, I've apparently been "chosen" by birthright...not much better than that!!!! (I know, I'm horrible). My religion there in my bio isn't anything more than a goof - I stopped taking religion seriously and have found myself being a bit more lighthearted about life

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