Pagan and Neopagan: magic in this belief world
Ancient pagan religions, and the modern revival: Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry.
Pagan and Neopagan traditions include the religions of the ancient world, such as Greek, Roman, Norse and Celtic, which survive in fragments, and the modern revival: Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry, Hellenism and Rodnovery. Pagan was a Christian word for the non-Christian. Today many people use it for themselves. This page covers the modern and ancient strands and why they are often confused. Neopaganism is now one of the fastest-growing religious minorities in several Western countries.
Ancient and modern
Ancient pagan religions were state and household religions with temples, sacrifices, oracles and magic. They were replaced or suppressed with the spread of Christianity from the fourth century. Modern Paganism began in the twentieth century: Gerald Gardner's Wicca in the 1950s, Druid orders from the eighteenth century, and Heathen groups in Iceland, Scandinavia and North America. They are new religions drawing on old sources. Ancient religions in Greece, Rome and Egypt had priesthoods and temples, and oracles such as Delphi and Siwa drew visitors from far away.
A contested past
Margaret Murray's 1921 claim that witch trials hit a surviving pagan religion shaped the early movement, and was later rejected by historians such as Norman Cohn and Ronald Hutton. Modern Pagans now often accept their traditions as created and revived, and speak of inspiration. Some Heathen groups have been linked to racist movements, which most Heathens condemn. Wicca is a religion with initiation, a god and goddess and a yearly cycle of eight festivals, while Druidry, Heathenry and others have their own forms.
Gender, law and community
Wicca and Goddess movements gave women priestly roles, and many covens are led by women. Pagans have faced discrimination and moral panics, including the Satanic panic of the 1980s. In Britain, the last Witchcraft Act was replaced in 1951. In Iceland the Asatru Fellowship has been recognised since 1973. Pagan chaplains now serve in prisons and the armed forces in some countries. Many Pagans see themselves as part of an environmental and feminist movement, and others focus on ancestral heritage.
Commerce and ethics
Pagan books, tarot, crystals and festivals are a large market. Wicca borrows from many cultures, which raises questions of appropriation, and some Pagans work to credit sources. Scholars call the field a case study in how religion is invented. Pagans themselves often say that what matters is practice and community. Scholars regard Paganism as part of the religious landscape and no longer as a curiosity, and Pagan studies has become an academic field.
Pagan and Neopagan on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreHoly well
A water source revered for healing and ritual across pagan and Christian traditionsTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 morePentagram蟺蔚谓蟿维纬蟻伪渭渭慰谓
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm 路 Protection 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 7 moreSlavic Native Faith袪芯写薪芯胁械褉懈械
A modern polytheistic movement drawing on Slavic folklore, romanticism, and global spiritual traditions.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore)
A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚠馃嚬 ItalyFortunaFort奴na
The Roman goddess of luck and fate, shown with a wheel and a horn of plentyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion
Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreKollyra curse tablet
An ancient Greek tablet cursing a thief to suffocation until stolen goods are returned.Text 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚡馃嚨 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity
A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 1 moreTroll crosstrollkors
A carved or bent iron sigil used in Sweden and Norway to ward off harmful magic and creatures.Charm 路 Protection Revived
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Fortuna: Charles Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Slavic Native Faith: Union of Slavic Rodnover Communities (小芯褞蟹 小谢邪胁褟薪褋泻懈褏 袨斜褖懈薪 小谢邪胁褟薪褋泻芯泄, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Troll cross: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Holy well: The Speckled Bird, CC BY-SA 4.0, source