What Paganism is Not

Unfortunately there are many falsehoods associated with Paganism.  There are those who would say that Paganism is all about cult practices, blind hedonism, or even Satanism.  Equally as unfortunate are the destructive actions of charlatans and criminals who pose as Pagans, only adding to the existing public suspicion.  The Paganism I know, and that promoted by this site and those referenced in this site, is one of high ethical standards.

Controlling Others

I wonder how many people have turned to Paganism, particularly Witchcraft and Wicca, in order to "put a spell" on someone. Well, if witches could turn frogs into princes there would be many more princes in the world! And if witches could turn people into frogs there would be many more frogs too!

In my view, the individual who wants to become Wiccan in order to manipulate others through magic is seeking this religious system for all the wrong reasons.  I would equate it with someone whose only motivation for becoming Christian is so that God will bring revenge on his/her enemies.  Yes, we do use magick and spells -- but those tools might not be what you think they are, and honestly, Paganism is so much more than that! 

There is an ethical meta-rule in Paganism that forbids the harming of anyone.  You can read more about that at  Ethics, Philosophy, and Politics.

Blood Sacrifice

Our primary principle is "As it harms none, do what you will."  That phrase "harms none" is an important one which includes animals, the land and vegetation, and ourselves.  This is a difficult principle to practice, but we work toward a life of nonviolence.  Sacrificing the life of any creature violates our primary ethic.

Many cultures practiced blood sacrifice in their history.  A check of any anthropology textbook will confirm that.  Modern Pagans may use a symbolic form of animal sacrifice in their recreation of ancient practices, such as making cookies in the shapes of animals or considering the steak they just bought at the grocery store to be an animal sacrifice.  All Pagans I've come across have been focused on animal rights - not animal destruction. 

Blind Hedonism

Pagans are often accused of having no ethics, disregarding the law, and spending most of their days out of work while continually planning sex orgies and drug parties.  As I have stated already in this section, Paganism as a belief system has a set of ethics which are counter to blind hedonism.  It is true that Pagans celebrate their bodies and their animal nature.  It is true that an act of pleasure (within ethical boundaries) is thought to be pleasing to the Cosmos. But ...  

To set the record straight, Paganism asks that you harm none, which means a Pagan should refrain from harming her/his own body and the bodies of others.  This means that Pagans do not support irresponsible, superficial, or nonconsensual sex.  A Pagan belief system does not encourage substance abuse.

Satanic

First of all, most Pagans try to draw as much as they can from ancient pagan cultures which existed long before the Christian concept of a Devil or Satan was formed.  If it weren't for the fact that others keep calling us Satanists I think most Pagans would totally ignore "Satan" and "Devil" as foreign concepts.  

A second point to keep in mind is that the modern beliefs of Satanism are in contrast to that of many Paganism, and particularly Witchcraft and Wicca.  You can see this for yourself at the resource site About.com, under Satanism (listed as an alternative religion) and Pagan/Wicca (which is listed with other "mainstream" religions.  This is what you will find: