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Article List: Primordial Venus - Nature's Caretakers

Nature’s Caretakers by Belenus copyright Mystic Guides Paganism is the world's oldest known religion. Its origins, though obscure, are believed to date back to Paleolithic times and arose from man's desire to explore the unknown and to seek unity with the Divine Force. This is evident in ancient cave paintings and statues like the Venus of Willendorf. These early beginnings were based on a form of ancestor worship and were shamanic in nature. The word "Pagan" itself is derived from the Latin Paganus, meaning "a civilian", people who were country-dwellers as opposed to the Roman military.

Paganism today describes a group of contemporary attitudes based on a reverence for nature. Paganism encompasses a diverse community with some groups concentrating on specific traditions, practices or elements such as ecology, witchcraft, Celtic traditions or certain gods. Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Sacred Ecologists, Odinists and Heathens all make up parts of the Pagan community.
Whilst there are significant differences between these strands of Paganism, most Pagans share an ecological vision and involvement that comes from the Pagan belief in the organic vitality and spirituality of the natural world. Due to persecution and misrepresentation, it is necessary to define what Pagans are not as well as what they are. Pagans are not sexual deviants, do not worship the devil (the devil is a purely Christian construct), are not evil, do not practice 'black magic' and their practices do not involve harming people or animals.
Paganism is a worldwide phenomenon and includes revived and updated ancient European practices and religions, feminist Goddess-worship, and religions inspired by science-fiction writings. Contemporary Paganism is interwoven with artistic and, visionary traditions and emphasizes the free will of the individual. Many traditions celebrate rituals to mark transitions in the natural world (such as solstices, lunar phases, or a birth) as well as in a person's life (such as marriage or moving to a new home).
Paganism as a movement grew out of the growing environmental awareness in the 1960s, though it encompasses some traditions from the Middle Ages and earlier. Since most Pagan religions are nature-centered, Pagans rethink the way in which we relate to the Earth. Rather than seek dominance over the environment, Pagans work to live as a part of Nature.

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