I am only in the prologue to Pagan Visions for a Sustainable Future and it is already very apparent that what they mean by "pagan" in this is text is British oriented, modern revival paganism. Although there is an Egyptian oriented author mentioned in the "Contributors" section, the fact that this statement was mentioned on one of the first pages has me worried:

"The book, like Paganism itself, is as full of potential and paradox as life itself. For example, this is a new religion, but is inspired by the ancient knowledges. It evolved in Britain but is unmistakably similar to many indigenous religions around the world." 

This is not off to a good start for me, especially since it is using paganism with a captial P, but yet  seems to be only using it to refer to Wicca and Neo-Wicca (and all of it's offspring). That definitely marginalizes other forms of paganism that are not originally from Britain, and are not necessarily interested in magic as it is defined by Wicca, or magic at all. If the book had started off with something like, "Yes, paganism in Britain has led to a revival of paganism in many places" I don't think I would feel as put off by this. But for a book that seems to try to lay out a platform for discussing how paganism can contribute to sustainable living, it definitely marginalizes from the get go traditions and religions that are not originally British.

Some of the reviews on amazon seem to be replicating this feeling as well.

An Introduction: This Blog's Goals and It's Intent

It's been almost a year since I reacquainted myself with the umbrella term of paganism and came to accept that I was being spiritually drawn to a worship of the gods and working with them through witchcraft. Since I began walking down this path, I have come to realize that I have a strong affinity towards the Olympians, and now am at a sort of crossroads wherein I want to honor them as they were understood and represented in ancient Greek culture, while also recognizing that my UPG of them does not necessarily always line up with the original experience of them. I am very interested in studying Hellenismos to better understand the gods of ancient Greece, but my brief experience with witchcraft has led me to accept that I might not, and probably will not, be able to fit neatly into the definition of Hellenismos.

So where do I go from here? That is the question I hope I am able to work out as I post my discoveries and a portion of my experiences (those that I am comfortable with sharing) so as to perhaps better work out where my spiritual inclinations will lead me. To document my progression thus far, I am still heavily invested in researching the initial writer's of Wicca (Garnder, Valiente) and by doing a bit more background information weed out the recent nonsense about the religion from its original aims. My primary interest in this stems from how currently what I have learned about Wiccan circle casting and magical workings seems to fit well with my paradigm of the workings of the universe, so I hope, that with a copious amount of research on this tradition, I may be able to divine what about the magical workings of Wicca really work for me, and what just seems to be mere ritual rather than actual spiritual undertaking.

My other interest extends into re-constructionist traditions because I really value the role of research in understanding one's own belief system Blindly following the idea of a god just because a Neo-Wicca path says that this is the way the god is just isn't acceptable. I think its perfectly acceptable that the gods speak in different ways to different people, and appear differently to others, but going around blabbing that Hecate is a crone goddess without having any concept of her original representations is not okay. Respect for what has come before you is vital in understanding how your own personal spirituality has evolved.

I will not say that I have a parton god or goddess, but I have been drawn to Artemis, and view her as an embodiment of the value of fierce independence. She has been my central focus during full moon rituals, and it seems that I have become so connected to her that my meditations have led me a temple of sorts that seems completely oriented around her and her sacred bear dance - thus the name of this blog.
(click here for more information about the bear dance)

Just this morning, I believe that I have made my first strong connection to an Olympian male god. Dionysus and his story of rebirth, has really captivated me, and my first UPG of him presented him with an eroticism and divine mirth that I have never experienced before.

I hope that by documenting my progression into my path I will be able to see visibly the sort of influences that add up to the sort of sum total of where I spiritually stand. It is also my hope that I will grow from the insights of others as far as they are willing to enter in to a dialogue with me on this blog, and I welcome alternative insights and opinions.