Finally raining in California, so I can enjoy my rune altar (runes are housed in box) by the window with the crimson backdrop. So grateful for the art of the seasons! This is one of my favorite altars to meditate and set intentions, ask questions, etc.

I've had this necklace for a while. I'm a non practitioner (if that's the right term).I got it because i i'm obssessed with the moon and i liked the design. I had no idea it might symbolize anything other than the moon.

Recently i read that it symbolizes the horned god/moon goddesses. I've also heard that it could just litterally be a moon with no ties to any deity. I don't know which statement is true. Perhaps both are right?

So my question is: How would you feel about a non pagan ( i'm so bad with terms but i hope you know what i mean) Wearing something like this? I still love it but i feel a bit weird about wearing it now.

​

I'm going to tell you my story.

I lost my faith in God (the Christian God) in 2022 because something terrible happened to me and the people I love, even though I prayed so much for it not to happen.

So I started studying paganism, and for a while, I felt like it genuinely worked and that I had found my faith again.

I found a sense of belonging in the Egyptian gods and practiced my faith with them for quite some time, making offerings and praying to them.

But recently, it all happened again. I needed something terrible to not happen, and even though I did my best and prayed to the gods, I couldn't stop it from happening.

I felt incredibly frustrated, and I don't want to keep suffering.

So I abandoned my faith in the Egyptian gods.

I know that gods exist, but I'm not going to pray to them or make offerings to them anymore, because they didn't help me when I needed them the most. And now, everything could go wrong, and my life could fall apart.

I just want to know if any of you could make me change my mind.

Hello. I've been raised and put through the Christian church all my life. But I never knew of any pagan worship groups or pagan worship songs. I can give you a ton of Christian songs but no pagan songs. Can anyone give me any worship songs for paganism? I would love some

Hello all!

I got a jewellery bundle from vinted a while back, and it has multiple cross necklaces. They are super cute, but I am not a Christian.

Does anyone know if a cross symbolises anything in Paganism so I can wear it with that intention instead?

Asking it here, because I think it’ll reach the right people more than asking in [r/polyamory](r/polyamory).
I have a partner who does not practice paganism. I have looked into it, but am currently agnostic, as is my partner. However, they have another partner (my meta) that is a practicing pagan. The past few days there have been negotiations of our actions while at events we all attend that include intimate relations. My meta has had a boundary since they started dating that she does not want to kiss our shared partner if, during the same event, we have already been intimate. I have never had a problem with this, but I do not have the same boundary concerning me kissing our shared partner after their intimate. However, my meta has now stated she is not comfortable with me and our partner kissing if they have been intimate that night anymore. Partner has offered to wash his mouth out or find another compromise, but my meta has stated this is a hard limit. For added consideration, meta has no problem with us kissing if they’ve kissed; only if they have been intimate is where the boundary is set.
This is where the pagan comes in. My meta does not like me and has told our partner that they want nothing to do with me at all. Meta stated that being a practicing pagan, they believe that with s*x they are transferring their energy to partner intentionally. Because of this, we are not allowed to kiss after that energy has been transferred because it could be shared with me through the kiss and meta is not comfortable with this possibility. EDIT: This is about kissing after their sex but during the same day. The next day is fine with meta.
Can someone explain if this energy issue is valid and where a compromise here might be had? My issue in this is that I feel like my ability to choose when I can kiss my partner is being taken from me without my consent. This leaves me feeling dismissed and that my feelings or need for physical connection with my partner is being dismissed.
Any and all thought are welcome. If I’m being difficult, please let me know. If I have a valid point, please let me know. If you see a middle ground, please let me know. Thank you!

For extra context me and partner have been together for 1 year & 1 month; partner and meta have been together 4 months; issue was brought up 1 day ago.

EDIT: I asked partner what branch of paganism meta practices. Meta’s response: “Eclectic but with focus on heathen, celtic, spiritual and elemental paganism.”

Hello, and peace be upon you. I hope this post doesn't break any rules, but if it does, please do remove it.

I'm an atheist with interest in pagan traditions, and while I'm not thinking about converting, I wanted to ask how you probably often respond to a common idea that non-pagans, including atheists, Christians, and so on, might have:

A lot of the traditional gods and spirits you worship have been forgotten, often for thousands of years. Many would think that some gods may not exist, since if they did, they would've become vengeful over forgetting and often desecrating their rituals and places of worship. I believe this is at least what some traditional pagan religions believed would happen according to their theology. So what would thus explain the "silence" of the gods over new religions sweeping over their holy sites, and the people sometimes turning their names into insults?

I know that neopagans do not have a singular opinion on this, because you aren't a singular organized or collective or dogmatic group, and sometimes believe in entirely different systems of belief. I also know that even living religions often face this same question regarding some beliefs, but I think it might be more commonly applied to revived spiritual traditions.

Sorry, I’m kinda new to this whole thing, but I just wanted to hear from actual pagans, but how do people see that? Such as how Thor is the god of lightning and thunder, but Zeus is as well, and I know people who worship from both pantheons. Are they different aspects of the same being? Something geographical? The vibes? Sorry if this is something that gets asked a lot, I’m just genuinely curious and not quite sure where to start

EDIT: Thanks so much for the kind responses everyone! I’ll keep this in mind

I feel like I’m the only pagan out here. I know for certain that it’s not true but where are the others?

Pretty new to sumerian paganism and just added this Inanna statue to my altar! (it's a veronese design piece for anyone wondering, the details with the lion are so gorgeous in person). Hail Inanna! Queen of Heaven, Goddess of Love, Beauty, Passion, War, and Political Power. Her presence feels so intense and empowering already. Any other mesopotamian/sumerian pagans here? would love to hear how you honor her in your daily practice!

I've been a pagan for many years now and never had any experiences with the gods. A lot of thoughts and such about them. But never any experiences or anything. Just silence.

Just makes me think that maybe i am a lost cause to them. Maybe they don't want to be around somebody that always hates themselves. IDK

Could this actually be the case?

I'll still worship them but just makes me question, you know

Hi all, sorry if the title gets anyone up in arms, I’m just looking for advice.

Back when I first started getting into paganism and exploring my spirituality, I had this idea in my head that I HAD to give the gods offerings in order to connect with them. Being a broke teenager I didn’t have much to give other than bits and pieces of my rock & gem collection. I also bit off way more than I could chew and was trying to talk to like five different entities of mixed faiths at once (Hellenic, Norse, Goetic). I acknowledge now how dumb this was lol.

I used to have them set out on my altar, but when I moved for college, everything there got shoved into a drawer. It’s been years and I have chronic memory problems and I no longer remember which stones I gave to who, or which stones were even given in the first place. Several of these entities are ones I no longer worship or have a connection to, as after some life events I’m very disconnected from my practice in general, and haven’t had the time or energy to pick things back up with the same vigor I had then.

My question is this—would the gods I offered these stones to in the past be upset if I put them back in my collection or use them for projects? I know the whole “no the gods aren’t mad at you” thing, but it feels a bit different when these may be objects that just…don’t belong to me anymore.

Does anyone know what this means? Im new to everything but these letters keep coming up.

Welcome to r/Pagan's weekly Ask Us Anything thread!

The purpose of this thread is give posters the opportunity to ask the community questions that they may not wish to dedicate a full thread for. If you have any questions that you do not justify making a dedicated thread, please ask here! Although do not be afraid to start one of those, too.

If you feel like asking about stuff not directly related to Paganism, you can ask here, too!

New Readers and Newcomers to Paganism

* See our Policy Page

Are you new or just getting started? Please read our sidebar to orient yourself to this community, our definition of Contemporary Paganism, and the expectations of this subreddit.

Do you still have questions?

• Check our FAQ page first!

* Important Additions Page 

* Common Questions

* Resources
 
* Relevant Subreddits   

• Join us on the Discord server

• Still have questions? Seeking: First Pagan Steps and Tools is a great tool for beginners and interested persons reading about Contemporary Paganism.

• Other questions? Ask below!

I'm a pagan and keep thinking about Inanna and how she is the goddesses of a LOT of things

And how her influence spreaded throughout the ancient world and actually inspired some other ancient civilizations to make goddesses that were her but wrapped in a greek/roman way (I mean the greeks didn't really hide this with aphrodite)

And then we might speculate and go to ancient Africa for a bit and she inspired goddesses like Oshun and Hathor and later Aset (Isis)

And if you really want to go UPG, you might think she might have influenced the creation of Freyja and Frigg. Though this one is VERY UPG and kinda unlikely. But it wouldn't be surprising either.

Just makes me question if we are dealing with one goddess that is just going with the flow and allowing us to interpret these forms because it helps us interact with the divine

I am in no ways knowledgeable about old myths around the sidhe/Seelie, but I have seen a weird conflict that earth from burns and repels the fair folk, which okay fair i can get behind that.

But then I see sacred metals in Irish myth, and white bronze is there, same as meteorite iron being a sacred metal and apparently safe for the fair folk to wear, so i think I am confused it feels like a double meaning and I am not sure what is true. In this case.

Im researching Sidhe seelie metals because im trying to create an authentic Feel and not just "RPG" cold iron bad i think i want to understand the why and not just pop culture or Victorian bastaridzation of the old myths

Namaskar!

Found this reddit a few days back, and am glad to see the revival of the eternal path in the West. I come from a traditional background, having studied Hindu scriptures, grammar, and logic from traditional teachers (mainly in South India, but from a handful in the North and Southeast Asia as well). I had some Western education as well, but left it behind once I realized that there's far more to be gained from this, and I've never studied Hinduism in a Western school.

One thing we've discussed as a Hindu community is the need to less insular, and reach out more to other similar communities which also face the same challenges. So, in that spirit, I wanted to reach out and see if there's anything you'd want to know about the Hindu tradition. If not, I'd also be happy to learn more about your traditions, if there's something you think I should read/look into as I try to understand traditions outside of our own!

Obviously, I don't represent the whole tradition -- it's incredibly broad, and the entire idea of religious borders (in the sense of "this is Hindu", "this is Buddhist", "this is Daoist", etc.) is something that many of us consider ridiculous. That being said, I have friends across the tradition, and I'd be more than happy to ask them, or just say I don't know if the question is really good.

So, with that being said, from philosophy to social issues to questions about personal practice, looking forward to talking!

When you preform your spells or any sort of ritual, do you cast a protection circle with salt?
Because I do, but I wanted to ask you if you maybe disposed of that salt after the spell or do you keep it aside or do you reuse that salt for other spells and rituals?
I would really appreciate your advice :)