Pagan Enough?

Stumbling around the web, I have come across various sites hosted by pagans, many of which have contained manifesto-like posts stating what they feel is the most 'pagan' way to live one's life. Many of these sites caused me to question my own beliefs and practices.

For a long while I referred to myself as a 'hedgewitch', only to discover an increasing number of people out there in the ether making (often totally contradictory) statements about what a 'hedgewitch' must be/use/do/believe. Feeling like this no longer fitted with my practices and pathway, I dug deep within my psyche to consider where and with what my pagan practice is most comfortable. It was at this point that I realised the hearth, garden and home are my places of magick.

Simplicity and spirituality marry well for me: it is in the practicality of cooking, growing and tending herbs, watching the sunrise, lighting a candle or taking a bath that I find my moments of magick and they are about the least ritualised (and more often than not, most shambolic) instances I can imagine.

There have been moments on my path when people have stated how they feel a pagan should practise and it has caused me to feel insecure about my own ways. Yet, ironically, I have referred to myself as pagan or 'a witch' largely because of my belief that these terms encompass acceptance, tolerance of others and a life lived in harmony with the Earth and its seasons. If there was one 'tenet' I value above all others it is that the type of energy I put out into the world reflects the type of energy I will get back.

Whether you call this karma, the threefold law of return or 'doing unto others as you wish to be done by' the virtue at the heart of these professed belief systems is the same: tolerance. How is it, then, that pagans everywhere are not only criticising people of other religions; they are criticising people who share very similar beliefs and pathways? It seems incredulous to me.

And I am not alone in my concerns. While browsing through blogland, I came across Project Pagan Enough over at Inciting A Riot.

I encourage all of you to stop by for a visit - whether you are pagan or non-pagan - as I feel it is an all-encompassing issue. Whatever your beliefs, whatever your practices, my humble two-pennies worth would be that you should be true to yourself. Don't define yourself by another person's ideals and do not feel discouraged if they show intolerance of your beliefs. Know yourself: if you feel 'pagan' is what you are, you are pagan enough.