Neo-Paganism: Difference between revisions

* Jewitchery, or Jewish paganism, may seem like an oxymoron considering the First Commandment, but its practitioners actually worship Pagan Canaanite Gods such as Ba'al and Molok. Most of them are ethnic Jews who believe that they are following the religion of the pre-rabbinical Hebrews. Their forms of worship are actually divided, ranging from traditional polytheism to nature worship (not to be confused with the practitioners of Kabbalah, or Jewish Mysticism). Jewish paganism is not specifically limited to cultural Jews who are polytheists. There are Jewish pagans who are monotheist, pantheistic, or panentheistic. (Although Judaism is often thought of as strictly monotheistic, older schools of mystical thought did discuss pantheism and panentheism, and it’s hardly heresy.) Rather, they identify as religiously Jewish and consider themselves "pagan" in the sense that they interact with Divinity in ways that are not currently mainstream within Judaism, such as chanting, meditation, thinking of the Deity as not-strictly-male, doing magic, connecting to nature, and so on. Many of the ways that this subset of Jewish pagans connect spiritually aren't "new" to Judaism so much as no longer commonly used in mainstream, congregational Judaism. Much of this intersects well with Renewal or Reconstructionist Judaism.

* Kemeticism is the worship of the ancient Egyptian Gods and comes in many forms, largely because there was no single dogma practiced in ancient Egypt. However, many practitioners believe that to truly understand the spiritualism of the ancient Egyptians requires careful study of their various beliefs. Important rules include upholding Ma'at (the divine law), belief in the Supreme Being, ancestor worship, and respect for the community. The system is split on the need of a Pharaoh, one person sent to Earth who is the embodiment of the gods, though most followers have done away with this aspect of Egyptian religion (because having a pharaoh is when it starts to get more scary and cult-like). That said, the number of Kemeticists in Egypt is sufficiently small that you could probably hold a national conference in a motel room. The religion is more popular in Europe and North America, where the most popular deity seems to be Isis.<ref>It appears that the cult of Isis remained extant long after Egypt and the Roman Empire became predominantly Christian (Egypt was one of the first Roman territories where Christianity really took root). There's just ''something'' about that goddess...</ref>

** One important aspect of Gnosticism was the belief that the Creator in the Bible is ''not'' the real God, but rather the Demiurge, a being created by God, but unaware of God's existence. Unable to percieve anything but itself, it falsely assumed to be God itself. The [[Kill'Em All|reactions of other Christian sects]] could be expected.

* While not nearly as popular as the above, the anthropological writings of Laurette Sejourne and Leon Portilla and religious books by Antonio Velasco Piña inspired a neo-pagan religious movement known as "Mexicanista", based on Aztec spirituality, other Mesoamerican belief systems, and a bit of Hindu esotericism for some reason. It bears little resemblance to actual Aztec rituals and practices, focusing more on the cosmology and pantheon. This is probably good, considering that one of the most famous practices of ancient Aztec religion was [[Human Sacrifice]].