Paganism an overview introduction - South African Pagan Council

Several of these festivals have alternative names, sometimes from folkloric or even
Christian sources: thus Samhain is also known as Hallowmas or Halloween; Imbolc as
Candlemas; Lughnasadh as Lammas; and Mabon as Michaelmas
Like the lunar cycle, the wheel of year is rich with symbolism and mythology. Some
traditions weave throughout the eight holidays a running narrative about the birth, life,
and eventual death of the goddess, who over the course of the year is impregnated by
her consort and gives birth to a sacred child. Another narrative associated with the
wheel of the year involves a never-ending cycle of conflict between two mythic kings
- the Oak King and the Holly King - who continually defeat each other at each
solstice, the Oak King triumphing in the summer while the Holly King emerges
victorious each winter.
Each of the agricultural festivals also has rich folklore associated with it. Samhain
(the name literally means “summer’s end”) signifies the onset of winter and is
associated with the end of harvest and the slaughtering of livestock to prepare for the
cold season; thus it has traditionally been linked to death and to contact with ancestral
spirits. Imbolc (“In the belly”) celebrates the coming of spring and a time when ewes
are lactating and pregnant with spring lambs. The celebration of spring reaches its
apex with Beltane (“The fire of Bel”), a festival to mark the onset of summer and
chronologically opposite of Samhain. As Samhain is a festival honoring death,
Beltane is dedicated to the celebration of life and fertility. Finally, the onset of harvest
is marked with Lughnasadh (“Lugh’s festival”), marked by the first harvest and
traditionally observed with games and other festivities. Incidentally, Bel and Lugh are
also the names of Celtic gods.
These holidays are not universally observed among all Wiccans, let alone all Pagans.
Their popularity among many Wiccans and some other Pagans stems from their
symmetry and the rich mythic and folkloric material associated with the festival days.
Sacred Space
A variety of mythical and ritual approaches to sacred space can be found within
Paganism, including ancient ceremonial sites and mythical otherworlds.
Many Pagans embrace the idea that the universe is enchanted; that even the most
mundane and ordinary elements of nature are, at least potentially, pregnant with
spiritual power and possibility. Taken to its pantheistic or monistic extreme, Paganism
celebrates all space - all of nature - as sacred or holy. But within that framework of
overall immanence, particular sites or points within the natural world are revered as
places of special spiritual power and worthy of reverence and veneration.
Stonehenge, Angkor Wat, Newgrange, The Pyramids of Egypt, Macchu Picchu, the
Parthenon, the Great Serpent Mound - all over the world, numerous sites of ancient
ceremonial and religious significance remain today as mysterious mute testaments to
prehistoric or ancient spirituality. Pagans often look to such venerable monuments for
inspiration in the continuing quest to revive or recreate polytheistic, goddess-centred,
or earth-based devotion.
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