Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Contemporary Pagans are represented by an enormous diversity of groups, linked by
common traditions, which include the ‘old nature’ and fertility cults of the Celts and
Norsemen, magical and alchemical traditions, the mystery traditions and others, as well as
the more recent Wicca. These beliefs and practices have been reconstructed from the
‘old,’ or ‘ancient’ ways. Druidic practices, for example, are based on the practices of the
ancient Celtic professional class, the followers of Asatru practice are taken from pre-
Christian Norse religion, and Wicca, a more recent religious construct, traces its roots to
pre-Celtic Europe. Still other groups follow Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian and
various other ancient religo-spiritual practices.
Neo-Paganism fills a longing to connect with
God in the natural world. Neo-Pagans look to
ancient religions that were nature-based as a
source of inspiration. Some are inspired by the
ancient Norse traditions, while others look to
ancient Celtic religions. There are those who
feel inspired by the shamanic traditions of the
North American Indians and Australian
Aborigines. Some belong to Druidic groups
whose historical links go back to the eighteenth
century, but devotees romantically imagine
they are linked to ancient Celtic priests. Other
seekers, called techno-shamans, can be found
participating in the worldwide youth dance
cultures. These spiritualities use rituals and
liturgies that find the divine spirit in the natural
world. Often their ethics involve them in antiglobalisation
protests and ecological activism
(Johnson, 2004).
Animism is an important pillar of the Neo-Pagan Witches’ world. Many Neo-Pagans
believe that both animate and inanimate objects are links in the chain of life, all of which
is fluid, or dynamic, and part of the ‘life force’ of the earth. Neo-Pagans seek to live in
harmony, and be physically ‘in tune’ with nature. To Neo-pagan’s the ‘life force’ is
immanent within all creation: rocks, trees, deserts, streams, mountains, valleys, ponds,
oceans, gardens, forest, fish and fowl -- from the amoeba to humans and all in-between.
All these are infused with this ‘life force,’ or energy. For them, the earth is a living,
breathing organism, where all is sacred, and all is to be cared for and revered. Neo-
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University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa