paganism
n. a religion other than one of the main world religions, specifically a non-Christian
or pre-Christian religion;
• a modern religious movement incorporating beliefs or practices from outside
the main world religions, especially nature worship
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From the Latin pagani (“country dwellers”), Paganism is considered to be the oldest religion in the world, pre-dating Christianity and Judaism. The term covers any spiritual belief system that revolves around the natural world. This covers most of the Earth’s indigenous people and can be traced back to the origins of civilization. Indeed, there are numerous archeological artifacts and historical accounts dating back 23,000 years which depict some form of earth goddess – aka Mother Earth. This gives some credence to Carl Jung’s consensus that the collective unconscious holds Archetypes that are instantly recognized by everyone. One of these principal Archetypes is the Mother, which can be directly tied to the symbology of the Mother Earth.
Although there are many types of what’s referred to as Modern Paganism, I’ve chosen to concentrate on the following:
★ Animism
★ Druidry
★ Goddess Movement
★ Neoshamanism
★ New Age Spirituality
★ Wicca
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