What is Neo-Paganism?

The term "Neo-paganism" encompasses a very broad spectrum of organizations, groups and beliefs. A neo-pagan (sometimes referred to simply as ‘pagan’) religion is a relatively modern faith which has been reconstructed from philosophies , symbols and practices of a much more ancient religion, particularly those influenced by the pre-Christian values of Western Europe that include a wide range of beliefs such as animism, polytheism and pantheism.

The word "pagan" comes from the Latin ‘paganus’, originally meaning "country-dweller" or "rustic" but the term ‘neo-pagan’ appeared first in the 19th century in reference to Renaissance and the classical revival where culture was challenged with a new way of thinking. It has found particular growth in the USA and Britain, but also in many parts of Europe. 

Many neo-pagan religions observe spirituality that is very modern in origin, while others tend to focus on trying to accurately revive traditional, ethnic religions as can often be found referenced in historical texts and in folklore worldwide, these group often reject the ‘neo’ part of the title as it is seen to modernise their objective unnecessarily . The largest neo-pagan religion today is ‘Wicca’ – a form of modern witchcraft, but there are other significantly sized neo-pagan faiths which include Neo-druidism who draw on several belief systems and inspirations from the ancient Druids and Germanic Neo-paganism which has really grown since the 1970s. 

The fundamental beliefs of neo-pagan faiths are those of peace, ritual, tradition and a reverence for nature, although many groups practice polytheism – a belief in multiple deities – the figure of a ‘Mother Earth’ or ‘Gaia’ goddess is usually the most revered, associated with fertility, growth and rebirth. The misguided, ignorant view  of many is that ‘Satanism’ or ‘devil-worship’ is involved in pagan rituals, these are fundamentally Christian ‘inventions’ and have no recognition in the belief systems of any pagan faith. Many neo-pagan religions incorporate the use of ceremony and magic into their ritual practices and these are more often than not observed outdoors to encompass the power of nature and the moon. There seems to have been a sort of neo-pagan revival in the 1960s and 1970s - Wicca especially was influenced by feminism. 

During the 1980s there was the popular use of the term ‘new-age’ to describe neo-pagan groups and many festivals began to appear to bring people together. Today, any new religion that encompasses nature-worship and/or pantheism (the view that the nature and God are as one) are grouped under the umbrella term of neo-paganism. The development and rapid growth of the internet in the 1990s has aided the spread of the religion throughout the world as people from different countries communicate and share their beliefs on a wider scale. 

Happy Halloween!

Trolls in folklore and mythology.

We have all encountered trolls in childhood fairy-tales and stories; they have a deep history in folklore and mythology as well as finding a new role in modern fantasy fiction, but are they comedy characters or symbols of a darker power?

A Troll is a type of ogre found primarily in Norse and Scandinavian mythology, generally larger than humans and invariably ugly, they are always very strong, but slow and not too bright, they are often said to have magical powers and they are sometimes depicted as being man-eaters. Trolls are dwellers of isolated mountains, rocks, and caves - the most famous troll of all, from ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ lives under a bridge - normally alone but they sometimes lived in small family groups usually consisting of either a mother and son or a father and daughter.

They always lived in dark places, either because they preferred night time or because they feared the daylight, some legends in Scandinavia tell that trolls would turn to stone if exposed to direct sunlight. There are many landmarks in Scandinavia are attributed to trolls, rock formations, natural statues and features in the landscape where trolls are said to have roamed.

These kinds of trolls were said to probably be descended from the 'Jotunn' of Norse mythology. The Jotunn were giant nature spirits and were the enemies of the gods, they kept out of the human world as much as possible. They were banished to remote hills, forests and mountains away from human settlements, where it is told they awaited the end of the world when they would have the chance to break free to do battle with the gods that shunned them.

In Iceland, trolls are seen a bit differently, they would often treat people well and return favours for favours, only becoming dangerous if cheated or harmed. Like the Scandinavian ones, Icelandic trolls lived in mountains, caves and cliffs, but they lived together in larger groups with more of a social basis, they were said to keep animals, farm their land and hunt as well as holding feasts, gatherings and celebrations. The trolls in Icelandic folklore were said to be very skilled at crafts and were seen more as a strange but valuable member of the world rather than something to be feared all the time.

The modern world thankfully has a place for these giants of old folklore. They are regular characters in role playing games, cartoons, films, computer games and science-fiction and also in fantasy fiction by authors such as J.R.R Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, Tolkien’s trolls holding a very similar, traditional description to the Norse legends, and the ones of the Discworld being more original and comical. Trolls have the ability as characters to be described as scary, evil, pathetic, funny or sweet depending on the situation; their future is looking quite secure.

Catacombs and caves for storing the dead.

Many cultures have historically used catacombs to bury their dead, in fact people have been laying their dead to rest in caves since time began, although most are more closely associated with the early Christian church, the most famous being the catacombs of Rome and Paris which are open to the public, are vast and are historically important.

The reasons that people started using catacombs seem to be very practical. Because they are underground, the depth of catacombs usually ensures that the dead will be kept cool and that they won’t be disturbed by future developments or by natural occurrences such as flooding which can sadly affect graves on the surface. On a more practical level, storage deep underground also means that the bodies won’t contaminate the ground or water supply as they decay. Catacombs can also be expanded at that depth to accommodate the dead in the future; in fact many catacombs reveal signs of this with many new chambers and connecting tunnels being added on over the years giving a respectful resting place to important people.

The original Roman catacombs were designed as temporary holding facilities for the bodies of Christian martyrs, people who deserved the highest respect for the actions they took in life for their faith, and many catacombs are located beneath churches showing the significant link to the early Christian culture that promoted their use.

After the practice of using catacombs for religious figureheads, it became more common for them to also be used for generally important citizens, leaders and the wealthy. Many well-off families would have chambers to themselves allowing generations of the same family to be buried together in safety and relative opulence, some catacombs have notes about those buried within which can be very historically valuable today to learn about the practices and rituals used at the time. Undertakers of the age would take the dead to be stored in the chambers in coffins, shrouds, or urns in the case of cremation, depending on the wishes, wealth and family directions, they were also used for memorial ceremonies and funeral services if the person was to be laid to rest there, all of this could take place underground, privately and peacefully.

Today, catacombs are generally not used; surface crypts for family burials became more popular as has the use of cremation. There are rare occurrences however when ancient catacombs have been employed on a temporary based following a natural disaster or epidemic, in fact Exeter city council in the UK considered using their 19th century catacombs to store the bodies of Swine Flu victims as recently as 2009.

The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor Legend.

The ‘Hairy Hands’ are a unique legend to Dartmoor in England, and to quite a specific area at that. Only dating from the 1920’s, the stretch of road between Postbridge and the Two Bridges area has been the scene of a number of unexplainable accidents involving motor vehicles and people of authority in the majority of cases.

The area of the moors that the hairy hands manifest at is very ancient, it was a densely populated spot during prehistoric times and theories have suggested that the legend comes from elemental forces that have lingered at the site since then. Spirits, myths and superstitions are linked to many areas of Dartmoor, but not many are blamed for so many deaths and accidents, especially in such recent, modern day times.

One of the most well-known reports is of a Doctor who was riding his motorcycle with sidecar, the vehicle crashed and he was killed at the scene, however his two sons travelling in the sidecar survived, they gave an account that the vehicle was forced from the road by a pair of hairy hands that took control of the handlebars, resulting in the accident. Shortly afterwards, a similar thing happened to an Army officer, he survived his accident but reported the same thing.

Some less severe, but equally inexplicable events were to follow some years later. A couple were sleeping in their caravan near the stretch of road, the woman awoke to see a hairy hand clawing at the window, shocked, she made the sign of the cross and said it simply disappeared. Also a doctor’s car stopped dead on the road at the same spot with no apparent mechanical problems, he was not hurt, but was puzzled by the legend. Yet another doctor survived an incident in 1979 when his car was forced into a ditch by a ‘powerful force’ that took over control of the vehicle.

Another recent occurrence involved a young man in the early 1960’s. He was travelling from Plymouth to Chagford but did not reach his destination. He was found dead underneath his upturned car on the same stretch of road. The car and his body were both examined and no conclusion could be drawn for the cause of death or the accident.

Many people travelling through the area, either on foot, cycling or in a vehicle have told of a sense of malaise or even fear, even if they did not previously know of the hairy hands legend. This could simply be due to the barren, desolate nature of the moors, especially at certain times of year, or maybe there is more to the eerie history relating to it. A Bronze Age burial kist can still be seen at the site today giving a link back to those who once lived there.

There do not seem to be any very recent accounts of the hairy hands causing more trouble along the road from Postbridge to Two Bridges, maybe they have stopped manifesting, or perhaps people are less keen to report incidents due to the fear of ridicule. Either way, no news is good news, but caution should probably be observed.

Weekly round up of the strange - check this out.

Every weekend on the Myth or Maxim blog there is a post featuring the Myth or Maxim Chronicle which is a round up of the week's tweets, news and stories from around the world, it makes for really good reading with links back to the original poster's page.

This week featured a Paul Walker conspiracy, strange sounds from the skies and UFO stories and is well worth checking out...

Read it HERE along with other issues.

Fairy Rings.

Fairy rings are circles or arcs of fungi that seem to magically spring up overnight on the lawn, in a forest or on moorland; there is a lot of folklore and mythology connected to them from all over the world, some good and some bad but all fascinating.

It is generally thought that a fairy ring appears when a fairy, pixie, or elf is present, in European folklore they are the location of gateways into fairy kingdoms, and are places where elves gather and dance, such ideas date back to at least the early medieval period.

Welsh and Manx mythology removes dancing from the legend but states that a fairy ring will spring up over an underground fairy village. In Austria however, the rings were put down to the activity of flying dragons; legend has it that if a dragon created such a circle, nothing but toadstools would be able to grow in the spot for seven whole years.

Whatever culture tales of fairy rings come from, one factor is common throughout and that is that it is a dangerous thing for a mortal human to enter a fairy ring and many legends warn strictly against trying. It is an especially bad idea on May eve or Hallowe’en, should a human violate the ring he would anger the fairies and thus be cursed. A mortal who has entered the ring may become invisible to other mortals and never be seen again once back outside the ring, the fairies may also force the mortal to dance to the point of exhaustion or even death, that is if he didn’t go mad first.

According to legends, the only safe way to investigate a fairy ring is to run around it in the direction of the sun nine times under a full moon – eight times or ten times will not do. By doing this a mortal can hear the fairies dancing underground and no harm will come to him. The ring will slowly disappear without trace in less than a week, but if the mortal waits for an elf to return to the ring, he will be able to see it, although must never try to capture it.