Pagans! Pagans! Calling all pagans, witches, wiccans etc....

I don't have a clue what you're talkin about, but I would like to know where you people came up with all that crap.

Interestin' rejoinder there, M!THº§ - if, as you plainly state, you haven't a clue what is bein' discussed, by what basis do you consider yourself qualified to offer qualitative analysis of the matter at discussion?

sounds kinda interesting. all i know about that religon is theres spirits in the trees and in all nature so iwould think the green man is a spirt. just a guess

M!TH'S - The greenman is one of the oldest images in spiritual thought. This website will give you a general overview if you are truly interested: http://www.mikeharding.co.uk/greenman/green1.html

Almost all "modern" religions have aspects of earlier pagan religions. You can trace almost any symbol in Christianity back to a pagan image or tradition.

Thought you were talkin bikes. Sorry.

thanx green witch. But do you believe in your faith literally of as a metaphor?

May I just correct something? Sorry, it's a huge pet peeve of mine...

You said "Pagans..Wiccans," as if the two are seperate. However Wicca is merely a sect from Paganism, when you are saying 'Paganism' you are summarizing Wicca already along with many other paths.

I'm probably the only person in the world that is bothered by this, but nonetheless. I always wonder why people people distinguish Paganism and Wicca, without ever mentioning one other of the hundreds of Pagan paths...

As for your question about the Green Man:

Pagans believe that nature is magical. Nature is the source of all life to them, it is the heartbeat of existence. I would assume that the 'Green Man' is a metaphor for the life that pours through nature.

Yeah, sorry, i was just trying to attract peoples attention.

but are you saying that to pagans nature is magical? Or that pagans see nature in magic?

From the same place all religious come up with their crap.

It's a myth that the "Green Man" is an ancient pagan nature symbol, in British culture at least. The motif simply is not found in early British art, and it appears to have been introduced into late mediaeval Church art - derived ultimately from Mediterranean sources - as a symbol for the baseness of nature and sensuality as opposed to spirituality.

It's noticeable that when the motif first started appearing in Briitsh churches it was as part of elaborate symbolic decorative schemes in big, high-prestige buildings sponsored by important churchmen and aristocrats - not little country churches where paganism might have been practised unobserved. There is really no possibility that they had pagan intent.

O.k, but pagans:
do you believe in your faith as a metaphor or literally?

I think you should re-word, or explain in more detail, what you mean by that question as obviously none of us understand enough to respond :wink:

O.k:
Do you believe in your religion, as a metaphor:
e.g. 'I dont actually think magic exists but in the world i see magic therefore it exists to me and i take all mythical rituals and legends to be metaphors for my imagination'

or as literal meaning:
e.g. 'yes i believe faries exist, and magic exists etc. in the same way in which christians believe god exists'

If you still dont understand read my 'why not believe' thread.

and im sorry if im rubbish at explaining things!!

I am a personal friend of the Green Man. He's out back chopping wood right now.

While I have an attitude about religion and religionists in general, I gotta say the neo-paganists merit a special chuckle.

that nature is magic to them would make sense i meen witches/wizards=magic

Is it a sign from the god of nature, or the Green Man, if you lay down to feel the power surge up into your body from the true center of Mother Earth, and like, ants crawl all over you?

Trees ROCK!

PQ - I'm sorry for the behavior of the masses here, but Idon't think we have very many pagans in our midsts. We do have a few. Why not indulge us in a little synopsis of the religion?

Hey, the Christians get it in the butt much worse than this! The poor Catholics!! What they endure!

We have recently started bashing the Muslims, though, let me tell you, it took an act of Congress.

We don't currently allow Jew bashing.

Welcome to the club, crazy witch. Have a sandwich.