Some background on the words:
Pagan actually means 'country dweller', just as heathen simply means a 'dweller of the heath or moor'. In Roman times, when both words came into use, both originally had nothing to do with anything "satanic", but were used by city dwellers to describe what they considered to be the 'hicks' out in the country. Only later did the Catholic Church come to use it to describe the pre-Christian religions of the 'country dwellers', since the 'civilized' city dwellers had been all Christianized.
'For the record', so to speak, 'Satan' is a Christian concept, and pagans don't believe in, much less 'follow' Satan. So therefore pagans & paganism cannot be satanic.
Modern Neopaganism is a recognized Earth based religious movement ('neo' meaning 'new'), with many denominations, some organized as 'churches' and recognized by the federal government as religions, and accorded protected tax-exempt status by the IRS.
By 'Earth-based', pagans basically worship Nature, and the Earth that sustains us all. Most recognize and worship many different Deities - Gods and Goddesses, honor our Ancestors as those who came before us, and honor the Worldly or Nature Spirits, such as the animals, plants, and spirits of place that share our world with us. Druids, as a subset within paganism, often call these the Three Kindred.
The Druid church I (Lisa) belong to, is called Ar nDriaocht Fein, or ADF for short, and it's Irish Gaelic for 'Our Own Druidry'. The church as a whole does NOT have an orthodoxy, which means a 'right belief'. In other words, ADF will not tell you what to believe - you have to decide that for yourself. ADF DOES have an orthopraxy, which means 'right practice'. That means that there are a set of practices and ritual ceremonies that define what ADF Druidry is, and certain practices forbidden from ADF practice (the prime example of what is NOT allowed is blood or animal sacrifice). Oh, and for the record, 'sacrifice' simply means 'to make sacred', and is synonymous with the word 'offering'. Think of it as a gift to the divine. Putting flowers on a gravestone can be considered an offering, sacrifice, or gift to a deceased loved one who has gone on to join the Ancestors for example....
Druids, like myself (Lisa), without generalizing too much, since individual Druids can be quite independent in their personal beliefs, also have a code of ethics or conduct that we live by, and hope to live up to, and this is called The Nine Virtues. We also have a belief in an afterlife, as well as some believing in cyclical reincarnation. While Druids don't have an equivalent to the Christian concept of Heaven or Hell, we generally believe that one gets the afterlife one 'deserves', based upon how one lives ones' life. Lives and afterlives are both places where we learn what we need to learn. While we don't believe in original sin, or places of eternal damnation - living against the Virtues, or "evil" behavior, will reap what they sow, and so will living according to the Virtues, ie. living a "good" life.
For more info, or to answer any questions or concerns one may have, feel free to comment on this post, or email me at lisamccune3@gmail.com. Also, I can direct questions to the FAQ at www.adf.org.
Slainte! (Irish for 'Health!')
Lisa McCune-Noll
