What you'll find here:

The explosion of interest in Wicca and other Goddess-centered religions recently has been reshaping the spiritual landscape of this culture. Many people are losing interest and turning away from the traditional monolithic, monotheistic, patriarchal religions and are looking for a way to verbalize their spirituality without the trappings of these religions, within a framework of spirituality that prizes the feminine as well as the masculine and is centered on the Earth and the turning of the seasons.

While there are many flavors of Paganism and other forms of nature religions, the most "organized" of these is Wicca, also called the Craft by those who practice it. Those who follow Wicca can be considered polytheistic, agnostic, duotheistic, or even atheist according to various definitions.

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What Wicca is NOT

It is important, however, to understand what Paganism and Wicca is NOT. It is NOT devil worship, does not involve hurting or cursing people, is not Satanism, and does not involve the desecration of any traditional church's objects of veneration. The Hollywood image of blood-drinking babykillers or kooks sticking wax dolls with pins could not be further than the truth. As well, it is an image that many Wiccans and Pagans despise and must struggle against every day. Most of us are in what we call the "broom closet," and have lost apartments, jobs, and even child custody for following the most practical of all spiritualities. If you know anyone who is Wiccan or Pagan, I can assure you that that person is no threat. Indeed, our spirituality demands care and deep love for the Earth and all Her living creatures as well as complete responsibility for our actions and their consequences. Harming or causing pain to another is repugnant and out of the question for us. Far from trafficking with Satan, we are engaged in a spirituality that centers on the joyous turning of the seasons, the endless dance of the billions of components in Nature and our place in Nature. Injury or harm is out of the question, and moreover our faith does not include any personification of Evil such as the Christian Devil.

Resources and Other Junk

One of the better resources, which can change greatly in tone from year to year, is the Usenet newsgroup alt.pagan, the FAQ for which is accessed from the first link on this page. Years ago, I was a subscriber to alt.pagan and the information I found there was partly responsible for my own realization of my Pagan spirituality. However, lately it has become filled with what I call nipple-clip angst and I have opted not to partake of it. As a first resource and a tool by which the reality of Paganism can be apprehended by the newbie, howeber, it is unparalleled.

One of the more common things used by practicing Pagans or Wiccans are chance methods of divination such as I Ching, Tarot, or simply dice. Opinions on the usefulness and nature of these paths are varied. My own opinion is that of a Pagan scientist, that they are not paths to communication with any "spirits" and that they do not foretell the future; they are instead useful tools for self-therapy as the person laying a spread of cards will use their imagination in weaving the disparate cards into a story, and then reflection in applying that story to their own life. As well, the simple act of focusing one's thoughts on one's own life for at least a few minutes every day produces results.

Other great references are the many excellent books that are written on this subject. Another fantastic resource is the page maintained by Rowan Fairgrove, who keeps many Pagan links and also maintains the Covenant of the Goddess homepage.

A comprehensive bibliography of general Pagan interest is also maintained at mcsnet.

And I've got a list of Wiccan and Pagan links that I hope to add to later.