Day 16: The Charge of the Goddess

Before we get into the “real” post for today, I just wanted to share a picture of my new and improved altar. It’s urine-free, clean and consecrated, and I’ve added a strikingly lovely altar cloth (okay, it’s a pillowcase, but I’m working with what I have here). 

Now that I have a place to focus again, we can get back to paganism.

A lot of people tend to view paganism as nothing more than spells and attempts at “magic” and maybe a bit of hocus-pocus craziness. In other words, paganism is often viewed by outsiders as not even a “real” religion at all.

For those who think paganism is just for loony people who like to dress up in fancy robes and dance around with magic wands, the Charge of the Goddess—a poem/prayer that has been written and rewritten by many pagan authors over the years—is there to set them straight.

Here’s an excerpt from one version:

Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
and whose body encircles the Universe.
I who am the beauty of the green Earth,
and the white Moon among the stars,
and the mystery of the waters,
and the desire of the heart of man,
call unto thy soul.
Arise, and come unto me.
For I am the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe.
From me all things proceed,
and unto me all things must return;
and before my face, beloved of Gods and of men,
let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth;
for behold,
all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
And therefore let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion, honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.

And thou who thinkest to seek for me,
know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not
unless thou knowest the mystery;
that if that which thou seekest
thee findest not within thee,
thou wilt never find it without thee.
For behold,
I have been with thee from the beginning;
and I am that which is attained
at the end of desire.

I don’t know. That sounds just about as “religious” as anything I ever heard while I was growing up in the Catholic Church—right down to the “Thee’s” and “Thou’s.”

Because paganism has no single Bible that applies to all pagans in all branches of belief, writings like the Charge of the Goddess help clarify that paganism is, indeed, a “real” religion. It’s just not as structured, hierarchical, and organized as most major religions. And some (myself included) might argue that the structure, hierarchy, and organization are exactly what is wrong with most religions.

Like other faiths, paganism acknowledges the existence of a God/dess (and/or multiple gods). It has rules for moral and ethical conduct, just like other faiths. And, like other faiths, it has beliefs about how and why we were created by the “Great Divine,” why we’re here, and what will happen after we die.

So, whether you like it or not, you have to admit that paganism is a real religion. It just seems—to me, at least—to be a little more fun than most of the other religions out there.

But then again, I guess we’ll have to see if I change my mind about that in the coming months. For all I know, Shinto could be a big barrel of laughs.