A moot with the local people

Our faiths by Matt Pointon

I WAS surprised when I was told that the venue for this week’s Our Faiths was to be a bar, but I soon learnt that the Pagans are full of surprises. I’d expected an other-worldly collection of witches and warlocks at the Keele Moot, but when I got to the Keele University Post-Grads’ Clubhouse, I found that they were, on the whole, quite normal and indeed, not one spell was cast all evening.

“People accuse us of devil worship and black magic,” said Sheena, one member of the Moot, “but that is quite wrong. For starters, Pagans do not even believe in the devil, so how can we worship him? A Pagan understands that both good and evil are within you, not outside.”

OK, so no devil worship, but what about the magic? “It is true that some Pagans do magic – the invoking of spirits to do good in the world – but it is not an essential part of our faith. Besides, do not all religions attempt magic every time that they pray, for what is prayer but the invoking of God – the supreme spirit – to change things?”

So, if Paganism is not about magic or the devil, what is it about? “A reverence for nature which provides us with all that we need to live,” explained Shelley, the Moot Leader. All agreed with that but anything further provoked debate. “Paganism is a religion without a creed or doctrine,” explained Shelley, “so we have a wide variety of opinions here.” Indeed, one member of the Moot questioned as to whether Paganism can even be called a religion since that word has its roots in the Etruscan for ‘binding together’ whereas the Pagan tradition is based on neither fellowship nor binding rules and doctrine. Indeed, the word ‘pagan’ itself simply means ‘local person’. Indeed, I feel that Steve, another Moot member, put it best when he said, “I just wish to be left alone in nature with the Goddess and my rituals.” A simple faith perhaps, but then the important things in life often are simple, don’t you think?