Esoteric Religion
Esoteric Religion
The Rebirth Of The Goddess
“Esoteric”. The word, in today’s man’s mind, sparks off images that involve dark rituals, secrets and mysteries. It is associated with people who are considered different to the point of insanity, and with secret rituals, witchcraft and midwifery. However, “esoteric” simply refers to knowledge which is not widely known, its opposite being “exoteric”. It refers to knowledge that can be accessed by only a certain group of people who are “illuminated”. The modern-day use also includes subjects which are difficult to understand without specialized education, for example theoretical physics. In the scope of the word pertaining to religion, it is linked with, and mostly refers to mystery religions. Mystery religions usually involve ancient religious beliefs and rites that have since long been obliterated out of the general public’s mindset. These mostly are related to witchcraft. Now again, the term “witchcraft” triggers a continuous projection of animal sacrificing drug addicts and devil-worshipping men. So do words like “paganism”. But what are the histories of these obscure religions? What truths are hidden beneath are preconceptions about these mysterious, little-known branches of religion? First, a bit of history associated with all these religions and cults associated with them. The first forms of religion, of course, were village people, thousands and thousands of years ago, revering the forces of nature. They celebrated the spring equinoxes, commemorated the fertility of the earth, and worshipped Mother Nature, or Gaia. These first followers of the predecessor of organized religion lived in villages. From there originates the word “pagan”, simply from the Latin paganus meaning “villager or rustic”.
See? The word has no dark origins, but still somehow the common idea is that “pagan” is synonymous with devil worship. Why? One example may be another etymological reference: “villain”. It comes from
The Rebirth Of The Goddess
“Esoteric”. The word, in today’s man’s mind, sparks off images that involve dark rituals, secrets and mysteries. It is associated with people who are considered different to the point of insanity, and with secret rituals, witchcraft and midwifery. However, “esoteric” simply refers to knowledge which is not widely known, its opposite being “exoteric”. It refers to knowledge that can be accessed by only a certain group of people who are “illuminated”. The modern-day use also includes subjects which are difficult to understand without specialized education, for example theoretical physics. In the scope of the word pertaining to religion, it is linked with, and mostly refers to mystery religions. Mystery religions usually involve ancient religious beliefs and rites that have since long been obliterated out of the general public’s mindset. These mostly are related to witchcraft. Now again, the term “witchcraft” triggers a continuous projection of animal sacrificing drug addicts and devil-worshipping men. So do words like “paganism”. But what are the histories of these obscure religions? What truths are hidden beneath are preconceptions about these mysterious, little-known branches of religion? First, a bit of history associated with all these religions and cults associated with them. The first forms of religion, of course, were village people, thousands and thousands of years ago, revering the forces of nature. They celebrated the spring equinoxes, commemorated the fertility of the earth, and worshipped Mother Nature, or Gaia. These first followers of the predecessor of organized religion lived in villages. From there originates the word “pagan”, simply from the Latin paganus meaning “villager or rustic”.
See? The word has no dark origins, but still somehow the common idea is that “pagan” is synonymous with devil worship. Why? One example may be another etymological reference: “villain”. It comes from