OK, I'm a neopagan. There...I said it.
Many in the pagan/Wiccan/Druidic/shamanic/new age/etc./etc. community are uncomfortable with the term "neopagan". I suppose this is because it somehow connotes a lack of antiquity to one's spiritual lineage. As if that matters at all.
I believe in the continual reassessment of the meaning of one's religion in their life. We in the pagan community tend to denigrate fundamentalist Christians for their rigidity of belief. One of the truly refreshing aspects of pagan fellowship is the general spirit of tolerance for diverse traditions. Guess what. One of the biggest reasons for this is that none of our traditions go back far enough to merit rigidity.
No matter how you slice it, Wicca and other pagan spiritual paths today are reconstructions at best. This provides a truly wonderful opportunity to invest these reclaimed traditions with the best that can be gleaned from 10,000 years or more of ethical contemplation. As noted in one of my earlier rants, it's hard to escape the fact that many ancient faiths involved human sacrifice. We don't have to be slaves to the notion that intelligent beings (including deities) must be given a gift that overwhelming in nature to give in return. If we can give selflessly to each other, perhaps the gods are willing to meet us halfway in return.
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