Paganism

Elements Of Restoration And Transformation

Submitted by Pashta MaryMoon on behalf of Pagan Federation/Fédération païenne Canada (PFPC) and Pagan Pastoral Outreach (PPO) - both national bodies, although functioning primarily in Ontario and B.C.

Balance and wholism are also common tenets of Pagan traditions, and many reject any form of dualism (i.e., 'one side must necessarily conquer other'). Our pantheons of goddesses and gods represent balancing and complimentary tensions of qualities within both the Divine and the natural world - an on-going movement of diversification and resolution as within the seasonal cycle, in which no single stage is considered 'perfect' or 'complete'. A common archetypal figure, the 'trickster', helps us to not make absolute judgements, but rather to explore the situation for 'lessons not yet learnt', the 'direction not yet taken' and/or the third (and usually hidden or less obvious) option. As a nature-based religion, the model of 'one season being the prerequisite for the next' teaches us to respect, and act to aid, both conservation and creativity, both restoration and transformation.

Most neo-Pagans assume a spiritual 'original worthiness'; that is, we understand ourselves as not only children of the Goddess and the God, but expressions of the Divine. We do not attribute 'harm done' to the influence of an 'evil entity' or a 'persistent state of imperfection', but see it rather as a lack of appropriate balance (both within the internal and external reality) which needs to be restored. This approach to existence leads us to honour tension as the inspiration/opportunity for further growth, as well as both the recognition of healthy 'deaths' (of old attitudes, forms of relationship, etc.) and 'win/win' forms of resolution as necessary aspects of life and restorative justice.

Another common element of Pagan traditions is the recognition of the need for ritual, and in particular, the acknowledgement of movement from one state of being to another within a community. Our secular and multi-cultural world has made common rites of transition less accessible, and these need to be replaced by individual spiritual communities. Such rituals constitute a new covenant between the individual, their communities and the Divine, and are an important part of the process of letting go of old attitudes (and past harms done to either the offender or the victim, in other words 'forgiveness'), and re-birthing into a new healthier and more balanced relationship for all involved.