| NATURE WORSHIP: - Wicca and witchcraft or | | | | polytheistic nature religions acknowledge an all- |
| other shamanic attunements akin to the kind of | | | | encompassing Divine Unity. {This seems more |
| ethic and awe the great and beautiful (FREE) | | | | 'open' and less than the kind of anthropomorphing |
| North American Indians had before the arrival of | | | | that ego often does.}Shaman: an adept who |
| the 'civilized' men from the Old World."A Guide to | | | | serves as healer and spirit world communicator |
| Nature Spirituality Terms | | | | for her/his tribe or community. Sometimes known |
| Selena FoxFounder and leader of Circle | | | | as a 'Medicine person'. This role is tribal culture |
| Sanctuary, an internationally linked Nature | | | | community defined.Shamanic Practitioner: |
| Spirituality resource center and Shamanic Wiccan | | | | someone learning and working with shamanistic |
| church based in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. Animism: | | | | healing practices for self-development, and in |
| ancient philosophy that views everything in Nature | | | | some cases, also for helping others. Sometimes |
| as having an indwelling spirit/soul, including the | | | | known as a 'Medicine worker'. This role is |
| plants, rocks, waters, winds, t tires, animals, | | | | self-defined.Shamanism: animistic spiritual healing |
| humans, and other life forms.Animism is the | | | | practices usually involving trance (ecstatic) and |
| foundation of shamanism and has been considered | | | | spirit world journeys by adepts. Forms of |
| the earliest form of human religion on planet Earth. | | | | shamanism include 'Traditional', which are rooted in |
| {Sorry, philosophy students, who are often told | | | | specific indigenous tribal people's cultures, and |
| Aristotle and his work 'Anima' is original, these | | | | 'Multicultural', which are contemporary forms that |
| same students aren't told about his Secretum | | | | integrate old and new spirit wisdom from more |
| Secretorum which is an alchemic treatise covering | | | | than one culture. {Does this seem to be an 'open' |
| what he was taught that he sent to his pupil | | | | and positively ecumenical spirituality? Why would |
| Alexander the Great.}Earth-Centered Spirituality: | | | | there be any problem if anyone and indeed |
| honoring the spiritual interconnectedness of life on | | | | everyone started to learn all wisdom?}Wiccan |
| planet Earth, often as Mother Earth or Gaia, but | | | | Spirituality: contemporary paths rooted in one or |
| sometimes as a gender neutral Earth Spirit. | | | | more nature folk religions of old Europe. Also |
| Sometimes called 'Earth religion' and 'Gaian' | | | | known as the Old Religion, the Craft, Wicca, |
| (Gaean) religion. Related Eco-Christian form is | | | | Wicce, Ways of the Wise, Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, |
| Creation- Centered Spirituality.Ecofeminism: | | | | and Benevolent Witchcraft.Witch: some Wiccan |
| feminist environmental philosophy that draws | | | | practitioners use the word "Witch" for themselves |
| parallels between the oppression of women and | | | | in connection with their spirituality to bring back its |
| the oppression of Nature by patriarchy and which | | | | pre-Inquisition use in Europe as a term of honor |
| advocates the spiritual and political liberation of | | | | and respect, meaning "medicine person/medicine |
| both. Goddess Spirituality: revering Nature and | | | | worker," "shaman/Shamanic practitioner," "wise |
| honoring the Great Goddess in one or more of | | | | woman/man," "priestess/priest of the Old |
| Her many forms. Usually polytheistic and | | | | Religion." Other Wiccans refuse to use the word |
| sometimes multicultural in practice. Usually | | | | "Witch" because of later negative definitions of |
| incorporates feminist perspectives. Heathen: | | | | the word which led to its use as a tool of Pagan |
| Another name for Pagan. Many contemporary | | | | genocide and religious oppression in Europe and |
| practitioners of Teutonic nature religions prefer | | | | North America for hundreds of years. {Do you |
| this term for themselves and their | | | | know when it ended? Did it end when Blasphemy |
| spirituality.Nature Religions: religions that include an | | | | Laws were overturned in England in 1951? Some |
| honoring of the Divine as immanent in Nature. May | | | | would like you to believe it ended when the last |
| be premodern, modern, or postmodern in | | | | person was burned at the stake in Seville, Spain in |
| philosophical orientation. Usually polytheistic, | | | | the early 19th century. It still exists in career and |
| animistic, and pantheistic. Include traditional ways | | | | government as well as social situations. |
| of various native peoples of the Americas, Africa, | | | | Therapeutae like Jesus and Pythagoras or other |
| Asia, Australia, Polynesia, Europe, and elsewhere; | | | | syncretic religions are definitely the real models of |
| religions of ancient Pagan cultures, such as Greek, | | | | discipline that are "Witches"!} During the "Burning |
| Egyptian, Roman, Minoan, Assyrian, Celtic, | | | | Times" of the Middle Ages, bigots in power |
| Teutonic, and others; and contemporary | | | | changed its definition, making it a term linked with |
| Paganism.Nature Spirituality: honoring the spiritual | | | | evil, and used it as a brand to mark and |
| interconnectedness of life not only on planet Earth | | | | exterminate folk healers, {The supposed one god |
| but throughout the Universe/Cosmos; ,ore | | | | church actually believed illness was created by |
| encompassing term than Earth-Centered | | | | "sins and demons". The guilt trips are more refined |
| Spirituality because it also includes Celestial | | | | as time allows more control and programming |
| religions; used by some as synonymous with | | | | through the destruction of open discussion and |
| contemporary Paganism and by others as also | | | | free-thinking.} those who refused to convert to |
| including interfaith blends, such as those that | | | | state-sanctioned forms of Christianity, political |
| combine Paganism and Eco-Christianity or | | | | rivals, and others. Contemporary usage of the |
| Eco-Buddhism. {Is nature worship doing the | | | | word "Witch" by non-Wiccans is diverse but in |
| denominational rag and differentiating itself with | | | | recent years has been changing in academia and |
| real intent to discriminate of claim special | | | | elsewhere {IT is the position of the American |
| status?}Neo-Pagan: Contemporary Pagan.Pagan: | | | | Psychiatric Association that trances, and |
| pertains to a nature religion or a practitioner of an | | | | possessions, are mental illness. They do not study |
| ancient and/or contemporary nature religion; also | | | | or deal with the soul and most avoid discussion of |
| used to refer to a Nature Spirituality, | | | | it, but when pressed are only acting out the old |
| Earth-Centered Spirituality, and/or Goddess | | | | propaganda and prejudice still. Anthropologists |
| Spirituality group or practitioner.Pantheism: the | | | | seek to make Trances an area of specialized |
| Divine as immanent; the Divine is in everything | | | | study and these scientists (?) want to create a |
| and everything has a Divine aspect.Panentheism: | | | | legal and druggable disorder called 'Trance |
| Pantheism that also includes a transcendent | | | | Possession Disorder Syndrome'. Real disorders |
| component conceptualized as the Sacred Whole | | | | including hallucinations do exist, and are treatable |
| or Divine Unity. {Use and misuse of language | | | | by witches and shamans. Vitamin B is often a |
| allows epithets and degrading remarks to | | | | missing ingredient in the nutritional intake and |
| minimalize or depreciate very similar concepts. Is it | | | | stresses or coping skills must be learned. |
| not better to say religion is 'what you DO?' and | | | | Compassion is better than drugs and even |
| not what rationalistic construct that might move | | | | massage or acupuncture work better in many |
| your thought at some moment?}Polytheism: | | | | studies such as one done at the U of Toronto in |
| honoring Divinity in two or more forms. {Does | | | | 2000. This author may be right when she says |
| that include the three as one or one in three | | | | there is a "growing awareness" but that |
| 'Trinity' originally taken from the Triune Nature of | | | | awareness may be managed to a degree she |
| Man?} Can be belief in/worship of multiple aspects | | | | does not know.} to reflect the growing public |
| of a particular deity; of the Divine as Goddess and | | | | awareness and understanding of Wiccan |
| God; or of many Goddesses, Gods, Nature Spirits, | | | | Spirituality's reclaiming of the word. |
| and/or other Divine forms. Some, but not all, | | | | |