Paganism is many things. It is a spiritual path, a state of mind and a way of life that honors the Earth and all its inhabitants whether animal vegetable or mineral. Paganism is simultaneously a prehistoric and postmodern religion. it is as ancient as the fertility symbols associated with the veneration of gods and goddesses tens of thousands of years ago, while its newest forms have emerged as recently as the mid-20th century. Broadly speaking, Paganism encompasses two key characteristics: 1) religious and spiritual practices concerning the worship of, or devotion to, the earth, the natural world, and/or the manifest physical universe; and/or 2) belief in spiritual beings: goddesses, gods, nature spirits (fairies, elves, power animals), and ancestral spirits. …show more content…
Some people held on to the old religion. The church became impatient and began a purge beginning around 1484 involving the burning of Witches and wholesale slaughter of thousands of people across Europe just on suspicion of being Witches. Not surprisingly, in the face of such oppression the old religion went 'underground'. Between the 18th and the 20th centuries, a variety of new religious movements have emerged, particularly in Europe and North America, religions that are to various degrees based on Pagan practices such as nature veneration or goddess devotion. Examples of these would include modern Druidism, Wicca, and revivals of ethnic religions (such as Asatru). These revivals/recreations of ancient Paganism are properly called contemporary Paganism ("new paganism"). Wicca is a duotheistic religion. That means they believe in two gods; a combination of a god and a goddess. The goddess is known as the mother goddess while the god is known as the horned god. The mother goddess is associated with the Earth, moon and stars. The horned god is associated with the sun, animals, and the