for Pagan homeschoolers

[Audrey]

I noticed on a couple of other threads that there some other pagan homeschoolers on here. I thought I'd share this really lovely resource. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, but it's been a great resource in our homeschool.

 

Pagan Moonbeams

 

It is a free monthly newsletter chock full of materials to use in your pagan homeschooling endeavours. Issues average around 40-50 pages each, so there's a lot to them! All the back issues are available, and if you sign up for announcements, you'll get the link to the newest edition a few days before it goes on the website.

 

There are sections for younger children, a section for teens, a section for parents, info on a different herb and crystal every month, info on the Elements, interviews with prominent pagans on a kid's level, and more.

[dorothy]

just curious.

[Audrey]

just curious.

 

A Pagan who homeschools isn't much different from any other homeschooler, I guess. Think of like this, where a Christian might choose specifically Christian materials to use in their homeschool in order to teach their children about that faith, so might a Pagan homeschooler use specifically Pagan materials to teach their children about that faith/path.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Thanks, Audrey. Fifty-five pages is amazing.

[dorothy]

what does a pagan teach as their faith? I am really not trying to be difficult, I just have no idea what pagans believe/teach and how that would play out in hsing.

[Audrey]

Thanks, Audrey. Fifty-five pages is amazing.

 

I thought the first issues were pretty good, but they just keep getting better and bigger as they grow with the publication. There's a little bit of something for the whole family.

[Audrey]

what does a pagan teach as their faith? I am really not trying to be difficult, I just have no idea what pagans believe/teach and how that would play out in hsing.

 

 

There are as many different paths of Pagans as there are denominations of Christianity -- perhaps even more. I really couldn't begin to explain it in it's entirety. In a nutshell, most (not all) Pagans worship Nature, or the Old Gods, or a combination of that.

 

Wikipedia has a good entry.

 

As far as how that plays out in homeschooling... just as you might want to pass on your values to your children, so do I (and many other Pagans). My values come, in part, from my Pagan beliefs, so I want to include that in our homeschooling journey. As I said, it really isn't any different in intention than a Christian homeschooler using Christian curriculum.

 

Does that help? :001_smile:

[dragons in the flower bed]

There are three definitions of the word spelled p-a-g-a-n. One is a proper noun, therefore capitalized, and refers to practioners of a particular religion. What Neopagans Believe is a great introduction to that faith as practiced by most Druids, Wiccans and Heathens today. (Neo just means reviving or being inspired by ancient Pagan ways rather than practicing a Pagan faith which has been continuously practiced since ancient times.)

 

From dictionary.com:

 

1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.

2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.

3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.

[dorothy]

v

[KarenNC]

I noticed on a couple of other threads that there some other pagan homeschoolers on here. I thought I'd share this really lovely resource. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, but it's been a great resource in our homeschool.

 

Pagan Moonbeams

 

 

 

Thanks, looks like a nice resource. I don't know if the WTMPagan elist is still active or not (we unsubscribed a while back in an attempt to cut down on the huge number of elists we were receiving).

[Night Elf]

This is awesome, thanks for sharing!

[Karen in CO]

I am planning out next year and was looking for good resources for holidays. This is very timely. Thanks.

[Pam Wilhelm]

How awesome is this!!? I'm not a Pagan (though some would say I belong to a cult :D )....... but I have many friends locally who are and who Homeschool.... I'll have to show this to them.

 

Thank you!!

[KarenNC]

what does a pagan teach as their faith? I am really not trying to be difficult, I just have no idea what pagans believe/teach and how that would play out in hsing.

 

No need to apologize, much better to ask for additional information as you are doing. Kudos!:) It's the only way we learn from each other.

 

As has been said, there are a great many different Pagan/Neopagan religions out there. They are actually distinct religions rather than denominations of one religion, so the label is simply an umbrella term that tries to describe a variety of religions that may have some things in common. Much more like Judaism, Christianity and Islam all describe themselves as monotheistic religions than like Baptists, Catholics and Mormons describe themselves as Christian.

 

In a nutshell, we teach what we believe about spiritual reality. We teach that which we believe will help our child grow up to be an adult who is a productive, honorable, responsible, functioning member of society with respect for herself and others.

 

I can speak about how our beliefs play into our homeschooling efforts as one specific example, if that helps. For the most part, it's not too different from anyone else. Arithmetic is arithmetic, English grammar is English grammar, magnets work the same way, the planets are still in the same order, handwriting still needs to be neat, phonics is the same and words are spelled the same, etc. My child is just as apt to not want to do her math page as anyone else's (well, sometimes maybe more so ;)).

 

As with all homeschoolers, we have the luxury of being able to fold religious studies into our time with other studies, so we frequently do. We stress personal responsibility, honor and respect for others and oneself, including modesty and appropriate behavior, at home and in public. If you saw us at a homeschool function, I imagine I would not stand out in the crowd. Middle-aged woman with long gray hair, no makeup, wears skirts exclusively (often denim), child also frequently (though not exclusively) wears dresses, dressed modestly and (hopefully) behaving appropriately:).

 

There are a few ways in which the details may look a bit different from some folks who are homeschooling for specifically Christian reasons (note I don't say "all"). We are polytheistic Hellenic Neopagan Unitarian Universalists, so:

 

- I probably put a much greater emphasis on the sacred stories of ancient Greece than you do, just as many wanting a Christian-specific experience put a greater emphasis on the sacred stories of ancient Israel.

-We teach the scientific theory of evolution because I see that as science and the creation stories (of any culture) as theology. I don't see the two as either identical or contradictory.

-When choosing copywork, literature models, etc, I am apt to choose something like the Delphic maxims, Aesop's Fables, the precepts of Solon, etc to reinforce moral lessons.

-It's harder to find material to teach Latin and ancient Greek on an elementary level that is not designed as a Christian-specific devotional tool.

-It's sometimes harder to find good materials in general aimed at a homeschool market as it appears that many publishers either are creating the materials to use in their own Christian-specific homeschools or seem to believe that only those wanting an "all very explicitly Christian all the time" experience homeschool so there are Biblical references and devotional materials on every page.

--It's harder to find materials that don't treat our sacred stories as "silly little tales told by ignorant primitive people who just hadn't learned better yet--isn't that quaint" or as existing only as flawed versions of or to foreshadow their own sacred stories.

-I teach my child *about* Christianity, including its history and its effect on Western civilization, probably very similarly to the way in which many Christians teach their children *about* Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc---as something that other people believe and which affects their reasons for behaving in a certain way.

-One of the major tenets of belief for us is our position and responsibility as one part of the interdependent web of all life, so there may be a bigger emphasis on conservation, community service and being aware that our actions affect more than just ourselves or other humans than some other homeschools may have.

 

There are, unfortunately, a great many homeschool activities in our area in which we are both not welcome and not allowed to participate because I am not willing to sign a statement of faith that I don't believe or ask my child to pretend to be something she is not. This makes it a bit harder to find community and things such as sports activities, classes, social opportunities, etc. This is a big issue for us as I have only one child. I am not interested in resorting to subterfuge just so my child can participate in a science fair, spelling bee, PE class, swimming at the Y, etc, though I know of others who have felt they had no choice but to do so.

We are fortunate to live in a pretty urban area and to have found an inclusive homeschool support group which has folks of a variety of religious beliefs (including pretty conservative Christians) because we are actively *not* seeking religious isolation nor interested in pretending we are not religious. Those living just a little farther out than us do not usually have that option. There may not be any homeschool activities for them other than those that are Christian-specific. Our support group is small, but growing, as many of us work to create those opportunities for our children that they cannot access elsewhere.

 

Hope that helps give you a little bit of a picture of how one Neopagan's beliefs may play out in a homeschooling situation. Again, thanks for asking rather than assuming.

[Mama Lynx]

what does a pagan teach as their faith? I am really not trying to be difficult, I just have no idea what pagans believe/teach and how that would play out in hsing.

 

We are pagan, but homeschool more or less secularly.

 

We pass on our values, of course; and we treat Bible stories the same as we would the religious story of any culture/group. Other than that, we're just homeschoolers. For all intents and purposes, you could treat us as secular homeschoolers. Our values and beliefs are passed on in daily life.

[dragons in the flower bed]

We are polytheistic Hellenic Neopagan Unitarian Universalists

 

Really?! Gosh, I'm beginning to think that polytheistic Hellenic Neopagan Unitarian Universalist homeschooling is not so rare.

[KarenNC]

Really?! Gosh, I'm beginning to think that polytheistic Hellenic Neopagan Unitarian Universalist homeschooling is not so rare.

 

Or do I just talk a lot?;)

 

In cyberspace, maybe not. In this part of NC, well, let's just say the phrase "hen's teeth" comes to mind for any individual part of that phrase (except "homeschooling") much less altogether :D! We can't even manage to be mainstream Pagans. The UU Church gives us our best shot at an IRL spiritual community.

 

We're pretty resigned to being the fuzz that hangs off the string hanging off the end of the fringe in most any group ;).

[dorothy]

I had no idea. FTR, we love the stories of Ancient Greece and work very hard to learn about these and others. I think that we are respectful and grateful for the rich history provided by ancient cultures. We do not treat them as silly stories and I am as apt to teach morality from Aesop as from the Bible. And, I am a Christian, in an interfaith marriage, raising four dc and trying to tell them about the whole world. I didn't know there were Pagans today! I will add that on to our discussions about religion. Again, thanks.

[TracyR]

I'm not Paegan but that is a very well put together newsletter . I don't know any one who is Pagan so I'll ask you ladies . So do you believe in more then one thing ? Like someone on there practiced Druid , Wiccan , Astratru and Santeria/Vodoo . So you all believe in more then one following ?

Sorry if I sound dumb there . I know nothing of Paganism . Just curious I guess.

And like the poster above we treat Greek and Roman stories with the same respect as we treat the stories of the Bible .

[Linda...inOwasso]

Unitarian Universalist here too. All of our local homeschool groups are *exclusively* Christian. Meaning if you're not a Christian --- you're excluded. It can certainly be isolating as a homeschooler at times. It's a shame too, because my family is really neat. My kids are kind, funny and considerate.

 

When the children are older, they will have to decide for themselves what to believe. I do not teach my children to exclude others because of their belief system. I hope they will choose their friends based on character, not religion. We learn about all faiths in our home and practice Abraham Lincoln's quote:

 

"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."

 

I love your description Karen!! The fuzz off the string at the end of the fringe! I can definitely relate to that!!

[dragons in the flower bed]

So do you believe in more then one thing ? Like someone on there practiced Druid , Wiccan , Astratru and Santeria/Vodoo . So you all believe in more then one following ?

 

I listed Druidry, Wicca and Asatru as examples of Pagan religions. I don't practice all three.

[Karen in CO]

I'm not Paegan but that is a very well put together newsletter . I don't know any one who is Pagan so I'll ask you ladies . So do you believe in more then one thing ? Like someone on there practiced Druid , Wiccan , Astratru and Santeria/Vodoo . So you all believe in more then one following ?

Sorry if I sound dumb there . I know nothing of Paganism . Just curious I guess.

And like the poster above we treat Greek and Roman stories with the same respect as we treat the stories of the Bible .

 

I am actually very strongly atheist, but next year to go with our Celtic studies we will be celebrating Samhain, Beltane, Imbolc, and Lammas. There is lots of good information in the newsletters to help me prepare.

 

To try to help your question, most of my pagan friends are either pantheist, pandeist, Wiccan, or Druids although I do have a German friend that is Heathen. Some of the Wiccans and Druids are more closely pantheist but they practice the rituals to express their beliefs.

 

That is as clear as mud isn't it? Hopefully somebody can be a better help than I was.

[Deece in MN]

I noticed on a couple of other threads that there some other pagan homeschoolers on here. I thought I'd share this really lovely resource. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, but it's been a great resource in our homeschool.

 

Pagan Moonbeams

 

It is a free monthly newsletter chock full of materials to use in your pagan homeschooling endeavours. Issues average around 40-50 pages each, so there's a lot to them! All the back issues are available, and if you sign up for announcements, you'll get the link to the newest edition a few days before it goes on the website.

 

There are sections for younger children, a section for teens, a section for parents, info on a different herb and crystal every month, info on the Elements, interviews with prominent pagans on a kid's level, and more.

 

Thanks for this link. It is a beautifully put together newsletter.

I am currently without religion :D, but have been reading a lot about Celtic spirituality lately. At one point in my life I identified with pagan beliefs. I still enjoy reading and learning about things from this perspective, but I don't currently practice pagan spirituality.

Even so, there is some neat stuff in these newsletters and I know my dd (possibly my ds, too) will find some of it very interesting.

Thanks!

[genie]

 

--It's harder to find materials that don't treat our sacred stories as "silly little tales told by ignorant primitive people who just hadn't learned better yet--isn't that quaint" or as existing only as flawed versions of or to foreshadow their own sacred stories.

 

That's precisely why I dropped La Clase Divertida.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I don't know if the WTMPagan elist is still active or not (we unsubscribed a while back in an attempt to cut down on the huge number of elists we were receiving).

 

 

It sure is.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WTMPagan/

 

It was slow for a while, but I passed on the responsibility to a true Pagan, and things are going again.

[KarenNC]

I'm not Paegan but that is a very well put together newsletter . I don't know any one who is Pagan so I'll ask you ladies . So do you believe in more then one thing ? Like someone on there practiced Druid , Wiccan , Astratru and Santeria/Vodoo . So you all believe in more then one following ?

 

 

Some do, some don't, some sort of do some of the time (that's helpful, isn't it:)?). Try saying that "all Christians believe......." and make that statement fit John Shelby Spong, Matthew Fox, Jerry Falwell, Pope John Paul II and Warren Jeffs (to name a few). Pretty hard. Try saying "all monotheists believe....." and make that statement fit all the varieties of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Even harder. Trying to come up with "you all believe....." in reference to all the varieties of religion that are typically lumped under the generic term Neopagan, and you have an even bigger difficulty. There simply is no "you all"---no central unifying doctrine, organizing/governing body, core set of beliefs, etc. for *all* Pagans. Some groups will have a more or less centralized organizational structure, but many do not. Then there are the folks who don't choose to belong to any group whatsoever.

 

There are eclectic Neopagans who freely mix pantheons and worship practices, sometimes bringing in New Age practice and philosophy (and no, Neopagan and New Age are not interchangeable;)). There are those who are strict reconstructionists attempting to follow what we know of the ways in which the Gods of a particular pantheon were worshiped in their pre-Christian cultures. There are those, like us, who have a primary pantheon and try to stay as close as possible to the old ways of honoring and interacting with our Gods, but realize that not all of those ways fit within the modern society of which we are a part or the way in which we, as 21st century Americans (or whatever), relate to the Gods. No religion remains static. Then there's everything in between ;).

 

Clear as mud?:)

[KarenNC]

It sure is.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WTMPagan/

 

It was slow for a while, but I passed on the responsibility to a true Pagan, and things are going again.

 

Thanks. I may have to check it out again.

 

Part of our problem is that we are such a minority viewpoint even within the Pagan and UU communities (there goes that fuzz thing again!) that it is sometimes a hard fit. More conservative and "school-ish" than most Neopagans or UUs, and Wicca (by far the largest influence in the Neopagan community) leaves me stone cold---our beliefs and practices are very different from theirs.

 

Ironically, the more Pagan-specific a group gets, sometimes the less we fit in because folks are making more assumptions about our worldview. We tend to do better in inclusive groups where everyone goes in knowing up front that folks are likely to be different. It's why I dropped the WTMSecular and WTMPagan elists in favor of just sticking with these boards.

[KarenNC]

I had no idea. FTR, we love the stories of Ancient Greece and work very hard to learn about these and others. I think that we are respectful and grateful for the rich history provided by ancient cultures. We do not treat them as silly stories and I am as apt to teach morality from Aesop as from the Bible. And, I am a Christian, in an interfaith marriage, raising four dc and trying to tell them about the whole world. I didn't know there were Pagans today! I will add that on to our discussions about religion. Again, thanks.

 

Please do note that I tried to be careful to stipulate that not all Christians (or non- Christians for that matter) necessarily do some or all of the things I have mentioned, though some definitely do.

 

It's not a one-way street either. For our part, I have to work to try to be sure that we treat Christianity the same way we do Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc---with the same respect we want our religion to be treated. That means that I don't go out of my way to avoid any mention of it, and, as she gets older, try to look on opportunities to attend activities with a Christian theme with the same openness we would one with a Buddhist theme. The temptation is definitely there to do otherwise. I have to remember that any baggage I (or my husband) may have from having come out of a Christian background or living in a very Christian-saturated area does not have to be my daughter's baggage. After all, to quote Aristotle, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

[Audrey]

I'm not Paegan but that is a very well put together newsletter . I don't know any one who is Pagan so I'll ask you ladies . So do you believe in more then one thing ? Like someone on there practiced Druid , Wiccan , Astratru and Santeria/Vodoo . So you all believe in more then one following ?

Sorry if I sound dumb there . I know nothing of Paganism . Just curious I guess.

And like the poster above we treat Greek and Roman stories with the same respect as we treat the stories of the Bible .

 

 

There's a (sort of) joke that says there are as many Pagan paths as there are Pagans! :001_smile: It really has become an individual thing, but then, in my experience, you can get 10 Christians together, even of the same denomination and they may have 10 different ideas on how to practise their faith.

 

For me, I call myself Pagan in the general sense. I am not a Wiccan. Specifically, I am a non-deist witch. I don't worship any gods, but rather focus on the worship of Nature as the core of spirituality. I practise witchcraft (specifically, I'm a hedge witch). I celebrate the turning of the Wheel. To me, it makes so much sense, as we are farmers, too. I believe that we all have a goddess (or god) within us. The spiritual journey is to explore that potential.

 

Probably WAY more than you wanted to know, eh? :D

[Karen in CO]

Isn't it nice to be in a place where we can learn from and respect each others differences.

[Kate in Arabia]

Ok, Audrey, can I just say that the newsletter is amazing! I have worked on a lot of newsletters in my day, lol, so I know how much work is going in to putting together all that -- kudos to everyone involved!

 

And at least for me, although I'm not Pagan, there is a lot of interesting/useful information in there -- I hope it's ok if a non-Pagan subscribes!

[genie]

Ok, Audrey, can I just say that the newsletter is amazing! I have worked on a lot of newsletters in my day, lol, so I know how much work is going in to putting together all that -- kudos to everyone involved!

 

 

Indeed! I was scrolling down, looking through and enjoying it. Thinking I must certainly be near the end, I glanced down and saw I was on page 9 of 41!! Wowsers!!! That's some newsletter!

[LunaLee]

Thank you most kindly for sharing.

[KarenNC]

There's a (sort of) joke that says there are as many Pagan paths as there are Pagans! :001_smile: It really has become an individual thing, but then, in my experience, you can get 10 Christians together, even of the same denomination and they may have 10 different ideas on how to practise their faith.

 

And I think that the idea that one can individually practice one's faith separate from one's community (the individual priesthood of the believer) is a grand example of the syncretism between the ancient religions and Christianity, particularly Protestant Christianity. It's not something that was part of ancient practice but is definitely something that is part of the overall modern Western worldview.

 

For me, I call myself Pagan in the general sense. I am not a Wiccan. Specifically, I am a non-deist witch. I don't worship any gods, but rather focus on the worship of Nature as the core of spirituality. I practise witchcraft (specifically, I'm a hedge witch). I celebrate the turning of the Wheel. To me, it makes so much sense, as we are farmers, too. I believe that we all have a goddess (or god) within us. The spiritual journey is to explore that potential.

 

And we have no interest in any sort of witchcraft or magic at all, rather focus on piety and honoring the Gods. I experience Them as distinct actual entities who are part of the universe as much as humans are and who at times choose for whatever reason to interact with humanity for Their own purposes. I believe that it is possible there is some ultimate ground of being from which both humanity and the Gods sprang, but if so, it is so far distant from our ability to experience and interact with it that it is as relevant to humanity as the Horsehead Nebula is to the ant in my front yard. Hence, a hard polytheist rather than a monist.

 

Prayers, offerings and libations, study and community service are the bulk of our experience. We do sort of keep track of the Wheel of the Year as we find it useful in helping us remember to be aware of the passage of time and changes of seasons. We primarily mark the solstices and equinoxes, not so much the cross-quarter ones, as they tend to be out of sync with the actual seasonal cycles as we experience them here. It was fascinating to travel to New England a couple of years ago and realize that there was a climate in which those cross-quarter days made sense as they stood. We are off by several weeks here in the southern US. We were traveling around Beltaine, so up in the Niagara Falls area the daffodils were just coming out while at home ours were long gone and we were harvesting the strawberries already. Makes sense if you look at the origins of the holidays included in the Wheel.

 

So here in this non-random sample of Pagans you have two radically different ways of "being Neopagan";).

[Jenny in Atl]

I'm always interested in others faiths and traditions, as someone without a culture, set of traditions or standard faith. I've bookmarked the newsletter as well. Much thanks for sharing.

[Parabola]

I spent a lot of time exploring paganism in general before deciding it really wasn't the path for me, mainly because I couldn't get past my definite atheism. I still took away some meaningful things from my readings though.

I think its a beautiful way to live, and I'm glad to know that there are people on the board who practice it.

[chiguirre]

Audrey, thank you for posting that newsletter!

 

It has so many great activities we can incorporate to celebrate spring. I wish I could rep you, but I have to spread it around. I'm not a pagan, but I do appreciate the reverence for nature that pagan resources exude and this is a great example of that.

[Greta]

--It's harder to find materials that don't treat our sacred stories as "silly little tales told by ignorant primitive people who just hadn't learned better yet--isn't that quaint" or as existing only as flawed versions of or to foreshadow their own sacred stories.

 

 

When we studied the Greek section of the 2nd Grade Core Knowledge books, the Greek Gods and Goddesses and the stories about them were introduced as myths which, "of course", today we know aren't really true. And it was only because I had been educated by Pagans on this board and others that I knew to, instead, introduce them as ancient beliefs which are still practiced today. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know that until relatively recently! (I knew about Wicca, but I thought that Hellenic and Norse Paganism were "extinct".) But at least my daughter learned it at the age of 8 instead of 30-something.

 

As Buddhists, we are taught to always respect the beliefs and faiths of others. I have to admit that this is sometimes very difficult for me because of my own emotional baggage regarding the religion I was raised with. But I really try to set a good example for my daughter and I sincerely hope that the way I am raising her will result in far less baggage for her to lug around! :) I actually feel a certain kinship with Paganism, because the veneration of nature in Paganism, and the belief in the interconnectedness of all beings in Buddhism, seem to go perfectly hand in hand. And the truth is, if one is willing to look, common ground like this can always be found. And it is entirely my own shortcoming that I forget that sometimes.

 

Audrey, I also learned from you today that one can be Pagan and atheist at the same time. I never knew! Buddhism is a non-theistic religion -- it takes no stance one way or the other as to whether or not Gods exist. It is not the only Eastern religion/philosophy which does this, but I (mistakenly, obviously) thought that the East was unique in this way. So it's very interesting to "meet" someone in a Western religion who is also an atheist.

 

Well this has been a most enlightening conversation. It has brought to my attention the fact that while my daughter learns about many other religions along the way (Buddhism came from the Hindu tradition, so we learn about that; we have many friends who are Christian, so we learn about that, etc. and so on) there is not much I can teach her about modern Paganism, because I know so little about it myself. I wonder if this newsletter might be a good way to educate us both.

[KarenNC]

Well this has been a most enlightening conversation. It has brought to my attention the fact that while my daughter learns about many other religions along the way (Buddhism came from the Hindu tradition, so we learn about that; we have many friends who are Christian, so we learn about that, etc. and so on) there is not much I can teach her about modern Paganism, because I know so little about it myself. I wonder if this newsletter might be a good way to educate us both.

 

A resource I found useful when doing an Intro to Neopaganism at our UU church was "Paganism: an introduction to Earth-centered religions" by Joyce and River Higginbotham. It is more of an overview of a goodly bit of Neopagan religions rather than a "how-to" for a specific one. I have also heard really good things about "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism" by Carl McColman.

 

For children, I believe there are some things out there put out by primarily Wiccan authors that deal with specifically Wiccan practices, but I am not so familiar with them. We tend to look for books that work well with the themes of our spirituality. Some we have really liked are listed on my husband's blog:

http://executivepagan.wordpress.com/2007/03/10/favorite-pagan-kids-books-part-1/

and

http://executivepagan.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/favorite-pagan-kids-books-part-2/

The first posthas most of the Hellenic books (surprise, surprise :)) and the second has additional material.

 

For an additional personal perspective on "why polytheism" and "why Hellenism", those interested are invited to his blog to take a look at the following posts (and any others that strike your fancy;)):

"Why polytheism?" http://executivepagan.wordpress.com/2007/03/09/why-polytheism/

"Truth vs. Fact" (to answer "but do you really *believe* all that?") http://executivepagan.wordpress.com/2007/02/25/truth-vs-fact-part-1/ and http://executivepagan.wordpress.com/2007/02/28/truth-vs-fact-part-2/

and "Why Hellenism?"

[Greta]

This is wonderful, Karen. Thank you so much for pointing me to these resources!

[Audrey]

Ok, Audrey, can I just say that the newsletter is amazing! I have worked on a lot of newsletters in my day, lol, so I know how much work is going in to putting together all that -- kudos to everyone involved!

 

And at least for me, although I'm not Pagan, there is a lot of interesting/useful information in there -- I hope it's ok if a non-Pagan subscribes!

 

I'm quite sure they'd be happy to have anyone use it, pagan or not. :001_smile:

[Audrey]

 

So here in this non-random sample of Pagans you have two radically different ways of "being Neopagan";).

 

I am part of a coven that includes many different paths. We are together primarily because of our remote location and a desire to share our paths with other pagans. I feel very comfortable participating in rituals that invoke gods or goddesses because to me, it is all part of the Great Mother Nature. I enjoy the diversity of our collective rituals, yet at the same time, enjoy my own private rituals as well. Then, of course, my dh is also a pagan, but not at all interested in witchcraft, yet we enjoy our family rituals, too.

[KarenNC]

I am part of a coven that includes many different paths. We are together primarily because of our remote location and a desire to share our paths with other pagans. I feel very comfortable participating in rituals that invoke gods or goddesses because to me, it is all part of the Great Mother Nature. I enjoy the diversity of our collective rituals, yet at the same time, enjoy my own private rituals as well. Then, of course, my dh is also a pagan, but not at all interested in witchcraft, yet we enjoy our family rituals, too.

 

We've done similar things with others from other Neopagan traditions simply in search of community, but over time it has been ultimately unsatisfying because it is just such a different focus in our case. The others in our area all tend to be either Wiccan or Wiccan-esque and put a lot of emphasis on magic working.

[KarenNC]

When we studied the Greek section of the 2nd Grade Core Knowledge books, the Greek Gods and Goddesses and the stories about them were introduced as myths which, "of course", today we know aren't really true. And it was only because I had been educated by Pagans on this board and others that I knew to, instead, introduce them as ancient beliefs which are still practiced today. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know that until relatively recently! (I knew about Wicca, but I thought that Hellenic and Norse Paganism were "extinct".) But at least my daughter learned it at the age of 8 instead of 30-something.

 

There is absolutely no reason in the world to be ashamed. Even Wicca, which is well and away the largest Neopagan religion, is small in numbers compared to the more familiar religions (though I hear that folks say it is growing very quickly). I would guess that Norse is probably a bit larger in numbers than Hellenic, at least based on what I have seen. Heck, it's hard enough sometimes to get folks who are already an active part of the Neopagan community (and may have been for years) to remember that not everyone is Wiccan:)!

[Montana Peach]

Awesome resource, Audrey, thanks!

[Audrey]

... it's hard enough sometimes to get folks who are already an active part of the Neopagan community (and may have been for years) to remember that not everyone is Wiccan:)!

 

You know... that's exactly one of the things that I liked so much about the Pagan Moonbeams newsletter -- that they have introduced topics on so many different paths and they aren't rigidly Wiccan focused.

 

It's hard to find pagan materials you can share with your young children, even harder to find non-Wiccan materials! It's a real treat when something so broadly inclusive is available. Oh, and free. Free is always good. :D

[mo2]

This is great, thank you.

[Ravin]

Thanks for the link! It's fair to say that Pagan homeschooling resources are scanty at best.

 

I'm Heathen and raising DD as such. DH is more or less agnostic, and goes along with Asatru as the family religion.

 

In the course of exploring classical homeschooling I've learned a bit more about Hellenic Paganism; likely we'll learn more when we delve into the mythology.

 

We live in a big city and I know there are several Kindreds in the area, but they're a bit stand-offish, and not terribly welcoming to new members. My involvement in the Pagan community here has been limited to the ASU student group, which unfortunately is dying out because no one will step up and come to meetings when told they're expected to contribute and participate even as new members.

[j.griff]

Thanks for sharing this link, Audrey.