Some people say you should never mix business with pleasure, or religion, or anything really. In most situations, I can understand that and have even followed that, but in some ways I feel suffocated by that. I’ve been thinking for a while about why I decided to keep some things to myself and honestly, there is no good reason for it. It is a big part of who I am and nothing will change that. Now, I choose to say one simple thing:

I am pagan.

Some of you may be pagan, or at least open to it, while others may be imagining pointy hats, flying broomsticks, devils, and all that stuff. Some of you may wonder why I am mentioning this. My reason is simply because I want to and I hope others will be encouraged to open up about their own beliefs, even if they go against the norm. No, this isn’t going to become a spiritual website. It’s still going to be all about the nature and photography and whatnot. I am simply making this post for personal reasons.

Before any finger pointing and cries of “burn the witch!” starts, let me clarify one thing:

I am not a witch.

Paganism is a very broad-spectrum faith. Yes, it includes witches, but it also includes druids, shamans, and many others. It is a faith that comes with many options and many choices, and will even allow you to mix and match different traditions. There are no pre-requisites or mandatory things that need to be done. Even all the tools they talk about (cauldrons, wands, athames) aren’t completely necessary. In fact, there are only 3 things you truly need to be pagan: yourself, nature, and faith in something. This “something” can be the trees, the animals, the elements, faeries, dragons, or any number of deity.

What’s more, paganism can be tied into every day interests. For example:

I love nature and always have. I’ve always been interested in conservation, helping the environment, veterinary studies, hiking, camping, and so forth. Since paganism is a nature-based faith, it felt only natural to walk that path. My main chosen path is shamanism. I am interested in natural or holistic healing practices. Shamanism allows me to work on a physical and spiritual level, to know which plant will help what ailment in ways that a textbook may not suggest. Of course, that is only one part of my path, faith, and who I am. And it is always a learning process.

Do I sacrifice things? No.
Do I worship the devil? No.
Do I place curses or hexes on people? No.

I keep to myself and stick to my path. If I need help, I ask for it. If I need protection, I create it. I believe good and evil exists in every thing, and I believe in all things existing (faeries, demons, angels, all gods, spirits, etc.), but my main focus has always been Nature and that is where my faith lies, with Nature. Nature is everything: it can be cruel and kind, orderly or chaotic, good and evil, all at once, all the time. It is something we see every day and it is a part of who we are; even a small patch of grass or a cloud in the sky is still part of Nature.

The next time you are among Nature, in a park or hiking a mountain or relaxing on a beach, open yourself up to her. Open all your senses and see what things you learn or notice or feel from Nature that you may not have before. The results may surprise you.

Have you ever been somewhere, anywhere, that made you feel at peace, or absolute wonder? Maybe you saw the Grand Canyon for the first time, or visited Giant’s Causeway, and the view and surrounding landscape was so much to take in, so powerful and overwhelming. Maybe you climbed a great, big mountain, and felt a great sense of pride or accomplishment when you reached the top. When you open yourself up to nature, to the spirit of nature, and you feel that overwhelming awe and inspiration, that breathtaking feeling that makes your whole being tingle or vibrate with energy, that unspeakable connection–that is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being pagan. That is where it all begins.

My question is: once you take that first step, where will you go from there?

If you are curious about paganism, I suggest you browse some websites or read a lot of books on the topic. It may surprise you to learn that some every day routines have a smidge of pagan faith in them