WE'RE OF THE OLD RELIGION SIRED OF TIME AND BORN OF OUR BELOVED EARTH MOTHER
 
From Pagan Musings by Tony Kelley


We have been called by many names. The Romans called us Pagans, for we lived in 
the country and propitiated the Gods and Goddesses of forest and field, of 
stream and sky. In Britain, we were called Heathens, for we lived on the heath, 
among the gorse and heather.

Our ancestors venerated all of life on this fair planter. Our shrines were not 
in temples of stone. We worship in the groves, among the trees and animals. Our 
altars and shrines are low to the Earth, and approachable. Some are in the 
Earth, caves, which are the womb of the Earth. The wind and birds sing our songs 
of praise, and we sing with them. The Great Mother is with us and we are with 
Her, for She is the whole Earth.
 
We, the followers of the Old Religion, see life beginning with the female, 
creatrix, powers. We know that the Earth Mother Goddess is the original deity 
revered by the earliest of peoples. We can trace our roots to Anatolia and to 
the settlements along the Danube, in Old Europe. These are the oldest societies 
that existed ñ over 10,000 years ago. These original societies were matriarchal.

Within the past decade, giant strides have been made in the field of archeology. 
Preciously accepted ideas have been challenged, and are crumbling. We now know 
that cities were founded and governed by women. The matriarchal societies 
invented writing, the arts, commerce, farming and the tools of farming, the 
wheel and were responsible for the domestication of animals. Although they had 
weapons for hunting, they were a peaceful people and had no weapons of 
aggression.

We celebrate the old holidays, the solstices, equinoxes, and the cross-quarters, 
half-way between making a total of eight holidays. Some of them may be familiar 
to you, in a slightly altered form. At the Spring equinox, we celebrate Ostara, 
named after Oestra or Eastre, the Goddess of Spring. Oestra is the root word for 
estrus, the rutting cycle and Easter, the spring mating season. This holiday 
celebrated the resurrection of the Goddess of plant life, usually depicted as 
the Goddess coming out of the cave (womb). Some of the traditions include dying 
eggs and the March hare (the Easter bunny), both fertility symbols. On May eve, 
Beltane, we build bonfires and dance around the Maypole. Our Thanksgiving or 
Harvest festival is celebrated at the Fall equinox. This is nearer the time 
that most of the world celebrates Thanksgiving. (No, Thanksgiving did not 
originate with the Pilgrims. They just made the celebration later, due to the 
lateness of their harvest.) Of the customs surrounding Halloween and Christmas, 
almost all come directly out of Pagan customs. Halloween or Samhain is our 
memorial celebration, the time to remember those that have passed on. Yule can 
be traced to the pre-Christian Druidic celebration of the birth of the Sun God. 
Our three remaining holidays are more obscure. Litha, the first day of summer, 
is immortalized by Shakespeare's "A Midsummers Night Dream" and by the 
archery games in the legends of Robin Hood. The first of August is called 
Lammas. Freshly baked loaves of bread were still taken to the church to be 
blessed on this day up to 100 years ago. These loaves were make from the first 
fruits of the season, "John Barleycorn". The remaining celebration is called 
Oimelc and has traces in Groundhog Day and Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day 
comes from the Roman Lupercalia and also commemorates the Roman doctor Galen 
(Valen), who made love potions. On this day we also venerate the Celtic fire 
Goddess Brigid, who was later adopted into Christianity as St. Brigit.
 
We believe in the elevation of humanity. We feel that it dutied for humans to 
exercise their fullest potentials. We feel that we must assert positive 
attitudes towards ourselves, others and Nature. We also feel that it is our duty 
to regain and preserve the balance of Nature and to work toward an ecologically 
sane society.
 
Don Wildgrube, HP
Copyright ñ 1980, Earth Church of Amargi