About Our Pagan Eclecticism
As the Earth suffers greater and greater levels of environmental disaster, more and more individuals hear the call of Her distress and rise to the occasion, spiritually, physically and emotionally. As the reins of organized religion seem to get tighter and the commercialism of religion grows, individuals respond by becoming spiritual instead of religious. As the old stories are lost in the tidal wave of current pop culture, many singers and storytellers and poets and artists emerge to carry on the voices of the ancients with contemporary flavor.
We in CAYA call ourselves “pagan.” The term has many different shades of meaning and ancient roots, but its modern interpretations mostly all boil down to meaning “worshipping one’s own Divine forces outside of the reach of one of the globally-dominant monotheistic religions.” The term has been used as an insult, an epithet, a label, a sentence, and a manner of proud self-definition. Here in CAYA we have no argument with the ways in which others may use the term. The way we use it here is to mean: “ones who worship the Earth and assorted Divine forces of name and energy.”
Just as everyone arrives at CAYA with their own unique genetic imprints, everyone arrives with their own approaches to spiritual practice. We welcome the sharing of benevolent beliefs that loosely correspond with harmlessness, conscientiousness, the passing of the seasons and cycles of the moon, reverence for the Divine by many names and in many forms, and respect for one another’s ideas. No one in CAYA is forced to believe anything. Our Clergy in our three Traditions agree upon certain practices that unite us as a community oriented toward service. Our High Council helps to create policies, guidelines, and boundaries for everyone’s mutual comfort and to keep things flowing harmoniously. When the heart of our work is service, many vessels can lead to the center. Our clergy and coven members are frequently also members of other spiritual organizations and Traditions, and we create CAYA to be an enlightening, fun, family-friendly interfaith platform for mutual growth and awareness.
We have found, in our years of practicing together, that an attitude of curiosity is the best approach to something we don’t understand. If you ever meet a member of CAYA, or anyone who claims the title “eclectic pagan” please take a moment to ask them respectfully about what that means to them. There are so many possible understandings of the term that one cannot successfully assume to know what another means by it. The richness that is inherent with viewing everyone as a potential teacher on your path, and the innocence of curiosity, are a joy at any age. A spiritual Tradition only grows if its members continually seek to enhance, supplement, evolve and care for it. Otherwise, it stagnates and suffers nervousness, irritability, devotion to form over function, and the risk of hollow magic. To keep our community healthy, lively and thriving, we embrace learning about the diversity of practices that exist within the realm of “pagan eclecticism.” We invite you to share this joy with us, whatever your definition may be.
From the Lady Yeshe Rabbit, HPS of CAYA
