So...what flavor of pagan are you?

[Northern Jane]

Did you learn some things about how transpeople were treated and respected in the indian cultures you are into?

Very much so! When I first told a Native elder why I was hiding from my parents, circa 1962, she didn't even raise an eyebrow. "We know if such things." is all she said. I found complete acceptance of who and what I was. In many Native curltures, trans people are regarded as magical or blessed. There were females who lived as warriors and men, married, fought along side the men, and were as respected for their bravery as any man. There were male-bodied women who were regarded as 'true women', who married, raised children, and were afforded all the same privileges as women and faced the same restrictions. The more that Native bands were under the influence of the missionaries, the more their views tended toward the Anglo-European attitudes.

Much of the old ways have faded and, in most cases, "two spirit" is used to denote Gay men and Lesbians now. There is little understanding of trans any more.

[Kylie18]

Nova Roma and hard polytheist. I see the gods and goddesses as totally separate entities. I am also an adherent to the Law of Thelema.

"Do what thou will shall be whole of the Law"

[Greeneyedrebel]

OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) Druidry.

[Ev]

Independant, pretty much.  Solo practioner.

While not a pagan in the traditional...and maybe not even officially, depending on who you are...sense, I use a lot of pagan symbolgy in my creative practice and expression.  There is a fringe philosophy called "Existential Paganism" that I have integrated into my (very open) school of thought.  I am for all effects and purposes an atheist, but I use a lot of Jungian and Gnostic influence/symbology, with a preference to the more carnal/enlightenment figures like Pan and the traditional (pre-Christian defilement) Lucifer, as well as Prometheus, because of their love of humanity for what it should be...even if that is not what it is.  So, I myself take the "Existential" approach to Paganism by asking: "what does paganism mean to you?"  Depending on who you are, I may or may not qualify as a pagan because I am an atheist.

I use pagan symbolism and have a deep respect for the Natural Order, however, and thus give credit where credit is due.

My transgender identification status is a way to reconcile my anima and animus, and going through the SRS (in part) is a way to invert my being.  I was a feminine "male" before, but feel more like a "masculine" female these days.

Some reading on the Exisential School, for those inquisitive types:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art69464.asp

(I take no credit for the article.)

[Constance]

Ecclectic Solitary, drawing primarily from Wicca and Asatru. My matron is Pele, my patron is Perkunas, and my Spirit Ally is the Lost Bison.

However, it's probably best to say I'm a Buddhistic-Christo Pagan and count among my spiritual ancestors the Buddha, Jesus, Mary, and Judas Iscariot.

Wow, I've changed a bit since I first replied in this thread.

This past February I was initiated as a first degree priestess into the Circle of Cerridwen in the Open Source Alexandrian Tradition, so I'm not really a solitary anymore. I'm still a Christo-Pagan, though, and on Ash Wednesday I learned that my application to seminary had been accepted.

[Nicodeme]

Lokean. As in the Loki with red hair. The Marvel character is annoying.   I also do some magick on the side that probably falls best under the label of Chaos Magick and I've been obsessed with divination since I was like 13.

[FreyasRedemption]

Well, I keep some quite obscure gods. Obscure, to the point where a Google search got me nothing.
For me, the sun and star goddess Elera is the most important one. Even though I don't know much else about her than her creation of the stars and her being a life-giving, kind goddess. Then, there's Kolorro, or Goloroh. I'm not actually sure how to write its name, but anyway, it is the sea god who takes the form of a crab or lobster. Because of that, shrimps are sacred to it and so I will avoid eating them as much as it is possible. That is, not eating them unless they are the only possible food source. Kolorro is also genderless. And Sarakk-Fol, the force of change. Preferring to be referred to as female, she is also the goddess of colours.
The Wind Spirit is also a thing to respect.
Certain animals also have religious significance for me. Lizards are my, well, I hate using the word because it makes people link me to some New Age stuff, spirit animal or something like that. Snakes, also sacred. To Elera, since their awakening brings the summer with them, the best time for her.
Everything living has a soul, and there are spirits who we cannot see. I believe to have encountered one, and it did not like me.
Interestingly enough, the person who first told me about these gods (I will not mention his name, since he passed away this year and he did not want me to spread our religion around. He wanted to avoid attention from media, and to a greater extent, Christians.) told me that the religion has a term for trans people. Val dalak, or val'dalakk. Not sure what it actually means as words (I'm not even certain of what the language is called, but it is used in prayers and the names of things), but the idea behind it is that we have a pre-made fate given by the gods to physically become the gender we were not born as. He seemed just as confused as I to why the gods would do this in the first place, stating that he was just repeating the words he was taught. Aside from him and his family, whom I have not met, I don't know of anyone else who keeps these gods. Anyway, my name is Freya, and my religion's name is Sala'i Vilak. In English,
Our Way.

[Melitta]

I practice ADF Hellenic Druidry. I have been walking the path of Druidry for four years now and Hellenism for the better part of 10 years.

Also, on a side note I love that we have a Pagan forum here on Susan's Place.

May you all pray with a good fire,

Melitta

[janetcgtv]

WOW Sounds like it time to get the dinner forks and knifes out. Supper is here.
I'm a punster whenever there is a play on words I will make fun of it.

The word is flavor.

Actually I'm a deist which believes in the native American religion. We believe in a creator who is the Great Spirit. Not pagan
None of us can prove our God is the true Creator and also you can not prove yours is either. As It all is faith based and is sight unseen.

[Jill F]

Chocolate chip?

I run a bit neo-pagan.

[Melitta]

You know my favorite concept of non-'traditional' religion is that it is so fluid. Polytheist, dualism, deism, atheism, etc... is so versatile that we have an array of practitioners  with deferential theologies and expressions of cosmology. Seeing the world through the lens of my Pagan peers puts a perspective on the spectrum of world view. I think the marginalized scope -from a western perspective- allows me to understand any expression of God or Spirit, even archetype, as influential and divine.

Thank you all for sharing.

Melitta 

[Sigyn]

As my wife says: I am an orthodox Reconstructionist Forn Siðr i Danmark.

I am a traditional Nordic/Danish reconstructionist.

Unfortunately, being in the United States, that gets lumped into "pagan".

[KristinaM]

OBOD Druid here, though I haven't been practicing lately. :-(

[Lady Smith]

My heritage is Irish so I'm exploring Celtic paganism.  Shamanism is something else that I'm exploring as well.

I bought myself a drum, but I'm nervous about actually playing it as all my other attempts at learning to play a musical instrument have been failures.

[stephaniec]

I worship the great comet of the winter solstice .

[estropunk]

I'm a techno-wiccan. It's a lot like other Wicca, but for me, technology is as much a part of the natural and spiritual world as anything, and I often feel more emotionally and spiritually connected to something electronic than something basic. I own a tarot deck, sure – I also have a wonderful tarot app on my tablet. My Book of Shadows is a file on my iPad, and I feel a much stronger and more authentic connection to that than I do to any fancy leatherbound book I might buy.

I'd encourage anyone skeptical/curious about the role of technology in magic to give Erik Davis's TechGnosis a try, along maybe with Steven Vedro's Digital Dharma and a couple chapters out of Christopher Penczak's City Magick. It's interesting stuff 

[Karen6-10inheels]

used to be Norse since I shaved my beard and went fem not so much anymore. now i believe in the Force. Why no matter how you spin it nothing comes from nothing

[Eevee]

I'm not pagan, but I am deeply curious about some varieties. Something in there is probably the closest flavor of faith that I'd consider. For now I'm agnostic.

[arice]

I am a pagan atheist. I think nature and life are sacred in and of themselves. I celebrate the changing of the seasons and the wonders of life regularly.

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[Lauren O]

Witch, no coven