20 MORE religions and faith practices 398

Pagan
History
Paganism is one of the oldest religions known to humanity. Its origins
are obscure but conjectured to have arisen with humanity’s desire to
explore the unknown and seek unity with the divine force. Therefore,
Paganism has no founder or founders, no earthly leaders, no
prophets, no messiahs, and no saints. Paganism (from Latin
ƒ‰ƒ—•, meaning “country dweller, rustic”) is the blanket term given
to describe religions and spiritual practices of pre-Christian
Europe. Ancient faith was influenced by the natural world and the
threat posed by the elements. The inhabitants of Britain originally
worshiped their ancestors, but when Britain’s climate changed
radically around 3000 bc, the ancestor cult came to an end, and
Britons looked to nature itself to influence their fortune.
The Celtic peoples originated in Central Europe in the sixth century
bc. Over the next three centuries, the Celts spread both westward and
eastward. They took their religious beliefs with them; however, they also
adopted local deities that they came across and attributed deities to
local natural phenomenon near to where they settled. The Pagan Celts
perceived the presence of the supernatural as integral to their world.
The sky, the sun, the dark places underground all had their spirits, life
forces, and personalities. Every mountain, river, spring, marsh, tree, and
rocky outcrop was endowed with divinity much like many American
Indian tribes.
Celtic polytheism, sometimes known as ‡Ž–‹… ƒ‰ƒ‹•ǡ refers
to the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Celtic peoples of
Western Europe prior to Christianization. Celtic polytheism, as its name
suggests, entailed believing in a number of different deities and was also
animistic (believing in spirits existing in natural objects, such as trees
and rocks). Religious beliefs and practices of the Celts varied throughout
the different Celtic lands; however, there were commonalities shared by

all. One of the most popular theories for a belief in fairies (such as