Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

ANCIENT MYSTERIES

Secret rituals of Pagan religions taught and known only to initiates who had developed a higher spirituality. Such mysteries were kept from the popular worshipers, and the initiates took a binding oath of secrecy. This is why even today the knowledge of these Mysteries is partly conjectural.

The typical Mystery Cults were those of Eleusis in Greece in the 15th century BC (see ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES), which may have part of their origins in the Mystery Religions of ancient Egypt and the mysteries ofMithras, a Persian deity. Traces of Mithraism still exist in Britain. Many present secret societies claim their rituals descend from ancient traditions, though it should be noted that the majority of these claims are dubious at best.

see also: MYSTERIES; ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc