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

ASATRU FREE ASSEMBLY (AFA)

An American organization founded in 1971 by Stephen McNallen in Texas.

Essentially patriarchal in nature it is, nevertheless, open to membership by both sexes. Following Norse Pagan Traditions, it publishes a quarterly journal, The Runestone, and holds an annual three day open-air festival, The Althing, as well as running a number of craft guilds with an essentially skill-sharing objective.

The AFA belief is one of an underlying all-pervading divine energy or essence, expressed as Gods and Goddesses, generally hidden from us because they surpass direct understanding but, nonetheless, interdependent with us, affecting and being affected by the human race.

The organization celebrates the solstices and equinoxes and offers devotion on a daily basis. It tends to remain apart from the broader Pagan movement and has, at times, been criticized for having a racist bias. In recent years its popularity has waned in the face of advances by Wicca.

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 defintion 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 differring practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc