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

BEL ('Belenus')

A Celtic pastoral deity concerned with light, solar worship and healing who, in pre-Christian times, was recognized by both the Irish and Continental European Celts and is acknowledged by modern Pagans.

Also known as Bile in Ireland and as Belenus in the Romano-Celtic period, he is accounted in the Books of Invasions and the Cycles of Kings as well as by Roman writers, including Herodian and Ausonius, and on numerous votive inscriptions.

One of the oldest of the Celtic gods so far recognized, his festival, Beltane (Beltene), has been celebrated throughout much of the Christian era.

Belenus bears many similarities with the Greek Apollo as a god of light, sun and healing and he was often worshipped during the Romano-Celtic period as Apollo Belenus. In this guise he became associated with horses, which are well attested as sun symbols in the Celtic Bronze Age.

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