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

LUPERCALIA

The Classical Roman festival held annually on 15 February in honour of the god Faunus, the old Italic deity responsible for the fertility of herds and the well-being of shepherds. The priests or luperci paraded naked around the Palatine Hill, their foreheads marked with the blood of a sacrificial goat, whipping the women that they met with the animal's hide, a ritual which allegedly improved fertility.

The Lupercalia survived until long after many of the other rites of Paganism had been abandoned and was only proscribed, amid great opposition, in 1118 under Pope Gelasius.

The flagellation aspect was carried through into medieval occultism and was almost certainly the Inspiration for Gerald Gardner's incorporation of flagellation in the rites of the Gardnerian Wicca and its acceptance by various other Traditions within 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 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