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

PSYCHE

(1) PSYCHE: The total non-physical make-up of a human being.

(1) PSYCHE: In Greek the term means "female soul," corresponding to the Hindu Shakti and the Kabbalah's Shekina.

(3) PSYCHE: Classical mythology married Psyche to the love-god Eros: an union of soul with body. Apulaius's version described Psyche and her bridegroom could come together only in the dark. When Psyche insisted on seeing Eros by the light of her lamp, he was forced to leave her forever.

As an allegory, this states that the passion of the soul might banish sexual passion. This story may have originated from some custom like the one once practiced in Sparta. Young husbands only visited their wives during the night, Sometimes children were born before the couple saw each other's faces in the daytime.

Psyche was incarnate in the butterfly, because the early Greeks believed that souls could inhabit insects when passing from one life to the next. This belief did not die, but lingered. At Carcassonne in 1329 an amorous Carmelite monk was accused of witchcraft for hiding love charms in houses of women. It was claimed the monk also called up Satan and sacrificed the butterfly, as a symbolic offering of the soul.

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