What Pagans Are & What They Are Not
by Lady Mandrake

You ask what Pagans are? You asked what am I? You ask whom or what do we worship?

Let me answer with the kiss of the morning dew. Everyday for us is a celebration of life. The sun slowly creeping up in the sky is our captor and we his servant.

What we are is the morning mists delicately dancing through the beautiful green worlds of time. We are the sunshine laying warmth to the valleys and mountains of existence and space. We are the mist of the night laying tiny kisses of devotion and love upon mother Earth. We are the crisp winter wind bringing with it promises of rest and peace.

What we are is the oceans of history sweeping through modern worlds desperately seeking the many lost and ancient memories taken from us by soulless clergy and mindless followers. We are the moon giving and taking only what is offered and returning to nature all that is not needed. We are the winds of change and the rains of space. We are the tides of strength if only to leave our mark in the sand until the waves of religious war wash us away. What we are is the shadow of life itself laying down love, integrity and hope in our wake. We are the morning. We are the day. We are the evening and we are the night. Through our father and mother above we are Alpha and Omega. We are the end and we were the beginning for, you see, only we bring forth hope for a future of mankind without pain, war, death, and conflict.

What we are is peace and contentment. We are the Spring bringing forth the seed of tomorrow with prayers of a bountiful harvest. What we are is Summer giving life to thousands of years of history and honor. We are the Fall with ever turning leaves of chanting songs and melodies beckoning for blessings of the creator for life unending. What we are is Winter with our many ancestries and lineages taken from us out of fear and hate by those who do not understand us.

What we are is dedication and determination and within us live the beating hearts of our peoples from yesteryear. Our dreams are filled with tears, fear, pain, sorrow and disbelief. The mists of the night were our cloak and protector as our kind danced within the darkness hiding from those who see us as evil. The darkness became our home, and within her velvet folds lay our celebrations and prayers. The Sun became our guard as within the light of day we walk upright appearing as the modern faces of peoples today threatening our survival.

What we are not is evil, cruel, dangerous, lost or soulless. What we are not is aggressive, demonic or hell-bound. What we are not are bad parents for, you see, we teach our children to be strong. We teach our children to seek the truth within. Our children follow their hearts as the creator gives them their direction. Pagan children bring with them the hope of our people. They carry within themselves the tears of a hundred generations. Within them beats the heart of a mockingbird and with every fragile and forceful beat one more day for us lives on.

What we are not is uneducated and ignorant. Spirituality has many faces and we, as a whole, have studied them all. Our kind has sought tirelessly to study your many Protestant religions in attempts to understand your kind. What we are not is a slanderous group of idiots seeking to rid the planet of other races of people. What we are not are sacrificial, bleeding heart machines for, you see, we have happiness within ourselves that you will never understand.

One thing said about us is true. We do have horrible sacrifices as a whole for all of the many traditions and paths of Pagans alike. We have been driven to do horrible things with in our ancestry on through until this very day. For, you see, we must sacrifice ourselves everyday at the hands of people with hate in their hearts. Everyday we must make terrible sacrifices of ourselves, of our children, just to stay alive in this the modern world. Our kind has always greatly suffered for our beliefs and our spirituality have been so very important to us that we often have given the ultimate sacrifice, our own lives. We have died many times over for our beliefs. We have given the ultimate sacrifice and as everyday passes yet more lives will be marked and driven down by those who simply hate.

What I am is a loving mother. What I am is a devoted wife and partner. What I am is a spiritual being giving my dedication to those who gave me life. What I am is a patient, understanding woman with enough love in my heart to heal the world. Who I am is a woman taught by time itself to carry on through all the battles and sacrifices. Who I am is a woman marked by the Sun and Moon in service to my loving Mother and Father. Who I am is a teacher to my children bringing forth laughter, warmth, and education. Who I am is a maiden from the earliest of times bringing within my blood the memories of our ancestors. Who I am is the blood of those lost during what our kind calls the "Burning Times"; I carry their memory within. I carry with them my whispers of the future.

Who I am is a Witch of the Earth herself. My kind were the healers of the other peoples of the world. Our kind were the midwives giving comfort to the laboring mothers of time. Who I am is the protector of the young. Who I have always been is the carrier of the torch lighting the way for those to come. Who I am is the holder of the keys to eternity with the world slowly falling into the grains of endless sand threatening to bring closure to an already painful lifetime.

Who I am is the mother of wisdom and virtue. Who I am is the bearer of the dawn and the day. Who I am is the crescent Moon, the wheel of time, and the stones of history. Who I am is the hammer of determination. Who I am is the pentagram of creation bringing with me the seas, the winds, and the sands of the earth and the fire of dedication. Who I am is the circle of life sacred and true. Who I am is the owl of opportunity seeking refuge in the night. Who I am is the leaves of the trees of life. Who I am is the bird of paradise. Who I am is the whale of the oceans everlasting eternity. Who I am is the cat of the forest and the hounds of despair. Who I am is the serpent misunderstood and feared yet innocent and afraid. Who I am is the butterfly of children and the dragonfly of play. Who I am is the rainbow multi-colored and far away but with my visit bringing forth gifts of sanctity. Who I am is time its self. Who I am is yesterday, today and tomorrow. Who I am is the presence of all color and yet the absence of color as well. Who I am is the bones of ancient times and the skin of the natives who lived before time. Who I am is the wings of the angels with my sword of flames. Who I am is the broom of cleansing and the straw of purity. Who I am is the book of knowledge. Who I am is the eye of Ra, the hands of the mummy, the breath of royalty, and the death beside Anubis . Who I am is the strength of the Vikings, the riches of the Aztecs, the technology of the Egyptians, and the royalty of the Greeks. Who I am is the voice of the Hebrews, the cries of the Druids, and the screams of the prophets. I am the spirits, the ghosts of both worlds. Who I am is the dreams of sleeping children and mothers alike. I am the message of the sphinx rearing my head up high for all to see and hear. I am the rebirth of Christ as his love dwells with me even if by another name. I am the Dead Sea holding fast to the secrets of the horrid yester year. I am the fruit of life and the beauty of death.

So you see I have always been here just beyond your reach. I have always been just inside the shadows of your everyday and no matter where your path takes you I will be there to nurture and provide. I will always be the protector and the giver and the taker for you see my friend "I" am existence. "I" am earth. "I" am life. "I" am your blood, your word, and your breath and with out me there would only be one path of destruction and hate. And so even though you will always seek to destroy me you will need me and I will give, submit, and abide time so that life may go on. Just remember the next time when you say horrible things to those who are from the not-so-beaten path that life without us would be death unending.

Blessing of the love and light,

Lady Mandrake