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Shamanism tends to have an animistic view of the world, that
is, everything has a spirit and is alive in some way. Shamans tend to use trances
to take a journey into an alternative world in order to interact with the spirits
that affect a particular situation or place. This in turn affects the world
we live in and the people around us and thus has a magical effect. Paganism is an essentially religious approach to the magical
world, although some Pagans do not practice magic. Most Pagans believe in many
Gods and Goddesses and perform their magic within a framework of this religious
perspective. There is a tremendous emphasis on the Pagan scene on the Goddess
aspects of divinity which appeals to many. Within Paganism, you will find Wicca (often called Witchcraft).
Wicca is very much a religious view and many practitioners are organised into
groups called Covens. Wiccans definitely practice magic, and have two main divinities,
the God and Goddess. The Goddess is a combination of earth mother and moon goddess
imagery and has three aspects reflecting the three stages of life women tend
to experience, maid, mother and crone. The God is very much a figure of the
wildwood, with solar aspects to balance the influence of the Goddess. Wicca also has a rule "And harm it none, do what you
will." This school of thought is somewhat difficult to summarise
without writing a whole book. Often the Cabbalistic Tree of Life forms the basis
for the magical practice (not to be confused with all the recent publicity about
the Kabbalah Centre in the US and UK). It is quite likely to be very structured
and have a strong emphasis on ritual. A recent development on the magical scene which seems to have
earned itself a somewhat sinister reputation. This school of thought first arose
from the observation that most magical practices around the world have a lot
in common in technique, despite having widely varying theories as to what is
going on. This eventually led to the insight that there are a number of core
techniques which are so common that they must be important, and that belief
is a tool rather than an absolute.
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