Men and Paganism

Paganism entered the consciousness of the Unitarian Universalist community mostly through its women members and their explorations of Women's Spirituality. The message may have gotten lost that Contemporary Paganism is an active spiritual path for men, too.

The modern Pagan movement owes much to women like Starhawk, Margot Adler, Z Budapest, Margaret Murray, Doreen Valiente and others who shaped its direction and brought it to public notice.

The Diversity We Celebrate

Men, too, have a rich history of leadership and participation in the Pagan movement. Men who have made significant and ongoing contributions include: Gerald B. Gardner, founder of Gardnerian Witchcraft; Raymond Buckland, prolific author and bringer of Gardnerian Witchcraft to America; Isaac Bonewits, writer, teacher, and founder of the Druidic Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF); Aidan Kelly, controversial scholar and poet, and co-founder of Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) and the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD); Tim (Oberon) Zell, founder of the Church of All Worlds (CAW) and publisher of the influential magazine, Green Egg.

UU figures include Theodore Parker, who spoke of "Mother God and Father God," and the Transcendentalist poets.

Faces of Divinity

God images, male faces to Divinity, are very present and very much a part of modern Pagan culture. Many men find a reflection of the Divine spark in themselves, in a polytheistic view of a male God who might be young, old, wise, tricky, strong, or physically challenged. In the Goddess, Pagan men salute the divinity of mother, lover, teacher, healer, planet, and the feminine shadow within themselves.

Although a significant minority of women on the Pagan path choose to explore the feminine side of their spirituality by worshipping exclusively with other women, the majority of contemporary Pagans commonly worship in mixed-gender groups. Many Pagan groups celebrate the partnership of Goddess and God, and use governance models of equality and shared leadership.