what do pagans believe happens when u die?

sugardaddy

hi i was just wondering what do the majority of pagans believe happens when u die?like the way the majority of christians believe in just god and the devil and heaven and hell(so i think they do).but what about pagans what do they generally believe happens after death like since pagans believe in more than one god right?

Nevyn

ok well the thing is there is no way to make a stament that starts
'pagans generally'.

Paganism is a umbrella title for a lot of different beliefs and religions.
You will need to go look up and read a bit about each one.
The stickies in this form a good starting place.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=256

sugardaddy

thanx i understand what was wrong with my qusetions now . should of asked wat do u believe happens when u die ?so whats your say on it everybody

TerrorFirmer

sugardaddy wrote:

thanx i understand what was wrong with my qusetions now . should of asked wat do u believe happens when u die ?so whats your say on it everybody

Good question actually. I guess for them, heaven is the same thing generally, but with different Ideals or preceptions. Everyone still believes in something greater and rewarding for the most part though.

Nevyn

Personally I believe in reincarnation.

No I wasnt Cleopatra or Moganna Le Fay, but I do have enough self edivance and encounters and experinces with past knowledge and meeting up with people again to back up how I feel about.

No I would not be intrested in sharing them as they are personal and private between myself, my gods and those I have meet before.

Talliesin

Yes, remembering past lives tends to bias one towards believing in past lives. Encountering those who have recently passed tends to bias one towards believing in a period spent as a spirit close to this plane. For those Pagans that don't have those experiences themselves, the fact that there are plenty of us in the community that do would result in similar beliefs being more common.

Belief in a period of rest between incarnations is also quite common, but less so than the belief in reincarnation generally (the term "The Summerlands" is quite often heard for where this takes place, particularly amongst Witches).

None of this is universal amongst the Pagan community though.

Hagar

It's going to get dark.
I'm going to get cold.
People who currently hold me dear will get over it in time.
When I have faded from their memories I will be truly gone.

TerrorFirmer

I think the idea of reincarnation is something that I would not like very much. I like to believe in a greater place for us to retire from life, as the same people (or entity) that we were when we began.

Although, maybe it's nice to think that for everyone, they get what they believe in. Ie. If you believe in reincarnation, then that is what you will get. If you believe in Heaven, then that is where you will go.

Life would be fantastic if we could be sure of what lies thereafter. Although I suppose, we just need to have faith in our respective beliefs, and I have plenty.

Talliesin

MobileInfantry wrote:

Although, maybe it's nice to think that for everyone, they get what they believe in. Ie. If you believe in reincarnation, then that is what you will get. If you believe in Heaven, then that is where you will go.

Yeah. I'm not sure I believed in reincarnation in all of my past lives though. Though in some of them I definitely did.

scargill

MobileInfantry wrote:

Everyone still believes in something greater and rewarding for the most part though.

eh...i don't. This is as good as it gets - this isn't a dress rehearsal !!

when u die u die. end of story. imho.

sugardaddy

scargill u seem to b aying that u dont believe in an afterlfe and that when ur dead thats it,but for me if i didnt believe in life after death I would have no interest in living,i would take my own life(thats in no way advice im just taking about me)like considering that death is enevitable then i know that some day i will be absolute nothing not even have any memorie of life i would nt have any interest in living.oh and one of the things that i believe proves the afterlife exists is the ouja board.even though i have never done it i know people who have and i have never heard of it not working.like i said thats just me

Talliesin

sugardaddy wrote:

scargill u seem to b aying that u dont believe in an afterlfe and that when ur dead thats it,but for me if i didnt believe in life after death I would have no interest in living,i would take my own life(thats in no way advice im just taking about me)like considering that death is enevitable then i know that some day i will be absolute nothing not even have any memorie of life i would nt have any interest in living.

On the other hand, if that was the case you might as well make the most of what you've got.

sugardaddy wrote:

oh and one of the things that i believe proves the afterlife exists is the ouja board.

Doesn't prove it. Now, I do believe that sometimes the ouija does contact those who have passed, but contacting "things" in the shared subconcious of those using it also happens, and can have even more startling results. As such I wouldn't say anything was proven.

sugardaddy wrote:

even though i have never done it

Wise IMO. Bloody stupid tool.

rcunning03

Talliesin wrote:

Yes, remembering past lives tends to bias one towards believing in past lives. Encountering those who have recently passed tends to bias one towards believing in a period spent as a spirit close to this plane. For those Pagans that don't have those experiences themselves, the fact that there are plenty of us in the community that do would result in similar beliefs being more common.

Belief in a period of rest between incarnations is also quite common, but less so than the belief in reincarnation generally (the term "The Summerlands" is quite often heard for where this takes place, particularly amongst Witches).

None of this is universal amongst the Pagan community though.

What I believe is when you die you spend some time in the summerlands (tir na og, heaven, paradise etc.) but then you reincarnate to experience what life has to offer from the present age, and when you've experienced everything you want to experience you'll die and stay in the summerlands.

I think paganism is more about enjoying life and nature than it is about what happens when you die.

Something happens when you die and we'll all find out in the goodness of time.

scargill

sugardaddy wrote:

one of the things that i believe proves the afterlife exists is the ouja board.even though i have never done it i know people who have and i have never heard of it not working.like i said thats just me

how the hell* does that prove anything ??! the only Ouija Board I believe in is the one that won the Oaks last year !! but thats just me


* that's a figure of speech - it doesnt exist either !!

sugardaddy

if people say that u can contact the other side with it, then how does not prove that there is an other side or an afterlife

scargill

sugardaddy wrote:

if people say that u can contact the other side with it, then how does not prove that there is an other side or an afterlife

yes i understand now. i've changed my mind - there must be an afterlife :rolleyes:

a little reading for you

Nevyn

scargill discussion and debate is welcome here
but I do suggest you read the chater.
thanks
Thaed

scargill

Thaed wrote:

scargill discussion and debate is welcome here
but I do suggest you read the chater.

read the charter - can't see what i've done wrong ?

if sugardaddy's beliefs are based on the 'evidence' that ouija boards provide then i think its only helpful if i point out the weakness in that argument ?

rcunning03

scargill wrote:

read the charter - can't see what i've done wrong ?

if sugardaddy's beliefs are based on the 'evidence' that ouija boards provide then i think its only helpful if i point out the weakness in that argument ?

Your tone is offensive and it's obviuos your only on this board to look for an argument with someone who dares to believe different things to you.

scargill

i apologise if tone was offensive. not picking a fight !

just offering my feelings on the matter. I'll get my coat.

Talliesin

No prosyletising. Anyone trying to convert anyone to anything will be immediately banned.

There is a difference between saying, "I disagree with your beliefs, I believe in this..." or saying "your beliefs are not proven and you therefore can't claim that they are proven" and saying "You should change your beliefs, and believe this..." which the "light reading" comment hints at.

Yeah, it's a matter of nuance rather than out and out prosyletising, which is why you were warned and not banned.

Lets get back to the topic now.

rcunning03

scargill wrote:

i apologise if tone was offensive. not picking a fight !

just offering my feelings on the matter. I'll get my coat.

no worries

Ruadan

reincarnation, the Spiral path, Karma, i also believe that given the vastness of the Universe, the chances that i have existed on this planet, in this universe, in this dimension, before, let alone in the same species are infantessimally (sp) small.

ArdRi79

I think Paganism can be used as an umbrella term but for an Irish person I believe when most people refer to pagans they mean the ones of our native tradition.

Reincarnation is a common theme in the legends of our people check out Tuan Mac Cairell or the wooing of Etain! they are rife with evidence for reincarnation being a part of our Ancestors belief system.

Or if you prefer a more academic apporach on the subject check out " Ancestors, Reincarnation and Ancestor Veneration, Belief and Practice From Classical Times To Present" by Iain MacAnTsaoir.

http://www.clannada.org/docs/ancestr2.html

Clannada na Gadelica, a great site! I probably refer to it on a daily basis.

BEAT

Im very much a believer in reincarnation, infact I'm on lifetime #5.
I believe in Karma and that is has a lot to do with the life you are reincarnated to in your next lifetime.

I believe that you live over and over again until you have done what it is you were meant to do, until you have learned what it was meant for you to learn. Then to the summerlands/heaven/paradise you go...what ever you want to call it.

Thats just my personal belief though.