When the Romans first invaded Britain, back in early
BC, many old magical traditions were lost, as the spread of Roman magic and
Latin took over from old rituals and traditions. Before this the native people
of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales were mainly Celtic and had a very
different form of magic that has long since been forgotten in favour of Latin
spells and the use of a wand. These became especially refined around the 11^th
century, and progressed further during the 16^th to become the basis
of the magic we use today. During this time most people, especially those
living in large cities, forgot the use of Ritual Magic and honouring of old
Gods and Goddesses. It was in England that these practices fell out of use
first, with Scotland and Wales soon following, though magical schools and
institutes in Ireland still teach some form of Ritual magic to this day.

For hundreds of years in Ancient Britain groups of
people such as the Celts had their own forms of magic before anything close to
wands were introduced. Nowadays many of these practices have fallen into disuse
and have been forgotten by nearly all. It was in fact muggle people who
gathered remaining knowledge of the old Gods and ways of magic and placed
Celtic traditions (along with others) under the label of Paganism.

The recognition of the magic
in nature is at the heart of Pagan belief. In modern magic the witch or wizard
casting the spell is the heart of the magic, drawing upon power from their own
magical core. However, magic doesn’t just exist in a single witch or wizard, it
is obvious from the growth of magical plants across the globe that magic (to
some extent) must be something inherent in nature. This creates controversy for
some people, because if magic exists outside of a persons magical core then
surely anyone can access this magic that nature itself provides. Simply put,
this could mean that muggles, or squibs could have a way of casting spells (or
more accurately rituals) without actually being magical.

That being said, it had
been shown by witches and wizards many generations over that those with a
magical core are more in tune with the magic nature provides and find it easier
to call upon this. In Ancient Britain these people who called upon nature’s
inherent magic were called Druids, and had a link to the natural world that
others could not see or harness. Nowadays it is often thought that these people
were witches or wizards who used their own magic to connect with the natural
world and amplify what they found there in order to harness it.

Pagans are deeply aware
of the natural world and see the power of magic in the ongoing cycle of life
and death. This means that for everyone person who lives, they will later die
as that is the way life is, and this life cannot be given back to one person
(see Gamps Laws for more info). However a person can give life to another, when
they combine their essence, again, in simple terms, this is merely a woman and
a man creating a child. Therefore even though this couple will later die they
have given life to something new, this is a cycle that has been repeated ever
since life first appeared on Earth. Many people believe there is inherent magic
in life (and death) that every one person has and to be able to see this means
that one can recognise the power that life and death has. To be able to kill
another may seem like an easy thing, but the destruction of life (especially
that of an innocent) can have devastating consequences on the person.

Pagans worship magic in
many different forms, through feminine as well as masculine imagery and also as
without gender. The most important and widely recognised of these are the God
and Goddess. Paganism strongly emphasises equality of the sexes. Women play a
prominent role in the modern Pagan movement, and Goddess worship features in
most Pagan ceremonies. It is from this prominent role that the idea of
‘witches’ came about, and that only females practiced magic, which was
‘devilish’. Truthfully, Pagan beliefs are centred around the equality of the
sexes (something th at has been debated about for many years).

Many pagans believe 'if
it harms none, do what you will'. Instead of having many complex rules that
loopholes can be found in the main law of Pagan magic that extends far back
before Roman times is that if it harms no one in anyway then you should be free
to do what you will. Following this code, Pagan theology is based primarily on
experience, with the aim of Pagan ritual being to make contact with magic in
the world that surrounds them.

The Pagan seasonal cycle is often called the Wheel of
the Year. Almost all Pagans celebrate a cycle of eight festivals, which are
spaced every six or seven weeks through the year and divide the wheel into
eight segments.Four of the festivals have Celtic origins and are known by their
Celtic names, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. Some of the festivals
such as Samhain and the Winter Solstice (or Yule) are still celebrated by
witches and wizards today instead of the Christian festivals of Christmas or
Halloween.

The other four are points in the solar calendar. These
are Spring and Autumn Equinox (when the length of the day is exactly equal to
the night), Summer and Winter Solstice (longest and shortest days of the year).
These dates are ones of magical importance, Samhain for example has always been
the time where the veil between the living and the dead is weakest and
therefore all can feel many spirits and at times dark forces.

In contrast the Summer Solstice – the day with
shortest night and longest day – has always been a time of celebration, when
our relationship with the sun was at its greatest, it was a time when people
felt fertility was it its greatest because the sun and magic create life – if
the relationship between the sun and magic are at their greatest point it
brings fertility for all. It is thought that at these dates that the flow of
magic between man and nature was the best.

Paganism is simply the belief of magic in nature, and how one can harness that through rituals. It is the belief that magic is inherent throughout everything and that through careful consideration and time, you can be one with nature's own magic and use it for the good of yourself and others.