The truth is that there are some very significant stories in the bible in support of Pagan thinking that connect throughout the Bible such as the story of The Witch of Endor. Remember when the Queen of Sheba (also an Ethiopian) came to visit David's son Solomon it is said she came because had heard of Solomon and his notorious "wisdom" ~ and it says right in the scripture that she came to test his knowledge to see if it was equal to hers.
Jonathon's father (who was David''s best friend, some say his lover) King Saul, consulted The Witch of Endor after his beloved adviser Nathan died and he wanted to contact Nathan through her in order to get some advice about how to deal with his enemies and govern Israel. Who was the Witch of Endor? Her name is significant because it indicates she was Ethiopian, a Falatian who exist to this day. The Falatians were a people who claimed that Moses never left Africa, but settled in Ethiopia. They are also the fore bearers from a great Magician society from which our present day Rastafarians descend.
Old stories exist that one of The Three Kings ~ or Magi ~was Falatian, from Northern Africa. These traditions say these Magi who came to bring gifts to Jesus were from Asia, from Mesopotamia (present day Iran/Iraq/Syria), and from Africa. Living so far apart with no way to communicate, no radio or telephone how did they all know to come at the same time, one might ask? A Magi was a master in all sciences and with magic. In order to be a 'magi" he/she was a master (equivalent to having several doctorates) in all disciplines, a botanist, master artists, engineers, an astronomer, a priest, as well as a medical doctor.
It is also said in tradition that in Jesus' "lost years" as well as his first years as a child he studied under these same Magi disciplines ~ in Egypt and in India under the great Yogis of his time. Indeed one of the first churches established was by the Apostle Thomas in India that also exists to this day. They will tell you Jesus was there as a young man, the Yogis and Falatians were adept in things like being on two places at once, communicating over long distances through meditation, magic in its many forms, they were masters at these practices. but I digress...
The point I am trying to make about paganism and Wicca is that God is God no matter what Face you see, and those of these cultures knew it. These things are historical from the aspect of those not of our culture, but we of mostly "European" culture do not hear those pieces of history, and if we do hear them, they are "folklore" as if those stories we hear are not folklore too (yes they are)! We only hear the rather disjointed Greek/Roman versions that had little understanding of Far East thinking. As other cultures have adopted the "European" version of these stories and remain ignorant as to their roots, we continue to believe they are disconnected.
Because of what I know as a Christian myself I have come to see that Paganism is simply seeing another side of God/Goddess. As a great Hindu spiritual leader once told me after driving around Mt Rainier and noting that it looked like a completely different mountain from every side, but still it was the same mountain. He noted that we of different spiritual faiths look at God the same way, God is One ~ but we often see the One Face that we can relate to, that Face helps us personally and communally connect to All That Is.
My 2 cents,
Love, Cat in Seattle
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