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[Youngpagan87]

The Eternal Celestial Dance
Before there was time, before there was space, a great Energy was waiting to be born. Even though there was No-Thing, at least , no-thing that we humans could ever understand, life was waiting to be. The funny thing about life is that it always finds a way. Even when there was no-thing to be born from, life awaited its chance, sitting calmly by, watching the great flux of energy, patiently waiting to emerge.

does this have anything to do with Paganism? Or Wicca. And while Im on the subject, what is the difference between Paganism and Wicca? I am so confused on this but I feel like I belong here.

[Avena]

Hello Youngpagan!

I've never heard of the Eternal Celestial Dance nor do I know if it's specifically pagan. Could be combined with every religion or philosophy I'd say. Where did you get it from?

Wicca is just ONE branch of paganism. Like Catholicism is one branch of Christianity.

[Youngpagan87]

I got this info off of www.mothermagic.net/wiccas/witches
I guess I should learn that not all I read is true. Thanks form your help.

[Aengus McTeague]

I'm not sure your "Celestial Dance" post could be categorized true/not true. It's poetic, and is similar in theme to a number of creation myths.

As far as Wicca/Paganism. Ask 100 Wiccans (or Pagans) you'll get 101 different answers. I believe Avena is correct. More specifically. I see Paganism as being any earth-based spiritual tradition, whether it be Celtic, Norse, Greek, Native America, Aboriginal, Shamanistic, etc.

While there are many different types of Wiccans, we pretty much have in common recognizing a Goddess and a God (both with many different "faces" and aspects), celebrating the eight holidays on the solstices, equinoxes, and "cross-quarter" days, and doing our ritual work from within a circle guarded by the four directions and elements.

Witchvox (http://www.witchvox.com/xbasics.html) has some pretty solid explanations of different traditions, as does the site you mentioned earlier, Mothers Magic (http://www.mothersmagic.net/witches/wicca/faq.html)
You might also want to take a look at the "Gods and Goddesses" and "Theology and Philosophy" forums.

BB,
Aengus

[Theres]

there may be parallels in the Tree of Life. 'Ain', 'Ain Soph', and 'Ain Soph Aur' specifically.
as i'm by no means an expert, i suggest you look to the Qabala for an elaboration.

[mato]

Shoot I dont remember their names but in indean (as in india) mythology there are a pair of dancing dieties who have existed always and danced the universe into being, and will dance it to its destruction. That might be what they mean when they wrote that. It probably is just the interpritation of two forces beyond our understanding so we say they are dancing, like fire on water, the movements of the waves and the flickering fast paced flames, so beautiful, and so against the general order of things, that we would say that the fire and water are dancing. :) But ya there is some trueth to what was written, two forces coming together creating what we know. (I think it might have been shiva and his wife but darn i cant remember the names of those two gods...) And at the same time being no-thing that we would understand.

[Methanespirit]

Probably most of you have seen the "dancing Shiva" a Kola bronze statue from south India. She is a dancing figure surrounded by a ring of fire and has (I believe) 8 arms with each hand holding a significant item that represents the way of destruction. I believe the "Cosmic Dance" is representative of the acts of death that occur here and there around the world, hence the dance of not knowing (nor caring) where she is going to be in the next step.

.............Methane.