1. Spiritual Care for Modern Pagans
A Guide for Hospital Chaplains
Carol T. Kirk
Cherry Hill Seminary – Spring 2012

2.  They are doctors and nurses, lawyers and
scholars, students, housewives, soldiers and
statesmen.
 They are your neighbors and your friends.
 They may well be patients or their families in
this hospital.

3.  Paganism is an umbrella term that refers to a
number of different religions which are loosely
based on some of the pre-Christian religions of
the world.
 Paganism is one of the fastest growing religious
movements in the United States.

4.  Asatru
 Druids
 Goddess Spirituality
 Heathens
 Reconstructionists
 Wiccans
 Witches - Religious

6.  Follows the religions of Viking-age Scandanavia
 Places heavy emphasis on family and
community.
 Stresses the Nine Noble Virtues of honor,
hospitality, truth, discipline, loyalty, self-
reliance, perseverance, industriousness and
courage
 Symbol – Frequently wear Thor’s Hammer.

8.  Based on the pre-Christian beliefs of Celtic
Europe and particularly Britain and Ireland.
 Druids seek above all the cultivation of wisdom,
creativity and love.
 Druids teach love and respect towards all of life
 Teachs a reverence for nature

10.  Seek to reclaim the Divine Feminine.
 View the moon as a symbol of the Goddess.
 Many women who follow this path have a
history of abuse at the hands of men and/or
the Church.
 Some view worship of the Goddess as a
balance to the God-centered Abrahamic faiths.

12.  Based on the beliefs and practices of pre-
Christian Germanic and Anglo-Saxon Europe.
 Places heavy emphasis on family and
community.
 May wear Thor’s Hammer symbol like the
Asatru.

14.  Seeks to follow the religions of specific ancient
civilizations and cultures.
 Examples of Reconstructionist Religions
 Celtic
 Hellenismos - Greek
 Kemetic – Egyptian
 Religio-Romana – Roman
 Slavic

16.  Modern religion based on the folk practices of
Britain
 Views the Divine as God and Goddess
 Tries to live their lives by the maxim “Harm
None”.
 Symbol is the 5-pointed star within a circle.
 Points of the star represent Earth, Air, Fire,
Water, and Spirit.

18.  May be members of any religion including
Christianity or Paganism.
 May not acknowledge any specific Deity but
have reverence for nature and the forces of
Creation.

20.  Tend to be Polytheistic
 May be Monotheistic or view the Gods as Jungian
archetypes.
 Tend to see the Divine as both male and female.
 View Deity as both transcendent and
Immanent.
 View all of Creation as being in some way
sacred.

21.  Do not believe salvation by an outside source is
necessary.
 Believe that no intermediary is necessary in
order to have a personal relationship with the
Divine.

23.  Some Pagans practice in small groups called
variously covens, groves, kindred, etc.
 The vast majority of Pagans work as solitaries
only occasionally coming together for
community rituals.

25.  Yule – December 21-23
 Imbolc – February 1
 Oestara – March 21-23
 Beltane – May 1
 Midsummer – June 21-23
 Lammas – August 1
 Mabon – September 21-23
 Samhain – October 31

27.  Pagans do not believe that evil stems from an
outside source such as a malignant Deity.
 Most Pagans believe that evil comes from
making unethical choices.
 Many Pagans believe that the consequences of
their actions come back to impact them.
Making bad choices brings back negative
consequences on the person who made them.

29.  Most Pagans are pragmatic about illness and
see it as stemming from disease or from
unhealthy lifestyle choices.
 Some Pagans may view illness as a
punishment for unethical choices they have
made in this life or former lives.
 Some Pagans are reluctant to use modern
medicines and prefer natural treatments such
as herbs, acupuncture, or Reiki.

31.  Many Pagans believe in reincarnation where
they return to the Earth many different times.
 Some Pagans believe that they go to a place
called the Summerland where the soul can rest
and reflect before being reborn on Earth.
 Some Pagans believe that the souls of the
dead go to a particular place such as Valhalla
or the Elysian Fields.

32.  Pagans tend to view death as simply part of the
cycle of life, not something to be feared.
 Many Pagans believe that they will be together
with those they love through many lifetimes.
 Many Pagans hold special ceremonies to honor
their dead at Samhain (Oct 31)

34.  Pagans pray to their Gods in times of trouble
just as people of other faiths do.
 Some Pagans will call on specific Gods with
whom they have a spiritual relationship.
 Some Pagans may simply call upon the Lord
and the Lady (God and Goddess).

36.  Many people believe that Pagans are Satanists.
 Some people believe that Pagans are all
ignorant, poor, deviant, and of loose morals.
 Some people are afraid that Pagans will try to
convert them to Paganism.
 Some people believe that Pagans are unfit
parents.

37.  Some people are afraid that Pagans will cast
evil spells on them.
 Some people even believe that Pagans should
be killed.
 Of course none of the above are true, but they
may impact patient care for the Pagan patient.

39.  Pagan patients have the same fears, concerns
and spiritual needs as any other patient.
 Pagan patients who do not work in a group may
not have access to Pagan clergy.
 Pagan patients may be reluctant to identify
themselves as such because of fear of
mistreatment.

41.  Some staff may be reluctant to work with
Pagan patients if they view them as Satanic.
 Staff may become frustrated if Pagan patients
are resistant to medical care because they
believe natural remedies are better.
 Staff may have problems accepting non-
traditional families that are common among
Pagans.

43. Many Pagans came to their present faith
after being evicted from their previous
religious home(s) or even family homes
Be alert to family disagreement on the
patient's spirituality and lifestyle
Be ready for differences of meaning of
religious words: prayer, faith, belief,
salvation –

44. If you are uncomfortable with something
– breathe, relax, and listen before
judging.
Personal objects in the room may be
sacred tools – do not touch without
permission
Remember always that they are human
beings with spiritual needs.

46. I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars
and the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto Me.
For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe.
From Me all things proceed and unto Me they must return.
Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices,
for behold – all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.
Let there be beauty and strength, peace and compassion, honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning
will avail you not, unless you know the mystery:
for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.
For behold, I have been with you from the beginning,
and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

48.  Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship. (2012).
Retrieved March 3, 2012, from Ár nDraíocht
Féin: A Druid Fellowship:
http://www.adf.org/about/
 Celtic Druidism: History, beliefs,practices,
myths & Neopagan revival. (2010, April 24).
Retrieved March 3, 2012, from Ontario Center
for Religious Tolerance:

49.  Kirk, C. (2009). Pastoral Counseling for the
Wiccan Soldier.
 McColman, C. (2008). When Someone You
Love is Wiccan. Pompton Plains, NJ: Career
Press.
 Norse Heathenism. (2011, February 6).
Retrieved March 3, 2012, from Ontario
Consultants for Religious Tolerance:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/asatru.htm

50.  Reconstructionist Paganism. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 3, 2012, from The Cauldron - A Pagan
Forum:
http://www.ecauldron.net/reconindex.php