Question by Zarok: Pagans: What sort of afterlife do you believe in?
Now to make this clear this is a question for pagans in case the title didn’t already make that obvious. From what I know of Paganism it doesn’t say you have to believe in any specific belief. So out of curiosity I’d like to know what you believe happens after death. What afterlife do you believe in?
Best answer:
Answer by [ ? .Strawberry Cough ]
I believe in reincarnation, to a point. I feel like yeah, it would make sense if this world was hell & we had to learn our lessons in different lives before we could be in the heavens. But I’m not 100% solid concrete on it, I’m open minded as to what could happen. I don’t think I have the only explanation.
Even if there is no soul, we are still reincarnated. Our body particles, recycled to the ground. An animal dies, and it feeds whatever is on the ground and above picking at it. Eventually there’s nothing to be eaten anymore, and its nutrients will fertilize the ground. From that spot a blade of grass, a flower, anything may grow and I think that’s a form of recycling.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
The trouble with asking pagans this question is that you’re likely to get as many different answers as people you ask.
Either way, I believe in the possibilities of reincarnation and going straight to an afterlife, but I hold that it largely depends on one’s beliefs regarding such. I don’t worship any gods, though I believe they are real. So what would an afterlife hold for me?
I guess I’ll find out when I get there.
I believe that my body goes back to the earth and that my spirit is reabsorbed into the source of all Universal energy.
I believe that we will “go” to wherever is most appropriate for us. A warrior would go to Valhalla or Folkvangar, obviously, as the whole point of the Einherjar (fallen heroes) is to fight and die again alongside the Gods during Ragnarok. Obviously a baker isn’t going to do much good there and they would “go” to another deity’s hall, as is appropriate for them. Another possibility is Helheim (Lady Hel’s home) where you will rest for all eternity in a type of dreamless sleep. A true and lasting death, in other words. There is also the option of various types of reincarnation. However, if you’ve been naughty you’ll be having a visit with Nidhogg first so he can suck the marrow from your bones and gnaw on them for a bit. Generally speaking, that kind of thing only happens to murderers and oath breakers, so no worries for most of us. (and it’s not eternal as our deities are not malicious or sadistic)
Basically, as a Heathen, I deny nothing but question everything. I make no assumptions about where someone who has passed beyond the veils has “gone” after death. There’s simply no way to know for sure and I suppose we’ll all find out once and for all once we ourselves die. Or not, as the case may be.
I do need to mention that I think all of us have to play by the rules we have agreed to play by and the deities of other faiths have no power over us, alive or dead. So a huge number of christians who *think* they are saved are going to be tormented for all eternity (as the bible clearly states) for something that my deities wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow over while there will be plenty of Heathenfolk going through the whole bone-gnawing ordeal for something a christian could have apologized to their deity for doing and been spared. However, ours is not eternal and theirs is, so I think we have the slight edge there.
I believe that after death, the “spirit” returns to the source, returns to deity. I do not believe that we retain our conciousness, memories or identity after death. I believe our body returns its physical energy to some other form, be it rotting and decay or some other form. I believe that we leave a legacy from a life well-lived. I believe that we live on in the hearts of those who we have touched.
When I say we loose our identity, I don’t mean, necessarily, that we cease to exist… only that we cease to exist as individuals… that our experiences as an individual on earth becomes one with the experiences of the All. That we become God and go to a place of wisdom, that we become part of the ancestors from whose wisdom those still living may draw, be that through our legacy on earth or through communications with spirits and deities.
When we die we transform, become no longer what we were. It is unknowable and beyond comprehension. It is the final mystery of our lives.
-Scarlet
I believe i will live in a spirit realm with my demon guide which is a wolf. I know it sounds stupid and childish but i do believe in it.
Reincarnation.
I don’t. I believe that my body will return to the earth, break down into the elements from which it came and be used again to build other beings, other structures, the air people breathe and the water they drink.
That’s enough for me…I really don’t worry about the afterlife, as my gods have made it so damn clear this life is important.
To me, afterlife questions are like worrying about what you’re going to have for breakfast tomorrow while you’re standing in the street with a truck barreling down at you…I’m just going to think about the truck (this life) because it’s the thing that matters.
i personally believe that when we die, we become a star in the sky
I do not actually have any beliefs regarding the afterlife because I do not know the process that occurs after death. However, since I have memories of a few past existences, I am under the impression that death is far from the end of one’s life.
progressive ascension.
we might spend some time in the underworld [which is not hell, but merely the spiritual reflection of the physical world] between incarnations, i couldn’t really say and it’s not really important, but we keep coming back in higher and higher forms until we are enlightened enough to return to the greater mind. as humans, we’re in the middle of three stages. we’ll eventually go permanently into the underworld to continue to evolve, then meld with the gods, then into the primary archetypes. as the universe dissipates, we work our way into the greater mind and when everbody’s at the top, there’s a big ‘bang’ and we start over from scratch.