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A Pagans View of Death

2007-04-13

Most Pagans believe in reincarnation. Our souls come back lifetime after lifetime, to learn new lessons and to grow as individuals. Between lives, our souls reside in the Summerlands. It's neither heaven nor hell, but a place for our souls to rest and reflect on the experiences of completed lives. You may be reunited with loved ones as well. What happens when we learn all we can on this earthly plane? I really couldn't say.

People who are unfamiliar with Paganism tend to see the lack of heaven or hell as meaning we live our lives without responsibility. We may not consider ourselves doomed to suffer for an eternity in a Christian hell, but we certainly believe that there are consequences to our actions. Those who do 'evil' deeds, will find their punishment in another lifetime. Karma follows a soul from life to life. Our fates are not determined by any one single action, but rather by the overall accumulation of actions throughout our lives.

Since many Pagans are influenced by the pantheons they work with, their views of the afterlife may come from the culture they work with. In other words, if you are Pagan but work with Norse Deities, you may feel more drawn to the idea of Asgard rather than the Summerlands, even though you are not truly following an Asatru path.

The Summerland is the name given by Pagans and other earth-based religions for their afterlife. The belief is that after one experiences life to its fullest and comes to know and understand every aspect and emotion of life (usually after many reincarnations), their deity will let them into the Summerland. The Summerland also functions as a place of rest between incarnations. As the name suggests, it is often envisaged as a place of beauty and peace, where everything people hold close to their hearts is preserved in its fullest beauty for eternity. It is envisioned as containing wide (possibly eternal) fields of rolling green hills and lush grass

In modern usage, the term is synonymous with the Pagan afterlife. The essence of the place is that it is a resting ground where we can reflect on the life we have just led, see if we have learned the lesson we intended to learn, and then try again in due course. The lesson we wish to learn is ours to choose, but we have little if any knowledge of it when we arrive on the mortal plane again. The Summerland is also envisioned as a place for recollection and reunion with deceased loved ones.

My mom was Catholic by choice. It's the faith that she gifted to us when we were born. But she gave me the right to find my own path when I became old enough to think for myself. When she died she certainly deserved to go onto her heaven. But she knew what I believed in, the after-life that I wanted. She also thought it sounded better then the views of Catholicism's heaven. So I'd like to think that she walks the fields of the Summerland now. It's enough to allow me some feelings of being content. So, yes i miss her. But one day, I will walk the path to the Summerland and greet her. ~Blessed Be

(this is something that I wrote for a group on myspace that is for All Faiths, although I am the only Pagan in the group.  Where as the rest appear to be Islamic, with a few christians mixed in.  The group is there so we may post ideas and learn from each other. I have a friend in that group who questioned me on Death and my Faith.)