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Maybe this will interest somebody. Over the months I somehow became very well versed in Latin paganism and esoteric studies. I'm a serious Latin student but my field differs from the norm. My interest in paganism is actually very positive, looking towards a love of nature, animals, physical well-being and healing. I am very familiar with the writing of Apuleius in Latin, who was an expert in pagan esoteric philosophy. Apuleius was also a Neo-Platonist - a movement that became very popular in the 2nd century A.D. and beyond.
When I started Latin, I had no idea it would lead me towards a study of pagan religion. So, that is my introduction. I sometimes joke about having learned paganism from a second century Magus but the reality is it is all very healthy and a positive approach.
Maybe this will interest somebody. Over the months I somehow became very well versed in Latin paganism and esoteric studies. I'm a serious Latin student but my field differs from the norm. My interest in paganism is actually very positive, looking towards a love of nature, animals, physical well-being and healing. I am very familiar with the writing of Apuleius in Latin, who was an expert in pagan esoteric philosophy. Apuleius was also a Neo-Platonist - a movement that became very popular in the 2nd century A.D. and beyond.
When I started Latin, I had no idea it would lead me towards a study of pagan religion. So, that is my introduction. I sometimes joke about having learned paganism from a second century Magus but the reality is it is all very healthy and a positive approach.
You use wrong terms.
For one, paganism is not a religion so I don't fully understand what you think you learn.
Paganism is in fact an eclectic cumulus (latin), a sum of beliefs and rites.
As for your field of study, connection with nature, with animal kingdom, with plant kingdom is an approach already adopted by many practices.
I don't quite get the "...very positive"... there is no negative magic, tho there are entities with negative intentions.
Latin language itself has become a bit of an umbrela (same as germanic languages which include German, English, nordic languages) because pure latin is no longer in used, but there are influences in other languages from Europe, among them Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, my language Romanian. Yes you might learn a bit of ancient history but far from esoteric.
Esoteric means known to a specific group of individuals .
Keep it up tho.... there are a lot of individuals who call Europe a country so, learning is a good thing, applying what you learn is wisdom.
My response is not to push your buttons but to clarify your terms.
If you found an ancient text which Catholic Church has not tainted and corrupted it yet, good for you, that's gold knowledge.
"Sacrorum pleraque initia in Graecia participaui. Eorum quaedam signa et monumenta tradita mihi a sacerdotibus sedulo conseruo. Nihil insolitum, nihil incognitum dico." (Apuleius)
You can call me a duck out of water. My strongest interest is in psychic phenomena, and so far as Latin goes, my approach is very different to the traditional. Vergil is pretty boring to me, although Caesar did write some interesting observations on the Druids in Britannia. Paganism I use as a broad term but I'm not a follower of any pagan or mainstream religion. As stated, my real fascination is in psychic phenomena, prognostications, spiritualism and so so forth. It so happened that Latin took me by chance to Apuleius who was an expert in the esoteric and who very clearly explains aspects of Roman pagan belief, spiritual phenomena and much more. I stumbled on this forum and was already aware I might not quite fit into any bracket but possibly somebody might relate.
Sorry, I should elaborate for you. "Speculum" is a mirror and the name was something of a private bit of wit. It means philosopher's mirror, and some here may know the mirror played a huge role in divination. I found several references to the use of mirrors to supposedly view future events.
It's funny because in some modern movies you will find mirrors to be associated with hauntings or spirits. Even in the Wizard Of Oz you.meet the crystal ball. Yet the source you will find in detail, written in the 2nd century A.D.
Personally, I would myself not mess with mirrors but I do know something about their use and the theories around them.
So, it means "speculum philosophi" mirror of a philosopher.
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"If you found an ancient text which Catholic Church has not tainted and corrupted it yet, good for you, that's gold knowledge."
They very much borrowed from pagan beliefs. Even the confession box was used centuries before in the temples of Diana. The Catholic "demons" borrowed from the pagan "daemones" , which only represented spiritual entities, serving as messangers and assistants in psychic gifts. I think it was Augustine who portrayed daemones as the bad guys (which they never were). Resurrection some believe came from Zalmoxis, a Thracian sage.
I cringe every time movies refer to the Trinity, which is also a pagan conception but now I might sound a bit like the character in Da Vinci code.
