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Paganism is quite possibly the fastest growing faith in the world. Paganism is an umbrella term for many different forms of religion. There are so many forms of Paganism, an attempt to list that would be fruitless, and in the end incomplete. Margot Adler, in her epic Drawing Down The Moon has done a great deal of that work. But even in its most recent release, it is outdated.
Some Pagans call themselves Witches, some Wiccan, others are Asatru, or Druids or Magickians. The Witches and Wiccans (possibly the most organized of the Pagan faiths, though the Asatru and Druids would certainly contend that statement and with good reason) suggest that the single most important and binding aspect of all Pagan faiths is summed up in the Wiccan Rede: "An' it harm none, do as thy will".
These eight words are part of a longer poem, penned by Doreen Valiente under the auspices of Gerald Gardner, when they were composing the liturgy of their faith: Wicca (Gardnerian Wicca, to be exact).
This law is a bastardized version of Aliester Crowley's famous "Do what thy wilt, shall be the whole of the law". Though you will not find many modern Wiccans who cotton to this bit of history, it is almost certainly true that a great deal of the early Wiccan materials were based on work done by the late 19th century wizards of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Most notably the work of Crowley and Isreal Regardie.
These simple facts are neither here nor there. They are not presented here as any reflection on the validity of the work of the early Wiccans, or to cast aspersions on any article or component of the Wiccan faith. Its just a bit of history, that's all.
My own path to Paganism began when I was in my teen years. Struggling with my parents' conflicting views of organized religion (their personal spiritual conflicts arising from their own parents' traditions and the era in which my parents came of age -- the 1960's, taken into account) and my own growing spiritual nature, I found myself turning to the myths of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt for inspiration. And for prayer, I often found myself alone on the shore of a pond in our local city park.
To complicate matters, I knew from an early age that I was gay. Prevailing religious and social elements taught me that this was wrong and evil, though I never in my heart felt evil.
A vivid imagination and a mystic's soul led me down many paths of expression -- delving into the realms of fantastic fiction and the supernatural (besides mythology, the Tarot was also one of my earliest influences).
Through the Tarot I was first introduced to Aliester Crowley, considered by many to be the "most wicked man alive". I purchased his Thoth Tarot, but found myself quite out of my depth, so my other studies began.
I read Crowley and later the Golden Dawn, but I also read Buckland's Practical Candle Burning Rituals. 		Having been exposed to the idea of magick through fiction and myth, I was enamored of its possibilities. My studies taught me more... that some sought union with the Divine through magick, while others cast spells and hexes. My earliest feats of magick were of the latter kind.
As I matured, both physically and spiritually, I turned away from the teachings of the Hermetics -- finding them too structured, elitist and far too divorced from the needs of "every-man".
That's when I found Wicca. My first introduction was to British Traditional Wicca through a High Priest (failed relationship, alas, though he still holds a warm place in my heart) and the work of Janet and Stewart Farar.
But their diatribes on polarity and the exclusions of gays just reminded me of my earliest conflicts with the religion of my parents. So I let Wicca lie.
Until I discovered American Eclectic Wicca as introduced by Scott Cuningham. For that, I am forever indebted to my friends: Martin and Dana.
Though Eclectic Wicca was enticing, the Internet opened new doors of information. I at once saw the conflict between BTW and AEW and removed myself from that conflict by dropping my own use of the word Wicca. I never really fancied calling myself a Witch, and there was this huge gulf, it seemed, between the Wiccans/Witches and my roots (their own roots, as well, I might add) which lay in magick....the Hermetic Mysteries of Western Esotericism
So, like many others who fought to reconcile their own beliefs, feeling and spiritual nature with the conflicts of the various spiritual groups, I found myself declaring I was just Pagan. And with the flavor of Eclecticism, keeping my studies wide-ranging, my practices fluid, and my mind open, I am where I am today: a Quabalistic Gay Pagan with Chaoist leanings. And a damn happy one, at that, which is really the important thing, isn't it?