The root of the word “pagan” originally meant to live in the countryside. Many years ago, when Catholicism was spreading throughout the cities of Europe, those that lived in the countryside still worshiped the “old Gods” because Christianity hadn’t yet spread to the more rural areas yet.
Today, Paganism is basically the revival of the worship of the old Gods and the traditions that came with them. However, Paganism is often a modern take on old religions. While it may have some similarities to some of those old religions, they rarely look to recreate exactly how worship was done originally. Different traditions may have specific ways of doing things (such as Gardnerian Wicca), but most of their traditions aren’t much more than a century old.
Because there are so many sects and traditions of Paganism, the only things they really have in common is that they are polytheistic and worship nature. There are also eclectic Pagans that take what they want from whatever religions they want and call it their own. I consider myself an eclectic Pagan, but I mostly practice Wicca these days.
The pentacle is often used as a symbol of Pagans. Contrary to popular opinion and various horror movies, this symbol is not Satanic in nature, not even when it’s upside-down. In fact, the majority of Pagans don’t believe in Satan, similar to the way that the majority of Christians don’t believe in Thor (as a God, not as a Marvel character). The points of the pentacle symbolize the five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. The circle represents many different things to different traditions. Two examples are the Wheel of the Year (the fact that the seasons are cyclical) and the Circle that is often created in which rituals are to be performed.
Many people wonder what sort of moral code of ethics Pagans follow. I’ve heard someone ask, “Without a Bible or Commandments to follow, how do you know how to be a good person?” The answer is we don’t need those things for us to be good people. We don’t need the guilt of sin or the fear of the afterlife to make us into good people. Most of us (as people, not as Pagans) already know what is right and wrong without a written doctrine. However, there is a general precept that whatever you do comes back to you times three. I have an amendment to that notion. Whatever you do comes back to you as many times as you need to learn your lesson. Wicca also has the Wiccan Rede which reads, “Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: ‘And harm ye none, do what ye will.'”
Some Pagans believe in reincarnation and others don’t. There are many Pagan explanations of where we go when we die. Some believe that we go to the astral plane where our afterlife is what we make of it. Others believe we get sent back again to live other lives. The Rainbow Bridge that seems to be a common idea recently for explaining where pets go when they die actually has Pagan roots.