Lately, I’ve been seeing the word paganism bandied about everywhere. From the dismissive (not another magic system based on pagan beliefs) to the worshipful (instructions on how to practice modern witchcraft) to just not getting it (paganism is based on polytheistic beliefs with mass human sacrifice. Huh?).
As I was writing my novel, I too faced the question of coming up with a believable magic system, and I too turned to history as my first port of call.
Magic systems through the ages have drawn a great deal of inspiration from old European civilisations, those which we call “pagan”. But what is paganism, and what does it have to do with magic?
Well, the truth is, paganism is nothing at all.
That’s right, it doesn’t really mean anything.
Shocked?
Wait until you hear that it’s just a propaganda term made up by ancient Christians.
Don’t believe me?
Let’s jump right in.
The etymology of paganism
The term is first attested in English from the fifteenth century as meaning “person of non-Christian and non-Jewish faith”. It originates from the Latin paganus, “pagan”, which originally meant “villager, rustic”, and was also military jargon for “non-combatant, civilian”.
The religious meaning of the word likely derives from the military use, and was adopted with the military imagery of the early church. Roman Christians considered themselves milites (“soldiers of Christ”).
The term came to be used for all non-Christian/non-Jewish civilizations, and existed contemporary to other similar terms (hellene, gentile, heathen).
So who were the pagans?
The Romans used the term paganus to designate any number of cults existing in Europe at the time. Mostly, this was done out of convenience and for reasons of rhetoric; it was easier to describe them as one single people. The truth is that the pagans had little in common. Although many were polytheistic, some were monotheistic. They weren’t united by location or language, either. Many of them were not even religions in the modern sense; instead, they were a collection of customs (rituals, beliefs, traditions) that were fluid and open to interpretation by practisers. Often, they did not have a name for their beliefs, or a written text describing their practices.
In short, the pagans were all other civilisations in and around Europe at the same time as the early Christians were spreading their beliefs. Lumping them together under the single heading of “pagans” made it easier for the Christians to gradually eliminate their belief systems.
What happened to the pagans?
The Christianisation of pagan tribes in Europe began in the Late Antiquity (4th to 5th centuries AD), with the Christians employing a number of different strategies to convert the pagans. In general, Christianisation occurred in a top-down fashion, with rulers being converted first, before Christianity spread to their people. The conversion of rulers was generally voluntary, with the pagan rulers of the Germanic tribes and the Anglo-Saxons admiring the prestige of the Christians. The mass conversion of their people was often performed through Interpretatio Christiana, the practice of adapting pagan rituals and celebrations to Christianity. It is thought that a lot of modern-day Christian traditions may find some of their roots in the pagan practices of the Late Antiquity.
But why was it so popular?
There are two running theories as to why people were so willing to convert. The first is that the church played an important role in helping the poor. The second is that the ideas underpinning the religion were appealing, particularly the concept of the immortality of the spirit.
In any case, by 1000AD large swathes of Europe had been Christianised. Armenia was the first country to declare Christianity its state religion, in 301AD. The Baltic states held out the longest, with most of them only being converted during religious crusades in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries.
Even after Christianity was made the state religion of most countries, it didn’t just suddenly die out. The actual transformation of beliefs occurred much slower, with many of them still evident in the modern traditions and beliefs of individual countries.
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Further reading:
If you are anything like me, naming your characters is your absolute Achilles’ Heel. I’m not joking: will I spend the next hour writing 1000 words, or researching one name for a side character who’s in the book for three pages?
If you guess option B, you’ve more or less figured out what I spent the last hour doing.
For those of you who, like me, have an obsession with name meanings that borders on unhealthy (I can and will identify the meaning of both first and last name of every single person I meet), here’s a list of surnames to give characters in an urban fantasy novel. Handpicked and organised according to meaning, I’ve included names in various European languages. If you want to see another one for other regions/languages, do drop me a comment.
And for a little bonus, read all the way to the bottom.
Let’s jump right in.
ALL THINGS ELVES
(This is a thing. Germanic cultures in Europe used to have a minor obsession with elves. Here are a small selection of names they crop up in.)
BATTLE/WAR/WEAPONRY
SCIENCE
SHIFTERS
SUPERNATURAL CHIC
VILLAINS
OTHER
And, for that promised little bonus, here’s what my penname means!
How do you choose the names for your characters? Are you as obsessed with picking the perfect name as I am? Let me know in the comments!
Further reading:
It’s a weird fact of life that you want to talk about something so badly, and when you finally have the chance to do it, you just don’t know what to say.
Publishing Wicked Magic is a bit like that for me. It’s been my whole life for so long, taking up literally hours of every day, and now I can actually talk about it and my brain has just gone blank…
…which is maybe why this post is about two weeks late.
But anyway.
I am extraordinarily proud to announce that my debut novel is now launched. Wicked Magic was first written in late 2019/early 2020. I actually wrote the whole thing in the space of about two months, including a three-week writing break over Christmas. Nathan really wanted his story to be told.
Then I sat on it for over a year.
2020 was a really bad year for all of us, I think we can all agree. It wasn’t a year of reaching for dreams for me, that’s for sure. I thought 2021 would be better, and truth be told, this year has been a kick up the behind.
But we’re reaching for it anyway.
I picked a date, edited 20,000 words out of the manuscript, cleaned it up, cried over typos, and panicked enough to give my mum grey hairs, but it is finally here.
Wicked Magic is a coming-of-age tale that combines a lot of things dear to my heart: Oxford, the place I studied and lived for many years. Paranormal fantasy, which is my first love when it comes to books. And being a teenager and navigating those tricky years when you’re trying to find your place in the world and forge a new relationship with your parents.
These are all things I love to write, and you can expect to see many more novels exploring these things (in this series and in others).
The book follows Nathan, a teenage vampire hunter, who struggles to figure out what he really wants in life… and if you want to read more about his tales, you can buy it at all major e-retailers. More information on my Books page!
Announcing… the members’ area
I’ve been working on a little something for the last few weeks. Members can now hop over to the Explore page and check it out.
I’ll be updating it regularly with deleted scenes, sneak preview, giveaways, and other freebies, so do check back often to see what’s going on. Also follow my Instagram, where I’ll be announcing new updates.
Haven’t got your password yet? Don’t worry, it’ll be in the next newsletter.
Wicked Magic 2?
In other bookish news, I am over halfway with drafting the next book. There’s always a point in the middle of writing where it feels like it’s taking forever and you’ll never get to the end, but I just have to keep reminding myself that I’ve reached the top of the hill, and now I’m on my way down again. Actually, the hardest part is done, establishing who the characters are and figuring out the plot. Any mistakes I make now will be manageable and easily fixed during the editing stage.
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That’s all from me for now.
If you want to buy Wicked Magic, all of the details are here.
And for a cheeky sneak preview to book 2 (and maybe some deleted scenes from Wicked Magic), subscribe to my newsletter and keep an eye out for the next issue, which will give you access to the new members only area!
Ciao,
Margot
