Our Core Values

SYLVAN HEARTH PAGAN TEMPLE CORE VALUES

PREAMBLE

The following list of core values has been compiled and agreed upon by all Temple members.

These are values which we all, as individual Pagans of diverse traditions, strive to embody in our

daily lives and most certainly while holding sacred space together at our Temple.

It is meant to state basic tenets of shared belief and to guide our behavior.

• We honor all life as sacred, each perfect in its own form.
• We respect all persons, regardless of our differences, as true equals.  We will be respectful towards others.  We will honor our Oaths of confidentiality!  We will not libel or slander others.
• We do not condone or participate in cultural appropriation of indigenous traditions that are not our own
  
• We honor our Elders and our ancestors and hold their wisdom in high esteem.
• We acknowledge that both reverence and mirth are part of our rituals and that there is a proper time for each.
• We will seek balance, moderation and harmony in all things.
• We will not abuse or misuse our minds, bodies or spiritual gifts, or those of others, in any way.
• We acknowledge the children of the world as precious and will always protect their minds, bodies and spirits from all harm to the very best of our ability.  Knowingly allowing harm of any kind to befall any child is grounds for expulsion from our Temple.
• We honor our bodies and our sexuality as both natural and as gifts from Deity.  As adults, we will enjoy both and abuse neither and will always behave appropriately.
• We esteem Nature as a gift from Deity and we view ourselves as caretakers.  Therefore we will strive to be good tenants in the world we share and we will show respect for Mother Earth and all Her creatures.
• We will be personally accountable for our words and actions and we will behave with potential consequences in mind. 
• We will be good neighbors to all and we will practice compassion, gratitude, hospitality, generosity, tolerance, patience and forgiveness to the very utmost of our ability.
• We will abide by the laws of the land at all times.
• We will cooperate with each other, seek consensus in all things whenever possible, and empower each other rather than try to exert power and control over one another.
• We will strive to diminish our egos and to increase our humility.
• We will respect the individual spiritual paths and beliefs, or lack thereof, of every person and we will not proselytize.  To each their own “truth”.