One of the pieces of advice that came from my family when I was in my teens (specifically my father) is that if you’re going to explore Pagan stuff, you need to be twice as sceptical as the muggles. Obviously he didn’t call them muggles, because that helpful word had yet to be invented, but you get the idea. There is so much out there to believe.

I learned to question everything. I’m even-handed, as sceptical about big pharmaceutical companies who publish results selectively as I am about the idea that aliens built Atlantis and seeded all human civilizations from there. I’m very sceptical about people who make extraordinary claims for themselves in any field, especially when they want money. It’s very hard to prove that anything is reliably true all of the time – go the rational science route, and all you get is balance of probabilities. A balance of probabilities will allow you to steer passably well through most things – except, of course, the things that happen despite being improbable.

Science is not something to believe in excessively either. Science is nothing more than the best we have right now, and anyone who gets arrogant over how good that is ought to be required to study the history of this subject. The mistakes of science (obvious in hindsight) are as charmingly batshit crazy as the most cheerful loopy new age stuff you could hope to find. No doubt people of the future will look back at some of the things we were sure we had all reasoned out and weep with laughter at our naivete.

Paganism opens us up to whole new ways of seeing the world. We talk about magic, otherworlds, travelling astral planes, and talking to gods. And yet most of the time we have to slog through the same reality as everyone else, resplendent with tax returns and mostly lacking in faeries. Cheerfully believing in everything can be a fast track to utter dismay and disillusionment as life fails to deliver unicorns, and despite our god-like powers, we’re still paupers. The worst kind of muggles (as JK Rowling pointed out) are the ones who used to believe and have become bitter. Some kind of balance is clearly required.

So while you’re exploring the idea that we all make our own realities and searching out the most colourful and exciting possibilities to believe in, also consider making a reality that works. Have a ponder about all the crazy, irrational things normal people believe in (money, countries, banking systems…). Sometimes ancient wisdom turns out to be a bloody good idea (willow bark, St. John’s wort), and sometimes it turns out to be really destructive (tiger bones). Natural things can be poisonous, and science is just a work in progress. If we can be realistic about the depth of our own ignorance, we can hold all of our beliefs a bit more lightly, and this way lies… if not enlightenment, then at least some possibility of not entirely making fools of ourselves.

Nimue Brown is an author, dreamer, folk enthusiast, parent, wife to the most amazing artist -Tom Brown. She has her own blog as well as patreon. She’s a drinker of coffee, maker of puddings. Exploring life as a Pagan, seeking good and meaningful ways to be, struggling with mental health issues and worried about many things. She has published many renowned books on Druidry including Druidry and the Ancestors: Finding our place in our own history and Druidry and Meditation.