Paganism

Short descriptions of various accounts of pagan and folkloric practices involving trees. Contains many references to other practices and sources.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.dk/post/15202576

Article detailing an 8th century description of Saxon paganism. Sadly, the full text is lost, but we have the index of the text and that is enough to enlighten us about the existence of many practices described in other sources, and many that existed until recently or even still exist.

So, first off-- that pic is from the interior of Gemüt Biergarten in Columbus, OH, and the theme is Viking art, from what I understand. Evidently, they have a bunch of these super-beautiful, Norse-themed windows to enjoy.

Now, me? #1, I'm a huge fan of stained-glass art, and #2, it depicts dang-ol' Pagan mythology, right?

Now, if you're in the area, here are some reviews:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57194/?view=ratings&ba=West_Chester_Ale_Tester

But that's just the 'hook!' My ulterior mission here was more about learning about our young host, who I'm just learning to meet and understand, myself. Right then, let's see how he's described himself so far:

Professional Artist
Latin American / Spanish
Pagan Neoplatonist
Progressive Leftist

Myself, I've a bit of a background in 'paganist study' and I'm just always wanting to learn more. For one thing (hope this doesn't shock anyone too much), but modern humans (i.e., Homo sapiens. s.) have been around for ~300k years now, no doubt filled with all kinds of fun, interesting, crazy belief systems (mostly) to help us get along.

You know, so we kind of have to qualify loads of that-- i.e., "the thundering clouds are speaking... obviously this alliance is doomed!".

Then again, that's still just our modern, dumbass (movie/TV) interpretations of how it went with our ancestors. In reality, we moderns are just as much complete nincompoops in our understanding of our earlier kin, just as much as them being unlikely understanding our weirdo, suicidal, late-stage, high-tech capitalist society, already like a freight train headed over a cliff, seemingly.

And I don't even want to talk the predatory nature of televangelism, predatory religious indoctrination, and all that. *shudder*

In other words... I'd guess that there's a debate! There's a debate. There's a debate upon all kinds of things, when it came to the 'primitive life that genetically-modern humans lived, and so forth.'

Anyway, enough about my dumbarse self and views! 😅
(and you already know where I make a regular fool of myself, i.e. my EGN project)

Folks, if we can...?
Let's hear from our kind host upon any of these matters, mais non??

I have posted a few resources for mental health here, and I hope they are useful to you guys. Part of the reason those are there is because religious trauma is real, and it affects many people. Religion is not a monolith. It's a messy grey area with lots of nuance, and a lot of it can be quite terrible. But this reminded me of a topic I think about a lot.

We in the modern West tend to feel that Secularism has been a step forward in terms of human development. We have freed ourselves from the shackles of the Church and superstition, and have embraced science. The liberal narrative of Secularism is that science, capitalism, democracy, and reason will progressively improve people's lives, and will replace the need for religion and spirituality at some point, where no one will be religious or superstitious.

I reject that notion. I think the idea that Secularism is identical to progress is a societal myth, nothing more. Below are some reasons why I think that:

1. To believe that religion is a net negative in terms of contribution to well-being, while also believing that there can be ethical capitalism* (edited) is hypocritical, in my opinion. Yes, religious institutions have been tools of social control. So are large corporations, lobby groups, social media algorithms, etc. If you think that religion is the root of all evil, you'll have to jump through hoops to show how these major corporations, unregulated tech giants, and algorithmic control of the masses stem from religion.
2. Science is not teleological, and it does not owe humanity a better future. Science is a social web of knowledge, institutions, and people. These institutions and people have agendas, funding obligations, and are subject to biases. If you're going to say that religion is holding people back and science is the way forward, you'll then have to explain why there's so much money going into engineering and manufacturing AI surveillance tools and automated weapons that can be flown and operated from a thousand miles away. Is oppression and imperialism okay, as long as it's carried out by secular armies? Science is a complex system, not a monolith. flattening history to a simple dichotomy of "religion bad, science good" dismisses nuance and leaves no room for critical thought.
3. Secularism tends to center Western history, and can serve as a cover for colonial narratives. Promoting "secular democracies" abroad almost always involves neoliberal reforms that benefit western nations and drain resources / labor from the global south. Secularism as a narrative always places colonized people as "superstitious" and "primitive", even when their spirituality and religious traditions tie them to their land and shape their stewardship of it. Just because extractivism doesn't carry a cross doesn't mean that pillaging the land and displacing populations is any less bad. AI data centers sucking up water reserves from indigenous land is just as bad as Christians pillaging it.
4. People are not rational by default under secular structures, and superstition is not limited to ghosts and demons. Entire groups of tech venture capitalists are creating cult-like attitudes to AI and technology that are just as crazy and dangerous as apocalyptic Christian Zionism. Surprising amounts of people are suffering from AI-induced psychosis, and there's people that truly believe that Artificial Intelligence is a God-like entity. Cults of personality around trans-humanism and fascistic tech billionaires threaten our democracy just as much as much as religious fundamentalism.

Secularism is a modern narrative, but a narrative nonetheless. It's a myth, a story that we tell ourselves to find a direction for society and civilization. What does that narrative promote, and what does it ignore? What nuance is there that isn't shown within the story? Can life be more complex than just stories we tell ourselves? Who's telling the narrative and what do they gain from it? Can we summarize history into just the dialectic between "superstition" and "reason" without having to trim a lot of important details?

I think a lot of the flak we give to religion and spirituality can be thrown at secular projects for the same reasons. Generally, I think in the following manner:

• Criticize institutional structures without personal preference. The Catholic Church is guilty of a lot of abuse and protecting the abusers, but so are a lot of universities, hospitals, and corporations. Once we see that the same dangerous behavior is present in both religious and secular institutions alike, we can begin to see the real problem without ideological bias.
• Recognize historical nuance. Nothing is a monolith. Science can be a miracle, but also a curse. Religion can be enlightening, but also a manacle. Learn to see context in different situations. The science you demonize can find cures for diseases once thought terminal. The religion you vilify can guide people to dedicate their lives to justice.
• Learn epistemic humility. Scientific knowledge is not the only way to know the world. There's intuitive, aesthetic, and participatory knowledge just to name a few. Each of these know the world from different perspectives. Don't let one kind of knowledge monopolize all of it. That's an easy way to dumb down your mind.

Spirituality is a grey area, and I will write more about it. But I have to cook some dinner now and cut this post short. Let me know what you think in the comments. I will follow up with a Part 2 soon.

One thing that needs to be taken into consideration when practicing a pagan faith, or creating a syncretic ecology of practices is cultural appropriation.

A big reason I left Buddhism was because there's a lot of misrepresentation of the Dharma in the West, as well as a lot of exploitative appropriation of the Buddhist religion. Westerners, especially secular liberals, love Buddhism because it appears to be a peaceful, more enlightened religion than the Abrahamic religions we are used to here. Due to that, there has been a lot of people rushing to fit Buddhism into Western ideas, and that carries problems. The Dharma has been "whitewashed" to appear secular, metaphysically neutral, and most of all marketable to a middle/upper class intellectual audience. These are wrong. Buddhism is certainly not secular, it definitely poses metaphysical claims, and it can't be put into a simple peg without doing a lot of trimming. Western attitudes to Buddhism also tend to ignore that, much like Christianity, Buddhism can be very violent and savage.

Ultimately, I left Buddhism because while I have a deep appreciation for it, I felt that my approach to it came from too alien of a perspective to fully practice it in good faith. The Western theological canon felt more natural to me because I live in a Western nation and I already have the metaphysical grammar of the West encoded into my thinking. This way, even though I am not participating in mainstream Western religion, I'm staying "within my yard".

The same goes for indigenous practices and other non-western religious traditions. If you are building a pagan or magical practice, and are studying indigenous spirituality that you are not born into, try and remember a few things:

• Are you just appropriating the aesthetics and language of these traditions, or are you deeply learning about their lives and view of the world? Are you calling Mother Earth "Pachamama" for the heck of it, and is there an analog within your own tradition that you can use?
• Are you drawing parallels between your practice and indigenous traditions that are not really there, or are you allowing indigenous traditions and spirituality to speak for itself without having to be compared to yours? Sometimes we are excited to draw parallels between traditions, but that can often lead to a "flattening" of the traditions being compared, and it can erase a lot of differences and nuance within them.
• Are you in contact with indigenous groups that you are learning from? The internet has a lot of information about indigenous and non-western practices, but that doesn't mean it is complete or fully accurate. Often, language barriers and Western bias impose a lot of limitations on what is researched and published, so don't assume that online information is the final word. Learning from groups in person and respecting their living knowledge is always the best way to go.
• Are you just taking away from these traditions, or are you sharing a stake in their well-being? There's a difference between paying $2500 to go do Ayahuasca in the jungles of Peru, and being part of their communities. A lot of "indigenous knowledge" being marketed to Westerners is little more than psychedelic tourism. How does your participation in non-western and indigenous traditions affect their physical conditions and lives? Unlike pagan Greeks and Nordic Vikings, the people of these traditions are living and breathing, and are often subjected to exploitation and oppression. Keep that in mind, and remember that a lot of their traditions are specific to their communities, language, and environment before you bring that into your apartment in North America or Europe.
• Do you really need to follow these non-western and indigenous traditions, or are you just attracted to something new and interesting? What traditions within your own region and language domain are you ignoring or leaving unlearned because you're interested in indigenous faiths? Learning about non-western and indigenous spirituality is fascinating and enriching, but that doesn't necessitate that you convert or even practice it. A lot of the time, the best we can do is learn and keep a respectful distance. Just because you don't incorporate indigenous spirituality into your practice doesn't mean that you can't learn from it and grow as a person. It just means that you need to be mindful and respectful. And remember that the Western canon is also full of strange and fascinating knowledge. You don't need to pluck the fruit from a tree that feeds someone else, when you have plenty of fruit at home already.

What do you all think?

• Religious trauma resources
• Online safety resources
• Self care and mental health articles and links
• List of questionable / shady actors in the occult and pagan online sphere

What would you add?

Hello Everyone. I'm Kalakal, your community moderator. I'd like to introduce myself and talk about my spiritual journey. I was raised catholic in Latin America, but my mother always had a penchant for the occult and the new age. I grew up with a mixture of Christian sacraments and UFO and occult magazines all over my home. My mom is also an artist, and would make large paintings of stonehenge and occult, almost neolithic symbols. During my senior year in high school, I had my existential crisis after reading The Stranger by Albert Camus. I was a reluctant atheist for a little, and set out to find some form of spiritual truth in the world. I landed in a Buddhist temple about a year later, while I was in community college. I'd go to the temple religiously, and got a pretty nice community going. I transferred schools to another city to get my Bachelors, and there was no temple around, so I only had the internet to guide me. I ended up in the Western Esoteric tradition sphere when it was just a couple of channels. I've since switched to full Western Esotericism, partly because being a Buddhist did not feel genuine to me, and partly because the occult West felt so weird and interesting. I was really into Gnosticism for a while, and listened to Terence McKenna for hours on end. I just called myself an occultist for a long while, and was mainly interested in occult philosophy, like Pseudo-Dionysus, Meister Eckhart, Plotinus, Marcilio Ficino, etc. But I did not really practice anything concrete. I just learned the philosophy of it. Last year, however, I made a conversion to Hellenic Paganism and set up an altar at home. I've begun a practice and my goal is to create a system of practical theurgy based on Hellenic Neoplatonism. I want a pious life full of contact with the sacred. I'm currently reading the Iamblichean curriculum and doing almost-daily rituals at my altar. Next, I will be doing theurgical practices aimed at purifying my body and spirit. In my travels through the online occult landscape, I've encountered lot's of discord servers, youtube channels, and subreddits that are full of conspiracy theories, right wing ideologues, and pretty blatant racism and sexism. I know that the ancient world was a brutal place and the people practicing the faith I converted to would not be "politically correct" at all. But from reading pagan scripture and Platonic dialogues, my intuition is that a "true" modern paganism needs to stand against injustice and the forces aimed at separating and exploiting people. That's why I've taken the chance to start this community, where people are free to share their practices, grow together, and find an open community. So if you are a pagan in search of an online home, welcome. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad we get to share some space together and learn from each other.

Lot's of blessings.