My Beliefs
My beliefs and practices fall somewhere between Celtic Reconstructionism and modern Druidism. I am also a Hellenic polytheist, and a Unitarian Universalist.
I am a proud member of Ar nDraiocht Fein, a modern Druid organization. ADF seems a good fit because they too are somewhere in between Reconstructionism and general Neo-Paganism. They are also pan-Indo-European, which means they include not just Celtic but Slavic, Norse, and Greek paganism for example.
I see Celtic spirituality as being inseparable from culture. Therefore I see participating and preserving Celtic languages and cultures, which are currently in danger of dying out, as crucial. Because I follow a culturally-based religion, I find commonalities with Native Americans, Shintoists and Hindus. I think revivalists of European polytheism can learn a lot from these older unbroken traditions.
wow, we are pretty similar you and I. : ) I consider myself a Celtic/Nordic revivalist because recon is to strong an idea. Unfortunately, we cannot reconstruct our beloved forebarers way of life (eventhough I desperately want to). For one we live in america and two we cannot get away from the modern way of life. My dream would be to run away with a group of people that shared my views and live completely off the grid exactly how the ancients did, but alas that won’t happen until I go to the happy hunting ground.
I believe in the preservation of culture and language too, and I have become increasingly distraught with Americans completely tossing away the culture of their heritage for a “fast-food adicted, technologically inhibited, lazy” American culture united under a false idea. Sorry for the rambling…
I also believe in looking to older religions, especially hinduism to fill gaps in Celtic/Nordic culture because there is a common theme. However, I feel it essential to recognize that there is a difference in the cultures eventhough there is a common theme. In other words, I don’t believe in mixing five different religious systems into one ritual because that wouldn’t be fair to the different cultures that praticed them. I’m drawn to many differents sects of paganism, but I limit myself to choosing one sect for one ritual. I had a “teacher” that one mixed African Ifa, Celtic and Wicca all into one ritual and it was the worst experience of my life!
Branwynn
Hi there! You might want to check out my post about reconstructionism-
http://paganleft.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/beyond-reconstructionism/
I also think you may be interested in ADF- we look for common themes in various Indo-European cultures while recognizing their differences and strike a balance between tradition & innovation. And we don’t believe in mixing pantheons in the same ritual!
If you have a blog or other site, please link to it. I’d love to hear more from you.
I will definately check out your blog on recon. I think it is very useful for those who lean towards CR like us need to save this idea/tradition before it sinks like the Titanic! lol Bring a little innovation in, like you said, before we get a rep like the Asatrur. My blog link is:
http://seerkind.wordpress.com/
Mind you, its sparse right now-just not enough time in the day!
Slán go foill!
Branwynn