Archive for January, 2016
Irish Deities/Spirits
Tuatha De
Aine
Airmid
Angus mac Og
Boann
Milk and Blood: Brigit and the Morrigan
Goibhniu
The Dindshenchas of Emain Macha
Catching Wisdom: Nuadhu,Nechtan,Nodens
Oghma
Non-Tuatha De
Cailleach
Donn- Tech Duinn
Mannanan mac Lir
Tailtiu– Fir Bolg queen
Heroes/Legendary People
Cuchulainn
Fionn mac Cumhaill– 30 Days of Devotion
Medb
Scathach
Suibne
Naomh Damhnait (Saint Dymphna)
Resource Page Updates
I use this WordPress site as a website as well as a blog to organize useful information. But since most people mainly access it as a blog, I’ve taken to making the would-be web-pages as posts, then linking relevant ones together. Anyhow, I’ve changed the Celtic Polytheist Resources page to be nested in with a general Polytheist/Pagan resources page. One of my co-religionists is working on a Guide to Gaelic Polytheism resources blog, which she is looking for contributions to. The difference between my stuff and hers is we sometimes choose different resources to link to. Yes, it’s mostly links and book lists rather than original research, I’d rather not re-invent the wheel, especially when other folks have access to better research libraries than I do! I’m more interested in writing articles on my various specialty interests- adapting practices to modern, urban American settings, disability issues and so forth. I have also removed the page of Calls for Submissions for Pagan/polytheist/occult-related books, as I just haven’t been getting as many of them, but I did find a Facebook group dedicated to the subject, and will post updates of interest when I come across them. I have also added an FAQ page, which is still a work in progress.
Getting Started in Various Polytheistic Religions
Anglo-Saxon Heathen Blogs & Websites
Diversity-Friendly Heathen & Asatru Links
Celtic Polytheism Online Discussion Groups
Morrigan
Articles (Scholarly/Works Cited)
The Irish War Goddesses by Saigh Kym Lambert
Fulacht na Morrigna (the Morrigan’s cooking hearth) by Morgan Daimler
Articles (Personal Insight/No Works Cited)
The Morrigan and Personal Sovereignty by Morgan Daimler
Ways to Feel More Connected to the Morrigan by Morgan Daimler
Books
By Blood, Bone and Blade: A Tribute to the Morrigan
The Morrigan: Meeting the Great Queen by Morgan Daimler
Morrigan/Warrior Bibliography by Saigh Kym Lambert
Not Recommended Books-
Feast of the Morrigan by Christopher Penczak- review by Morgan Daimler
Groups/Organizations (Note: I have put the more general groups at the top and the more priestly/dedicated warrior ones towards the bottom)
Call of the Morrigan Community– For anyone who honors/worships the Morrigan in any of Her aspects
Clann na Morrigna– Facebook group for all genders dedicated to the Morrigan as warriors
Ban gaiscedach na Morrigna– Facebook group for women (trans-inclusive) dedicated to the Morrigan as warriors
Coru Cathubodua: A Morrigan Priesthood- accepts people of all genders who wish to dedicate themselves to Her service.
Hellenic Polytheist/Pagan Blogs
I have sections on my blogroll for Celtic/Druid and Germanic/Heathen, but the rest are blobbed together in Pagan & Polytheists. I’m renewing an interest in Greek & Roman stuff (back when I was more into Hellenic stuff, it was the heyday of Livejournal & Yahoo-groups.) Making note of what deities/cultus they focus on, location if known, and other spiritual interests. Please let me know if you want to be added. This list includes Hellenic polytheists & pagans of varying traditions, levels of reconstruction etc.
Aspis of Ares– Pete, SE Michigan
Baring the Aegis– Elani Temperance in the Netherlands, Elaion member
Beloved in Light– Lykeia in Alaska- devotee of Apollon & Artemis, Shiva & Parvati
Bull-headed follower of a Bull God– ADF Dionysian
Drinking from the Cup of Life– Lon Sarver, Dionysian in Bay Area, CA
The Dionysian Artist– Australia
A Forest Door– Dver, spirit-work & multi-trad polytheist, see also her website BirdSpiritLand for a nexus to all her sites.
Hellenic Hearth– Lena, devotee of Hera & eclectic kitchen witch
Magick from Scratch– Thenea, ceremonial magic/mysticism in Hellenic context- not Recon
The Minoan Path– Laura Perry (not recon, but cool ideas!)
Mists to Open, Mists to Bind– Jan Avende, Hellenic Druid & ADF Priest
The Modern Hellenist– Alejandro, Boston, Mass.
Oaken Scrolls, 4 of Wands– Melia Brokaw, ADF Hellenic, devotee of Zeus
Of Thespiae– Ruadhan J. McElroy, Ann Arbor Michigan, devotee of Eros, Boetian focus, hedonist philosophy
Necropolis Now– Caroline Tully, Ph.D candidate at the Centre for Classics & Archaeology at the U of Melbourne, Australia (Greek, Egyptian and other content)
Never Unmindful– Alexei, local focus, social justice
Queen without a Court– Apollon devotee
Soul Bites– Mysticism & Craft
Strip Me Back to the Bone– Jolene, Poseidon devotee
Temple of Athena the Savior– Amanda Artemisia Forrester, Greco-Egyptian Pagan, Alexandrian witch, homesteader & templekeeper
True Pagan Warrior– T.P. Ward, devotee of Poseidon & Ares, Friend/Quaker
Under Two Trees– Mestizo paganism in multi-cultural, post-colonial Manila, Phillipines, Greco-Roman focus with indigenous Filipino, Hindu, Buddhist and other influences
Tumblogs– Gah! why does this have to be pink text on white background?
Hellenic groups–
Elaion– Quite active!
Halls of Hera– Dedicated to the worship & study of Hera- Oakland, CA
Hellenion– U.S. based, mostly online
Hellenic Round Table– Discuss monthly topics with other Hellenists!
Neos Alexandria– Greco-Roman-Egyptian syncretism
Pandemos– San Francisco Bay area collective of practitioners from diverse backgrounds, approaches and communities, united for the purpose of honoring the Hellenic gods and celebrating Hellenic culture.
Treasury of Apollon– Devotional order for Apollon
Archived Blogs (Year of last post listed)
Ariadne in Exile– 2016, Aridela Pantherina, Bacchic Orphic tradition
Boukoleon– 2015 Starry Bull Thiasos- Magna Graecian (southern Italian Greek colonies) Orphic Dionysian cultus
Flaming Thyrsos– 2014 Kenn, in Coventry, UK , a devotee of Hekate, Dionysos & Prometheus
Frankincense & wine– 2015, British, interested in lay monasticism
Hestian Lily– 2014 Lily, a devotee of Hestia & witch
Smoke from the Temple– 2014
Sightless Among Miracles (2013) , and Executive Pagan– Erik Dutton’s blogs- Longtime online acquaintance- from back in the days of Beliefnet Pagan forae- he was one of the people that came up with the idea of Religio Americana
Tending the Hearth of the Gods– 2013 Nom de Internet: Patch
Obey the Gods– 2013
Aithaloeis Theos– 2012 A space dedicated to Hephaistos
Pagan Reveries– 2012- some good stuff about poet ancestors/heroes
A Twisted Kind of Ingenue– 2012-Had to add this one after seeing this on about page: The ingenue is most interested in disability rights, the autism acceptance movement, anti-kyriarchy (the patriarchy is so passe), trans rights and acceptance, neurodiversity, young adult literature, simple living, paganism, fusion and tribal bellydance and avoiding medical bills.
Memories of Pain & Light– 2011
Vocational Paths: Warrior
Next in Approaching Paganism- Vocational Paths: Warrior
As with elder, I think this needs be a role defined by specific cultural traditions and organizations. If you feel a calling to a warrior path, in what context will you walk that path? Which community, tradition, deity etc. will you do warrior work for, and what does that entail? I am not a warrior myself, but even if I were, I still couldn’t answer those questions for you. Here are some factors to consider, as well as some ways different people and traditions define warriorship both in Greater Neo-Pagandom and broader U.S. society (I’m always interested in hearing about non-U.S. perspectives, just basing things on what I’m familiar with)
- Mundane/Paid Profession/Job/Career- a person who serves, has served, or plans to serve in the military, police, fire departments, emergency personnel (EMT, paramedic) park/forest ranger etc. Such a person may go into these fields as part of a spiritual calling, or discover/explore the spiritual dimensions after going into it.
- Practitioner, Teacher or Master of a particular martial arts form- it could be a hobby, a form of exercise and self-defense, various Asian martial arts traditions typically have some culturally-specific philosophical concepts involved, at least if they have haven’t been watered down into American Mixed Martial Arts…(Puke!)
- Devotee of a war-associated deity, hero(es), warrior/military dead- I know various people that have taken up martial arts and other forms of physical fitness as ways to connect with and serve a deity or spirit. Some, but not all of such folks identify as warriors, or as priests of the deity.
- Roles at rituals and festivals such as warding/guarding the edge of a ritual space, working security at a festival or other Pagan event, being an advocate of abuse victims/survivors in Pagan and broader communities.
Ethics & Norms to Consider-
- Are Peaceful/Spiritual Warriors a thing? Do nonviolent political activists count as warriors? This is debatable- I’d say be aware of what context you are in- Reclaiming Witches perhaps, Heathens/Asatruar, not so much.
- Gender- some people think warrior automatically means male, a rite of passage to manhood involves “becoming a warrior” and so forth. I also see the “strong woman equals warrior” meme among certain feminists, both religious & secular- or conversely “women should be/are inherently peaceful” among certain feminists and anti-feminists alike! Nope. People of any (or no) gender can be warriors, and people of particular genders *don’t have to be* warriors if that’s not their inclination.
- People in, or formerly in the careers discussed above may or may not identify as warriors in a spiritual sense. Calling someone by a label they don’t want is not “honoring” them. Being individual humans, they will have varying emotions and opinions about their experiences, please respect give space to them accordingly.
- Be careful about attaching cultural associations to “warrior” that are not yours or bringing them into the wrong cultural context. (E.g. would you wear your karate gear as ritual garb?)
- Historical re-enactment, role-playing games and the like are fun hobbies, but they are not necessarily part of your religion.
- Observe rules/laws at rituals, festivals and people’s homes about what (if at all) weapons are allowed, how they should be secured, children and pets as factors, etc.
- Being a warrior is not an excuse for being a bully, bad behavior etc. In fact, many warriors have codes of ethics that they strictly adhere to!
Part II will be links and commentary from people in various warrior traditions.
Diasporan Polytheism
Diaspora is a Greek word meaning to scatter, usually referring to ethnic groups which have been scattered forcibly by expulsion, persecution, genocide and other not-fun thing humans do to each other. The most famous example which often gets the capital D is the Jewish Diaspora, the Irish and African diasporae are other well-known examples. A diasporan religion is one that is practiced around the world far from its origin- Judaism, once again, as well as African and Afro-Caribbean, Chinese folk religion, Shinto and Hinduism. How does the concept of diasporan religion work differently for broken traditions such as European polytheisms in the Americas, Australia et al.? It is tricky to call them “broken” per se, as there are folk customs of honoring land spirits, saint cults with possible pre-Christian roots and magical practices that have been carried across the oceans. Typically these have survived more strongly in rural areas, the Ozarks, Appalachia, Nova Scotia and Deitsch areas being good examples.
This is one of the difficulties of the Irish diaspora in the United States- a mostly rural people became one of the most urban. People even identify their origins by what city they are from- as I sometimes explain to folks that my father is “Philly Irish” (Philadelphia) rather than St. Paul Irish. Then of course we discuss what counties we know our ancestors came from. According to Wikipedia- in depth research I know- Philadelphia has the second largest Irish-American population, Boston being the first.
Like Sarenth discusses here (Broken Lines), there was very little in the way of ethnic cultural traditions that were passed down to me. Then again, I realize there was in way- this would make my father cringe but we are pretty culturally Anglo. It just tends to not be recognized as “ethnic” as its the Wonderbread of American culture (and German culture to some degree, just spell it Wunderbrod) And on the other side, various forms of resistance to dominant Anglo-American culture, including the assertion of Irish identity, trappings of hippie-dom and such. Perhaps it’s not surprising then, that I often find British Druids easier to get along with, while the few Irish-in Ireland people I encounter online seem a bit hostile to American Irish polytheists/pagans/New Agers being concerned that we don’t care about the living culture, only the old stones of the past, think Ireland is stuck in an endless time loop of the Quiet Man, and we made their lives suck by funding the Irish Republican Army. And using their culture to promote white supremacy. I understand and empathize with many of these concerns, except maybe the IRA one. WTF? Interesting essay about Irish assimilation here. I guess my dad’s take on Irish identity was the opposite of Sean Hannity & Bill O’Reilly- he saw supporting the Civil Rights movement as a moral duty- both as American citizens and in memory of the challenges our ancestors faced. It’s very interesting to compare the similarities and differences of these three diasporae, adding more in of course- I highly recommend Ronald Takaki’s book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, as well as PBS’ 3 documentaries- the Irish in America, Africans in America, and the Jews in America. There is also now one on Italians but I have not seen it yet, so I can’t vouch for its quality either way.
Polytheisms as Diasporic Religions
Clergy/Laity & Community-Building
Interesting conversations happening…
On Pagan Clergy, Layfolk & the Struggle for Selfhood– by Keen
“Basically: what’s with the tense, almost love/hate relationship between pagan clergy – to use this as a shorthand – and laity?
Why is it always clergy who talk about the importance of “hoeing onions”, or doing the proverbial gruntwork of being a lay follower?
Why do lay followers seem to glamorize clergy, and the responsibilities involved in occupying those positions, and rarely, if ever, speak of the merits of simply being laity?
I think it’s more complex than just being a case of the grass being greener on the other side, and actually has a lot to do with the concept of social capital.”
Thoughts on Clergy, Laity, Hierarchies & Roles in Polytheist Religions by Sarenth (a response)
I’ll re-iterate that I’m more of a fan of the concept of “general practitioners” vs. “spiritual specialists”. Both traditions I belong to, ADF and UU have formal clergy but very active laypeople, who frequently lead groups. My druid grove is a “haptocracy (hapto is one of the Greek verbs for ‘work’) – the theory that the people who are doing the greatest work to do something get the most say in it.”- concept coinage by Jenett Silver.
We should also think about the factor, that many people find in our religions ways to re-invent and express themselves in ways that they don’t have the opportunity to in broader society. How many people become herbal healers when they would never go to medical school, or scholars when even if they could get a Ph.D., there would be very few options for an academic career in religion, mythology or ancient history?
A third post related to this is by Allec, in which she discusses beginning a blog o’ resources on Gaelic Polytheism (yay!) and many people offered to help, then later questioned “Am I good enough/knowledgeable/experienced enough to help?”
Hellenic Ethics
I noticed one search phrase used to find my blog was
“what is Hellenismos rede?” referring to the Wiccan Rede, “An harm it none, do what thou wilt”. (There’s also lots of debate among Wiccans and Witches about how that should be interpreted, whether it should be emphasized as a form of ethics, yada yada other Not My Religion, Not My Problem Issues. Just an FYI though, in case you go onto a forum thinking the Rede and/or the Law of Three are universally agreed upon things even among Wiccans let along greater Pagan-dom.
Anyhow, Hellenic religion & philosophy historically existed in many diverse forms, and does in its revival as well. There is no one source of ethics- the Delphic Maxims, a group of sayings traditionally attributed to the Oracle of Delphi which exist in various numbers, translations and interpretations are commonly cited as a source of ethics. The two most famous are “Nothing in Excess” (or moderation in all things) and “Know Thyself”. Be careful, as there a lot of watered down pop culture and New Age-ified forms of these. Your best bet is to be aware of different ethical philosophies and virtues that existed at various times in ancient Greece and the Hellenistic (Greek-speaking/influenced) world- what was considered more “mainstream” in a particular context, and what was more radical? Then how is this relevant in a modern context? Look at opinions held by different Hellenic polytheists, but think for yourself, and consider their different influences, focus on particular cultus, philosophies, time periods, city-states etc.
Of Thespiae- Maxims of Delphi– Ruadhan J. McElroy is focuses on the Boetian region, is a devotee of Eros, and a Hedonist (a Greek philosophy not in the modern sense of the word)
Baring the Aegis- Delphic Maxims– Elani Temperance is a member of Elaion, a Hellenic polytheist organization
Setting Goals, Structure
It’s January, so of course many of us are trying to figure out how to set goals for the year and *actually follow thru with them* (le gasp!) This could be anything from just basic self-care and adulting (I thought this verb was invented in the autistic self-advocacy/activist community!) to creative and spiritual projects. Here’s a round-up of some ideas.
How to Establish a Daily Practice of Almost Anything in 6 Steps
Why “Company Ready” is Good but “You Ready” is Better (and in a spiritual context, you can think of “company” as being Gods and Spirits- I know I often “don’t feel like doing ritual/prayer/devotion” in a messy space, but if the space is always messy then it never happens!
Both the commit to your goals & UnF*ck Your Habitat ones emphasize breaking things up in to smaller, manageable chunks. When you bite off more than you can chew, you’re more likely to not finish, get interrupted, give up etc. This is also good for “conserving spoons” if you have some type of chronic illness or disability.
Religion in Private and Public
I’ve been watching some discussion of contrasts in attitudes towards the role of religion in culture in Europe vs. the United States between various polytheists- of course, there’s a big cultural range within both Europe and the U.S.
For myself, I had a secularized Protestant upbringing- as in- we went to church, but prayer wasn’t practiced as a family, and my parents would get Deer in the Headlights looks in their eyes if I asked them questions about religion. Church was a primarily a way to access community in smaller and conservative towns as well as to be involved in social justice movements- yes in those days “social justice” was always a concept with a religious context (from Catholic theology actually!) The Social Gospel and Civil Rights movement were major influences, and to stand up for various oppressed groups and oppose the tyranny of the Religious Right was part of being a good Christian/Methodist and American citizen in general.
I came to associate expressions of Christian religiosity with being conservative and intolerant. There were here and there more moderate examples of piety but in general it was a warning sign, especially as I grew to question my sexual orientation and religious views.
After going to a Lutheran college, I got more used to the idea that people could be sincerely, devoutly Christian while having a range of social & political attitudes. In some ways, I liked that the school’s religious slant was out in the open instead of the way it is at a lot of state schools, where it’s supposed to be secular, but with an awkwardly unacknowledged Christian slant.
I see pressure both from religious liberals who want to be tolerant and multicultural as well as atheist/nonreligious people to make religion an entirely private matter- this tends to be the Western European approach, as well as the case in certain social and regional groups of the U.S. While I agree we should be careful to not bring up religion at inappropriate times or create unnecessary conflict, entirely sweeping under the rug creates more conflict. It cedes public religiosity to obnoxious street preachers (I’ll include nonreligious ones) However, each religion needs to be treated the same way. I’d ask atheist activists to please stop using the phrase “religious privilege” as if all religions are treated alike. It’s Christian privilege. We support your right to not be religious. No strategy for protection of minority religious rights should be pitted against the rights of agnostics and atheists. I’m all for a more open, civil exchange of ideas- we need to have that in the public square to understand each other. Let’s not let people on the extremes shut this down.
The Lefthander's Path 