Othala: ᛟ

Continued : https://www.group-telegram.com/hammerandvajra/4198

2.  Identifying with more recent generations vs. very ancient Pagans: 

This is what I think is the core argument that is made here.  Believe me, I’m as big of a nerd as the next guy looking towards Yamnaya, Corded Ware, Hunter Gather DNA and practices from other ancient Europeans and Eurasian groups that might be connected to me or my culture. These ancient ties, especially to our faiths, are very important. They can indeed fill the gaps. But skipping over your more recent ancestry, their achievements, their ideas, and their worldview just because they were Christian is doing them and yourself a disservice. Indeed, the majority of them weren’t Pagan. (though I could debate all day on how Paganism continued both hidden / occult and even overtly, at least culturally and in spirit).

You can still be Pagan and have Christian ancestors. He mentions how if you know these people going back, you know yourself. These family members going back to even the Middle Ages had family members who knew of Pagan or had those tales freshly as a part of their oral or cultural tradition (even if demonized). There is no reason to think that all of the culture and customs from these ancestors are all Christianized to the extent that they aren’t a part of your folk traditions and need to be thrown out.  Also, a lot of the information we have for Paganism today came from documents from interested people of these time periods. Not just mystics and revival or romanticism from the 1800s but in illustrations and studies going back to the 1500s.  A great example is Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, which depicted Odin, Thor, and Frigga in 1555. Our Gods weren’t unknown to even our Christian ancestors.  Writings regarding King Arthur, Merlin, and even the Celtic Gods go back to only around the 1200s. With Celtic manuscripts of the Ulster Cycle goes back to eleventh century.

Even Adam of Bremen, who wrote about active Saxon Pagans in the 11th century as a first-hand account. This brings into question some of the writings of Scandinavian Sagas and poems. Were they really that distant from practicing Pagans? Were they that influenced by Christianity? Is there really that much of a Gap?

3.  The Gap: 

Lastly, what is discussed is that we shouldn’t view our history as Paganism -> gap - > revivalism.  I agree. There isn’t really a need to continue to focus on “revival”. Your faith shouldn’t be revivialism but living breathing, belief, and practice. We have enough to fill in this so-called gap. Between those who have done archeology, genetics, and linguistics studies, and those who have already recreated what we need to practice. There is no longer a gap. Allowing this gap to trap you into a constant state of revival or reconstruction where nothing is good enough until it is 100% peer reviewed and perfected isn’t a living tradition. Instead, it is holding you back.  You can enjoy culture, objects, and efforts from those of your family who weren’t Pagan and still be Pagan today without worrying about filling in any gap. You should start practicing and believing now.
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Continued

Not hesitating because there might be some new “discovery” that will somehow make Odin, Thor, Freyr, Freya, etc, not exist. They exist, they have existed since the beginning and will continue to exist. You don’t need a linguist, archeologist, or myself to tell you that they do and that they are worthy of worship. The majority of your ancestors knew the Gods existed.

Sure, this doesn’t mean you should cobble together anything you don’t know about from syncretic missing pieces without thought or comparative reasoning. However, adjusting your faith based on whatever new study releases about genetics or what ex-Viking was buried with isn’t useful in the here and now. It doesn’t affect your praising the Gods and having a spiritual connection with them, your ancestors, and spirits in the world today.

I am of the mindset that we need to be active today. All of the major “gaps” have already been filled, and nothing is stopping you from practice today. A practice in the line of your ancestors. Sure, we will make changes over time and adjust to be as accurate or as skillful in worship and practice as possible, but the divine hasn’t changed, nor the method of reaching them.
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Hail the Æsir and Vanir!
ᛟ🍺 🔥 🐺 🕯 🗡 ᛉ

Odin by @my_pagan_temple on IG.

Lay / general folk faith is and always will be surface compared to priest / theological focused philosophy.

And that's ok.
It is how it should be.

Both serve their purpose in praising the Gods and aligning the people spiritually.

Image source : https://www.instagram.com/p/C74t89CvDo9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Dont know the image source just crediting the image of good God poles.

The gravesite of Alexander Rudd Mills and his wife honored by Südhimmel Hearth Australia.

Skírnismál is an Old Norse poem in the Poetic Edda, the collection of poems originally in Old Norse that contain the traditional myths and beliefs of the historical pre-Christian Norse people. In the 13th-century Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius, the poem is called Fǫr Skírnis (Skírnir's Journey).

The written poem is a preservation of a traditional Norse (and by extension Germanic) myth about the Vanir god Freyr, the son of the god Njǫrðr, where He climbs up Hliðskjálf, the cosmic throne of the god Óðinn - the highest god and king of the Norse, and by extension Germanic pantheon - and with its ability to provide its user omniscience sends Skírnir to convince the jǫtunn Gerðr ("Enclosure") to marry Him.

Skírnismál is noteworthy because it contains valuable wisdom in stanza 13 that not only provides insight into the traditional pre-Christian Germanic mindscape but it is also applicable in certain contexts today:

"It's better to be courageous
than to wail and weep
when one is eager to take action;
for in a single day
my life was shaped for me,
and all my life faded."

This stanza communicates the idea that it is better to take action and strive towards a given goal in life with full dedication as opposed to feeling sorry for yourself over a current circumstance. Being courageous in life or the pursuit of a goal or achievement is better than feeling nihilistic and that it is unachievable, for, as the poem makes clear, that opportunity could vanish. In the context of Skírnismál, it would be life ending.

On a personal note, I have always found this wisdom in Skírnismál to correspond with my view as a dedicated, devout worshipper and priest of Wōden. It is consistent with wisdom read in Vǫlsunga Saga, chapter 7, and Hávamál verse 76.

Historically, the pre-Christian Norse people understood that those who die in battle go to Valhǫll (Wælheall in Old English to the Pagan Anglo-Saxons and Valhalla to the continental Germans), which not only takes courage, but also the ability to fully commit to fighting and dying in that moment.

This wisdom can be helpful today in a range of contexts depending on one's personal pursuits. Skírnismál does not suggest nihilism or defeatism. It suggests acknowledging that we all die and could die at any moment and that your response in proportion to this fact should be courageous and without fear. Regardless, those pursuits (should they align with virtue and morally righteous outcomes) should be pursued with full courage and commitment.

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