Public Show Notes for VFTWT 078: Examining Pagan Beliefs (Heathenry, Druidism, Wicca, Neopaganism)

Neo-Paganism

• A catch all for any type of spirituality that attempts to recreate pre-Christian beliefs.

• Eclecticism, recreationist, reconstructionist

• Polytheist, Animist, Theist, Universalist

• Nationalist vs Welcoming

• Many pathways.

Wicca

• One of, if not the most popular pagan beliefs

• Was developed in England in the early 1900s and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner. Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices.

• Has overlap with many other types of paganism

• Main deities

  • Wicca is typically duotheistic, worshiping and/or working with a Goddess and a God.

  • The Triple Goddess

  • The Horned God

• Wiccan celebrations encompass both the cycles of the Moon, known as Esbats and commonly associated with the Goddess , and the cycles of the Sun, seasonally based festivals known as Sabbats and commonly associated with the Horned God.

• Sabbats/Sacraments/Holidays

  • Samhain

  • Yule

  • Imbolc

  • Ostara

  • Beltane

  • Litha

  • Lammas

  • Mabon

Druidism

• A modern constructed faith based on ancient (pre-iron age) celtic tribal practices.

• Formed in the 1700s in Britain as a fraternal organization, similar to that of freemasonry.

• Has over the last 300 years formed into an animistic religion closely tied to the sanctity of nature.

• The Gods:

  • Tend to fall on the gods of the ancient british pantheon, but can have influences from any spiritual group.

    • Some claim that this religion is an appropriation of many indigenous faiths as druids in New Zealand and the Americas have appropriated maori and indigenous gods into their worship.

  • Animist in nature

    • most druids believe in the divine of the world around them.

    • They believe that there resides a divine spirit in everything that is animating the world around them. There is a belief that a truly devout being may be able to manipulate the animating force in the form of spells and other shamanistic magics.

• Ancestor Veneration

  • Like many pagan paths the veneration of your ancestors is a huge aspect of this faith.

  • Ancestors of the blood vs Ancestors of the land

    • wights and sprites

    • elves and fae

• A faith of creativity

  • Bards and bardic poetry is a cornerstone

  • Most organizations elevate the artist to the highest esteem

• Big Festivals

  • Samhein

  • Solstices

  • Equinox

  • Imbolc

• Groups

  • Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (25 million worldwide, largest formal organization)

  • ar ndraoicht fein (ADF) : recreationist organization trying to reestablish pre-Christian roots.

  • Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) : an ecological group that uses druidic practices and ceremonies to create sustainability in modern society.

Heathenry

• Often referred to as “Norse Paganism,” Heathenry refers not necessarily to a specific organized religion, but to the spiritual beliefs and style of worship of pre-Christian Scandinavia, mostly what is modern-day Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland.
• Pantheon is made up of Aesir, Vanir, Jotnar, and Other entities
• In the poetic and prose eddas, the word Aesir is used to mean gods in general, so some scholars disagree on to which groups each deity belongs. Not really important. After the Æsir–Vanir War, the Vanir became a subgroup of the Æsir and subsequently, members of the Vanir are sometimes also referred to as members of the Æsir.

  • Aesir – associated with power and war. Odin, Thor, Tyr, Bragi, Vidar

  • Vanir – associated with cultivation and fertility. Njord and his children Freyr and Freyja

  • Jotnar (not as popular). Jord, Skadi

  • Other. Eir (technically a valkyrie, but several references exist in the eddas as a goddess of healing)

  • Controversial demigods and other entities. Loki and his children with Angrboda, esp. Hel & Fenrir

• Celebrations/Holidays

  • Based on lunar cycles and the seasons, so exact dates change.

  • Vetrnætr/Veturnóttum – “Winter Nights” Oct 9th full moon

  • Advent – 4 weeks prior to solstice, 40 days prior to yule

  • Vetrsólhvarf – “Winter Solstice” – Dec 20-21st

  • Jól – “Yule” – 1st full moon after the solstice (Jan 6th recently)

  • Hélhestr/Fatselavn – New moon after the next full moon, Feb 20th

  • Dísablót/Dísting – Next full moon, March 7th this year

  • Vár Jafnsnátt – “Spring equinox” – March 20-21

  • Sigrblót – “Victory Sacrifice” Next full moon – April 5th

  • Valbjörgsnâtt/Walpurgisnacht – April 30-May 1 this year

  • Skóklafallsdagr/Pinse – Last of planting/sowing, June 9th about

  • Sumarsôlhvarf – “Summer Solstice” June 20-21

  • Haust Jafnsnátt – “Fall Equinox” – Sept 21

  • Háustblót – first full moon after the fall equinox, Sept 29 this year

• Basic beliefs

  • Animism and/or polytheism

    • Animism – the attribution of a soul to plants and other inanimate objects, and the belief that some power or force (whether sentient or not) animates and organizes the material in the universe

    • Polytheism – the belief in or worship of more than one deity

  • Wyrd and Orlæg

    • Orlæg translates as “that which was laid down first.” It is the defining template of a person that sets them on their course of life. Everyone is born with a unique orlæg that they do not share with anyone else.

    • Wyrd is the threads that connect us to every other person, creature, and entity around us. Wyrd is the tapestry we weave with those threads when we interact with our world. Any action that an individual takes not only changes their own wyrd, but also the wyrd of others. It leaves an imprint on those whom their action affects, whether the individual realizes it or not.

    • Orlæg and wyrd also exist on a grand, cosmological scale. In this case, the orlæg of the cosmos is that which was first laid down. The cosmic orlæg is represented by the Well of Urðr which contains the layers of the wyrd that have already been woven. These layers are likened to layers of earth, or “strata,” that pile up over time. In this way, the actions in the cosmic wyrd become part of the cosmic orlæg.

  • The Well and The Tree

    • The Well of Urðr feeds Yggdrasil, the World Tree, which connects with all of the worlds. Not only do the Tree’s roots extend into the Well, but the Norns also pour the Well’s water over the base of the Tree.

    • This water flows through the Tree to the various worlds, then back into the Tree to drip from its leaves back down into the Well. This cycle represents the continuous effect of past actions on present moments. The cosmic orlæg in the Well travels through the Tree to the various worlds, whereupon it guides all actions taking place there. The effects of those actions ripple back into the Tree and drip into the Well, adding more layers to the strata piled in there. Then the cycle repeats itself from there.

  • The Gift Cycle

    • The gifting cycle is the method by which two individuals establish and build up frith.

    • Heathenry teaches that if a person gives you a gift, then you become indebted them. It is then your responsibility as a good, honorable Heathen to repay the gift — not to fulfill or cancel out the debt, but to “flip” it around so that the other person becomes indebted to you. It is then their responsibility to repay you. In this way, the gifting cycle goes on indefinitely.

    • The gifting cycle is different from a one-time transaction, such as paying money for a service or product. The point of the gifting cycle is not to pay back one’s debt and wash one’s hands clean of it. That is why a gift given must be of a value that prompts the recipient to give again. However, the value of the gift is not determined by the giver, but by the recipient.

    • In modern Western society, “debt” assumes a negative connotation, but in Heathenry, debt between two individuals indicates a beneficial relationship between them.