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Author Topic: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft  (Read 2002 times)

Hipporadish

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Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« on: July 31, 2014, 12:53:21 pm »
I'm trying to look at what path to follow and I keep coming back to essences of wicca but with an eclectic polytheist view with a leaning towards Egyptian & Norse deities with a heavy green man presence and worship.

I believe strongly all the gods are separate so a strong polytheist view. I suppose what I am asking is are there any conflicts here or can I create my own personal way of working within a pagan framework?

Serenjai

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2014, 04:51:47 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;154396
I'm trying to look at what path to follow and I keep coming back to essences of wicca but with an eclectic polytheist view with a leaning towards Egyptian & Norse deities with a heavy green man presence and worship.

I believe strongly all the gods are separate so a strong polytheist view. I suppose what I am asking is are there any conflicts here or can I create my own personal way of working within a pagan framework?


I don't know a lot about any of the religions/deities you mentioned so others may be able to discuss conflicts between them.
 
For me, it has been extremely important to do things my own way in whatever practice I do.  Whether I follow old practices and rituals exactly or come up with my own thing, the freedom of that choice is invaluable to me.  It has given me a sense of closeness with my beliefs.

Some people that work closely with multiple deities will choose to perform their rituals separately, have multiple altars set up for each one, or have one big happy family altar, etc.  You can be mindful and respectful of the differences between all of your leanings while working with them in a way that fits you.

Freesia

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2014, 05:01:17 am »
Quote from: Hipporadish;154396
I'm trying to look at what path to follow and I keep coming back to essences of wicca but with an eclectic polytheist view with a leaning towards Egyptian & Norse deities with a heavy green man presence and worship.

I believe strongly all the gods are separate so a strong polytheist view. I suppose what I am asking is are there any conflicts here or can I create my own personal way of working within a pagan framework?

 
Devote some time figuring out what you feel is right for yourself. Start in a comfortable place and work out from there. What you need to process is that paganism is orthopraxy not orthodoxy. You can begin your practice before you have everything sorted out. If things don't work out for you, change them.
 
Personal story:
I practiced solitary Wicca back in 1995ish when I was in High School with nothing but two books by Scott Cunningham and one by Edain McCoy. I thought calling cardinal points was ridiculous and laughed every time I did it. I couldn't imagine doing that with an attendance. I felt like I was speaking to the universe on a C.B. like Smokey and the Bandit. I still did it because I thought that was how you went about raising energy. I dropped Wicca and subsequently Paganism in general because I felt as if the sample rituals and practices from those books were outright silly and spent 10 years agnostic/atheist. I had no idea how much this movement had grown during my lapse. If I had just stayed with it and branched out into other authors or directions/paths my life would be entirely different.

Knowing that there are other ways to practice opens the mind to infinite possibilities. There are many paths to take so start walking. Don't lose ten years of your practice like I did by getting caught up in the gritty details. Experiment. Be flexible. Make your own magic.

Hipporadish

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2014, 03:33:25 pm »
Quote from: Freesia;154417
Devote some time figuring out what you feel is right for yourself. Start in a comfortable place and work out from there. What you need to process is that paganism is orthopraxy not orthodoxy. You can begin your practice before you have everything sorted out. If things don't work out for you, change them.
 
Personal story:
I practiced solitary Wicca back in 1995ish when I was in High School with nothing but two books by Scott Cunningham and one by Edain McCoy. I thought calling cardinal points was ridiculous and laughed every time I did it. I couldn't imagine doing that with an attendance. I felt like I was speaking to the universe on a C.B. like Smokey and the Bandit. I still did it because I thought that was how you went about raising energy. I dropped Wicca and subsequently Paganism in general because I felt as if the sample rituals and practices from those books were outright silly and spent 10 years agnostic/atheist. I had no idea how much this movement had grown during my lapse. If I had just stayed with it and branched out into other authors or directions/paths my life would be entirely different.

Knowing that there are other ways to practice opens the mind to infinite possibilities. There are many paths to take so start walking. Don't lose ten years of your practice like I did by getting caught up in the gritty details. Experiment. Be flexible. Make your own magic.

 Thank you for your comment I also struggled with wicca and some of the things badged as "necessary" in order to practice I too always felt silly calling cardinal points etc.

Jenett

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2014, 04:45:49 pm »
Quote from: Hipporadish;154430
Thank you for your comment I also struggled with wicca and some of the things badged as "necessary" in order to practice I too always felt silly calling cardinal points etc.

 
Some of the reasons things can feel silly is if you don't understand why they're there.

(I don't call cardinal points: I invite specific beings and entities and energies that happen to be associated with those points because having some geography in circle turns out to be handy for some things. A number of students I've worked with have this "OH" moment once you start talking about why that thing is there and it isn't just some words and odd sorts of gestures.)

I've been meaning to be more coherent about this thread, but it has been for various reasons an entirely complicated week for me. That said, there's stuff on my website (http://gleewood.org/seeking) that you might find useful on several things I've seen come up, and I wanted to handwave at it in case I don't manage further coherence.
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Freesia

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2014, 05:52:14 am »
Quote from: Jenett;154436
Some of the reasons things can feel silly is if you don't understand why they're there.

(I don't call cardinal points: I invite specific beings and entities and energies that happen to be associated with those points because having some geography in circle turns out to be handy for some things. A number of students I've worked with have this "OH" moment once you start talking about why that thing is there and it isn't just some words and odd sorts of gestures.)

 
I understand that. My frustration was that everything was so secretive back in the mid 90's. None of the people I found were willing to give me any guidance one man told me to find him when I turned 21 and I was 18 when I met him. I felt that no one wanted new comers or solitaries in their Traditions. I didn't just try to break into Wicca I was interested in occult in general and even met with the descendant of some temple tradition's old high priest (or something like that; it was a long time ago I don't remember their names), but I didn't want to do what he wanted to go further with that association.

The point is that I can be happy without the ceremony and secrets. I have reached a place in my life where I don't need to be something great and powerful. I have learned how to be myself and feel connected to the spirits that surround this reality. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't believe this was right for me.

Jenett

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2014, 11:16:40 am »
Quote from: Freesia;154532
I understand that. My frustration was that everything was so secretive back in the mid 90's. None of the people I found were willing to give me any guidance one man told me to find him when I turned 21 and I was 18 when I met him. I felt that no one wanted new comers or solitaries in their Traditions.


Age limits are fairly common in a number of traditions for various reasons (which reasons depend on the tradition. Essay over on my website here for the curious that goes into some of the reasons that might apply.)

Seriously, though, a lot of people look at the mid-90s as a time when people were talking about *tons* of stuff, and there was this explosion of resources and opportunities. (I turned 20 in 95, and I certainly didn't have a hard time getting my hands on a number of resources, though having major access to the Internet through college helped - I didn't pick up what I do for a few more years, but I was looking for energy work information at the time, and read pretty much all the obvious material.)

Quote

The point is that I can be happy without the ceremony and secrets. I have reached a place in my life where I don't need to be something great and powerful. I have learned how to be myself and feel connected to the spirits that surround this reality. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't believe this was right for me.

 
I find it interesting you've gone for 'power and secrets' when what I was talking about was 'there are reasons that these things are done X way, and they're *practical* reasons'.

Books aren't always good at talking about them for a variety of reasons - partly because it is legitimately hard to talk about if you don't have practice, explaining any skill that's a combination of 'do this thing' and 'here's the emotional experience that's associated' tends to be, whether you're talking about making music or cooking or doing religious witchcraft.

And partly because some of it's just personal. My experience of being in my trad's circle is not the same as my trad mate's experience (I know this, because we talk about it!) And the places that I start with talking about some pieces of it in training is not where the people who taught me start, and sometimes that works well for someone, and sometimes it doesn't.

And some of it just takes a lot of context. If you look at all the (many!) things I've written on various incarnations of the forum over the past 14 years or so, you'll see that one of the things I talk about *least* is calling quarters - because to get the full picture of what my practice is involves a bunch of other bits of context, and basically no one is going to have all of it to start.

And to get someone to the point where they *have* that context is at least 5-10 hours. Which is not something that happens in random casual conversation that's only in text, generally (because some things it's just plain easier to *show* someone, or to do and have them feel the energy shifts directly.)

And so I go talk about other things, but if someone pushes me about that particular topic? They're likely to get a "Yeah, getting into that is something I'd only do if you were committed to training in the tradition, because it takes a lot of background to set up." It's not that they're unworthy, and not even that most of it is secret or oathbound. It's just that it's more complicated to talk about than a number of other pieces of my ritual practice.

(To break it down, the component pieces are roughly and in no particular order: cosmology of our particular circle structure, what it does when we invite some being *into* that circle structure, the ritual methods we can use to do so while preserving the ritual integrity, the beings themselves and how we might create, form, and maintain relationships with them, the question of doing the invitation in a way that feeds the larger ritual goal/desire/focus, the differences between deities and guardians, the reasons we talk about four elements/directions in the first place, the places the correspondences map to the larger world and why we care that they do, and probably a couple of other things I'm forgetting at the moment.)
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Freesia

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2014, 03:21:19 pm »
Quote from: Jenett;154557
Age limits are fairly common in a number of traditions for various reasons (which reasons depend on the tradition. Essay over on my website here for the curious that goes into some of the reasons that might apply.)

Seriously, though, a lot of people look at the mid-90s as a time when people were talking about *tons* of stuff, and there was this explosion of resources and opportunities. (I turned 20 in 95, and I certainly didn't have a hard time getting my hands on a number of resources, though having major access to the Internet through college helped - I didn't pick up what I do for a few more years, but I was looking for energy work information at the time, and read pretty much all the obvious material.)


 
I find it interesting you've gone for 'power and secrets' when what I was talking about was 'there are reasons that these things are done X way, and they're *practical* reasons'.

Books aren't always good at talking about them for a variety of reasons - partly because it is legitimately hard to talk about if you don't have practice, explaining any skill that's a combination of 'do this thing' and 'here's the emotional experience that's associated' tends to be, whether you're talking about making music or cooking or doing religious witchcraft.

And partly because some of it's just personal. My experience of being in my trad's circle is not the same as my trad mate's experience (I know this, because we talk about it!) And the places that I start with talking about some pieces of it in training is not where the people who taught me start, and sometimes that works well for someone, and sometimes it doesn't.

And some of it just takes a lot of context. If you look at all the (many!) things I've written on various incarnations of the forum over the past 14 years or so, you'll see that one of the things I talk about *least* is calling quarters - because to get the full picture of what my practice is involves a bunch of other bits of context, and basically no one is going to have all of it to start.

And to get someone to the point where they *have* that context is at least 5-10 hours. Which is not something that happens in random casual conversation that's only in text, generally (because some things it's just plain easier to *show* someone, or to do and have them feel the energy shifts directly.)

And so I go talk about other things, but if someone pushes me about that particular topic? They're likely to get a "Yeah, getting into that is something I'd only do if you were committed to training in the tradition, because it takes a lot of background to set up." It's not that they're unworthy, and not even that most of it is secret or oathbound. It's just that it's more complicated to talk about than a number of other pieces of my ritual practice.

(To break it down, the component pieces are roughly and in no particular order: cosmology of our particular circle structure, what it does when we invite some being *into* that circle structure, the ritual methods we can use to do so while preserving the ritual integrity, the beings themselves and how we might create, form, and maintain relationships with them, the question of doing the invitation in a way that feeds the larger ritual goal/desire/focus, the differences between deities and guardians, the reasons we talk about four elements/directions in the first place, the places the correspondences map to the larger world and why we care that they do, and probably a couple of other things I'm forgetting at the moment.)

 
Believe me I completely understand what you are saying. I wouldn't want a 14-15 year old child hanging around my living room. I knew that at the time I just hated feeling excluded. I don't think the people I spoke with knew anything either they just wanted to appear as if they did for their self esteem. I wasn't crashing covens or anything like that.  

What I meant by power was not magical power, but personal power. I didn't need to be a witch to get that; I discovered it on my own.  

Calling the corners was just an example I used because it was in every book I found, but not a lot of detail for the purpose. I was trying to use humor to tell the OP that witchcraft and Wiccan books are not the end all of paganism and not to get put off by discouraging remarks.

Juniperberry

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2014, 11:08:02 am »
Quote from: Hipporadish;154396
I'm trying to look at what path to follow [snip] I suppose what I am asking is are there any conflicts here or can I create my own personal way of working within a pagan framework?


I love this passage from The Prophet:

"Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself like a lotus of countless petals."

So, just go with it. What's the worst that could happen?
The pace of progress in artificial intelligence (I’m not referring to narrow AI) is incredibly fast. [...] The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five year timeframe. 10 years at most.--Elon Musk

I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence," [Bill] Gates wrote. "First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don\'t understand why some people are not concerned."

Hipporadish

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2014, 01:52:45 pm »
Quote from: Juniperberry;154701
I love this passage from The Prophet:

"Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself like a lotus of countless petals."

So, just go with it. What's the worst that could happen?

 Thank you for that that is really helpful :)

Kyndyl

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Re: Polytheist eclectic Witchcraft
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2014, 11:31:40 am »
Quote from: Hipporadish;154396
I'm trying to look at what path to follow and I keep coming back to essences of wicca but with an eclectic polytheist view with a leaning towards Egyptian & Norse deities with a heavy green man presence and worship.

I believe strongly all the gods are separate so a strong polytheist view. I suppose what I am asking is are there any conflicts here or can I create my own personal way of working within a pagan framework?

 
Basically if it works for you., research, pray, journal and see how things develop. Everyone's path is a little different.. even those within the same tradition may have several distinct differences in their practices or thoughts. I don't have more than a basic familiarity with the Egyptian so I can't comment very much there. My path is primarily Norse Pagan with elements of Wicca, and Irish traditions.. so yeah ecletic= me. I'll try to write more later

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