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Author Topic: Why are you interested in Paganism, what are your emphases/constituent elements?  (Read 4987 times)

ajabigt

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I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere.

My path first led me through conspiracy, alternative histories, ESP, and ‘free’ energy devices pretty much all at the same time. I then touched on the new age briefly but found that brand of ‘spirituality’ not to my taste. Integral to my exploration of consciousness is personal evolution. development of ethics, and assisting the general evolution of consciousness; moreover, I prefer a firm foundation in first principles and their resultant natural consequences. While I find investigation of other systems useful I don’t utilize them per say. I attempt to see what is possible instead of what is impossible and determine the validity of other approaches with reference to an integrated philosophy of natural consequences rooted in observations of Nature. For example I often utilizes the terms yin and yang from taoism but I derive the validity of their reality from wholly unrelated approaches except with respect to their conclusions.

I first stumbled across Asatru, Heathenry, and the like a couple years ago now and these were my first introductions to Paganism in any depth. I was open to looking at them because of an interest in mythology, and seeing myths as useful for inner work from a psychological/alchemical perspective. In the traditional sense I would probably be considered an atheist as I don’t believe in intelligent, divine, supernatural beings that create reality, guide, or influence human life. I don’t even take a pantheistic perspective in the sense of a universal self.

My conception of the gods essentially defines them as proto-ancestors, exerting a strong influence on the collective unconscious of humanity. A Jungian stance would identify them as archetypes, and while I do as well, I also make a distinction between psychological and metaphysical archetypes. The former being strictly of the mind and physical in nature while the latter would more accurately be described in somewhat of a Platonic sense. The psychological manifestations of metaphysical archetypes are the basis for what I see as the most common modern interaction with the gods.

Defining the psychological as physical might seem to indicate a reductionist perspective; however, I merely mean physical in the broadest sense of the term. A good example would be the relationship time has to our familiar 3D spatial reference. With our waking consciousness and scientific instruments we can’t directly perceive time, only its affects on space, yet it is still a distinctly physical phenomena. Similarly I see the psyche, or the soul as it can also be designated, as physical. While alive and ‘awake’ we can’t perceive the soul directly only its affects on the body. I wanted to clarify that I don’t reduce psychological interactions to merely neurological impulses.

While to me the gods are not transcendent in the strictest sense of the term I do accept the validity of entities that are outside our current frame of reference and/or beyond our current levels of existence. Some of these beings could be seen as more evolved and intelligent than ourselves, yet this doesn’t make them gods from my point of view. The tangental topic of worship and my stance on it is one of the things that intrigued me about Heathenry. The approaches I’m familiar with of the northern tradition tend to shy away from a traditional concept of worship, and I found this more acceptable to my disposition than any other religion I’d encountered; furthermore, I noticed an emphasis on interaction with mythological entities other than the gods in Heathenry. I personally view the ability to interact with the aspects of yourself as equally important to communicating with other entities, and would go a step farther and say that one is intimately connected to the other. I’ve caught some flack from more staunch reconstructionists within the Heathen community and am wondering y’alls opinion on such things.

I’m unsure which sub forum is the best fit for this post as it touches on a number of different topics. So any of the moderators or staff feel free to move it if you think a better location would be suitable.

Queen of Swords

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere.

 
I think that I've always been a naturally spiritual person, although it took quite a long time for me to figure this out, as I was raised without religion or any other "outlet." My first yearnings for religion occurred when I was 13 and became ill with a disabling, chronic condition. Wicca was one of the first religions I investigated, so in a way, I guess I've always been open to a pagan view of the world?

I now identify as a pantheist. My spirituality is very "self" focused: a means of attaining physical and psychological wellness, investigating the mysteries of the self, and enjoying transcendental experiences. I'm interested in ancestor worship and working with certain entities (like the Muses), but I don't yet know what I "believe" about these things, if that makes sense. I'm also quite interested in ancient Greek religion, probably because those are the gods and myths that I'm drawn to.

At the moment, my actual practice consists of meditation and a lot of psychological techniques (like shadow work). I use tarot as a tool in these practices. Stoicism is my guiding philosophy.

Faemon

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere.

Mine's really similar to yours, really, except that I embraced Sagan's refreshing blasphemy against Plato early on (in one of the Cosmos documentary episodes.) Derrida I think and one or two other philosophers put out that any one thing is a thing because it's not another thing. There was a definite shift in values along the way, while mythology lent me some symbolic vocabulary to parse experiences not strictly corporeal (like astronomers would send a machine named Juno to a celestial body still named Jupiter, or Apollo to the moon, except those are all corporeal) my concern became less finding consistent empirical evidence for paranormal/psychic phenomena and more personally fulfilling or culturally transformative stories, embracing the relationship I would have with what I call 'gods'.

Community sometimes helps and can be marvelously informative, insightful, and supportive...and sometimes trips you in the hall several times, spreads your real name and address alongside compromising photos to hostile strangers, orchestrates you and your family getting shunned into poverty, and gaslights you into thinking you have no one to blame but yourself for all this suffering. And then laughs. I mean all this figuratively. (Or do I?)
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MamaThistle

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Quote from: Faemon;197246
Community sometimes helps and can be marvelously informative, insightful, and supportive...and sometimes trips you in the hall several times, spreads your real name and address alongside compromising photos to hostile strangers, orchestrates you and your family getting shunned into poverty, and gaslights you into thinking you have no one to blame but yourself for all this suffering. And then laughs. I mean all this figuratively. (Or do I?)

 
😳 I really hope this didn't happen to you. BTW, I am curious about Faelatry, but I haven't found much information, can I PM you?

To the OP's original question. I was raised Episcopalian. I actually loved the way I was raised and the traditional aspects of the Episcopal church. I never really identified with other Christians tho and I was always into "weird stuff."

A couple years ago I was really craving a tradition but was not connecting with any Church or Christianity at all. I found myself researching mythologies and goddesses, witchcraft, crystals, etc. Things that actually made me feel good. I read Ronald Hutton and that actually changed my perspective on faith in general. I studied Wicca first and it just wasn't for me. Then I thought maybe eclectic was for me. Nope. Too eclectic. Eventually I found Gaelic Polytheism and I fell in love with the mythology and tradition. I'm still trying to find my place between the ultra-traditional reconstructionists and some of my "new age" tendencies 😉. I'm starting to realize that I need to be true to myself and not worry as much about "finding a group." This forum has actually been great, both for resources and just general support regardless of varying paths.

In my personal observation, pagan tendencies seem to attract people who enjoy research and just general nerdiness. Proud need. 🤓
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Faemon

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Quote from: MamaThistle;197248
I really hope this didn't happen to you. BTW, I am curious about Faelatry, but I haven't found much information, can I PM you?

Not much of it, just a tendency I've seen around. Thanks for being a compassionate online person, though. :) My starter was Thomas Keightley's Fairy Mythology, that doorstopper of a tome with a longer title, but I've certainly taken a descant since then to indigenous and diaspora beings from what I guess you could call the "lower mythology". My faelatry's odd, so if you want to make a topic about it open also to master folklorists who actually differentiate between fairy legends and fairy tale compilations (which I don't), or are up to snuff with the latest archeology of specific regions of the world with categorical claims to fairy faith because they also live there (which I'm not), that might be more useful. Feel free to message me, too, though.
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Eventually I found Gaelic Polytheism and I fell in love with the mythology and tradition. I'm still trying to find my place between the ultra-traditional reconstructionists and some of my "new age" tendencies. I'm starting to realize that I need to be true to myself and not worry as much about "finding a group." This forum has actually been great, both for resources and just general support regardless of varying paths.


Same here. Internet high fives, whoo!
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Yei

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere.

 
Honestly, it was sort of an accident. I started reading about Mesoamerican mythology. Then I read some more, and then more. Sure, it was weird at first. But after a while it made more and more sense. After a time, the metaphysics suddenly seemed obvious. At a certain point, can't remember when, I realised that I had started to adopt a Mexica worldview and started assuming things. At that point I decided to make it official and came here.

ajabigt

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Quote from: Queen of Swords;197245
I now identify as a pantheist. My spirituality is very "self" focused: a means of attaining physical and psychological wellness, investigating the mysteries of the self, and enjoying transcendental experiences. I'm interested in ancestor worship and working with certain entities (like the Muses), but I don't yet know what I "believe" about these things, if that makes sense. I'm also quite interested in ancient Greek religion, probably because those are the gods and myths that I'm drawn to.

At the moment, my actual practice consists of meditation and a lot of psychological techniques (like shadow work). I use tarot as a tool in these practices. Stoicism is my guiding philosophy.

 
It sounds like you have a very feeling based approach. I’ve balanced my thinking and feeling functions more as my development progressed, but I started out heavily reliant on thinking. I still tend to think things through before I decide how I feel about them though. I very much desire to have developed opinions on practices before I get deeply involved with them.

I go through phases of focusing more on one aspect than the other but for some years now I have cycled through meditation, psycho-cartography, martial arts/tai chi/yoga, and research. Psycho-cartography treats the contents of the psyche as a landscape, laid out in 3 dimensions. The landscape is usually experienced most directly while asleep. The method maps the landscape identifying the various complexes represented through an individuals symbol set and determines their relationships through motifs.

Development of a full balance of human capacities is integral to my view of the path so I also devote a good deal of time to creative pursuits, through music, writing, as well as the visual arts, mostly through crafts and trades. In short a pursuit of the ideals of the ‘Renaissance Man’, developing a communication with Nature and an ability to live harmoniously live off the land is also entailed here. I try to take a practical approach to most of these disciplines, integrating them with my long term life goals. The alchemical Magnum Opus is the closest common definition to my ‘spiritual’ path, and Reciprocity is the most effective philosophical tool I’ve come across.

Quote from: Faemon;197246
...my concern became less finding consistent empirical evidence for paranormal/psychic phenomena and more personally fulfilling or culturally transformative stories, embracing the relationship I would have with what I call 'gods'.

Community sometimes helps and can be marvelously informative, insightful, and supportive...and sometimes trips you in the hall several times, spreads your real name and address alongside compromising photos to hostile strangers, orchestrates you and your family getting shunned into poverty, and gaslights you into thinking you have no one to blame but yourself for all this suffering. And then laughs. I mean all this figuratively. (Or do I?)


At a certain point jumping in and really experiencing these things is necessary as merely studying and reading will only get someone so far. As for myself I’m not really seeking to embrace a relationship with the ‘gods’ per say. I view them more as influences on ourselves that must be understood before we can truly embrace a relationship with ourselves; creating a bridge of communication between the conscious and unconscious minds; laying a propitious foundation for the development of intellect, creativity, and ethics through the influence of what some people call the spirit.

Community can definitely be a double edged sword. As long as a person remains within the confines of the groups worldview relationships tend to remain peachy, but once certain boundaries are pushed and new horizons sought after the community that used to be constructive and supportive now becomes constrictive and repressive. At a certain point in human development this tendency becomes far less pronounced or even fades entirely, but for the mass majority that point is still in the future. Personal relationships even parallel this with the phenomena known in psychology as complementary neuroses. The people in the relationship project their own psychic contents onto the other party and all is good until the structures no longer match where upon the relationship usually breaks apart.

Quote from: MamaThistle;197248
😳 I'm starting to realize that I need to be true to myself and not worry as much about "finding a group." This forum has actually been great, both for resources and just general support regardless of varying paths. 🤓


Being true to oneself and not ‘needing a group’ is a necessary step along any path in my opinion and evidences involvement in a psychological process of individuation. Differentiation from the collective must take place before a true individual identity can be established. A prerequisite of individuation is making conscious the archetypal patterns, the ‘gods’, and distinguishing oneself without going so far as to totally divorce from them.
 
Quote from: Faemon;197253
My starter was Thomas Keightley's Fairy Mythology, that doorstopper of a tome with a longer title, but I've certainly taken a descant since then to indigenous and diaspora beings from what I guess you could call the "lower mythology".


I had never heard of Faelatry. It sounds fascinating. I’m relatively familiar with the ‘Little People’, and their various types. Its nice to see some form of interest in them here. I wouldn’t consider myself a master folklorist by any extent of the imagination, though I did have a very interesting experience with these guys about a month ago. I would be interested to hear your views on the topic.

My avenue into Heathen topics was largely supported by commonalities I already held when I was introduced to it. The commonalities and differences of the different roads are interesting. What sort of effects on your lives have you noticed in the process of developing these different worldviews?

Faemon

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Quote from: ajabigt;197278
I had never heard of Faelatry. It sounds fascinating. I’m relatively familiar with the ‘Little People’, and their various types. Its nice to see some form of interest in them here. I wouldn’t consider myself a master folklorist by any extent of the imagination, though I did have a very interesting experience with these guys about a month ago. I would be interested to hear your views on the topic.

I'm sure I'm doing it wrong, because -latry (bardolatry, demonlatry) seems to imply devotion in addition to belief, but I go more like, "Believe in fae? I'm downright annoyed with them!" :p In addition to Keightley, which got me started, I only just now found this short post on Narrative Psychology, which snarks a bit at Greek mythology while elevating the Celtic but that's generally my approach too. I also got my mitts on a borrowed copy of Alaric Hall's Elves in Anglo-Saxon England and I have to say that the methodology and definition-of-terms is the clearest and most concise I've ever read. I haven't finished reading it, though.
Quote
My avenue into Heathen topics was largely supported by commonalities I already held when I was introduced to it. The commonalities and differences of the different roads are interesting. What sort of effects on your lives have you noticed in the process of developing these different worldviews?

Ah, well, for me I guess that's why they call maturation of human experience "growing": I feel that there's more to life with no only a different but expanded worldview, some mysteries solved/explained leading to a deeper appreciation, other mysteries appreciated as mysteries...I don't believe I was cruel as a child or adolescent, which is why I don't take much stock in "young people are supposed to be not-good people, they don't have the life experience to be good at being people yet", it could even be the case that my younger self didn't have the history of moral compromise, insult, and injury that I'm now geased to carry around so wretchedly. Generally, though, I figured that living means learning, learning leads to something like knowing, and when people know better then we do better. Knowing differently happens, too, and I guess in those cases I do differently.
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Wolf

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere.


I grew up with a pretty relaxed version of Christianity. In my case it was more of a believe-because-everyone-else-believes, and not because it actually resonated with me. Around the age of 12 I developed an interest in space, particularly stars and constellations. Through investigating the stories behind the constellations, I was led to astrology and ancient Greek religion. I imagined what it might be like to believe in those gods instead, but brushed that notion aside because everyone knew that those gods were not actually real. Or so I thought, anyway. It was also around this time, however, that I realized that I didn't HAVE to be a Christian if it wasn't right to me, and that there were tons of other options out there.

I became an atheist. My interest in the Greek gods eventually faded, but my love of astrology remained, and eventually I came upon a free tarot website, and decided I liked tarot quite a bit, too. I went through (several, separate) phases of "new age" spirituality as a teen (funnily, it was new age music that introduced me to the term), learned about crystal healing and meditation, energy, chakras, all of that. I had some great experiences meditating in those days. The times in between those phases were spent being a staunch atheist.

I eventually decided that "new age" probably wasn't for me, as something about it just doesn't quite sit right with me. My dabbling in it did bring me in contact with Wicca, witchcraft, and other pagan paths, however. My interest in astrology, crystals, and tarot remains as well. I don't know why I keep getting drawn back to these kinds of things time and time again, but I've decided to pursue it in earnest as an adult and as a skeptic to see where it leads me.

I don't view gods as actual entities, but as representative of specific concepts. To honor a god is to acknowledge and celebrate those concepts. I view my crystals similarly, not as magical objects in and of themselves, but as symbols for desirable qualities and reminders to try and exhibit those qualities in my daily life. I am pretty big on symbolism in general, really, and have many statues and pendants of dragons because I love their powerful, mystical image. Currently, I am also extremely drawn to the image of Cernunnos for some reason, but have not researched much about him.

I am still new to all of this, and I don't know exactly what I plan to gain or accomplish by exploring this path, but it's very interesting and I just keep coming back. I guess I was always interested in this kind of stuff, I just didn't know what it was.

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world?

This is actually a very good question to ask. For me it started out years ago when I started studying Wicca and Witchcraft. It was interesting but for me it relied too heavily on rituals and not enough on the actual how and why of it all.

For me all these rituals just did not feel natural; it just did not feel like it should be a part of me. So after a while I gave up on it and I now re-enter it with a new mindset and a different perspective. I read what seems interesting and use what I can and leave the rest for those who want to use it.

I do not adhere to any concept of personified and/or anthropomorphized deities but can use them as metaphors to represent something specific.

I tried scrying and tarot cards but it just did not seem to click so I learned to rely on my own mind and not allow it to become dependent on visual cues.

I have a little terra cotta warrior statue that has a place in my room as well as a couple other Chinese deities (I don't know who the statues represent anyways)

I guess I feel similar to Wolf here in that the "New Age" movement just was not for me and I simply cannot bring myself to see deities as actual entities so I just use what I can for a foundation and go from there.

I was part of a few pagan forums but sadly some fell away due to the participants becoming rather verbally abusive to others, especially newcomers and even some mods joined in the fray.

So..basically I too am not sure what I will do with all that I learn or even why I decided to give it another go but sometimes the passage of time as well as introspection can do wonders. ( a bowl of home made ice cream helps too :) )


*Please note that I speak only for myself and in no way mean to dismiss or demean others.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2016, 03:26:40 am by Morag »

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Quote from: Ryu;197375



 
A Reminder:
Hi Ryu,

Please use the default text color, font, and size when posting - we have  many members who find it difficult or uncomfortable to read fancy  colors or fonts, and it's required by our rules (in point #3 of 'The "Do" Rules' section).

I've gone ahead and edited your post to change the color in the last paragraph back to default.

This isn't a formal warning, just a reminder.  No  reply is necessary,  but if you have questions or need clarification,  please feel free to  contact a member of staff privately.

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere. ....


 

I was atheist, but I read an article about yoga. And there was something about meditation on a Gods names. So, I tried it out of curiosity on a name  a lower pagan goddess. After some time, she visibly manifested. Since then I believe.

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world?


My intuition tells me there's more out there than my eyes can see, and I'm in a constant battle between my pull to approaching a presumably metaphysical sphere and my sceptical nature which screams "this is just wishful thinking, grow up". I decided to try to give in and give my intuitive side a chance. I feel Paganism fits the way I feel about the world and the divine, when scepticism doesn't ruin it all. That's basically it.

I remember when I was little, putting little offerings for "Mother Nature" in the cavity of a tree. I used to talk to trees a lot, too. I still do it sometimes, along with talking to the sea, the moon, to the sun, to animals, to the mountains etc. :o I'm a hopeless tree-hugging hippie raised mainly positivist, now trying to open a window for the intuitive and create my own worldview.

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Quote from: ajabigt;197244
I just recently found The Cauldron and after perusing a bit I’ve become curious as to what has nurtured you folk’s interest in Paganism? What path brought you here and opened you up to these ways of looking at the world? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the stance most people hold on topics that culminated in my own interest with the polytheistic sphere.

My path first led me through conspiracy, alternative histories, ESP, and ‘free’ energy devices pretty much all at the same time. I then touched on the new age briefly but found that brand of ‘spirituality’ not to my taste. Integral to my exploration of consciousness is personal evolution. development of ethics, and assisting the general evolution of consciousness; moreover, I prefer a firm foundation in first principles and their resultant natural consequences. While I find investigation of other systems useful I don’t utilize them per say. I attempt to see what is possible instead of what is impossible and determine the validity of other approaches with reference to an integrated philosophy of natural consequences rooted in observations of Nature. For example I often utilizes the terms yin and yang from taoism but I derive the validity of their reality from wholly unrelated approaches except with respect to their conclusions.

I first stumbled across Asatru, Heathenry, and the like a couple years ago now and these were my first introductions to Paganism in any depth. I was open to looking at them because of an interest in mythology, and seeing myths as useful for inner work from a psychological/alchemical perspective. In the traditional sense I would probably be considered an atheist as I don’t believe in intelligent, divine, supernatural beings that create reality, guide, or influence human life. I don’t even take a pantheistic perspective in the sense of a universal self.

My conception of the gods essentially defines them as proto-ancestors, exerting a strong influence on the collective unconscious of humanity. A Jungian stance would identify them as archetypes, and while I do as well, I also make a distinction between psychological and metaphysical archetypes. The former being strictly of the mind and physical in nature while the latter would more accurately be described in somewhat of a Platonic sense. The psychological manifestations of metaphysical archetypes are the basis for what I see as the most common modern interaction with the gods.

Defining the psychological as physical might seem to indicate a reductionist perspective; however, I merely mean physical in the broadest sense of the term. A good example would be the relationship time has to our familiar 3D spatial reference. With our waking consciousness and scientific instruments we can’t directly perceive time, only its affects on space, yet it is still a distinctly physical phenomena. Similarly I see the psyche, or the soul as it can also be designated, as physical. While alive and ‘awake’ we can’t perceive the soul directly only its affects on the body. I wanted to clarify that I don’t reduce psychological interactions to merely neurological impulses.

While to me the gods are not transcendent in the strictest sense of the term I do accept the validity of entities that are outside our current frame of reference and/or beyond our current levels of existence. Some of these beings could be seen as more evolved and intelligent than ourselves, yet this doesn’t make them gods from my point of view. The tangental topic of worship and my stance on it is one of the things that intrigued me about Heathenry. The approaches I’m familiar with of the northern tradition tend to shy away from a traditional concept of worship, and I found this more acceptable to my disposition than any other religion I’d encountered; furthermore, I noticed an emphasis on interaction with mythological entities other than the gods in Heathenry. I personally view the ability to interact with the aspects of yourself as equally important to communicating with other entities, and would go a step farther and say that one is intimately connected to the other. I’ve caught some flack from more staunch reconstructionists within the Heathen community and am wondering y’alls opinion on such things.

I’m unsure which sub forum is the best fit for this post as it touches on a number of different topics. So any of the moderators or staff feel free to move it if you think a better location would be suitable.

 
I don't generally identify as a neopagan, but some common neopagan ideas have influenced me for years, and there is some overlap with the few years I had some New Age ideas, especially pantheism.  I am not sure if I could be Christopagan, but it's not important enough a label for me to give it too much thought.

I am still good friends with a neopagan group I was involved with in college.  Our celebrations were eclectic.  But my favorite ritual was the making and partaking of a food offering to Egyptian gods in a Reconstructionist setting.

I have built layers of symbolism, ritual, and beliefs that have evolved over most of my life onto a pantheistic foundation.

There are still various neopagan elements of my spirituality particularly in my approach to adapting prayers and rituals and creating my own because it gives me joy and pleasure and I cannot fit into any orthodoxies I know of.

I tend to draw on entities and ritual already familiar to me because that clicks with my psyche and helps me enter meditative or other states much more easily - my Anglican-Christian background, purely personal experiences, and in some specific cases fictional literature.

But my approach to doing that is largely informed by my experiences of neo-paganism.
My personal moral code:

Love wisely, and do what thou wilt.

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