Pagan Discussion Thread

[Prussia-Steinbach]

Anyway, new conversation: How does everyone practice? Do you meditate, pray, blot, etc?

For me, I have recently done a lot of meditation on different stories surrounding Odin and Thor, trying to derive something that I can use in my life from them. My personal favorite is Odin sacrificing his eye for wisdom.

I mentally sacrifice the occasional nihilist to Our Absurd Lord Albert Camus. Other than that, no.

[Thurses]

can you stop discussing drugs in a pagan thread, and LSD is sort-of illegal so I dont think you want to go around saying this.

[Prussia-Steinbach]

can you stop discussing drugs in a pagan thread, and LSD is sort-of illegal so I dont think you want to go around saying this.

He was referring to using them in a spiritual context.

No one is encouraging them. I'd actually discourage people from using most street drugs nowadays, especially acid. Saying you have done something illegal isn't again the rules. I've discussed my past drug use (not current, thank god) many times on the forums.

That said, I'll stop the line of conversation if it makes you uncomfortable.

[Thurses]

can you stop discussing drugs in a pagan thread, and LSD is sort-of illegal so I dont think you want to go around saying this.

He was referring to using them in a spiritual context.

No one is encouraging them. I'd actually discourage people from using most street drugs nowadays, especially acid. Saying you have done something illegal isn't again the rules.

That said, I'll stop discussing it if it makes you uncomfortable.

no its fine i do plants of the green kind

[Kincoboh]

He was referring to using them in a spiritual context.

No one is encouraging them. I'd actually discourage people from using most street drugs nowadays, especially acid. Saying you have done something illegal isn't again the rules.

That said, I'll stop discussing it if it makes you uncomfortable.

no its fine i do plants of the green kind

Lol! No discussion of this kind would commonly be held in a discussion thread for an Abrahamic religion
This is why I like pagans, cause they're rare (not as rare as I thought before though) and chill as fuck. Worshiping nature, skeptical of authority, decentralized to a fault, and far more individualistic at the same time as being more similar... These are all things that I wish other religions and/or cultures would follow.

[Immoren]

He was referring to using them in a spiritual context.

No one is encouraging them. I'd actually discourage people from using most street drugs nowadays, especially acid. Saying you have done something illegal isn't again the rules.

That said, I'll stop discussing it if it makes you uncomfortable.

no its fine i do plants of the green kind

Broccoli?

[Prussia-Steinbach]

no its fine i do plants of the green kind

Broccoli?

bruh i ate soooooo much celery last night you don't even fuckin know

[Thurses]

no its fine i do plants of the green kind

Broccoli?

Yes dude. I smoke broccoli and sacrifice broccolini to the frost giants.

[Nature-Spirits]

Anyway, new conversation: How does everyone practice? Do you meditate, pray, blot, etc?

For me, I have recently done a lot of meditation on different stories surrounding Odin and Thor, trying to derive something that I can use in my life from them. My personal favorite is Odin sacrificing his eye for wisdom.

I suppose you could say I'm non-practising. I sometimes send up prayers, but not often. And I rarely do any sort of spellwork; mostly, it's just the occasional protection charm (and nothing fancy, either; I have a rock that I carry around, and I do visualisations [mostly involving Algiz], but nothing much more than that).

[The Grey Wolf]

Anyway, new conversation: How does everyone practice? Do you meditate, pray, blot, etc?

For me, I have recently done a lot of meditation on different stories surrounding Odin and Thor, trying to derive something that I can use in my life from them. My personal favorite is Odin sacrificing his eye for wisdom.

I practice by doing mathematical, physical and technical calculations and eating hot dogs.

For some reason, I feel that Pythagoras would be proud.

[Prussia-Steinbach]

Anyway, new conversation: How does everyone practice? Do you meditate, pray, blot, etc?

For me, I have recently done a lot of meditation on different stories surrounding Odin and Thor, trying to derive something that I can use in my life from them. My personal favorite is Odin sacrificing his eye for wisdom.

I suppose you could say I'm non-practising. I sometimes send up prayers, but not often. And I rarely do any sort of spellwork; mostly, it's just the occasional protection charm (and nothing fancy, either; I have a rock that I carry around, and I do visualisations [mostly involving Algiz], but nothing much more than that).

Are you a hard polytheist? As in, you believe the gods actually exist, in some form?

[Nature-Spirits]

I suppose you could say I'm non-practising. I sometimes send up prayers, but not often. And I rarely do any sort of spellwork; mostly, it's just the occasional protection charm (and nothing fancy, either; I have a rock that I carry around, and I do visualisations [mostly involving Algiz], but nothing much more than that).

Are you a hard polytheist? As in, you believe the gods actually exist, in some form?

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

[Prussia-Steinbach]

Are you a hard polytheist? As in, you believe the gods actually exist, in some form?

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

[Meryuma]

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

Hard polytheism is a pretty large (and growing) demographic. And some people get hella serious about it. I'd consider myself an agnostic polytheist - not in the "hella serious" camp tho. I could find lots and lots of examples of modern hard polytheists if you want.

[Prussia-Steinbach]

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

Hard polytheism is a pretty large (and growing) demographic. And some people get hella serious about it. I'd consider myself an agnostic polytheist - not in the "hella serious" camp tho. I could find lots and lots of examples of modern hard polytheists if you want.

That is... honestly, kind of sad to me. As essentially an anti-theist (who still obviously is much more accepting of paganism than Abrahamic religion), I'll leave it at that.

And you can if you like.

[Thurses]

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

you w0t m8

[Yedmnrutika Gavr]

im not very serious about it but i like the idea of wind and earth spirits. ive held this belief lightly since i was very young and also carried them over into the traditionalists of my country here on ns.

ps. beautiful thread!

[Nature-Spirits]

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

No, I believe they're real beings who can be spoken to, bargained with, etc. I believe that they have consciousness. I just don't think that they can exist independently of humankind. I believe the same about all manner of spirits.

Also, I don't claim to draw all my beliefs from Paganism. I don't try to emulate the original Pagan religions in my own spiritual practice. A good deal of my spiritual beliefs have been influenced by Hermeticism and various branches of philosophy. Paganism just forms the base of my devotional practices, I suppose.

[The Grey Wolf]

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

Yeah, I feel the same. Not that it turned me away, but I feel neopagans should be more clear about how their beliefs are different from the older forms of paganism. A lot of them (usually influenced by Gardner) actually believe religions such as Wicca were practiced by old pagans who kept it secret for centuries.

[Nature-Spirits]

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

Yeah, I feel the same. Not that it turned me away, but I feel neopagans should be more clear about how their beliefs are different from the older forms of paganism. A lot of them (usually influenced by Gardner) actually believe religions such as Wicca were practiced by old pagans who kept it secret for centuries.

No offence intended to anyone here, but Gardner's tradition seems like kind of a sham, tbh.

[The Grey Wolf]

Yeah, I feel the same. Not that it turned me away, but I feel neopagans should be more clear about how their beliefs are different from the older forms of paganism. A lot of them (usually influenced by Gardner) actually believe religions such as Wicca were practiced by old pagans who kept it secret for centuries.

No offence intended to anyone here, but Gardner's tradition seems like kind of a sham, tbh.

They're ripped straight from Crowley. When asked by his High Priestess why he filled the Book of Shadows with wholesale paragraphs of Crowley's own holy book, Gardner tried to justify his plagiarism by saying Crowley's poetry was sublime. I don't mean to play theological superiority games, given I'm neither religion, but I feel that people could learn and receive more from Crowley and the original texts than Gardner's watered down version. The whole Wiccan rede basically removes the transcendent elements of Crowley's "Do what thou wilt," and makes it say "do whatever you want."

[Immoren]

Clearly I am full of 5/5 ideas for pendant/necklace designs.

[The New Sea Territory]

I'm actually rather agnostic on that front. In general, I tend to subscribe to the view that gods are real, but only in the sense that they're mental constructs created and given power by humans. This means that I also kind of believe that all gods exist in some form -- I just focus my devotion on a few; and in that sense, I'm kind of a henotheist (although I don't limit myself to only one deity). Also, I don't really restrict myself to one pantheon; I just kinda pick and choose which gods I like, generally sticking to those that I have some sort of cultural/heritage connection to (e.g. Germanic, Hellenic, Celtic, Luciferian, etc.).

Of course, in keeping with my agnosticism/ietsism, I also completely accept that I could be completely wrong.

That sounds more like a "no, I don't believe the gods are real."

The ancient pagans thought their gods were actual beings that could be talked to, bargained with, etc. I don't think I've ever met a modern pagan who actually held to this... which is what turns me away from it. Feels dishonest.

I lean more towards hard polytheism, but an agnostic variant of it. If the gods are not real, then they are personifications of nature. Either way, my practice does not really change much.

[Asherahan]

Ishtar why did we ever stop worshipping you...

[Immoren]

Ishtar why did we ever stop worshipping you...

"Ishtar mistress of the gods
Whose yes is truly yes
Ishtar queen of Harlots, Lady of Babylon
Ishtar sweet jewel of Sodom
Beloved daughter of sin

Ishtar

Ishtar unlocked the seven gates
Covenant of Absu, impaled
Naked and Bleeding

Hung left to die upon a Stake
Ishtar Suffer in Darkness

Unheard you cry
Cry for dawn"