Are there differing beliefs in paganism

fatboys said:

Ta me duck

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Hi,

My previous post was a tease against recent changes to this site. I had no individual in mind.

Trust me.....if I had I would have said so!

Cheers.

fatboys said:

So this is sort of a guide. explain what gives you the greatest joy in your beliefs

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The greatest joy? Hmm that's a good question. I don't know if joy is the word I would use but I have a great amount of awe for all of creation. The whole scope of it, which becomes clearer all the time due to scientific discovery, is unbelievable, awe-inspiring and humbling. My beliefs are a system that help me cope with the observation that our entire civilization, our whole world is literally as a Carl Sagan so eloquently put it "a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam"

I'm not sure I'd call it joy that I feel, I'm not an overly joyous person but I would say that it keeps me honest and connected to the nature of things in my life and the world.

fatboys said:

I severed mission in England for two years. I was expressing my depth in the English slang


I too am in awe of our creation. I have a son in law that is an atheist and I asked him if he believed that we came from a primordial soup of amino acids that by chance came together in a random DNA strand? He said yes. I asked him if he loaded up my dump truck to the hilt with bricks took them over to a cliff and dumped them how many times would you have to pick them up and redump them so that they would fall into a brick house?

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Ah...I see. 'Forty farsand feavers on a feavered frush's frout!'

When I was heavily considering delving into Folkish Ásatrú, certain beliefs appealed to me.

The first was that Ásatrú was ethnic; that it was the religion of my ancestors (I'm nearly 90% Germanic, with the rest Irish; most of my stock is English and Scandinavian), and more importantly, that it was the religion of my ancestors for far longer than Christianity.

I started reading a lot of the old Sagas. First the Eddur, the Poetic and the Prose, and then I moved on to the Heimskringla, Ynglinga Saga, and the Völsunga Saga. As I've stated numerous times in other threads, according to genealogy I'm descended from Bjǫrn Járnsíða, the son of Ragnarr Loðbrók and Aslaug, the latter being a Völsung. Thus, my family tree has the god Óðinn as my grandfather, 40 generations back.

Other beliefs that interested me were the Nine Noble Virtues (particularly the AFA's version), which, among other things, claimed that "Freedom is better than slavery," "kinship is better than alienation," and "ancestry is better than universalism."

It appealed to me. So I started wearing a Mjǫlnir pendant, listening to music such as that posted below, and started to get involved.

Needless to say I never officially followed through with it.

fatboys said:

huh? speak english

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'Forty farsand feavers on a feavered frush's frout!'

'Forty thousand feathers on a feathered thrush's throat' A well known piece of Cockney slang.

Niblo said:

'Forty farsand feavers on a feavered frush's frout!'

'Forty thousand feathers on a feathered thrush's throat' A well known piece of Cockney slang.

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But it’s a fair schlep from the East End to The Valleys.


Now I have to watch Stanley Baker and Michael Caine duke it out in Zulu to get my Welsh and Cockney fix.

Aryeh Jay said:

But it’s a fair schlep from the East End to The Valleys.


Now I have to watch Stanley Baker and Michael Caine duke it out in Zulu to get my Welsh and Cockney fix.

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My Mum-in-Law was a Cockney. The Rhondda is a Y shaped valley. I'm from one arm, and Baker is from the other. Never met him. On the other hand...Tom Jones is from the sticky up bit of the Y... Know him very well....Big butties.......Lived next door to him......Went to the same school..................(along with every other Welsh bloke, of course) .

I have some new questions.

Do you ever experience withdrawal symptoms when you have not had your fill of nature mysticism?

Do you find it harder to engage in nature mysticism when you are depressed?

Thanks.

MehGuy said:

I have some new questions.

Do you ever experience withdrawal symptoms when you have not had your fill of nature mysticism?

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Chalk it up to seasonal affective disorder, but yes, in the winter when it's dark and cold and cloudy.

Do you find it harder to engage in nature mysticism when you are depressed?

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I think it's harder to engage in anything when depressed.

awitch said:

Chalk it up to seasonal affective disorder, but yes, in the winter when it's dark and cold and cloudy.



I think it's harder to engage in anything when depressed.

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Thanks for your answers. I am not sure why I didn't ask them earlier.

I know that many people who get mysticism from suffering report horrible withdrawals when they do not get their fill for awhile, and many claim we're just being psychosomatic or making it up. But it's a real thing and can be quite painful.(and not in the good way of course, lol.)

I always wondered if other sources of mysticisms work the same way.

I know when I used to attend youth group and church people would say that when they had dry spells from feeling God's love and presence that it was painful and hard. Most likely chemical withdrawal. From love mysticism, I guess. lol.

WirSindBettler said:

When I was heavily considering delving into Folkish Ásatrú, certain beliefs appealed to me.

The first was that Ásatrú was ethnic; that it was the religion of my ancestors (I'm nearly 90% Germanic, with the rest Irish; most of my stock is English and Scandinavian), and more importantly, that it was the religion of my ancestors for far longer than Christianity.

I started reading a lot of the old Sagas. First the Eddur, the Poetic and the Prose, and then I moved on to the Heimskringla, Ynglinga Saga, and the Völsunga Saga. As I've stated numerous times in other threads, according to genealogy I'm descended from Bjǫrn Járnsíða, the son of Ragnarr Loðbrók and Aslaug, the latter being a Völsung. Thus, my family tree has the god Óðinn as my grandfather, 40 generations back.

Other beliefs that interested me were the Nine Noble Virtues (particularly the AFA's version), which, among other things, claimed that "Freedom is better than slavery," "kinship is better than alienation," and "ancestry is better than universalism."

It appealed to me. So I started wearing a Mjǫlnir pendant, listening to music such as that posted below, and started to get involved.

Needless to say I never officially followed through with it.

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Thanks for your post. The part I bolded is interesting to me because I agree with it especially; ethnicity is a major area of discomfort for many people when it comes to religions but I find the idea of Ásatrú's ethnic origins to be very appealing to me as well, the same goes for Celtic paganism as well. I have a hard time connecting with the middle-Eastern religions of Christianity and Islam. I do not feel that they are universal enough for me, though I recognize that many people don't feel the way I do on this matter.

Zoness said:

Thanks for your post. The part I bolded is interesting to me because I agree with it especially; ethnicity is a major area of discomfort for many people when it comes to religions but I find the idea of Ásatrú's ethnic origins to be very appealing to me as well, the same goes for Celtic paganism as well. I have a hard time connecting with the middle-Eastern religions of Christianity and Islam. I do not feel that they are universal enough for me, though I recognize that many people don't feel the way I do on this matter.

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Interestingly enough, today I attended a service at the Minnekirken, one of only two American Lutheran churches that still uses Norwegian as its primary liturgical language (the other being the Mindekirken in Minneapolis). I found that it was extremely comfortable, and in fact, very homelike for me. Perhaps it is indicative of an ancestral bond, as a very large part of my ancestry is Norwegian.

WirSindBettler said:

Interestingly enough, today I attended a service at the Minnekirken, one of only two American Lutheran churches that still uses Norwegian as its primary liturgical language (the other being the Mindekirken in Minneapolis). I found that it was extremely comfortable, and in fact, very homelike for me. Perhaps it is indicative of an ancestral bond, as a very large part of my ancestry is Norwegian.

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That's interesting that there are still Norwegian-speaking churches, I didn't know that. It doesn't surprise me that you felt an ancestral connection to them either. An oft-mentioned topic of discussion in pagan circles is the sympathetic link with ancestors for certain kinds of magick (if your faith practices this) and guidance that ancestral wisdom can bring about.

Personally, I believe very strongly in this sympathetic link.

fatboys said:

sorry it took me a long time to even understand what they were saying in Birmingham. Then had to learn what they were saying in Corby. Many were from Glasgow to work in the steel mill.

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Trust me you are not alone!

awitch said:

I think it's harder to engage in anything when depressed.

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Ah, yes. Depression poisons everything..

I do wish to engage and study nature mysticism, but sadly I am unsure how competently I am able to do this during my current depressive state. If it were ten yeas ago, it would be not problem. Back then I had all the emotional energy in the world, I used to be in awe of nature as a kid. Growing up I had the fortune of having a rich forest in my backyard. During the summers I would spend a lot of time exploring the woods with my friends.

There were even a few moments when I felt something spiritual, even mystical. The feelings felt alien to Christianity, like there was something beyond it. I quickly withdrew from such feelings in fear of falling prey to the devils temptations (something I was taught in church). Indeed I know I'm capable of nature mysticism, and fortunately probably not to the crazy extent I seem to be obsessed with suffering mysticism (although the two can overlap) I cannot imagine I'd build up anything too large that would result in nasty chemical withdrawal.

This summer, I should plan a camping trip or something. Unwind and try to tune myself into nature and all of it's ambiance. And keep a journal of all of my experiences.