WHAT IS PAGANISM

Such a common term, what specifically is it? (And isn't?)

We’re moving over the weekend so expect a break (maybe a few days) in our posting. As we need to remind we never can promise consistent posts, but we will be back.

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The common term useful for public recognition by others. Paganism is used widely, but what specifically is it? Where is it from? What IS it?

ETYMOLOGY

A word of Latinate origins, Paganus → Pagan. Originally meant rural, rustic, or civilian. It essentially turned into a pejorative for those who kept to the old faiths.

Displaced or equivalent to English Heathen in similarity. So you’ll see Heathen in a Germanic context this is a similar origin. Etymologically Heathen is a similar meaning as Paganus, rural, rustic, etc.

Other terms you may see are Asatru and Forn Sidr (our preferred,) one means true to the Aesir (one of the two branches of the Gods,) the other means old custom. But these are very specific Germanic Pagan descriptors.

NATIVE FAITH

The gist of the meaning of Paganism is very straight forward. While technically it simply means those faiths that are not Abrahamic or Universalist (some interpretations of Buddhism for example,) it really specifically addresses native faiths.

It’s a term (especially after disparaging use) of reclaiming our adherence to native, ancestral religion and customs. The point is not a reactionary usage (as a counter-Abrahamic term.)

Therefore it is properly utilized to refer to any native faith as a large umbrella term. It allows for quick understanding of generally what someone means in a religious setting.

Nevertheless this term is specifically useful for outward projection and explaining things to others not in the know. Really our faith is not an -ism, it isn’t anything political, it is something that is lived and just is. You are reverting to a natural state you were born to. You are a Germanic Pagan because you are descended from Germanic peoples, this applies to all people with their own specific native faith.

WHAT IT IS NOT

This specifically means that Paganism isn’t a reactionary anti-Christian conception. It is simply the natural state of a people, not a mere counterpoint to something else. Eclectic and New-Age spirituality does not fall under the Pagan umbrella because they are inherently anti-traditional and usually counter to native faiths.

Wicca, any Occultism, or even… Atheistic Paganism which somehow some people think can be a thing are not Paganism. This is to say Paganism needs to be:

1. Traditional

2. Religious

3. Native/Ethnic

Otherwise it does not fall under the Pagan umbrella and is rather something of a modern conception.

PAGAN REVIVAL

Beginning with Sturm und Drang and eventually Romanticism (countering the Enlightenment) in the late 18th century Pagan faiths have been on a trajectory of return. Today what was inconceivable before Romanticism has occurred. People are reverting to their natural faiths, and embracing traditionalism. Our growth is slow, but it is steady, and we have immense potential.

The path has been messy, Occultism of the 19th century, New Age faiths like Wicca forming in the 20th century, and the intermingling of the two obscuring natural traditional faith till today. Early Germanic Pagan scenes were rife with the two and even Satanic lines of thought, the wounds still affecting some today. But through it all we have persevered. A path is clear, we do not need anything but our own native cultures and mythos.

Our faith is not just something to be “converted” to, just like we’ve explained in prior posts, it isn’t something that is chosen. It isn’t an ideology, it is from birth to death an entire worldview reset. You live, breathe, and die a Pagan, someone who accepts their natural faith. We inherit this faith as a sacred trust, a duty.

THE RETURN

We can be the generation to fully commit and return our wandering people to our native faiths. The fact that our faith isn’t already widespread and well known is sad but nonetheless it just means the torch is passed to all of us. In the US alone tens of millions of Germanic descended peoples wander aimlessly, many irreligious and lost spiritually, searching for a purpose and something of their own. Not to mention the various European nations where it should be even easier being closer connected to their direct original cultures.

We have nigh unlimited potential in the US, this needs to be capitalized on. The faith needs to be spread, the faith needs to be opened to our people, the faith needs to be simple to return to. It must be clear, accessible, and deeply ingrained in daily life. The more we continue to complicate it the less likely it is to take root. We are but a few thousand at best, we should be tens of thousand, hundreds of thousand, millions strong. The seeds are here, the ideas are here, we just need people acting and spreading.

We are still understanding how to best do outreach and will be experimenting more, but if you have expertise and experience doing this, speak up. Our faith is historically not a proselytizing one yes, but that’s because we had solid cultural structures that ensured father to child inheritance of faith. There was no need for spread as our faith was the default therefore the idea never existed. This does not mean there is some divine mandate to NOT SPREAD, that is the mindset of a dying faith.

We do not mean become like Mormons going door to door. But in a world where the link of parent to child traditional teaching has been long since broken there is zero reason to not take active steps to reforge this.

If you are new to all of this, take the plunge, set up a small ancestral altar and begin basic offerings (we explain how to in various posts,) start reading our myths (start with the Havamal, then the rest of the Poetic Edda.) Small acts build the foundation for lifelong faith. If you are already practicing, think on ways to spread, grow the faith, and expand our small numbers and act on it. Experimentation is necessary.

LEARN. TEACH. SPREAD. GROW.