What is a Heathen? (pt 1)

[gullindagan]

As a preface, I'd like to state that these posts are a way for me to understand my own thinking better. To take my readings, meditations and experiences and order them, so that I might see more clearly what is really going on. In past posts and in future posts, I deal directly with the content that I'm absorbing, wrestling with authors to separate the gold from the dross. Words seem to me to be a very brute way of understanding something, they are both blunt and slippery. In a way, we are all barbarians to our inner selves, muttering "bar bar bar" to each other and pointing at rocks, pointing at the sun, and misunderstanding most things any more abstract. Definitions are slippery, and meanings are constantly shifting, and I am constantly learning. So this essay is a trial, an attempt, an assail at meaning. And I am quite positive that my understanding will change as I grow and learn further. But, the actual action of me putting these thoughts to screen is a part of that growing and learning.

So what is a "heathen"? Or, what does it mean to me? It seems like everybody who calls themselves "heathen", or, is called "heathen" has a slightly different take on it. There are Norse Pagans, Heathens, Odinists, Asatru, Vanatru, even Rokkatru, those who follow the "Northern Tradition," hard polytheists, soft polytheists, pantheists, etc etc. For me, "heathen" also means different things. One definition, that probably has the best tension between general and specific, is: "somebody who follows the old gods of Northern Europe." So does this mean that they should be followed exclusively? Not necessarily. Certainly, many folks will just honor one pantheon, or set of pantheons (Aesir and Vanir for instance.) But I see polytheism as an inherent part of Heathenry, and if one makes offerings to both Norse gods and Hindu gods, to me, that one is Heathen. And also maybe Hindu! There are records of historical heathens worshiping both the old gods and Jesus, for instance King Raedwald of East Anglia who kept an alter to Jesus in his pagan temple.

As a word, "heathen" means "dweller of the heath" or, the wilderness, the country. "Pagan" means something similar. but the people of Northern Europe didn't even have a name for their "religion" before the Christians started calling them heathens and pagans. Christianity was largely a urban phenomenon, and country people clung to their old ways for many centuries after they were nominally "christian." Apparently, they would even pray to gods though the image of a saint. For instance, Thor was prayed and petitioned to under the name of St. Olaf! It's rather interesting that now Christianity is mostly followed in the hinterlands, but I guess that's how things go.

I, personally, as somebody who lives in the country and comes from country folk (though I was educated in a small city) like that aspect of the term. I identify with the woods, the mountains, the streams and lakes. To me, this is in many ways just as important as honoring the deities. The spirits of the land, the ancestors, the elves, these are all important spirits to come into right relationship with.

Maria Kvilhaug has an essay about this topic too, and she brings up the point that the Norse word for heathen is related to the word for "shining" and "enlightenment". The name of the volva from the Voluspa, Heidr, comes from that same root word. The shining heath, the bright clearing in the woods. the brilliant sky, the light of spiritual illumination. I think this is a valid way of using meaning, and I like the way this meaning stretches the possibilities of the term.

So, as somebody who honors the old gods, revels in the wild, works to enter right relationship with the spirits of the land, and seeks after spiritual illumination, "heathen" is a fine word to label me, even if I don't really like to be labelled anything.

Comments

[jprussell]

Thanks for continuing your posts!

I have a somewhat similar take. Until I started reading some of the more recent books on Germanic religion and magic, I didn't know that things had become quite so schismatic and carefully defined. I like the term "heathen" because I have a perhaps overblown fondness for finding Old English, or at least Germanic, derived words for concepts (we can talk about Poul Anderson's "Uncleftish Beholding" and William Barnes sometime for some more extreme examples).

That being said, I have also come to embrace a more freewheeling idea of what Polytheism means, also largely under the influence of John Michael Greer. Now that I see things this way, I can't help but wonder why it was so tough for me to get here, as there's amble historical evidence from the Greek and Roman worlds for not only syncretism, but also flat out accepting Gods and Goddesses of other cultures as real, powerful, and potentially worthwhile objects of worship. I suspect that my own foray into Germanic polytheistic "puritanism" came from some deeply embedded American Protestant Christian ideas that there should be one right answer, it should be traceable to one fairly identifiable source, and anything else is BS.

Enough about me sharing my thoughts, a question: have you found much in the way of fellowship or community from other "heathens"? I'm curious because I see the appeal, but my own path has been largely solitary thus far, and to be frank, I'm not particularly excited about trying to build community with the kinds of folks that stereotypically come to mind for the Neopagan scene (which I know is not wholly the same as "heathens"). Given your interest in occultism and JMG and fairly open-minded approach to heathenry, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the value (or lack thereof) of seeking out coreligionists.

[gullindagan]

Thank you for continuing to read them and comment! It seems like with everything, practice makes perfect, so I want to continue practicing the written art.

I would think we might have a similar take, as JMG seems to be a major influence on both of us. I just looked up "Uncleftish Beholding" and it sounds like a fun tangent...

Yes it seems to me that many heathens and pagans just take the same fundamentalist christian underpinnings they were raised with and change the names, but to each their own! This is also why I have found such illumination in the study of history, it really does expand the mind in a good way.

I haven't had much community with other "heathens", though I have several friends who are also "heathen" occultists/magicians, though each has their own practice. I am pretty idiosyncratic, and I don't fit in very well into any subculture, though I flit amongst a few. I have, for instance, attended several neo-pagan events, and while I found many fine and interesting people, some of whom I'm still friends with, on the whole there was a rather LARPy, grubby, shallow energy to the gatherings. Also, I moved to a new (rural) area right before C---d, and I've been quite busy, so I haven't been able to attend many events. I have seen that there is a rather well organized heathen group about 2 hours from me, but they are very vocally "folkish" and I don't think that's really my vibe either.

In terms of what I think is the value: depends on you. For me, I think it's very important to have friends and elders that I respect, that have the same or similar values to me, and that I don't mind being more like. There's the saying that you're the most like the 5 people you spend the most amount of time with. So, if you want to advance, magically or spiritually, it makes sense to surround yourself with people who are also on a spiritual/magical path. It helps to have people that are farther along than you, people on roughly the same level, and people who you can help bring to your level too. I have found something like that with other esoteric groups, with Ecosophia, and with some folks in the larger magical community who I know in person. A few of those people are "heathen", but most of them aren't. Most of the work is done by oneself anyway, though nobody can really be a fully "solitary" practitioner. Even the exchanges we're having right now, and the exchanges on the Ecosophia blogs are a way of fulfilling the need for community.

[jprussell]

Your last point seems especially important/helpful - I do think I would find value in in-person relationships with other folks on a esoteric spiritual paths, but maybe I ought to widen my net and not only consider "heathen" groups. So far, Ecosophia has been extremely helpful, and the regular commenters have shown me that you can get plenty of helpful advice and good sense from esoteric Christians, Muslims, traditional Occultists, Greco-Roman pagans, and so forth.

I suppose the trouble I've had so far is that it seems hard to find the balance that Ecosophia has - folks from all traditions are welcome, but please bring a certain amount of seriousness about your practice. Out in the world, there seem to be two main poles, at least at the moment: the "big tent" Neopagan movement that seeks to include anybody and everybody who isn't a monotheist, which has many of the problems JMG has laid out, and then those groups that have reacted to that by fencing off a particular territory and saying "no, we're not anything-goes, thank you very much, we do things this way". I think a lot of heathen groups have gone the latter way, which risks turning into the "one-true-wayism" you and others have talked about in this comment thread.

Maybe I'll just have to take JMG's advice and start my own Esoteric Reading Library to attract the kind of odd ducks I'm looking for :)

[gullindagan]

Ecosophia is a special place, a gem. I think JMG's advice is great. And of course maybe you could start your own weekly or bi-weekly in person esoteric study group or rune study group? Just another idea.

[jprussell]

I've considered that, and just might do so soon. So far, what has stopped me is a combination of a) reluctance to have in-person get-togethers with everything going on, b) busy-ness with school work (I've recently transitioned to teaching new courses than I taught for the last few years), and c), since I'm working through the DMH, I've purposely eased up on my non-druidic reading and study - I'm trying to get the Ogham into my head, so I'm only doing occasional rune readings, and though I've been following along with Levi, I have not been discursively meditating on the Tarot along with it.

Still, it's a good suggestion, and one I very likely ought to heed within the next year or so.

[gullindagan]

Yeah that makes a lot of sense, you've got similar reasons to why I haven't started an in person group near my own location yet! (I'm also deep in the country)

[otter_girl]

Just want to express my appreciation for this blog. Very much enjoy what you write, and the comments that follow each post.

In-person groups generate an odd attract/repel vibe for me. (No doubt some intensive journaling may help me understand that!). I value the space you have created here. Friendly, yet not expecting conformity.

So much of what you’ve written resonates with me. Clearly you and the commenters are further along than I am, and I totally benefit from that.

Thanks,
Valerie (OtterGirl)

[gullindagan]

Well thank you very much for your kind contribution to the comments and community!

I highly value heterogeneity and individuality, so I'm glad that you're feeling it.

There is something to being in the same energy field as somebody else in person, and online spaces don't quite give the same exchange of energy, but from my experience, sometimes that in person exchange can be a bit uncomfortable. So I totally feel you on the ambivalence there.

[otter_girl]

“Ambivalence” nails it! I emailed a local Heathen group here in the Boise area a couple years ago, and received what was no doubt meant as an encouraging reply, but it had a “only one true way” vibe that just isn’t my thing. It came across a bit like the Presbyterian church of my childhood recollection. Been there, done that. Much prefer “You do you.”

[gullindagan]

Haha, yes. I think Heathenry has a good chance of being a Aquarian religious tradition, but not with the "only one true way" attitude. Of course, maybe there's room for that too!

[slithytoves123]

In addition to what you've said here, it seems to me that another thing that distinguishes Heathenry from many other religions — even other polytheistic ones — is that it's unusually pro-existence; pro-samsara if you will.

The gods of Asgard and Vanaheim don't sit over and above the inhabitants of Nine Worlds judging when it's time to wrap things up, nor do they offer a way out. They go down fighting for the worlds and their inhabitants to the bitter end.

There's a speculation that there was a schism in Indo-Europeans religion between the worshippers of the Asuras/Aesir, and the worshippers of the Devas, with each side accusing the other of being aligned with evil. I've wondered before if the schism wasn't over this very issue. In both mythologies, the world eventually succumbs to corruption by evil spiritual forces. The Devas' response is to try to get as many souls as possible off the cycle of evolution and back to the Central Sun (to use Fortune's terminology), while the Aesir's response is to protect the integrity of the process as long as possible, and shepherd leftover souls to the next round.

[gullindagan]

Thanks for bringing this up, it's a very interesting line of inquiry and speculation. I'll have to do some more pondering, but I think part of it has to do with the energy of the Land. The difference between India and the North...