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 Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:23 pm
I've been interested druidry for a few years, but also heathenism for almost as long. As a member of ADF, I know I could maintain a druid path and follow any of the Indo-European pantheons I like. However, when I think druids, I can't help think of the Celtic pantheons, whom I've honored on and off for nearly a decade. And as well, when I think Norse Gods, I think of heathenism, or Asatru in general. Though I'm much more familiar and comfortable with various Celtic deities, a couple of years ago I swear I felt as though Frigga was trying to get my attention, I should also mention I was pregnant at the time. That's when I started looking into heathenism. While nearly all of what I've read, I liked and could see me following, I just can't shake this tie I have to the Celtic Gods. So...
I'm not sure how to do it, but I feel like I should combine the two, without mixing pantheons, out of respect. Or maybe try the heathen path, but keep some days special for the Celtic deities I feel close to. I'm just not sure how to go about it and need some advice. Also, if any of you know, what are some similarities and differences between Celtic styled druidism and heathenism? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:54 pm
First up, you might want to check the sticky on Druidry in this guild. And since I largely avoid the Celtic pantheon for a number of reasons I don't know that I can help you much. For another flavor of Heathenry there's the Anglo Saxon inspired Theodism (too hierarchical for me) and culturally, there were the Hiberno-Norse who settled in Ireland and built most of it's first cities (like Dublin). They maintained a distinctly Norse culture though.
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:01 pm
As Raven said, check out our sticky on Druidism. In general the guild does not support the modern usage of the word Druidism as used to describe various neo-pagan religions.
These are streams that don't really cross well, outside of a few exceptions. The Norse didn't tend to integrate - rather, their culture tended to dominate over others. There's good archaeological evidence that Gaulish and Germanic religion may have bled at the edges and began blending in the borders between Gallic and Germanic territories. But there's not a ton of info out there on the Gauls, for example, and even less on Germano-Gallic stuff. The Scots lived with the Norse for a long time, but again - very little blending between the two.
You'd be building a personal path. If you want to appropriately practice a Gaelic religion, and it's an open culture, have at it. Same with the heathenism. But it's my opinion you'll have to practice them in parallel, or figure out where they might overlap by researching primary sources from the European mainland. There's just not enough points of contact that we know about that would make integrating them easy or necessarily appropriate.
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:17 pm
Thank you both for your input smile
Yea, if I were going to attempt practicing both ADF style neo-druidry with a Celtic based hearth and heathenism, I figured it would have to be done separate from each other. I had a feeling the two wouldn't mesh well, and last thing I wanna do is offend the Gods. This is something that has been bothering me for a little while though. I feel this tug towards the Norse Gods, but feel like I'd be abandoning the Celtic deities whom I've followed for so many years. But... the only Celtic deity I even feel close to anymore is Ceridwen. I suppose I could follow this pull towards heathenism and still occasionally pray to Ceridwen, maybe She won't mind that.
So, after some late night contemplations over the past few days (always too busy during the day to do any of that - chasing toddlers all day after all), I think I may follow that tug after all, and read even more into heathenism and the lore and the deities, etc. Maybe it's time to move on from my past Celtic ways, as most is gone now anyways, and after 10+ years, I think now may be that time, especially if another path is calling to me. If anything, it won't hurt to explore this, see where it leads me. I think I may even restart reading the Eddas tonight before bed smile
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:48 pm
Unless you've made some specific oaths to those Gods, there's really nothing wrong with changing paths. I mean, how many pagans started as Christians? Ig the Gods are upset by your actions, they'll usually let you know.
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:04 am
CalledTheRaven Unless you've made some specific oaths to those Gods, there's really nothing wrong with changing paths. I mean, how many pagans started as Christians? Ig the Gods are upset by your actions, they'll usually let you know. Oh yeah, thay'll let you know for sure. Everytime I step into a church I feel as if someone keeps wanting to shove me out again.
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:39 am
Moonwynne Thank you both for your input smile Yea, if I were going to attempt practicing both ADF style neo-druidry with a Celtic based hearth and heathenism, I figured it would have to be done separate from each other. I had a feeling the two wouldn't mesh well, and last thing I wanna do is offend the Gods. This is something that has been bothering me for a little while though. I feel this tug towards the Norse Gods, but feel like I'd be abandoning the Celtic deities whom I've followed for so many years. But... the only Celtic deity I even feel close to anymore is Ceridwen. I suppose I could follow this pull towards heathenism and still occasionally pray to Ceridwen, maybe She won't mind that. People grow and change, and we do sometimes move apart from things we were once close to. (That's something, in my mind, that's one of the more difficult things to absorb about adulthood.) So long as you do it respectfully, there's no reason you can't lay down one practice for another.
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:34 pm
Morgandria Moonwynne Thank you both for your input smile Yea, if I were going to attempt practicing both ADF style neo-druidry with a Celtic based hearth and heathenism, I figured it would have to be done separate from each other. I had a feeling the two wouldn't mesh well, and last thing I wanna do is offend the Gods. This is something that has been bothering me for a little while though. I feel this tug towards the Norse Gods, but feel like I'd be abandoning the Celtic deities whom I've followed for so many years. But... the only Celtic deity I even feel close to anymore is Ceridwen. I suppose I could follow this pull towards heathenism and still occasionally pray to Ceridwen, maybe She won't mind that. People grow and change, and we do sometimes move apart from things we were once close to. (That's something, in my mind, that's one of the more difficult things to absorb about adulthood.) So long as you do it respectfully, there's no reason you can't lay down one practice for another. This. I worked closely with Kali for years, and when I started to get further into Heathenry, She took less and less of a role in my life. Eventually She handed me off to Loki and pretty much disappeared. I learned a great deal from Her and it was, and to a degree still is, a difficult thing to deal with. For a long time, even though I felt no pull to Her as I once had, I felt like I was being inattentive and not honouring Her and She kept reassuring me that all was well, She took no offence, my work with Her was done and so on. It was still hard. One of the big lessons of that whole experience is that everything changes, everything comes to an end. It's a natural aspect of life. We change, and it's OK to change. Things end. It's a lesson I'm still struggling with.
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