Methods and Practice

[Brass Bell Doll]

A while ago I was discussing methodology and paganism. I feel the topic was less than successful- but it did get me wondering. Looking over one of the sub-forums I noticed there are a lot of Reconstruction Traditions, modern adaptations of ancient pagan beliefs found in different civilizations like the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Celts and the Norse to name a few.

I'm having a difficult time articulating my question, so forgive me. I'm wondering how many people who would consider Reconstruction as their primary methodology incorporate other practices from sources that aren't found in the ancient world.


An example that came to mind was the use of spiritual energy. While I think it is well established in vague terms in legends, the steps or work itself is rarely described, so while there are tales about people manipulating the weather, examples like those found in Scott Cunningham's books seem to be unheard of.

I'd like to invite people to discuss the practices outside of Reconstruction that they add to their spiritual path, or confirm that they do not add those kinds of things.  

[Bastemhet]

Brass Bell Doll

I'm wondering how many people who would consider Reconstruction as their primary methodology incorporate other practices from sources that aren't found in the ancient world.

I've said elsewhere that I'm a Reformed Kemetic Reconstructionist (and you can check my pathways thread if you would like more explanation). But for me terms like this are kind of slippery. How much one sticks to how things were done in the past will vary from person to person. Obviously for KR it would be impractical and in some instances impossible to faithfully replicate religious practice as it was in the past since we no longer have a sacrosanct monarchy or state gods. In light of this my ritual tends to be informal. Symbolically the meanings are the same, but the ritual itself is a cliff notes version of the lengthy litanies, it is modified to be done alone, and it does not incorporate an open statue. Whatever I do that hasn't been done before will be based on the theological meanings and their implications.

I think the clearest example I can give would be that of the Grounding and Centering thread I posted recently. There was no ancient parallel of that form of energy manipulation. What I did, then, was try to infer from what I know of the religion what the practice would look like if they did, but modernized. I don't think this energetic practice would correlate to Heka which itself is more of a "magic energy" than "vital energy." The former has more to do with creating something into reality while the latter is more a manipulation of that which is already created.