Not All Pagans Are Wiccans

This picture is nice..... But factually incorrect. Pagan is not the same as "not christian, jewish, or muslim", and by the way, Islam is the religion, the followers of Islam are muslim. Muslim is not the name of their religion. Paganism is a blanket term for the pre-Christian religions of Europe, and includes modern reconstructions of those religions, such as Asatru and Druidism. Paganism is commonly used in modern times to refer to Neopaganism as well. Neopaganism includes many nature-based religions created within the last century, most of which are based at least in part on Pagan religions and may believe in polytheism, pantheism, and/or animism. This includes Wicca, Eclecticism, Witchcraft, Shamanism, and some people also include recon religions as being neopagan.

Pagans are NOT often solitary practitioners. This is a very Wicca-centric image as a whole, but "solitary practice" is very much an Eclectic Wiccan thing. For example, almost all Asatruars and heathens are either part of a kindred/theod/tribe, or actively looking for one. In Heathenry, and several other traditions, belonging to a group or community is heavily encouraged. Actually, many Wiccans who belong to a specific tradition are part of covens and circles. It is acceptable to be a solitary practitioner in most pagan religions, if you have to, but most traditions encourage being involved with your pagan community.

"As long as your faith harms no one and nothing..." is a great sentiment. It is also a Wiccan sentiment, and not all Pagans believe in "An it harm done, do what ye will". Once again, using Heathenry as an example, heathens often believe that "what is good for the tribe is good, what is bad for the tribe is bad". This means that, for example, if someone was threatening your kin and the only way to keep your kin safe was to harm or kill the person threatening you, then it is perfectly acceptable to do so. In fact, it would be dishonorable NOT to protect your kin, in any situation. It's also perfectly acceptable to butcher a feast animal in the name of the gods, though this is not often done in modern times.

So, here's your daily reminder that NOT ALL PAGANS ARE WICCANS OR ECLECTICS, AND WE SHOULDN'T ASSUME SO! Sorry for the wall of text. Feel free to discuss this in the comments!

Freyfaxi Celebration & A New Doctor

Last weekend I was away to Heathen Michigan's Freyfaxi Celebration! It was great. I met a bunch of people I've been chatting with online, traded a woman a painting for three dozen eggs, and shivered in a tent with my fiancee in a thunderstorm!

[description: photograph of 19 people, ranging in age from children to an old man, who mostly appear to be fair-skinned or white, dressed casually for late summer weather, standing on the side of a road in front of a forest]

My fiancee decided two days in that she wants to become a heathen, too. I'm so happy! While I would support any decision she makes in regards to religion, it does make things easier if we're walking the same path.

I also discovered a new found respect for my ancestors. Logically, I knew that my oldest ancestors didn't have the same modern conveniences we have now, but even cooking food over a campfire is a difficult process! And I didn't even have to kill and butcher my food! But campfire chicken and potatoes are so very delicious.

We stayed an extra day because I had a doctor's appointment in Lansing on monday, so it didn't make much sense to drive all the way home only to drive back the next morning. We ended up being the only people in the campground on sunday night! It was a little creepy, and I was slightly afraid of being attacked by coyotes, but there's nothing more fun than walking around your heavily-wooded campsite totally naked while trying to wash up.

So I met the new doctor, and I'm pretty sure I don't like her. But she is starting me on Lyrica, which we should be picking up today, and she also convinced my fiancee to start buying me more fruits and vegetables. All in all, it was a successful weekend, and I'm very tired now, but happy.

Resources For New Heathens

Someone on a facebook group I admin for, Pagan Nerdfighters, asked me for some resources for people interested in Heathenry! So I decided to compile a list of resources that have been useful to me so far. Keep in mind that I'm a beginner myself, so.... take this with a grain of salt. This is simply what I've found useful, as a beginner.

Books:

A Practical Heathen's Guide To Asatru by Patricia M. Lafayllve - This is a decent beginner book. You can buy the kindle version for $9.99, and it's a very basic Heathen 101 book. It has really helped me get a solid foundation, and I recommend it to any heathen who is just starting out, especially if you're coming from Wicca or Paganism and are used to having books that clearly cover the basics. You should probably start with this book.

Edit: Check out my full review on this book HERE!

The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum - I believe this book is written for children, but it's a fantastic collection of Norse myths that can be enjoyed at any age. This is especially useful for people who are mostly unfamiliar with the gods of the North, or who need a refresher course. You can download this for free on amazon or the heathen gods website.

Culture of the Teutons by Vilhelm Grönbech - This is certainly the type of book that needs to be chewed and digested thoroughly. I don't admire the author's writing style, but it has a lot of valuable information. This is another one you can get for free on the heathen gods website.

I also recommend reading the Sagas and the Eddas. I haven't quite finished them yet, but they've been invaluable to me in developing a heathen worldview.

Other people have recommended to me We Are Our Deeds and Our Troth Volumes 1 and 2, though they are more pricey so I haven't had a chance to read them yet.


Websites:

www.heathengods.com - This website is maintained by Jotun's Bane Kindred. While I don't particularly like them, this website is an amazing and invaluable resource for heathens everywhere. There are literally hundreds of books available for free download or purchase and the main website has a ton of information about Heathenry.

www.reddit.com/r/asatru - This is a wonderful online community for heathens, and the sidebar also has a lot of great information.

https://oregonheathen.wordpress.com/ - a blog by Josh White, one of the people who does the HeathenTalk podcast. I really enjoyed his recent post on frith.

http://www.asatrublog.com/ - a blog by Aleglad, who is another highly respected member of the online Asatru community. I very much recommend reading over his posts on Converting To Asatru and The Basics series.

https://heathenroundtable.wordpress.com/ - This blog posts a discussion topic every month and then links to all the replies. This is a great way to get a lot of different opinions on certain topics. I'm not sure if they're still active, because they haven't posted topics for August or September.

Podcasts:

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/heathen-talk-podcast - Heathen Talk is my favorite podcast! It's run by Lauren, Thorin, and Josh, who are all highly respected heathens and redditors. They often have guests and highly intelligent and well-informed discussions. Their episode N00bcast is specifically for new heathens. They livestream every Wednesday on youtube.

http://www.infinitebeliefs.com/podcast/episode-02-kevin-aka-aleglad-heathenryasatru/ - Infinite Beliefs had Aleglad on as a guest for this episode, and it was wonderful.

A note on tumblr and facebook - While these websites can be great resources, and you'll find several pages and groups and blogs about Asatru, there's a lot of crap you'll have to wade through to get to any useful information. There is a lot of disdain in the heathen community for these groups, and for good reason. There is a lot of misinformation being perpetuated and UPGs being taken as fact, and a metric ton of Christian and Eclectic baggage. If you choose to be involved in those spaces, I recommend taking everything with a grain of salt and to be aware of bullshit.

Garage Sailing

I met another heathen today!

Someone I've been talking to on facebook was having a garage sale, conveniently enough for me, the same day I had plans to visit my pregnant best friend, who's staying about 15 minutes away from his house! So I decided to stop by. Unfortunately, I think I came off a bit shy and I didn't talk too much, but I might be joining a DnD game they host! Hahahahaha.

I also picked up a rice cooker, the Lord of the Rings box set (books, of course), and a metal bowl and a pair of metal incense burners. All for $10!

So lots of exciting news for me! I'm also getting ready for the Freyfaxi camping trip and potluck and public blot I'll be attending. So nervous, yet so excited. This month is gonna be all full of heathen-y goodness. Plus I'll be seeing my internal medicine specialist for the first time, so that'll be a huge plus as well.