As someone groping around how to answer similar questions, I thought I might share some of my experience, in case it's helpful, but as JMG's answer points to, this seems to be highly individual and your mileage will almost certainly vary!
On 1, I find that using modern English seems to work fine for me, but I've given some thought to treating Old English or Old Norse as a "liturgical language," which is what some heathens do and apparently find helpful and satisfying. For my own practice, I've grown to think that aesthetics are an important guide here: I like the sound of Anglish and the look of knotwork, so I incorporate that into my worship, but I don't go for the Theodish approach of wearing period clothing and doing rituals in Old English, because as you say, it seems a bit silly and that puts me off. For me, using past forms and approaches as inspiration for something of my own has also worked pretty well: for example, I use Eirik Westcoat's approach of adapting Old Norse poetic meters to modern English and compose prayers following them.
On 2, have you tried using any myths as themes for discursive meditation? I have found this to be extremely fruitful, even (especially?) with those myths that are most at odds with what seems ethically right ("Why would the God of keeping promises break his word?").
For 3, that has largely seemed to work well for me, but studying the Rosary has made me jealous of Christianity's long, living tradition of official liturgy. Without even getting into egregores or the like, many of the prayers and rituals evolved organically over long periods of time and thus have a certain quality that you can't get from one guy making something up.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2024-02-27 01:09 am (UTC)On 1, I find that using modern English seems to work fine for me, but I've given some thought to treating Old English or Old Norse as a "liturgical language," which is what some heathens do and apparently find helpful and satisfying. For my own practice, I've grown to think that aesthetics are an important guide here: I like the sound of Anglish and the look of knotwork, so I incorporate that into my worship, but I don't go for the Theodish approach of wearing period clothing and doing rituals in Old English, because as you say, it seems a bit silly and that puts me off. For me, using past forms and approaches as inspiration for something of my own has also worked pretty well: for example, I use Eirik Westcoat's approach of adapting Old Norse poetic meters to modern English and compose prayers following them.
On 2, have you tried using any myths as themes for discursive meditation? I have found this to be extremely fruitful, even (especially?) with those myths that are most at odds with what seems ethically right ("Why would the God of keeping promises break his word?").
For 3, that has largely seemed to work well for me, but studying the Rosary has made me jealous of Christianity's long, living tradition of official liturgy. Without even getting into egregores or the like, many of the prayers and rituals evolved organically over long periods of time and thus have a certain quality that you can't get from one guy making something up.
Whatever ends up working for you, good luck!
Jeff