Jeff, thanks for your response. Very thought-provoking as always!
1. The whole LARP factor has been bugging me more and more lately. To me, using Anglish (a modern linguistic construct) and digging the aesthetics of knotwork (something that some very crafty and creative present-day artists work with) seems a lot more authentic than trying to pretend you are someone from some arbitrarily-chosen time period and locality. I guess this version of "authenticity" is the exact opposite of how a strict reconstructionist pagan might use that term.
2. Yeah, I've been able to unpack some degree of inspiration from some myths. It's just no one set of myths inspires me more than another. Once I cease being the world's worst meditator, I might be able to unpack some more more profound insights.
3. On Christianity and egregores....I was friendly-arguging with some well-meaning guy over on a social media platform who is taking his own stab at reviving the ancient Roman pagan religion; taking ancient Roman holidays/festivals, mixing in Neoplatonic theology, and taking Catholic holidays and practices and rebranding them as Roman Pagan (what in the automotive industry is referred to as "badge engineering". I was trying to make the case that religions (especially Natural Religions) take many centuries of organic development and much of this development comes from authentic religious experiences of ordinary people. His work seems like an attempt at a top-down engineering project, like an instant, "ready-made" religion that has "just add a bunch of followers, then...boom!" as its next step. I shook my head in a polite manner and wished him the best. This is what inspires me to tinker around and find something that actually works, even if just for me and no one else.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2024-02-27 04:01 am (UTC)1. The whole LARP factor has been bugging me more and more lately. To me, using Anglish (a modern linguistic construct) and digging the aesthetics of knotwork (something that some very crafty and creative present-day artists work with) seems a lot more authentic than trying to pretend you are someone from some arbitrarily-chosen time period and locality. I guess this version of "authenticity" is the exact opposite of how a strict reconstructionist pagan might use that term.
2. Yeah, I've been able to unpack some degree of inspiration from some myths. It's just no one set of myths inspires me more than another. Once I cease being the world's worst meditator, I might be able to unpack some more more profound insights.
3. On Christianity and egregores....I was friendly-arguging with some well-meaning guy over on a social media platform who is taking his own stab at reviving the ancient Roman pagan religion; taking ancient Roman holidays/festivals, mixing in Neoplatonic theology, and taking Catholic holidays and practices and rebranding them as Roman Pagan (what in the automotive industry is referred to as "badge engineering". I was trying to make the case that religions (especially Natural Religions) take many centuries of organic development and much of this development comes from authentic religious experiences of ordinary people. His work seems like an attempt at a top-down engineering project, like an instant, "ready-made" religion that has "just add a bunch of followers, then...boom!" as its next step. I shook my head in a polite manner and wished him the best. This is what inspires me to tinker around and find something that actually works, even if just for me and no one else.