...Wicca and Asatru. The first book I ever read on Paganism was about Wicca. I felt like this was what I was looking for and connection with the ideas and principles was both natural and immediate. However, lately, I've been feeling more of a draw to Asatru. The pantheon as well as the Nine Noble Virtues (courage, truth, honor, fidelity,dicipline, hospitality, self-reliance, industriousness & perseverance) ring true also. The more I read about it, the more I want to learn. There's both Swedish and German blood flowing thru me, so I could say that Asatru is "in my blood". In at least two books (so far), there I've run across the term Wiccatru which is meant as an epithet. The first time I read it though, I thought, "that's me". The term refers to someone who uses the Norse pantheon with out much if any regard for the lore, scholarly accuracy or culture. They will take some of the ideas and mix them with others of a totally different culture and/or pantheon. Wiccans also tend to have the all-god/dess(s)-are-one idea where as Heathens are hard polytheists. I adore history. It was my favorite subject in school. Myth and lore certainly fall in that catagory. Right now, Alysia is calling me a Lore Whore and she'd be absolutely right! *waves to Alysia* The number of Heathenry books are quickly approaching the number of Witchcraft books in my library. I'm currently reading the two volumes of Our Troth with at least one saga on hold at the library. I feel torn because I self-identify as a witch; love and celebrate the moon and the Wiccan wheel of the year; and tapped on the shoulder more that once by Hecate. However, I'm finding that I want to learn all I can about each God/dess in the Norse pantheon; have been chosen by Frigga and possibly Odin; want to learn all the lore and am living the Noble Virtues as well as I can.
I feel like I want to claim the term Wiccatru and change the connotation to be positive. Not unlike reclaiming the term "Heathen" or "Witch". The other option I have is being both. Honoring the Norse Gods and Goddesses, learning the lore and sagas and their holidays but continuing to hold solitary esbats and honoring Hecate. I recently met a man who is both Druid and Asatruar. Totally different cultures and pantheons but he seems to be balancing both quite well.
I hesitate to call my idea of Wiccatru a "tradition" since there is absolutely NO history and it's not really a "path" since, right now, I'm doing little more that slashing my way through the brush with my athame. I really don't know the answer. What comes to mind, is to continue on as I have in study and practice; ask for help and guidance from both Human and Divine when I need it. I don't do a lot of magick and to be honest, it was the last on my list of reasons in turning to Paganism in the first place. Heathenry has it's own magick with Runes, galdr-magic and seidh. I've been drawn to the Runes long before my foray into Paganism and only had interest in the Elder Futhark. I'm currently taking a series of classes to learn about them and want to learn more. Time and study will tell what the answers are.
We were hit by a very large storm last night. It rolled in about 10pm and lasted long after I fell asleep just past midnight. There was wind, rain, lightning, thunder and, for several minutes, hail! When I woke up this moring, the storm was headline news on the local channels. Downed powerlines and trees looked like they had been frozen by the wind and branches had fallen. Tonight, Lexi saw a flash of lightning so we went out to close the windows on the cars before the expected deluge. It's a lovely night, warm but not too hot. We all stood out there listening to the classical radio station in Alan's truck until we felt the first drops. I headed for the back yard because I had this sudden urge to meditate in the rain. I had spoken to Heather recently about balance and I had told her that since my recent success in my first solitary ritual, I wanted to cultivate a relationship with the Elements. I'm going to be calling on them a few times a month and wanted them to know who I was. With Air and Water occuring naturally, I felt there was no time like the present! I sat cross-legged on the grass facing North with my hands open and facing up resting on my knees. I closed my eyes, asked if there was anything they wished me to know, and waited. I felt the large warm drops fall on me as well as the blessing of the Goddess. Some wisdom fell on me with the rain but were gone again like the drop that brought it. The over all feeling I got was one of connectedness with Gaia. At times, it was hard to concentrate because the girls wanted to get in on the fun of being in the falling rain. I don't spend nearly enough time with Her. With the weather being extreme here in the summer, I don't have much of an opportunity. Autumn is nearly here. I felt the temprature of the rain change from pleasantly warm to almost cold. A sign that it's around the corner. It was a wonderful experience that I hope to repeat as often as we are blessed with rain.
Friday, August 29, 2008, 09:18 AM MST [News Bytes]
Pagans to Worship at Acropolis in Defiance of Christian Precedent
Athens, Grece~A small group of pagans pledged Thrusday to hold a protest prayer among the ruined Acropolis temples, more than 1500 years after Christians stamped out worship of the ancient Greek gods. A group spokeswoman said that the worshippers will pray Sunday to Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of ancient Athens.
*AZ Republic 8/29/2008
This is great. We're standing up and going public. Hopefully, this will be the start of more (peaceful) Pagan gatherings around the world in honor of our own God/dess(s). With the hold of Christianity beginning to slip and the (more) open-mindedness of most of the world population, this is a perfect opportunity to declare ourselves as a legitimate, viable religious group! Rock on, Pagans!
For nearly as long as I discovered Witchcraft, I've been drawn to Hecate. I din't know that much about her but had been told that she was a Dark, frightening, Crone Goddess. That hadn't been my idea of her but as I was the new witch on the block, figured that others knew far more than I and left it at that. She, however, was not to be dismissed so easily. Over the last few years, she's been nudging me-gently. Not what I would have expected from such a powerful Goddess. I have found myself thinking of her at various times but mostly at the Dark Moon. Then, I got up the courage to buy a book about Her and it really challenged the way I thought of Her. When I read the stories and experiences others had of her, I realized that I didn't have the "wrong" idea at all. Even as I learned about other deities that I was drawn to, I saw saw paralels and connections to Hecate both subtle and obvious--at least to me. A few examples: Hecate is the goddess of the crossroads, gallows (sacred to Odin-I honor the Norse Pantheon)used to be placed at the crossroads to prevent the "angry dead" from finding those who had carried out their sentances. The saphire is also sacred to Her and it's my favorite stone. I'm wearing a saphire ring with two diamonds on each side; kind of like Her two torches guiding me daily. I had always seen Her as a young and beautiful goddess and the book I read suggested that I may have the right idea. It suggests that Hecate is the "Maiden" in the maiden/mother/crone lunar trio with Hecate as the maiden, Persephone as the Mother/Wife of Hades and Demeter as the Crone-grown daughter who as married-and lets the earth vegitation die in winter. It's an interesting idea. I blogged earlier this year of wanting to plant blackberry bushes in my yard, well, blackberries are also sacred to Her. Saturday is the Sidhe Moon-the second Dark moon in a calendar month. I know it's attributed to the Otherkin, but my mind went directly to Hecate. I'll be getting some black candles and hold a Dark Moon Esbat in her honor. What a wonderful night to be a witch!
