Saturday, November 29, 2014

My Brand of Heathenry



When you do anything, you're going to get criticism. I've always expected that. So, when I find out that there have been some comments...some to me...some behind my back, about what I'm doing in Heathenry, then I feel like I should clarify some things.

For starters, I don't practice Heathenry as a hobby. It's apart of me. So when it comes to being productive, or working hard towards something, it's because I believe in what I'm working on. When I'm networking folks, or I'm answering questions, or referring people to sources and groups, it's because I believe that it has potential to help the future of our folk. I could never look at this as something I do once a month.

Second, I want to get away from the personal politics that people throw into Heathenry. People will use their religion as a way to justify their social or political bias. We see it with just about every religion out there. So, when you have a lot of folks starting "debates", causing various disturbances, etc...you're going to have new folks coming in and picking up on that, and it will perpetuate the misinformation and personal bias, and often times, people just run with the information they pick up on when they first come into something like Heathenry.

I also don't agree with being easy on folks if they've done something they shouldn't. Point blank, coddling doesn't help anyone. What usually happens to folks who get babied growing up? They usually lack structure, or understanding. There's nothing wrong with being stern with someone. For me, I like to actually talk with people, and try to make sure there's an understanding.

Oaths are important, and I don't take those lightly. So, I don't agree with just freely oathing, especially in a group.

I don't believe in Heathenry as a social club. 

I believe in going back to the basics of ceremony, without mixing new age stuff in it.

I believe in promoting Heathenry, instead of promoting other faiths and paths

I believe in aligning myself with folks who have the same goals.

More than all of these things, I believe in being true and loyal to my kin and kith.

Overall, this is where I am, and I'm happy to be here. Criticism is expected, and honestly, there's no problem with it. Is it going to stop me from doing what I have been this whole time? No, it's not. I've noticed that I'm not the only one who feels like our faith is polluted with people who aren't dedicated, who don't care about their folk, who look at our faith like it's a game and a reason to play Viking, and who look at kindred/tribe structure like it's a fraternity/sorority. We're getting back to basics and learning about our cultural heritages, getting out in the world and meeting other folks, instead of staying behind a keyboard, and creating stories from our experiences and hard work.