Pagan Forest Magazine July/August 2014 | Page 62

Historical Paganism refers to those pagan religions which were practiced by the ancients in pre-Christian times which have gone extinct in the modern era, such as Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and Celtic religious traditions. Elements of these have influenced many mainstream Neo-pagan practitioners and paths today in a wide variety of ways. One particular way is the development of “Reconstructionist Paganism,”an umbrella term for a collection of contemporary religious expressions which are firmly grounded in the cultural constructs of their religions’ origins, reviving and modernizing historical worldviews and ritual forms. These began to develop in the 1960s and 70s in Europe and the USA. Historical Paganism is a valuable asset to Reconstructionist Pagans who pursue rigorous historical, anthropological, and archeological study to understand clearly how the ancients perceived their world spiritually, engaged with it religiously, and functioned within it culturally.

In the coming issues of Pagan Forest, I’ll be featuring various Reconstructionist Pagan religions in turn, discussing their specific worldview, culture of origin, and how modern adherents practice today. I am looking forward to sharing this fascinating set of pagan traditions with you, dear readers!

So, what distinguishes Reconstructionist paganisms from other mainstream modern paganisms? Such elements are important to perceive and understand, not to set up arbitrary boundaries between us, but to better perceive the goals and agendas of these various traditions in order to appreciate what they have to offer and hope to accomplish.

Reconstructionists choose to focus their polytheistic worship on deities found within a specific culture, rather than either eclectically worshiping many gods from many cultures or exclusively worshiping the unnamed god and goddess duotheistically as Wiccans do. Reconstructionists conceive of their gods as discrete entities with defined personalities and powers, as opposed to perceiving them all as various aspects of one great universal deity and, therefore, interchangeable with one another. These approaches have been named “hard” and “soft polytheism,” respectively. Reconstructionists aim to create, to the best of their knowledge and ability, anciently-derived religious practices as they may have evolved up to the modern era, rather than creating religious systems which are designed to be personal to meet individual needs, as is common in many mainstream paganisms. Many Reconstructionist traditions also aim to create communities in which adherents may immerse themselves in culturally-relevant pursuits that enhance their communities as a whole, as well as each individual’s connection to his religion and gods. Reconstructionist paganisms tend to focus more on devotional polytheism rather than self-actualization, and so are more geared towards worshipful rites than magical workings or mystery teachings. As such, their ritual formats and purposes differ meaningfully from those of many mainstream pagans; typically, Reconstructionist pagans do not cast circles, call quarters, invoke elements, or raise energy. Rituals are engaged with as historical pagans would have engaged with them, for historically attested-to purposes: to worship the gods with offerings and praise, to celebrate the

Historical Paganism and Reconstructionist Paganism

By Erin Lund Johnson

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