To Pagans: are you polytheistic, pantheistic, etc?

Question

I am drawn to the Germanic mythology, but don't believe in the hard polytheism of Asatru. Are their others out their like this?

Answer 1

Asatru is more about orthopraxy (practice) than orthodoxy. Your beliefs on polytheism are not those of most Asatru people, but plenty of other people worship the Germanic Pantheon without being Asatru. When the Gods come to feast with us, or to aid us, or to accept our offerings, they don't ask us "who or what are we?" They just come. I encourage you to continue your interest in the Germanic Pantheon. Start working with them if you like. It will click or it won't. Yours, Jordsvin http://home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin

Answer 2

Sure there are. They are referred to as norse wiccans I suppose. Just be prepared to get slammed by the Heathen community.
I have to agree that the gods all have thier own textures and existances. I didn't think that when I first started getting into paganism, but once you meet a few gods, its unmistakable. I then has to sit down and decide if I was "soft polytheist"/pantheist beause it was what I truely believed, or if it was because I was afraid to let of a life time of beliefs.
I obviously came up with the latter. Realisically, the faith crumbles if you aren't "hard polytheist". And this is why.
We believe that the gods are our literal ancestors, our Elder Kin. You can't not believe they aren't seperate and still follow the Norse/Germanic culture. That's like saying your grandmother and your third cousin are the same people. It just doesn't click or work that way.
Now that being said, there are many hard polytheist Wiccans and there are many pantheist. Some "borrow" our gods as well as others. I personally think it is an insult to those gods, BUT I repect people's right to believe what they will. Just know if you choose this path, YOU ARE NOT ASATRU. That is the way the community feels, whether others do or not. The community of whole believes you follow the culture and the world veiw or you are not Heathen. You would be, perhaps eclectic with Norse leanings, or Norse Wiccan (Which you will still catch a lot of **** for), but not Asatru.
In the end you have to believe what you believe. Period. No one can tell you how to feel about that.

Ohhhh my TD fairies are out again.

Answer 3

I'm sure there are many, I'm just not one of 'em! You're beliefs are your own - you can be drawn to the Germanic gods while being pantheistic. Just don't call yourself of the Asatru faith - why? Because they're hard polytheistic. Pantheist, because it is a term used to describe those that believe everything is an aspect of nature, doesn't have to have any god or goddess worship. However, it doesn't mean you have to keep them out either.

Answer 4

*shrug*

What is "truth?" What are "gods?"

You see the difficulty? How can one test such hypotheses objectively? Eventually, your rhetorical logic will spiral into such convoluted conundrums in the undertaking of such a pursuit that you'll fly up your own metaphorical rectal opening!

I will say that when, like you, I first became drawn to Norse mythology and the values, virtues, code and thews of my Normannii ancestors, it was the idea of multiple gods that was the hardest part of it all to accept . . . really, the idea of even ONE god seemed preposterous to me at that point, since I'd long ago rejected the fundythumperism of my upbringing.

I won't bore you with the woo woo hoodoo experiences that changed my mind, but I will post a bit of what I've come to understand in the years since then:

It doesn't matter.

Yes, before I get bogged as a heathen heretic, I *am* a "hard" polytheist (rofl at applying the term to a *Freyrsgothi!*) and do believe the godhs are discrete entities. But it doesn't matter, because it can't be PROVEN to anyone else.

What matters, ultimately, is that MY ANCESTORS believed that they were, and approached them as individuals, and revered them as sacred, and considered them their Elder Kin. THIS we *can* know, with considerable certainty . . . and the scope of our surviving evidence makes it equally clear that the old tales were NOT merely "primitive explanations for natural phenomena," but products of a complex and subtle worldview and powerful culture.

The question that fascinates ME these days is not "are the godhs really really real and not just aspects of The One™?" but rather, "is the worldview of my ancestors still an effective and fulfilling way of operating in the world today? Will it still gain me wordfame, increase my luck, and bring honor my endeavors, as it did for them?"

I've found that the answer is *yes,* and that is enough for me. I am, as Iris Dement once sang, content to "let the mystery be."

Answer 5

Hard polytheistic Ásatrúar.

You're not very likely to find any pantheism in any of the germanic/norse paths with the exception of norse wicca (essentially the same as generic wicca but using norse deity names) since one of the founding principles is troth with the Aesir which pretty much requires recognition of each Aesir and Vanir as individuals and regection of notions which imply for example that Mars and Tyr are one and the same or Zeus and Odin.

There ARE groups however who claim to be Ásatrúar who do not believe in or worship the Aesir and Vanir at all instead choosing to simply honour their ancestors in a way their ancestors would have been familiar with..I believe they call themselves Heretic Ásatrúar.

Answer 6

If I had to put a label on it, "panentheistic" (The Universe is part of the Divine but the Divine also extends beyond the Universe) would probably be the most accurate. I believe that the various God/desses of the world are Man's attempts to understand and interact with a Divine that is beyond our comprehension.

I call myself "Wicca-based Pagan" because my beliefs are basically Wiccan in nature, but I'm solitary, eclectic, and drawn to the Greek pantheon.

Answer 7

Paganism is such an all-encompassing umbrella term that you are sure to find some people somewhere who believe more as you do. There is really a wide variety of religious belief within Pagan society.

Personally, I am polytheistic, but panentheism has a lot of appeal as well.

Answer 8

What do you mean by Hard?

If you dont like Polytheism. You could be an Athiestic Asatruar. Beleif in the heritage and taking joy in the stories.

Im a practicing. The polytheism isnt that bad persoanlly.. E-mail me with what you mean by hard.

Answer 9

I'm monotheastic, believing in one Goddess. That's not necessarily different than being polytheistic, though, because "all gods are Goddesses and all Goddesses are one Goddess." The individual personalities are facets of the whole. Ultimately, the whole is Goddess, and Her gender is absolutely crucial to understanding my world view. Only a female can reproduce parthenogenically.

Answer 10

I am a hard polytheist emanationist, which basically means that while I believe that the Gods and Goddesses that I worship are distinct persons, I believe that they make up a greater whole, the One.