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existence could be viewed in concentric rings with the Family (as in extended, not nuclear) in the center, the community surrounding that and then the wilderness outside of that. Peasant class and Middle class dealt with the Ancestors specifically. Elders or those of a similar hierarchical rank would conduct community worship to regional deities (sort of like church, for lack of a better simile). Kings and the rare friend of a god would be the only ones who were in communication with the gods themselves. Notably this was one of the reasons that Christianity held success with the tribes- they offered direct contact with god regardless of your class. God heard the slave as well as the king on equal terms.
The Slavic peoples, I suspect fell somewhere in between. Material is still being translated out of these areas so reconstruction is still taking baby steps in the States. We do know that with them as well, Ancestor worship was of prevalent importance. Also, their lands were and are peopled with many nature beings, just as those of the Celt and Germanic tribes. Mother Earth, heard all, but apparently isn’t huge on personal interaction on a working relationship level. She’s the impartial judge, the hearer of oaths. The other deities however, appeared to take a great interest in how the people of the land were behaving and would punish or boon them accordingly.


On a side note, the Mediterranean’s appeared to have a very personal relationship with their deities. Has anyone ever been told to bury St. Joseph upside down in the yard to sell the house? (If yes, do you know why?) The Italians tell him he can’t come out until he sells the house!

Some regions had well-developed pantheons that everyone shared, but it was more common for a person to honor only those pertinent to themselves on a regular basis.
Now deity roles weren’t completely cut and dried, there were crossovers in skills and areas presided over just as with us humans who can have more than one skill. Therefore you may have a god of the hunt, death and animals or a goddess of black-smithing, inspiration and brewing beer.

Today we are focussing primarily upon the deities of nature. We have sovereign goddesses of the land- i.e., the goddess was the land. Gods of vegetation and animals. Deities of weather such as thunder or snow, deities of water/the underworld, and deities of the sky.

Earth Mother
The Earth, called “Moist Mother Earth” or Mat sera Zimlia by the Slavs, is in itself an entity. Let me help you to adjust your perspective to the heathen mind. When you stand outside at night and look into the night sky, we often feel a smallness of being. I think that perhaps that feeling has always been there, but it is more pronounced by our personal views of the universe, that we are but one person of many. Many of us have friends all over the world, especially thanks to the internet and ease of travel. Almost all of us travel somewhat regularly outside of our township or have replanted ourselves from different towns or even states. This is not the way it was for most heathens of the post agricultural development. As recently as 100 years ago, most people rarely traveled outside of their home-town, and almost never past the next town or two. Your world-view consisted of the same people you’ve known since birth, you worked the same land that your parents worked and you couldn’t get away with anything. You were a force upon the land, you felt the impact of your labors in direct proportion to how comfortable your survival was. Your existence in the town fulfilled a role, you weren’t a nameless number and you had an impact upon your neighbors and their lives. We were somehow ‘bigger’ in life we were part of the community and every person had their part to play. The earth sustained you in a more personal way. It was both personal and impersonal. The Earth just Is, and it is important- if crops were bad, you died, if food was plentiful, you survived. The Earth’s body fed us, just as our mother’s body did as infants. The Earth becomes Mother. As children you may have heard or used the term “You swear on your Mother?” This is a survival of the old practice of swearing oaths upon Mokosh, or Moist Mother Earth.

Conversely, the Sovereign goddesses of Ireland, such as Epona, Eriu, Macha, Danu and Anu, though they were similar in scope, their manifestation was more regional. Kingship was bestowed upon the clan leader by them. Some ancient rites required a symbolic mating of Her by the king to bring bounty to the land. They had their own myths, personalities and relationships with other gods.

This was the ‘largest’ and most personal of deities, as everyone was involved with Her for survival.

Some of you may be familiar with stories from the Brother’s Grimm. Actually, probably one of the greatest resources for finding surviving bits of the Old Ways was through folktales. Just as in the Irish tales of Fairies and Leprechauns and the little people- which are demoted deities of Pagan Ireland, so do are the brownies, ladies of the lake, dryads, giants, dwarves and such of the Germanic/Norse and Slavic Peoples.


Nature Cycles- The Wheel of the Year

Now that you know some of the archetypes that the gods hold, we’ll cover how they played into the practices of the people; particularly the celebration of the seasons and folk practices.

Heathen and Pagan holidays map out to the agricultural cycle of a region not too drastically different than the one we live in around here. This makes it fairly easy for local heathens to plug in to the old system. These holidays also map out to specific deity cycles that play out on a mythological level what is happening to the land. This is particularly interesting to me because is shows that on a deep level we need to play out the connection to the gods to our lives and worship of these gods through these holidays directly correlates to their satisfaction which could directly influence the success and survival of the people of the area.
Interestingly, though the names may differ and one region may not celebrate one of the holidays, there is a strong similarity to all the celebratory cycles. Solstices and equinoxes were celebrated as well as cross quarter holidays which fell in between the above. The holidays are still celebrated by modern heathens, pagans and wiccans. The names may seem strange, but you will see some interesting commonalties that are still manifest in the secular holidays of today.

Modern Survivals-
Heathen celebration- Actually evidence is simpler to spot than you’d think. With the current holidays, and you may have picked some of these up in what I was previously discussing. Here’s the trick- if it doesn’t have anything to do with Jesus, or it wasn’t a governmentally sanctioned or in our case, hallmark sanctioned holiday- it’s most likely pagan.
For instance-
Christmas: Santa (used to be Odin), the Christmas tree, the Yule Log, Bringing evergreens into the house, birds and bird’s nests for the tree
New Year’s Resolutions and breads made with a hidden coin
Valentine’s Day is a watered down version of Lupercalia and Bacchanalia- which were very rowdy and sexual in nature
Groundhog Day/ Candlemas: The groundhog, the blessing of candles,
Easter: The Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, Pysanky Eggs
May Day: May Baskets, May Poles, May Queens and Kings (Robin Hood and Maid Marian)
Harvest Celebrations: Corn Dollies and god’s eyes, many of the games and competitions, Harvest Lord
All of Halloween/ All Saints Day- jack o’lanterns, ghosts, trick or treating, honoring our dead
Also, ground breaking ceremonies before putting up buildings or establishing parks- are very close to the ancient pagan Germanic ceremony done for the same purpose

Conclusion

Over recent years, there has been

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