Head Knowledge, Heart Knowledge, and Pagan Reconstructionism.
Within this ongoing dialogue about my own spiritual intentions, I have come to see that I don’t want to “reconstruct” anything. A Celtic Recon over at Felmac is starting a new online journal about Celtic Reconstructionism (hereafter CR). I may be getting myself into some trouble here, but as I read through the basic description of the forum I had to shake my head. Don’t get me wrong here. I am not trying to slam anybody for their beliefs and spiritual practices. The following critique is meant to outline why I personally have decided to no longer call myself a Celtic Recon.
“Celtic Reconstructionism is a methodology to restore and revitalize the pre-Christian worldviews and polytheistic systems of the various Celtic peoples in the context of contemporary yet traditional Celtic cultures.”
This is a nice basic description of CR. I have come to see, however, that for me this is the wrong approach. Ever since my education in anthropology and my readings of some of the writings of Alexei Kondratiev, I have had to accept that my direct experience of Celtic culture is almost nil. I am a Coloradoan , and an American. These are the cultures I was raised in (and I say “cultures” for a reason, trust me growing up in Colorado is totally different from growing up in Missouri for example) and the ones that shape the majority of my cosmology. Frankly I think it is not realistic, nor honest, for any American to claim Celtic culture nowadays. We simply don’t know what we are talking about, as we have no direct experience of it. We can be inspired by Celtic culture and belief, but that is as far as we can go. That is not to say that for many American families with Irish or Scottish (or Welsh etc.) heritage, that it is not a major influence on them, simply that it is an influence that is biased by Christian belief and culture since the days of Patrick. This is not a bad thing at all, I point it out simply to counter the idea of many neo-pagans who would like to pretend that the era of Celtic Christianity never happened. It did.
I was recently struck by a post by Metro Calvinist entitled: New Ageism, leave the Celts alone! James speaks with some real authority here. I have some objections with what James says but it is an article worth the read. While I am not naive enough to think that he represents the “be all end all” of contemporary Scottish opinion on this, I would venture to say that he represents a large majority of those he represents; mainly Gaelic speaking Highlanders. One of his most direct statements is:
. . .Western culture has latched on to the idea that the Celts are magical nature worshippers – thus providing a convenient, ready made historical group who apparently embody everything that New Ageism would idealise.
However, I as a Celt, deeply resent this. I am not New Age and am thankful that Latha Buidhe Bealltain forms no part of the Celtic culture that I inhabit. I am not a magical nature worshipper, I am a Holy Spirit indwelt Christ worshipper. The New Age movement has no right to hijack my culture and the sooner people like Tom O’Neil realise this, the better. Let us Celts be Celts, and let us tell the world who we are and what we believe.
You have to respect this, and here’s why. This man has more Celt in his cosmology and outlook than I do in my little finger. It is also the majority opinion of modern Gaelic speakers from Cork to Inverness. I know there are native speakers who would disagree with his statements about there being no such thing as the “Celtic Christian” church (among others), but I digress. I have heard many Native Americans make very similiar statements about us “white folks” hijacking their spiritual traditions. (For the record I consider myself honey colored, not white). 
Felmac also states:
This methodology is part of a manner of living and being that involves a commitment to the living Celtic cultures and their pre-Christian thought and character.
Unfortunately, many folks in living Celtic cultures, see what neo-paganism (and by extension Reconstructionism) are doing, period, as an insult! There are no easy ways around this very indigenous point of view. Nor can Recons pretend to know anything about pre-Christian belief that has not been heavily influenced by Christian thought. Respecting living Celtic culture means respecting everything that currently makes up that culture, even the parts of it you don’t like.
Felmac further states:
Celtic Reconstructionism does not involve and in fact rejects modern and artificial syncretisms, eclectic practices and modernist interpretations, and does not affiliate with Neodruidism or Neopaganism.
This is where I cannot be on board with Reconstructionism any longer. CR is neo-pagan, whether we affiliate with it or not. CR is a modern interpretation of bits and pieces of altered lore from over 1000 (and more) years ago. Secondly, when you look at any living spiritual or religious system they are *all* made up by sycretisms, eclectic practices, external borrowings, and modern interpretations. How else could they remain relevant? One of the things that has attracted me to Faery Seership is the honesty of it’s origins and it’s inclusion of practices from other cultures that *work*. Lets remember the pre-Christian Celts did the same thing.
For me there is a difference in head knowledge and heart knowledge. It is basic yet extremely powerful. One can know with ones head that your parents or friends are going to die, head knowledge. But until you experience it and feel the emotion and experience the changes it brings to your life, you don’t really know. This direct experience is heart knowledge. This is the knowledge that I want. This direct, heart experience of the Sídhe, the Gods, and the Otherworld in general is what Feary Seership is all about. I have no desire to enslave myself to tradition, when we really don’t even know what that “tradition” was. We have to get our hands in it, work with it, and be willing to disagree with the lore, when our experience differs from it. This is not an insult to Celtic culture but an acknowledgment of it’s gifts to the modern world.
Good stuff, I’m enjoying your blogs.
Hey Strider great post, well written and detailed arguments. I am going to have to cordially disagree with you on almost all of your points, and as the Internet is a poor medium, allow me to preface by reassuring you that I respect you and value our friendship and the tone this should be read in should reflect that
The assertion that you are a Colorodoan and therefore are unable to experience “true Celtic Culture” seems to be an argument of convenience. I agree that America changes (and should) our specific pedigree of Paganism, and that we have a lot of other elements to consider in the New World than those in Europe. However, if we extrapolate this geographical argument to it’s logical end, and base our spiritpaths solely on our religio-cultural environ of birth, then shouldn’t we all just go to Church like good little Christians? Why even claim to be Pagan in America? Surely Paganism has absolutely no claim to this continent, an assertion that the First Nations would whole-heartedly stand by me on, as they tend to cringe when their spiritways are lumped into the NeoPagan melting pot. If we are going to determine our spirituality based on country of origin alone, then our only options should be First Nations Spirituality, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Mormonism or Scientology, as these are the predominant faiths that make up our cultural milieu. You are a Coloradoan, therefore, according to your geographical argument you should either attend a Catholic church (Mexican and Irish cultural influence), a Lutheran Church (German and Scandinavian influence) or a plastic shaman’s sweat lodge (culturally appropriated First Nations influence).
I know from our previous discussions that you really don’t like the metagenetic argument, so forgive me for bringing it up here, but I feel compelled to do so, as I believe it to be a large piece of the puzzle that we as Pagans are overlooking. Metagenetics simply states that there are spiritual ramifications to genetic heritage just as there are physical. Genetics determines what color our hair will be, if we will be predisposed to cancer, diabetes, mental illness and obesity – therefore it should not be too far a reach for us spiritual folks to assume that this is mirrored in the spirit realm as well. I firmly believe that our genetics give us a spiritual birth-right to the Polytheistic folkways of our ancestors. To any detractors who live in the country of origin of these folkways, I say stuff them! The Metro Calvinist fellow you quoted has no right to stand in the way of the revival of the Old Gods, he and his ancestors have turned their backs on the Gods that breathed life into their race and into their lands. If they choose to worship an alien god and follow alien doctrines then that is their business, but they have no right to denigrate those of us in what I like to call the “European Diaspora” for seeking to engender relationships with our Elder Gods.
Like I said before, I agree to a point with you on the geographical argument, but I believe that it can be taken too far and that it does not satisfy the entire equation.
Also, the geographical argument alone does not hold water when one realizes that ALL religions besides that of the First Nations has been imported here. Should a Hindu abandon her faith because she immigrates to America? Should she water it down in the melting pot and begin writing her own religion? Should a Christian?
Christianity is a Universal religion, it needs no claims of ancestry or cultural integrity, and this has allowed it to put down roots wherever it desires, trampeling on the indigenous culture to do so. This perceived strength is also it’s greatest weakness. When the glamor of “Eternal Life in Christ” wears away, and when people finally begin to understand that their culture has been oppressed by the dogmas of the Church, then they begin to returning to their original Polytheistic beliefs.
Perhaps this is where our view differ, yours being Celtic, mine being Heathen. Heathenism recognizes Christianity for what it is: spiritual tyranny. Rome could not conquer Germania by force, so it sought to do so by religion and economic extortion. It succeeded in the later, but only nominally so. The Celts were some of the first peoples to be conquered by the Roman war-machine, thus they were some of the first European tribes to be conquered by the Roman Church. Whether or not it was a peaceful coup matters little in the grand scheme of things. A bloodless conversion simply shows that the Celts did not hold their Gods in high regard. Perhaps the Celtic Gods want nothing to do with chaps like Metro Calvinist. Perhaps they have forsaken the Isles just as the Isles forsook them. Perhaps the revival is centered in America because we are the only ones who will heed the call of Cernnunos or chase after Rhiannon’s white steed.
Our approach to American Paganism differs in that I make no bones about my mission to excise the Christian elements from American Folk traditions. I agree wholeheartedly with you that our traditions need to be viewed within the lense of cultural reality, but I am a revivalist. I study the Long Lost Friend (Pennsylvania Dutch Grimoire) and rewrite it to call to Heathen Gods, not Christ, just as the New Orleans Voodoo tradition is doing with their old spells – exterminating the creeping plague of pseudo-christianity and replacing it with the Loa of Haiti.
The sorts of questions you are asking are valid and important for our community, we need to ask who is in charge of railroads, who watches over police officers, who protects cars, who inspires rockstars and poets, who rules Cyberspace. These are powerful meditations for our Revival, and for our traditions to survive they must be relevant to today’s culture, but we must look to our Old Gods, Woden, Herne, Dagda, Rhiannon, Frigg, Idhunna, Morrigan to name a few. We musn’t pander to Chrisitianity and allow them to dilute us into oblivion once again.
Those, my friend, are my opinions on these matters. Once again allow me to reiterate that I respect and value your insights, and the above in no way was meant as a flamepost or as an attack on your spirit. I just felt compelled to air the opposing view
Frith,
Bjorn
Bjorn wrote:
“The Celts were some of the first peoples to be conquered by the Roman war-machine, thus they were some of the first European tribes to be conquered by the Roman Church. Whether or not it was a peaceful coup matters little in the grand scheme of things. A bloodless conversion simply shows that the Celts did not hold their Gods in high regard. Perhaps the Celtic Gods want nothing to do with chaps like Metro Calvinist. Perhaps they have forsaken the Isles just as the Isles forsook them. Perhaps the revival is centered in America because we are the only ones who will heed the call of Cernnunos or chase after Rhiannon’s white steed.”
Good Day, Cousin:
I think one has to look at who writes history before you decide that conversions in Celtic lands were “bloodless”. We don’t have anyone’s word but the word of Christian scribes regarding what really happened in Ireland or in other Celtic countries, when Christian missionaries arrived and did their work. I do know, however, that the Isles are no more forsaken by the Gods than Iceland or Sweden are- Iceland converted without a bloody coup, as well- or so we are told. I’m more willing to believe the Icelandic account because it was written so recently compared to that of Ireland, but at the same time, I’m not trustful of any history that seems pro-Christian. Too much politics is involved.
I’ve been to the Isles; my mother’s people are from the Isles. The Gods are still there. They have become Sidhe, they have become Hidden, living “just below the surface” or in the hills- but they are still there and ready to communicate to whatever mortals discover the special capacity and courage to communicate with them again. They are also hidden below the surface of our bloodlines. They are ever-present and deathless.
You are correct about Americans- this land is strange; it still maintains much of its primal power, and it has inspired a rugged, independent spirit in people that differentiated them from generations of enmeshment with churches and traditional European societies, opening doors for re-emergences of older Ancestral material.
That is my belief; this new land is a new start for many- and it makes a person look back on history and really question things. We have a perspective here that Europeans actually lack, but which is crucial. I think the Gods do look upon us differently, as a new potential, a new chance. This is always how I’ve seen American paganism, and how I’ve explained the nature of its character, as different from European.
I think my Irish and British ancestors loved their Gods as much as the Norse or Germans. I think political situations (such as in Iceland) had everything to do with why things worked out like they did. Those situations have now changed; new possibilities are with us now.
Bjorn,
First off let me say that I will never take these posts personally. You rock man!
I agree that our genetics have a tremendous amount impact on who we are. I think it is even possible that it gives us certain tendencies towards particular spiritual paths. The only place that I diverge from the metagenetics argument is when it is used in a comparative and usually pejorative way to say, “I am more Celtic than thou.” Or at it’s worst, as a excuse for racial discrimination. I feel that commitment to cultural preservation is all that is required.
Now as far as Colorado and it’s relationship to my spirituality. I am *not* saying that by living in Colorado you are bound to any one spiritual tradition. I cannot become a Ute.
What I am saying is that only by emptying my cup, so to speak, and engaging in genuine visionary and magical practice can I marry my land with *my* culture. This I believe creates a powerful alchemy of intention that is based in truth. And this process must take precedence (if my experience differs from the Lore) over anything written by Nerys Patterson or Barry Cunliffe no matter how much I respect them. In my opinion, you cannot base a spirituality on the changing theories of academia.
Working with and hopefully becoming a Faery Seer is for me the next step. I needed to find a magical system that meshed with what I knew of the Lore. I would never have been attracted to it if it had not. But, for me, and me alone, I “know” that I must be willing to enter into visionary and seership practice with as little predjudice as I can. I must place my trust in the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Sídhe, and my ancestors that they will reveal the truth to me. Even if, at first, the truths revealed are threatening or different to my current worldview.
Hey Cuan and Strider, great points all around I have more opinions written on my blog http://nakedwoadwarrior.wordpress.com/ if you are interested
I wonder, if I studied my metagenetic heritage and tried to faithfully reconstruct it, I think I might get very confused. Now, I come from the South East of England, which should sound simple enough except…
I can claim Roman, Celtic, Scandanavian and Germanic roots, at the very least. The British genepool is a diverse place.
Seeded within that is the possibility of Basque, Iberian and Celtiberian. Maybe also, through the Romans, I can claim Mediterrenean blood like Jewish, Greek, Egyptian, Morrocan etc.
Now considering the British Empire that my country built around it, perhaps I have African slave heritage in me. And maybe “stray” individuals of various indigenous peoples found themselves seeding their genes into the British genepool whereupon it quickly got disguised under layers of subsequent English generations.
Where do I draw the line? Can the line be drawn? What do I do when my girlfriend and me have our children that can claim British and Swiss heritage AND live in Spain? Then there’s the possibility of my girlfriend having Sicilian heritage which God/gods (delete appropriately) know what it has in it. The Med being a HUGE melting pot.
Well, now the whole world is a melting pot of genes and cultures, so where do we go from there? I suggest we claim our common human metagenetic heritage that has its roots in Africa. And just to be on the safe side we should dig REALLY deep and start before culture was created. So, just as soon as I get to learn Chimp I’ll let you know what is our true cultural heritage
*cheeky wink*
I’ll give you a serious response to your cheeky irony treegod. Find the dominant genetic heritage, and try that out. Everyone has dominant and recessive genes worked into their DNA, thus metagenetically I posit that they would have dominant and recessive spiritual aspects as well. Sure, way, way back all humans descended from proto-apes (the idea that we evolved from Chimpanzees is a fallacy, when we actually evolved from Homo Erectus and Austropelithicus), and *perhaps* all the lines of humanity originated in Africa, but that still has not been *proven* merely a good solid scientific theory. There have been older fossil finds in Asia than “Lucy”, so explain that one.
Regardless of where we may of originated from some 65 – 40 million years ago, that would be considered a very, very recessive metagenetic spirit connection. Just as our primate ancestry does not usually insert itself into our daily lives, so too is it a ridiculous claim to assert that it should have much bearing on our spirituality.
I stand by my assertion and suggestion to you, seek into your Heritage, yes you may be a mutt, but there will be dominant bloodlines within that mixture. I myself am Irish, Scottish, Swiss, Swedish, German and Anglo-Saxon and that is just what I know of my heritage, who knows what else might be lurking about in the misty roots of my family tree. My Great-Grandfather immigrated from Stockholm Sweden to America, my Great-Grandmother’s great-grandmother immigrated from Switzerland, therefore my Blood is dominant in the Scandinavian and Slavic Heathenisms, therefore that is what I follow.
The conundrums you brought up are nothing more than straw-men, and can easily be explained away by tribal thought. In a tribe, it would not have mattered if some viking knocked up a sicilian slave girl whilst raiding and pillaging, if she managed to stay in Sicily then the child would have been raised Sicilian, if the viking had taken her away to Denmark, the child would have been a Dane. Since we no longer have such insular tribal systems (though I and my spiritual peers within Heathenism are seeking to return us to that), we have the freedom to choose what tribe we shall affiliate with.
A choice must be made, however. I am not a hardline traditionalist, and believe that syncretism is often necessary to rebuild a living folkway, however I approach the issue of syncretism like I do a stew. As you know a stew is a wonderful concoction made of all sorts of ingredients. The tribe of affiliation is the stock or roue, and what is chosen as far as vegetables and seasonings depends largely on what your stock is. A beef-base stew’s ingredients will vary from a chicken or vegetable base stew. One wouldn’t mix shrimp or boiled eggs in with a beef stew.
This is how I believe syncretism and spirituality should be approached. Your metagenetic heritage is the base, and perhaps you have several cans of bouillon sitting in the cupboard, but you have more beef stock than chicken, so you choose to create your stew with beef. This is akin to choosing your tribe. Once you have chosen that, and steeped yourself into the ideas of that tribe (into their flavors if you will), you are then free to choose additional ingredients and seasonings accordingly.
Every spirituality *must* have a foundation if it is to be sustainable. There must be hard and fast spiritual realities to fall back upon in times of hardship and sorrow. A foundation of sand makes for a poor structure (I think your Hvitrkristr hero said something about that). If one flies by the seat of their pants, indulging in “flavor of the month” spirituality, then when their world shifts, their spiritual structure will collapse. I have seen it happen before to dear friends who are now devoted atheists because they were not versed well enough in the foundations of their Heathenism to weather the storms of life.
Hi, this is the Metro Calvinist.
Thanks, coloradocelt, for respectfully engaging with my post. Moran taing airson sin.
I have read the follow up discussion, and would like to make the following points.
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I don’t claim to stand in the way of anyone doing anything. How you live is your own choice. If you want to come to na h-Eileannan and look for fairies, you can. However, the local Celtic people will think you somewhat odd, entirely unceltic and (if you insist, as a non-gael, that you are practicing the ‘real’ celtic religion) patronising.
The point of my post was that we Gaels resent things like National Geographic spreading a completely false picture of our spirituality.
Also, when non-Gaels tell us that our Christianity is ‘alien’ to our own culture, is somewhat patronising. It demonstrates a total ignorance of our culture. If you spend any time in Gaelic culture, you will realise just how deeply Christianity is part of our culture. If you want to learn authentic Gaelic (Scottish or Irish), you cannot help but notice how much Christianity belongs to our cultures. It affects our language massively.
As a society, Christianity was our choice. It changed our culture radically, but we chose that. It enriched our culture.
I am very happy to be a Christian and a Gael. We love reading the Bible and praying in Gaelic – it is a wonderful language in which to be intimate with God. We cherish our uniquely Gaelic style of Psalm singing; it is such a natural way for Gaels to worship Jesus.
There is nothing in my Christian faith that undermines the essence of my celtic identity. In fact, my Christianity helps me be appreciative of its good bits, and graciously critical of its negative aspects.
Also, there is such a thing as the Celtic Church. My point was that it is the Christianity practiced in Gaelic speaking areas (which was treated negatively by National Geographic), rather than the artificial ‘celtic’ Christianity invented by the English middle class.
Beannachd leibh uile,
Seumas
PS. The spelling mistakes you picked up are all British spellings.
“I’ll give you a serious response to your cheeky irony treegod.”
Note to self: Don’t joke with serious people, it doesn’t work. (sorry, couldn’t help it, another joke)
“The spelling mistakes you picked up are all British spellings.”
I was trying to learn Scots gaelic a few years ago. My grandad came from Dunoon and his mother and sisters apparently “had the gaelic.” His father, though born and brought up in Scotland, was actually Irish by both his parents.
I’m having to put the gaelic on hold, I have my hands full with trying to “download” Spanish into my brain. Then there’s the French that I didn’t learn in school which my girlfriend and her family speak. No room for gaelic at the moment, no matter how much I would like to speak such a beautiful tongue.
“Ciamar a tha thu?”
“Tha mi gu math.”
Plus I can count from one to ten, though I don’t know if I can spell it lol.
Vale, bueno. Yo estoy en España. No estoy en Inglaterra y no estoy en Escocia. Pues, mejor hablo Castellano ¿no?
Lol Treegod. . .I am a serious chap, but I do enjoy a joke
I responded in all seriousness because the issue you brought up was an important one to address 
Uill matha, bith ceistean mar ‘ciamar a tha thu?’ agus ‘aon, dha, tri’ gu math cudromach.
Tha mi cho toilichte gu bheil thu (no gu robh thu) airson Gaidhlig ionnsachadh! Tha Frangais gu math breagha cuideachd.
En fait a mon avis, c’est vraiment dommage que le francais est plus important que le gaelique mais je vous comprends absolument. Ce n’est pas grave.
With the Castellano, si si si.
“I responded in all seriousness because the issue you brought up was an important one to address”
I do find it hard to credit any culture, tradition or spirituality that bases itself heavily on genetic inheritance. It doesn’t fully correspond with how I see evolution and also it has been misused by You Know Who.
Though this concept of metagenetics I will have a look into that.
Missing our email correspondence BTW Bjorn.
I think I can understand some of that Gaelic, and the French. I have a technique that I call Jist Translation; I look at for key words, try to get the jist of them and fill in the blanks.
So James, you’re pleased or happy (toilichte) that I’ve been learning Gaelic, you think French is beautiful and you think its more important that I learn French than Gaelic, as do I lol.
But if if if? Oh! Sí sí sí! Claro, absolutamente. Si y sí es casi el mismo.
I am missing it as well, sorry for the absense, been busy as of late. I’ll shoot ya a line though, perhaps we can debate the metagenetics philosophy further.
Aye, it is unfortunate that certain political parties have misused the early ponderings of metagenetics. However, all ideologies can be twisted and misused by a tyrant. Christianity certainly has, and I would posit that if you totalled the number dead in the wake of Christianity, and the number dead in the wake of the infamous death-camps, you would find Christianity the guiltier party. . .also, remember that while certain officers in the Third Reich had occultist interests, namely Himmler, Adol Hitler is on record as saying that he didn’t believe in all that fibble-fabble (paraphrased of course hehe), and he even thought it good to attain a blessing from the Pope, which btw, was given. So, one could make the argument that Catholicism and by proxy Christianity, was more at fault for engendering the mass genocide than any sort of Occult ponderings.
Hello,
I am one of the moderators of Óenach and the blogger at Felmac, and wish to address some of your points here.
One thing that should be clarified is that the language in the community’s description takes into account the fact that CR is no longer merely an American movement, but one that now extends into Australia, South America, and yes, even the extant Celtic countries, though its strong hold does remain in the United States. The original wording of the description spoke of “assimilating into” and “accommodating” Celtic cultures, since the community was intended to address an American audience, however it was recommended that the group consider CRs outside of the United Sates and in the Celtic cultures themselves. The discussion regarding this in linked below:
http://community.livejournal.com/oenach/325.html
Therefore, while American CRs may not have direct contact or interaction with extant Celtic cultures, it should be imperative that culture be incorporated into a CR’s life through language, music, and tradition, for example, if they truly see CR as something of a way of life with a sincere interest and concern for Celtic cultures.
You state:
“Nor can Recons pretend to know anything about pre-Christian belief that has not been heavily influenced by Christian thought. Respecting living Celtic culture means respecting everything that currently makes up that culture, even the parts of it you don’t like.”
Such claims have never been made. Christianity is an intrinsic aspect of modern Celtic cultures and is heavily involved in their folk-traditions–this is clearly recognized and respected. As POLYTHEISTS, however, we are naturally concerned with a pre-Christian worldview, so as RECONSTRUCTIONISTS we attempt to reconstruct pre-Christian Celtic worldviews as they might have existed by studying and gaining a familiarity with mythology, folklore, cultural traditions, archaeology, and comparative studies with similar Indo-European cultures. We acknowledge that our reconstruction is not going to be an authentic and faithful revitalization of historical pre-Christian religions, and that, in fact, modern creations and innovations will be included, some even inspired by cultural expressions of Christianity.
“CR is neo-pagan, whether we affiliate with it or not.”
While CR is technically “neo-pagan” in the sense that it is a “new pagan” religion, the above statement ignores the fact that neo-paganism today describes a very distinct modern pagan movement that is very different, at times even opposed to reconstructionism. Neo-paganism is fairly embracive of eclecticism and syncretism, involves a particular emphasis on the practice of magic as inspired by ceremonial magic and Wicca, and tends to be influenced by liberal philosophies. Reconstructionism, on the other hand, is culturally-rooted, has little regard for the practice of magic and/or witchcraft, and concerns itself with the gods of a particular people. These are just some of the major differences apparent between the two movements.
“Secondly, when you look at any living spiritual or religious system they are *all* made up by sycretisms, eclectic practices, external borrowings, and modern interpretations.”
And to what extent is eclecticism and syncretism acceptable until the ‘C’ in ‘CR’ is meaningless, a misnomer? Why does a cultural tradition need to be watered down with multicultural influences in order to stay relevant?
Tomas,
Let me start off by saying that my intention behind this post was not to bash Reconstructionism, but to state simply why it has goals that I no longer consider reachable.
Consider Metro Calivinist’s post. Understand also that his opinion is shared by an overwhelming majority of Gaelic speaking Scots and Irish. Be honest about the fact that these Gaelic speakers are the true stewards of Celtic culture. American neo-pagans, who grew up speaking English, are not.
I acknowledge the fact that every spiritual path is a mix of societal norms (or rebellion against those norms) and personal imbas. I have also acknowledged the fact that while my spirituality may be inspired by Celtic culture, it will never be “Celtic”. Nor does it have to be to be authentic. I acknowledge the integrity that CR has in attempting to go past new age fluff and get to the real meat of a cultural tradition. But how does CR define what “Celtic” is? I am interested on your take on this.
What CR is doing period would be considered “eclecticism”, and “syncretism” to most Gaelic speakers today, would it not? How do you defend that?
Hello again
“Be honest about the fact that these Gaelic speakers are the true stewards of Celtic culture. American neo-pagans, who grew up speaking English, are not.”
Right, and again, who is claiming otherwise? I’ve always acknowledged this fact as have a good number of CRs. Those who are claiming otherwise are, well, dishonest in their practices.
“But how does CR define what “Celtic” is?:
CR doesn’t “define” what Celtic is, it embraces a definition that already exists. The Celts are a large Indo-European ethno-linguistic group; and what is related to, characteristic of, or associated with their cultures, languages or civilizations are described as “Celtic.”
“What CR is doing period would be considered “eclecticism”, and “syncretism” to most Gaelic speakers today, would it not?”
I would first have to read their understanding of how CR is eclectic/syncretic in order to create a response, but from my experience, this statement is usually the result of a superficial understanding of what CR is. Anyway, that doesn’t really answer my question. If we are to be CELTIC Reconstructionists, then it should seem natural and obvious that we maintain the integrity of the cultural identifier of “Celtic,” would it not?
Tomas,
Here is where my confusion and personal objections come into play. There is a logical fallacy here. If CR’s goal is to respect the sovereignty of Celtic culture, and the current living representatives of Celtic culture object to what you are doing, then how are you respecting Celtic cultural sovereignty?
Hypothetically: What makes you different from a white man who learns to speak the Sioux language at university, and delved into every aspect of their culture, renames himself “White Bear Climbing” and then claims himself to be a Sioux Medicine Man? All of this without spending even one day on the Res.
If CR embraces a definition that already exists then in point of fact it does define, within it’s own context, what the term “Celtic” means. If this is the definition that you embrace, then how can the opinions of it’s living representatives, who have serious objections to polytheism and paganism in general, be so easily cast aside?
From my standpoint what CR is doing is not “Celtic”. The only ones who truly deserve that honorific are those who were born and raised in the various Gaelic (and other branch) speaking communities still extant. I would say the same for the Sioux or any other ethnic group. CR may be inspired by Celtic belief but it has no more claim to being “Celtic” than other neo-pagan belief systems currently inspired by pre-Christian Celtic cosmology. CR has every right to be proud of it’s serious commitment to language, lore, and culture. But it is not “Celtic”.
One more thing, Tomas, if you feel that I am simply “complaining”, or lack dedication to my spirituality, please explain to me why.