Does how you interact with both traditions weigh in a lot in how you find them to be so different?
I think it probably does. Practing primarily with a group (as with heathenry) is quite different from primarily practicing alone (as with Hellenism). It is very hard for me to "do heathen" purely from a personal point of view (with a few exceptions) and I think that is because I have always been in a heathen group and I have always been one of the people who do a lot of the planning/performing of ritual. Most of my heathen prayers were written for use in a group setting (and generally for a particular purpose); my most recent prayer to Odin is probably the only exception to that. However, all of my Hellenic prayers were written for personal use--and to me, I can see the difference there, in how I approach the religions. So yeah, it's very possible that I see more differences because I am doing different things within each faith.
They are not really dissimilar enough to conflict, however. They ethics are pretty close--both cultures valued hospitality, both were very much concerned with keeping oaths, etc. The worldview is somewhat different, but I'm not sure that that is a difference that would make a difference, if you see what I mean. And of course the importance of all that depends on what sort of a reconstructionist you are.
I do know that I have a generally different "feeling" about the gods of each group, and I approach them differently--with a different state of mind. That may well be because of my own perceptions, of course.
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branchandroot
Re: I wanna play!
Date: 2004-08-20 06:10 pm (UTC)I think it probably does. Practing primarily with a group (as with heathenry) is quite different from primarily practicing alone (as with Hellenism). It is very hard for me to "do heathen" purely from a personal point of view (with a few exceptions) and I think that is because I have always been in a heathen group and I have always been one of the people who do a lot of the planning/performing of ritual. Most of my heathen prayers were written for use in a group setting (and generally for a particular purpose); my most recent prayer to Odin is probably the only exception to that. However, all of my Hellenic prayers were written for personal use--and to me, I can see the difference there, in how I approach the religions. So yeah, it's very possible that I see more differences because I am doing different things within each faith.
They are not really dissimilar enough to conflict, however. They ethics are pretty close--both cultures valued hospitality, both were very much concerned with keeping oaths, etc. The worldview is somewhat different, but I'm not sure that that is a difference that would make a difference, if you see what I mean. And of course the importance of all that depends on what sort of a reconstructionist you are.
I do know that I have a generally different "feeling" about the gods of each group, and I approach them differently--with a different state of mind. That may well be because of my own perceptions, of course.