Question lemming

[hearthstone]

From lots of people:

I want everyone who reads this to ask me 3 questions, no more no less. Ask me anything you want. Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends (including myself) to ask you anything.

Comments

I wanna play!

[bluedolfyn.livejournal.com]

1) What is the most difficult thing, for you, about being dual-tradition?

2) What are your favorite aspects about each of your traditions?

3) What's your favorite book of all time, for any reason?

Re: I wanna play!

[hearthstone.livejournal.com]

1) What is the most difficult thing, for you, about being dual-tradition?

It actually is not that difficult in general, I think in part because the two faiths are fairly different and because the way I interact with the two communities is very different. It's kind of surprising how my practice of each has evolved without blending.

I'd have to say that, really, the hardest part of being dual-faith is explaining it to others.

2) What are your favorite aspects about each of your traditions?

Gosh, that's a hard one! I'm tempted to say "the gods" for both and leave it at that--but I'll skip over that for now.

Heathenry has a strong and thriving real-world community--real people practicing some variant of the same faith--and that is inspiring. There is also a wonderful diversity--although some of these diverse types of heathenry are convinced that their own variety is The Only One :)--which I think is fantastic. Acceptance of diversity encourages growth. The fact that in many cases heathens who hold quite different views can work together on what is important to both.

Also, a great deal of work has already been done--research accomplished, prayers and liturgy written--so that a new person coming in can easily get started, instead of reading a bit and being afraid to "do something" for fear of doing it wrong. (Yeah, that happens with some folks anyway--but it doesn't have to!) And thirty years of Asatru practice has helped to form a recognizable group identity--which is not entirely a good thing but it's not all bad either.

Hellenic reconstructionism is newer, but the sheer volume of available information is likely to help it develop comparatively quickly. In some ways it is actually a disadvantage to have so much detailed information, but overall it is a good thing. There are a lot of good people involved, and while there has been some splitting I think (diversity = good, remember? :)) that it's a very good thing for a number of options to exist.

I also like the people--I hope that in another 10 years or so there may be the numbers to meet in person more regularly, but in the mean time folks seem to make good use of the internet.

3) What's your favorite book of all time, for any reason?

Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon is my favorite work of fiction. I reread it every so often and it's always thought-provoking.

Re: I wanna play!

[bluedolfyn.livejournal.com]

Regarding Hellenismos and Heathenry being so different.... how do you find this to be so? I've seen you mention that a few times, and I'm curious because (and perhaps I need to dig deeper still into Hellenismos) part of why I'm okay with being dual-trad is because I find them similar enough to switch back and forth at need. (My view may be off: I tend toward focusing on the gods, ancestors, and landspirits, and except for the god part, the rest is in a heathen format. My Hellenic practice is exclusively god-focused)

Does how you interact with both traditions weigh in a lot in how you find them to be so different?

Re: I wanna play!

[hearthstone.livejournal.com]

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.