Our tradition.

[callmeclemens]

I thought I'd share this wonderful article I came across today that I think is really really relevant especially for a community such as ours.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2015/10/our-ancestors-these-gods-this-place.html

A lot of the trending threads right now are far from talk of spiritual paths, and I was hoping we could discuss this a bit.

Does what the writer says align with you?

[DragonsFriend]

Re: Our tradition.

I would say that the ancestors play an important part in Arratu. The area in which one lives plays an equally important role. Just moving from the wet climate of the coast to the more arid part of the same state has made modifications to the name of the temple, the importance of the deity chosen, and the patron deity used. The change necessitates alliances with different gods and goddesses in our daily lives. Even the classes I have taught for years are changing due to the differences in people and the location.

I hold a degree in religious history and I know through my studies that all religions are modified by time, culture and location. The first recorded religion (that we know of) was the practices and myths of Sumer. In the 3000 year history of that civilization you can see the changes in the society and how those changes modified their religion. The society morphed from a matrilineal society to a patriarchal society. As that happened women lost their place of importance and were gradually reduced to little more than slaves. The names of goddesses were modified to become male and with very few exceptions the goddesses were deleted from their late history.

The author is right that we expect that the same "denomination" of paganism will be practiced in New York as it is in Washington but that is never going to be true. That concept was behind the "witch wars" that began in the 1960s on the east coast of the USA and hit the west coast in the 1970s. On the west coast is was triggered by a Wiccan group who established their practices as a religion with federal and state 501c3 status. Those who created that scandal are still held in absolute contempt by those who fought it. Many British Traditional Witches despise the many off-shoots that use the name "Wicca" to self identify.
This turmoil is caused by the very "Christian" concept that there is only one "true" Wicca. They fail to remember that paganism itself was an eclectic practice that varied between families, towns, and countries. The family traditions of Stregha, in and around Italy, are a perfect example of the differences in a single faith. There is no wrong path and certainly no single "right" path in any religious practice.