I've been exclusively a Slavic polytheist for the past five years, and even swore that I would remain so. I still feel that my main deity will always be Perun. I feel such a strong link with Perun, and I assumed that in time, I could form a relationship with other Slavic deities as well. After a few years though, I feel that I still only have one friend among the Slavic deities. No matter how much I comb over folklore and other sources, only Perun is revealed to me in detail. Perhaps I've interacted with some others, but they seem very distant. For awhile, this didn't bother me. After all, there's evidence that some Slavic tribes focused on Perun above all other deities. The Byzantine historian, Jordanes, wrote that the Slavs hold "the creator of lightning" to be the lord of all things. Certainly, my study of folklore supports the notion of Perun being more deeply rooted in the folk traditions of Eastern Europe than most other Gods. So perhaps the distance of other deities wasn't so strange.
However, I started out worshiping this same God as Thor, so one might say that my roots are in Norse paganism. It also seems that Heathens are the only type of Pagan that I can really relate to, often more so than the nationalistic Rodnovers of Russia. Asatruar and the like remain my best chance of finding a community here in the U.S., since they are numerous enough here to form groups. My attempts to intermingle with other pagan groups have had mixed success, especially where wiccans and witches are concerned.
In any case, I was quite content to have a relationship with only one deity. After all, who else was there? However, I recently began reading Havamal, and found the pre-Christian wisdom and values that I had been looking for. I had always known they existed. I've tried for so long to fill in the gaps left by the destruction of Slavic paganism, and I believe I've recovered a lot that was lost. However, all of that pales in comparison to what was preserved in the Codex Regius. If I do incorporate Norse tradition into my practice, I feel I must petition certain powers for permission to branch out- partially due to my earlier agreements. However, I fear even this would be a transgression.
However, I started out worshiping this same God as Thor, so one might say that my roots are in Norse paganism. It also seems that Heathens are the only type of Pagan that I can really relate to, often more so than the nationalistic Rodnovers of Russia. Asatruar and the like remain my best chance of finding a community here in the U.S., since they are numerous enough here to form groups. My attempts to intermingle with other pagan groups have had mixed success, especially where wiccans and witches are concerned.
In any case, I was quite content to have a relationship with only one deity. After all, who else was there? However, I recently began reading Havamal, and found the pre-Christian wisdom and values that I had been looking for. I had always known they existed. I've tried for so long to fill in the gaps left by the destruction of Slavic paganism, and I believe I've recovered a lot that was lost. However, all of that pales in comparison to what was preserved in the Codex Regius. If I do incorporate Norse tradition into my practice, I feel I must petition certain powers for permission to branch out- partially due to my earlier agreements. However, I fear even this would be a transgression.
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