Reblog: Because it’s worth mentioning

[darkamber_pagan]

People seem to think you have to fulfill particular requirements to Be A REAL Norse Polytheist (TM). That you have to have all these bells and whistles and amazing gifts and be anointed with blood by Odin under the Yuletide moon or something.

You can do amazing things and be a worshiper without being the Ultimate Godspouse Monastic Spiritworker Seidhrwitch with Prophetic Power and Nightly Astral Adventures.

I’ll hold myself up as an example. Edit: the fact that I’m missing or bad at any of these things isn’t an attempt to shame those who do have them. It’s just Not A Requirement, savvy?

• Not a godspouse
• No spirit lovers
• Not an empath
• I have trouble doing journeywork, it’s actually a struggle to get out
• Not monastic
• I have a mortal spouse and I don’t get bothered about it
• My “godphone” is has shitty reception. I can tell the difference between my thoughts and something coming from outside, but reception is still shitty. If people are interested, I could try to describe this in more detail, but the short summary version is that my “godphone” usually sucks.
• My sight varies depending on the sorts of spirits I’m looking at. I have an easier time seeing Dead than other types of spirits.
• I can do divination, but rarely ever do it for other people. Not a requirement.
• I’ve horsed precisely once, it was a rare thing, and it’s not a requirement.

In terms of “how did you get to where you are?”, here is what I did:

• I was very persistent and stubborn
• Work
• I read constantly, and then I go try out the stuff I research instead of remaining an armchair scholar
• I try to keep up a routine, progressing over time rather that trying to do everything in one short burst of time
• More work
• I question everything and constantly ask “why”
• My local Heathen community is awful so I went “fuck that noise” and worked on my own
• Yet more work

It boils down to asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of work over a long period of time. There’s not really a magic button to push. The list of requirements is pretty damn hazy. You cannot really just look at this or that Big Name Pagan and decide you need to match them exactly, either. You just pick what you want to go for and strive for it, much like you would for a mundane career or serious hobby. (Not to imply that religion is a hobby, but the determination and work factor is quite similar.)

Also, not everyone needs to be a Grand High Hierophant Priest Spiritworker Master Oracle Monk. Pretty much every religion that I’m aware of has a laity.And that’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t make you inferior or lesser if you’re laity. You just have a different job, so to speak.

From: Grumpy Lokean Elder on Tumblr