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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
What Are We Missing?
Lately I've been thinking about cult
centers.
The idea was placed in my head by a friend living in Germany, who's considering beginning his own cult center near the North Sea. It got me thinking, and, never one to fail to swipe an idea and run with it, I... well, I swiped it and ran with it. Duh.
I threw the question out on the board, and got some responses; mostly favorable, in that people either thought it was a good idea, or thought it WOULD be a good idea if it were workable. I, meanwhile, began thinking about the effect this could have on our communities (local ones, that is. I'm not in any way referring to some overarching "heathen community," the way that non-heterosexuals consider themselves a part of a GLBT community), and decided that for me, such a cult center could be a piece of common ground for a heathen community or family.
I brainstormed a little list of items that I imagined would be the basics of such a cult center:
The idea was placed in my head by a friend living in Germany, who's considering beginning his own cult center near the North Sea. It got me thinking, and, never one to fail to swipe an idea and run with it, I... well, I swiped it and ran with it. Duh.
I threw the question out on the board, and got some responses; mostly favorable, in that people either thought it was a good idea, or thought it WOULD be a good idea if it were workable. I, meanwhile, began thinking about the effect this could have on our communities (local ones, that is. I'm not in any way referring to some overarching "heathen community," the way that non-heterosexuals consider themselves a part of a GLBT community), and decided that for me, such a cult center could be a piece of common ground for a heathen community or family.
I brainstormed a little list of items that I imagined would be the basics of such a cult center:
• Something to denote the area as a cult
center -- an altar, statue, hof, library, marking stone, etc.
• A ritual
area;
Ideally, it would also include:
Ideally, it would also include:
• Space for educational
activities;
• A library available to the
community.
Yeah, really short lists, but then, I was already going off onto another tangent. That word "community" is so troublesome; it means so many different things, and it raises expectations that vary from individual to individual. I felt like something was missing... oh, hel. I don't know where the beginning is.
I've said it before, and I doubt this will be the last time. The basic unit of heathenry is not the individual; it is the community. I speculate, however, that this isn't just a strictly heathen community by necessity, but rather whatever community of which we find ourselves being a part. Others may feel that I'm just trying to justify my own lack of a permanent heathen community; I travel constantly, and normally find myself in places with no other heathens (using the word in it's Northern European context only, as there are often many of the local variety of heathens around). To say that a permanent heathen community is a requirement of heathenry would be denying my own heatheninity. To my way of thinking, it's the exact opposite. By being a part of my local community wherever I end up, I am adding a heathen element to that community. By behaving in a way in accordance with the heathen worldview, I am ensuring that, in a small way, heathenry becomes an element of that communal tapestry.
This, to me, raises the question: What's wrong with having a heathen community? Is it possible; is it desirable? Have we maybe already achieved it, or is there some crucial element missing?
HIstorically speaking in Northern Europe, heathen communities were the norm, because that's all anybody was. They didn't have to worry about artificially generating one; it was just there. They didn't even CALL it a heathen community (or words in a Northern European language to that effect), because it was all they knew. Nowadays, of course, we're much more culturally diverse, so we have a yearning for an individual culture.
And we try, over and over. Things always seem to go wrong. To take only the most recent example I've heard of, consider the current fracture between the Miercinga Rice and the Normannii. (for space purposes, I'm only putting the one link, but a little digging will get you some other sides to the same story) Theodish groups may be the most heathen-culture-oriented of all of us, in that they actively and forcefully try to reconstruct a social system in order to jump-start a cultural community. Unfortunately, they appear to be schisming like Martin Luther with a nail gun.
I'm not trying to pick on the Theods; the history of Asatru is littered with failed attempts at heathen communities. We can have working groups and organizations, but we can't seem to take the next logical step to community-dom.
It's no mystery why, to my way of thinking. We're not big enough (or dense enough), or old enough (in the sense of continuous time).
Cultural outlooks change gradually over time, because a lot of cultural is subconscious. One doesn't actively go through one's life thinking, for example, "I eat at McDonalds because fast food is a dominant element in my culture." "Green lights, in my culture, signify that one may continue on their way, while red lights indicate to those who share my culture that they must stop." One's cultural outlook may be the most difficult element of one's worldview to change.
That cultural change would be best affected by being surrounded by like-minded individuals, intent on altering their culture in the same manner. Such communities, however, are difficult to form because of the limited number of heathens, and the inability of that community to be self-sufficient.
I'm not saying we shouldn't try, but in the meantime we can't turn our backs on our traditional communities. Forming cult centers is a way that we can maintain our unique differences within those communities.
Gods, I had no idea where this was going. Hope I made at least a little sense, somewhere along they way. If not, rip me apart in the comments I'm sure you're all going to leave for me.
Yeah, really short lists, but then, I was already going off onto another tangent. That word "community" is so troublesome; it means so many different things, and it raises expectations that vary from individual to individual. I felt like something was missing... oh, hel. I don't know where the beginning is.
I've said it before, and I doubt this will be the last time. The basic unit of heathenry is not the individual; it is the community. I speculate, however, that this isn't just a strictly heathen community by necessity, but rather whatever community of which we find ourselves being a part. Others may feel that I'm just trying to justify my own lack of a permanent heathen community; I travel constantly, and normally find myself in places with no other heathens (using the word in it's Northern European context only, as there are often many of the local variety of heathens around). To say that a permanent heathen community is a requirement of heathenry would be denying my own heatheninity. To my way of thinking, it's the exact opposite. By being a part of my local community wherever I end up, I am adding a heathen element to that community. By behaving in a way in accordance with the heathen worldview, I am ensuring that, in a small way, heathenry becomes an element of that communal tapestry.
This, to me, raises the question: What's wrong with having a heathen community? Is it possible; is it desirable? Have we maybe already achieved it, or is there some crucial element missing?
HIstorically speaking in Northern Europe, heathen communities were the norm, because that's all anybody was. They didn't have to worry about artificially generating one; it was just there. They didn't even CALL it a heathen community (or words in a Northern European language to that effect), because it was all they knew. Nowadays, of course, we're much more culturally diverse, so we have a yearning for an individual culture.
And we try, over and over. Things always seem to go wrong. To take only the most recent example I've heard of, consider the current fracture between the Miercinga Rice and the Normannii. (for space purposes, I'm only putting the one link, but a little digging will get you some other sides to the same story) Theodish groups may be the most heathen-culture-oriented of all of us, in that they actively and forcefully try to reconstruct a social system in order to jump-start a cultural community. Unfortunately, they appear to be schisming like Martin Luther with a nail gun.
I'm not trying to pick on the Theods; the history of Asatru is littered with failed attempts at heathen communities. We can have working groups and organizations, but we can't seem to take the next logical step to community-dom.
It's no mystery why, to my way of thinking. We're not big enough (or dense enough), or old enough (in the sense of continuous time).
Cultural outlooks change gradually over time, because a lot of cultural is subconscious. One doesn't actively go through one's life thinking, for example, "I eat at McDonalds because fast food is a dominant element in my culture." "Green lights, in my culture, signify that one may continue on their way, while red lights indicate to those who share my culture that they must stop." One's cultural outlook may be the most difficult element of one's worldview to change.
That cultural change would be best affected by being surrounded by like-minded individuals, intent on altering their culture in the same manner. Such communities, however, are difficult to form because of the limited number of heathens, and the inability of that community to be self-sufficient.
I'm not saying we shouldn't try, but in the meantime we can't turn our backs on our traditional communities. Forming cult centers is a way that we can maintain our unique differences within those communities.
Gods, I had no idea where this was going. Hope I made at least a little sense, somewhere along they way. If not, rip me apart in the comments I'm sure you're all going to leave for me.
Posted: Tue - January 24, 2006 at 11:40 PM