Introduction to Ethnic Faith Religions
By Hugo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_religions
Polytheistic Ethnic European (“Pagan”) Religions
Quick introduction: “Pagan” (Latin: pāgānus, ‘rural’) was supposed to be a slur that was invented by the catholic church to apply to every non-xtian religion but has since been reappropriated as a general term. Specific ethnic “Pagan” polytheistic religions are: Heathenry is Germanic Paganism (“Asatru” is one of the religions that fall under the Heathenry category). Fyrnsidu is Brittonic Paganism. Druidry is Celtic Paganism. Hellenism is Greek Paganism. Religio Romana is Roman Paganism. Rodnovery is Slavic Paganism. Romuva is Baltic Paganism, etc. Every polytheistic ancestral European religion is similar, the deities just have different regional names (1).
There are only two things that you need to know to understand Polytheistic Ethnic European Religions:
1. Cosmology: the cosmology of the ancient polytheistic European religions is Dharmic (non-dogmatic). You could be a polytheist, pantheist, atheist (2) and still find value in tradition, rituals, and ancestor veneration. Some polytheistic religious followers see the polytheistic deities as sentient personal gods, others see them as symbolic representations of natural forces (numen/animism) (3) and the cosmology is pantheism to them, others are atheists (4) who are attracted to tradition, ancestor veneration, and ancestry. Many atheistic Pagans are inspired by Carl Jung who combined psychoanalysis with Heathenry; the polytheistic deities = ‘archetypes (5) of the collective unconscious (6)’ to these Pagans.
2. Rituals: rituals are about manifesting the deities/forces of nature/laws of physics/Jungian archetypes into your daily life. In the case of the Eleusinian Mysteries (7), the rituals were believed to provide initiates with profound insights into the nature of reality, the cycle of life and death, and the interconnectedness of all things. They also served important social functions, such as reinforcing community bonds, resolving conflicts, and marking life transitions (see: the Olympic Games and the festival of Dionysus). To secular Pagans who are inspired by Carl Jung, rituals are ways of inducing ‘active imagination’ (8) or a part of the process of ‘individuation’ (9)
You can learn more about your specific “Pagan” traditions and rituals here: [link] and here: [link]
Footnotes:
1. Dyaus Pita (Vedic), Zeus (Greek), Jupiter (Roman), Odin (Nordic), Wotan (German), Esus (Celtic), Wotanaz (Slavic), Ukko and Väinämöinen (Finnish), and so on are all derived from the Aryan allfather Dyeus Pter which translates to Sky Father. The name Zeus comes from the pronunciation of Dyeus, and Jupiter comes from the pronunciation of ‘Dyeus Pter’. Wotan is derived from Proto-Germanic Wodanaz, which itself comes from the Proto-Indo-European root Dyeus. Odin comes from Old Norse and is related to the earlier Proto-Germanic Wodanaz. The Celtic-Druid deity Esus [link] comes from Iupiter-Zeus -> I-Zeus -> Esus (“Iesus” in the bible, there was no “J” in Latin, got his name and story of crucification (cruci-‘fiction’) from Esus. Two options for how Esus became Iesus in the bible: 1) Julius Caesar, as high priest/Pontifex Maximus of the Flamen Dialis cult, was the claimed son of Jupiter, so he was Iupiter-Zeus, ie. I-Zeus, 2) Constantine stole Esus’s mythology at the Council of Nicaea because he wanted christianity to appeal to the Pagans in the north. The cross is then Esus’s his axe upside down. So, christians coming to Paganism, specifically Celtic-Druidism, can continue worshiping Esus/Esos/Hesus/Aisus/Iesus and all the other Pagan traditions and rituals that christianity stole. On this last point: you can see how christiaiity spread throughout Europe, through deception and lies. By stealing Esus’s name and mythology they presented christianity to Pagans as the same native faith religion with the same deity that they already were worshiping).
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charvaka [link]
3. These Pagans don’t worship a particular thing, they just appreciate the unity of existence, or seek to understand the ultimate nature of reality. Ancestor veneration is the only worship they do.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_paganism [link]
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungian_archetypes [link]
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_unconscious [link]
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries [link]
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_imagination#Carl_Gustav_Jung [[link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_imagination#Carl_Gustav_Jung)]
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuation#In_Jungian_psychology [link]\
Read more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Modern_paganism_in_Europe [link]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungian_interpretation_of_religion [link]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c7zzZeT-ws [link])
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