Any Pagans in Europe?

[Kirran]

Hello all,

I'm curious if there are any pagans here who dwell in Europe - I'm wondering about the connection between the deities/spirits/whatever it is you have truck with and the land, and how you experience and understand that. For pagans of traditions which are broadly European, including Germanic/Celtic/Greek/Roman Reconstructionisms and relatives thereof, and Wicca etc.

Hinduism doesn't, very broadly speaking, have that same groundedness in the land in Europe as it does in India, so I am interested in that aspect!

Anybody else in here wants to comment anyway who's not from Europe, go nuts.

Cheers all!

 

[Rival]

Do you mean the European continent? Because where you live is Europe

 

[Kirran]

Do you mean the European continent? Because where you live is Europe

Nah, Europe - the UK included!

 

[Jainarayan]

Heathenry in its various forms are alive and well in the Scandinavian countries, and known by a number of names. If you want to consider Russia, and the Balto-Slavic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as part of Europe, there is a revival of their indigenous Pagan religions, Rodnovery being one of them. For the first time in over 1,000 years there is a large Ásatrú temple being built just outside Reykjavík Iceland. Icelanders are very much in tune with the land, and regardless of their religious affiliation they revere the land spirits (landvættir, lahnt-vy-tihr) and consider them very matter-of-factly and respectfully.

There is a story that when the (now decommissioned) US Naval Air Station at Keflavik, Iceland was about to be built during WWII, one of the Icelandic construction foremen had a dream in which a woman asked the foreman to delay the start of construction for two weeks while she and her family of vættir moved to another location. The foreman agreed, much to the displeasure of the US officials. Two weeks later the foreman had another dream in which the woman said her family had moved and construction could commence.

 

[Kirran]

Heathenry in its various forms are alive and well in the Scandinavian countries, and known by a number of names. If you want to consider Russia, and the Balto-Slavic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as part of Europe, there is a revival of their indigenous Pagan religions, Rodnovery being one of them. For the first time in over 1,000 years there is a large Ásatrú temple being built just outside Reykjavík Iceland. Icelanders are very much in tune with the land, and regardless of their religious affiliation they revere the land spirits (landvættir, lahnt-vy-tihr) and consider them very matter-of-factly and respectfully.

I've heard of some of these - I know there's quite a lot of paganism going round in Europe (left-wing in the West, right-wing in the East, generally) and I'm part of the pagan group for the city of Cambridge, England on Facebook. I'm looking here for direct perspectives from the pagans, really, and how they feel their faith is grounded in their surroundings, and whether that is especially linked to those surroundings being European.

There is a story that when the (now decommissioned) US Naval Air Station at Keflavik, Iceland was about to be built during WWII, one of the Icelandic construction foremen had a dream in which a woman asked the foreman to delay the start of construction for two weeks while she and her family of vættir moved to another location. The foreman agreed, much to the displeasure of the US officials. Two weeks later the foreman had another dream in which the woman said her family had moved and construction could commence.

A very nice story, thanks Thorbjorn. I guess the line between Icelandic Christian and pagan may get a little fine sometimes.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

I don't consider my religion as "land based". Hellenism does include veneration of nymphs, river gods, and the like, but I don't do it myself and these daimones were always considered less important than the great gods. As a Londoner, the fact that most Greek literature is written by fellow urbanites is probably one of the things that makes me feel at home with it!

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Hello all,

I'm curious if there are any pagans here who dwell in Europe - I'm wondering about the connection between the deities/spirits/whatever it is you have truck with and the land, and how you experience and understand that. For pagans of traditions which are broadly European, including Germanic/Celtic/Greek/Roman Reconstructionisms and relatives thereof, and Wicca etc.

Hinduism doesn't, very broadly speaking, have that same groundedness in the land in Europe as it does in India, so I am interested in that aspect!

Anybody else in here wants to comment anyway who's not from Europe, go nuts.

Cheers all!

Yup, I live in Europe. Most of the gods I worship are foreign to Scotland. One, however, is not and I honour her as a goddess of place. It's my way of making my Paganism local and much more personal to me. I won't say her name because that makes it too easy for people on here to guess where I live and I'm not comfortable with that.

I view my gods as existing independently from their spheres of influence e.g. Dionysus is not alcohol, drunkenness or insanity; Aphrodite is not love, lust or mourning:- these are things they have control over.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I'm not sure what you're asking. Just how we relate to them? There's Daimons of the land all around and I try my best to be mindful of them and to appreciate them.

 

[Kirran]

I don't consider my religion as "land based". Hellenism does include veneration of nymphs, river gods, and the like, but I don't do it myself and these daimones were always considered less important than the great gods. As a Londoner, the fact that most Greek literature is written by fellow urbanites is probably one of the things that makes me feel at home with it!

OK, that makes sense - perhaps there are some nymphs in the Thames, but I can't imagine it's too nice a river to live in.

I guess Greek civilisation has long been an urbanised one.

I am in Cambridge myself!

Yup, I live in Europe. Most of the gods I worship are foreign to Scotland. One, however, is not and I honour her as a goddess of place. It's my way of making my Paganism local and much more personal to me. I won't say her name because that makes it too easy for people on here to guess where I live and I'm not comfortable with that.

I view my gods as existing independently from their spheres of influence e.g. Dionysus is not alcohol, drunkenness or insanity; Aphrodite is not love, lust or mourning:- these are things they have control over.

Ah, interesting! Would you mind if I PM you for the name?

The latter makes sense, there are varying takes on this among pagans I think.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I'm not in Europe, though. Oops. :/

 

[Kirran]

I'm not in Europe, though. Oops. :/

That's OK, I won't hold it against you, many don't

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Ah, interesting! Would you mind if I PM you for the name?

Thanks for checking beforehand but yes, I'd mind.

The latter makes sense, there are varying takes on this among pagans I think.

One of Paganisms' greatest benefits is its ability to accommodate a multitude of views. No central dogma for us to argue over - and it prevents us from overtly forcing our view of deity onto other peoples' experiences. Most of the time...

 

[Kirran]

Thanks for checking beforehand but yes, I'd mind.

OK

One of Paganisms' greatest benefits is its ability to accommodate a multitude of views. No central dogma for us to argue over - and it prevents us from overtly forcing our view of deity onto other peoples' experiences. Most of the time...

Hinduism also has that benefit, in theory!

 

[GoodbyeDave]

OK, that makes sense - perhaps there are some nymphs in the Thames, but I can't imagine it's too nice a river to live in.

It's very clean these days: full of fish and birds, with even the occasional seal. I keep feeling I ought to honour Father Thames, but I haven't got round to it yet.