meta-Paganism

[Infinitum]

Since this term is actually invented by @lewisnotmiller I invite him to join this conversation as well.

So, Lewis came up with this semi-serious term "meta-Pagan" to describe me with as few words as possible and while I just laughed at it at first, something in it felt oddly appropriate. My beliefs are complicated, or perhaps better said conflicted. I have strong Pagan and pantheistic leanings, practice my own flavour of ceremonial magic and communicate with spirits, but at the same time I'm strongly intent on insisting my experiences are purely subjective (in common speech, "not real"). My ideologies are a mix of naturalistic pantheism, animism, Western occultism, LHP, rationalism and who knows what else. So, err... "meta-Pagan". Beyond Paganism. After Paganism. Post-Paganism? "Meta" is one of those words that you see everywhere but seems to mean so little.

I figured I could just as well take the ball and run with it. Before Lewis talks me into establishing my own cult I thought I should subject the term to some peer review.

 

[Riverwolf]

Well, I don't think "subjective" inherently means "not real." I mean, political boundaries are technically very, very subjective, and yet very much real.

Meta-Pagan might be appropriate, at least perhaps insofar as being "beyond", or "outside" (if you will) the general consensuses of the Pagan communities.

 

[Quintessence]

Pretty much just sounds Pagan to me. It's a big umbrella.

 

[The Hammer]

Since this term is actually invented by @lewisnotmiller I invite him to join this conversation as well.

So, Lewis came up with this semi-serious term "meta-Pagan" to describe me with as few words as possible and while I just laughed at it at first, something in it felt oddly appropriate. My beliefs are complicated, or perhaps better said conflicted. I have strong Pagan and pantheistic leanings, practice my own flavour of ceremonial magic and communicate with spirits, but at the same time I'm strongly intent on insisting my experiences are purely subjective (in common speech, "not real"). My ideologies are a mix of naturalistic pantheism, animism, Western occultism, LHP, rationalism and who knows what else. So, err... "meta-Pagan". Beyond Paganism. After Paganism. Post-Paganism? "Meta" is one of those words that you see everywhere but seems to mean so little.

I figured I could just as well take the ball and run with it. Before Lewis talks me into establishing my own cult I thought I should subject the term to some peer review.

Yeah, sounds pagan to me, and I am similar in my smattering of views, so I would know

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Since this term is actually invented by @lewisnotmiller I invite him to join this conversation as well.

So, Lewis came up with this semi-serious term "meta-Pagan" to describe me with as few words as possible and while I just laughed at it at first, something in it felt oddly appropriate. My beliefs are complicated, or perhaps better said conflicted. I have strong Pagan and pantheistic leanings, practice my own flavour of ceremonial magic and communicate with spirits, but at the same time I'm strongly intent on insisting my experiences are purely subjective (in common speech, "not real"). My ideologies are a mix of naturalistic pantheism, animism, Western occultism, LHP, rationalism and who knows what else. So, err... "meta-Pagan". Beyond Paganism. After Paganism. Post-Paganism? "Meta" is one of those words that you see everywhere but seems to mean so little.

I figured I could just as well take the ball and run with it. Before Lewis talks me into establishing my own cult I thought I should subject the term to some peer review.

I think he might mean "meta-" in the sense of combining or bringing together disparate elements; in this case, pulling together a number of different kinds of paganism, which is clearly what you do. Another appropriate term might be "eclectic pagan."

 

[Quintessence]

I've never been a fan of terms like eclectic Pagan because it implies that Paganisms should fit into some neatly organized categorical boxes. It didn't do this historically, and there is no reason to impose that expectation on it today. Syncretism or "eclecticism" is the norm in Paganism given it isn't exclusivist in mindset.

 

[EyeofOdin]

Since this term is actually invented by @lewisnotmiller I invite him to join this conversation as well.

So, Lewis came up with this semi-serious term "meta-Pagan" to describe me with as few words as possible and while I just laughed at it at first, something in it felt oddly appropriate. My beliefs are complicated, or perhaps better said conflicted. I have strong Pagan and pantheistic leanings, practice my own flavour of ceremonial magic and communicate with spirits, but at the same time I'm strongly intent on insisting my experiences are purely subjective (in common speech, "not real"). My ideologies are a mix of naturalistic pantheism, animism, Western occultism, LHP, rationalism and who knows what else. So, err... "meta-Pagan". Beyond Paganism. After Paganism. Post-Paganism? "Meta" is one of those words that you see everywhere but seems to mean so little.

I figured I could just as well take the ball and run with it. Before Lewis talks me into establishing my own cult I thought I should subject the term to some peer review.

I like to say that if the inner experience is consistently resembling external reality (i.e. answers to questions or omens are usually fulfilled or answered timely), you're on the right track. If not, as in your questions are never answered clearly or timely with an omen, nor "travel" seeing and hearing clearly shamanically, you're living a fantasy. Every experience is subjective because we're human, but that doesn't mean that the subjective interpretation isn't mostly consistent with the reality.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

*dips toe gently in the Pagan water*

Hi folks. I know most of you, and I think you all know I'm a dirty atheist, so feel free to send me a PM/conversation, and I'll bugger off out of your area. But since I was specifically invited by @Infinitum in the OP, I'll stay until that point. Promise to stay respectful, and hopefully most of you know me well enough to trust that I'll do that.

First off, the semi-serious bit. We were talking in chat, and somewhere along the line I decided to come up with a term for Infi's beliefs as I understood them. It was more in good humour than anything serious, but whilst I was getting a little inventive, I was actually thinking about what I knew of her belief system when commenting. So perhaps I should explain my thinking behind all this. Keep in mind it was good fun, rather than an academically defensible position.

A little background on the 'meta' thing;
I was a pysch major. This explains why I am able to come up with crap theories and parade them around as pseudo-science. It was also the first place where 'meta' was a commonly used term for me, specifically when studying meta-cognition. A few people have had a crack at what I meant by'meta' in this case, and all seem on the right track. For me, it's simply 'thinking about'.
Meta-cognition is the study of thinking/knowledge
Meta-paganism is the study of paganism.

More than simply a cold examination from outside, though, I guess. Rather, it implies to my mind a degree of immersion in the topic. After all, to truly understand something, you need a level of experience with it.

In Infi's case (and this is based on my limited external observations, rather than any actual facts) I was seeing that she had both a clear interest, and a degree of immersion in Paganism. However, I didn't see her as a pagan. At least, not a normal pagan. This could simply be because she is Finnish, since I am told by experts that Finns are not really 'normal' at all...ahem...


I also see her as pretty analytical in her approach to many things, so my bald-arsed guess was that her interest in Paganism, and her immersion in Paganism had led to her studying and thinking about Paganism in a very direct manner.

Meta-pagan

Whilst this was a term I made up on the spot (as far as I know) I do think it had a certain applicability. Besides, if technomancy gets to be a thing, then I hereby declare meta-paganism is alive and well.

BTW : aware that more literally meta means 'beyond'. I was talking more pragmatically in relation to my definitions here. Thought I should clarify that. Cheers.