Bean Chaointe
Newbie
Posts: 12
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Irish Polytheist
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Post by Bean Chaointe on Apr 11, 2016 14:45:09 GMT -6
Tumblr's format is terrible for discussions, so I wanted to move it here, if people are amenable...?
Saint Felicity's original concern was over how we interact with newbies, which, yeah. Themodernsouthernpolytheist brought up the fact that a need for a 201 resource is mentioned but never really put in action. As an admin on the Pagan Study Group, I see a lot of questions on how to actually become a practicing polytheist of one kind or another. Allec has a lovely start with the "Guide to Gaelic Polytheism" WordPress blog.
What very specific needs can we identify so they can be addressed?
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Post by Allec on Apr 11, 2016 15:00:32 GMT -6
I think one thing to keep in mind is how to educate without dominate, if that makes sense. Like how to show someone how to do a ritual without making it seem like that is the ONLY way a ritual can be done.
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Bean Chaointe
Newbie
Posts: 12
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Irish Polytheist
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Post by Bean Chaointe on Apr 11, 2016 15:06:50 GMT -6
While we can post disclaimers all over the place saying THESE ARE ONLY SUGGESTIONS, NOT GOSPEL (SO TO SPEAK), we can't force anyone to think further than whatever is written. Definitely need to keep an eye on our tones, yeah, just in general. Some of the needs I can think of: - easily-understood summaries of academic information, since not everyone has the time, ability, or access;
- detailed explanations on the differences and similarities of our historical polytheisms;
- suggestions on how what we do know historically/linguistically/etc can be made relevant to our lives now;
- ideas on what practices are shared among the Celtic, or at least Gaelic, polytheisms...
- ...and how to evolve them to suit the individual;
- an updated list of devotees who wouldn't mind being open for questions for one thing or another.
A site that allows for a static homepage and/or navigation would be best, even better if it's conducive to active discussions fuck you, Tumblr.
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Post by Allec on Apr 11, 2016 15:20:52 GMT -6
Those are all good suggestions! Especially the resource list of people who wouldn't mind fielding questions. We also need different types of resources, I think. Resources that aren't just printed word. Like comics, videos, movies, etc. Sadly, those are hard to make, but still something to shoot for. Additionally, I think ways to grow your religion may be helpful. Things like how to plan a festival holiday, how to give an offering, etc. ... I'm blanking on other suggestions, though I'm not sure there are more things people would need? And yeah, I agree with Tumblr not being the platform for such an endeavor as this. Do you think the Guide to Gaelic Polytheism would be a suitable anchor for this?
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Bean Chaointe
Newbie
Posts: 12
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Irish Polytheist
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Post by Bean Chaointe on Apr 11, 2016 15:56:59 GMT -6
I think so, yeah, at least for now? It's not like we couldn't switch to a new blog if it's needed.
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Post by Allec on Apr 11, 2016 16:23:35 GMT -6
Yeah, agreed So what's the next step?
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Post by peridot on Apr 11, 2016 17:34:46 GMT -6
Something I've been thinking about for a long time, probably a year and a half, is something akin to a workbook. In my previous faith we had access to study books. These books had themes with assigned reading. For each passage, there were open ended questions, fill-in-the-blanks, and other types of questions to help the readers process what they were reading about and spur discussions with others reading the same materials. I've been dying for something similar to help me digest things that are harder to read. Is this something that other people would find useful?
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Bean Chaointe
Newbie
Posts: 12
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Irish Polytheist
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Post by Bean Chaointe on Apr 11, 2016 18:30:49 GMT -6
Yeah, agreed So what's the next step? I think the next step is to figure out the beliefs and elements shared by which Celtic polytheisms, maybe? Three realms, local cultus, the importance of virtues like honor and hospitality, the unique nature of our deities and 'ungods' compared to those like the Hellenistic, etc. Like, basic descriptions both historically and in our modern practice, e.g. "The three realms are Sky, Land, and Sea; we get them from [these sources] from [specific Celtic cultures]; this is how we incorporate them into [the stuff we do]." If done well, some people would definitely find it useful; the difficulty would be in deciding what gets put in and who writes it which way, and then not making it sound dogmatic and "this is how it must be."
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edderkopper
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Pronouns: they/them
Religion: Gaelic Polytheist / Norse Heathen
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Post by edderkopper on Apr 11, 2016 18:46:26 GMT -6
My number one request would be an annotated bibliography. Even if academic resources are accessible to you, the amount of stuff out there can be overwhelming. A list of recommended titles with brief notes on what topics they cover and any inaccuracies/bias/other issues would be extremely helpful.
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Post by Radha Ní Dhaimhín on Apr 11, 2016 20:42:14 GMT -6
Something I've been thinking about for a long time, probably a year and a half, is something akin to a workbook. In my previous faith we had access to study books. These books had themes with assigned reading. For each passage, there were open ended questions, fill-in-the-blanks, and other types of questions to help the readers process what they were reading about and spur discussions with others reading the same materials. I've been dying for something similar to help me digest things that are harder to read. Is this something that other people would find useful? Lora O'Brien did write a workbook - A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality - that you might want to check out! It's more 101-y and possibly less Lore-filled than you'd prefer, but it might or might not be your cup of tea and would (at least) give us a focus to see if it's the type of thing you're looking for. I agree with all of the above! So one of my pet projects for the upcoming summer was going to be "dramatic" readings of Lore and folktales that relate back to GaelPolytheism. Specifically, I'd like to create resources for the HOH community, the Visually Impaired, and the short-attention-spanned (aka, myself with all my ADHD entails). If I had the skills, ability, and time to properly animate, I would. At this point in time, it may only be voice recordings with a transcript included below and uploaded to tumblr. Still, I think this is a very important thing to provide the community with. We have to remember that one of our draws as a community is our inclusiveness. I'd also like to contribue devotional artworks and comics (like those of ofools, back in the day). These are ideas I've been banging around for about a year now. Especially ideas such as prayer cards, etc., etc. While books and long articles are great, ensuring that people who can't sit through long reading can gain access to what they need is important, too. (At least in my opinion.) St Felicity's art blog is a wonderful thing, but I'd like to take some of these topics and ideas to more mainstream sites - like YouTube and DeviantArt, which are more accessible to a wide range of viewers - and have them link back up to the static homepage we've discussed here. While this is part of an overarching conversation - "how can we develop useful community resources" - I understand that it's a bit more of an addendum to the conversation and am willing to take my piece of the conversation elsewhere.
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Post by Allec on Apr 11, 2016 21:03:01 GMT -6
I think the next step is to figure out the beliefs and elements shared by which Celtic polytheisms, maybe? Three realms, local cultus, the importance of virtues like honor and hospitality, the unique nature of our deities and 'ungods' compared to those like the Hellenistic, etc. Like, basic descriptions both historically and in our modern practice, e.g. "The three realms are Sky, Land, and Sea; we get them from [these sources] from [specific Celtic cultures]; this is how we incorporate them into [the stuff we do]." I think that is a good place to start, too. I imagine that polling the different Celtic communities would be the best way to go about that? Something I've been thinking about for a long time, probably a year and a half, is something akin to a workbook. In my previous faith we had access to study books. These books had themes with assigned reading. For each passage, there were open ended questions, fill-in-the-blanks, and other types of questions to help the readers process what they were reading about and spur discussions with others reading the same materials. I've been dying for something similar to help me digest things that are harder to read. Is this something that other people would find useful? Like Etta said, there's the The Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality by Lora O'Brien is sorta like that. It basically asks you a bunch of reflective questions and includes guided meditations (written down, you have to buy the audio for them separately.) My main complaint is that it's only Irish polytheism, so it may not be suitable for the whole of Gaelic Polytheism. It also isn't that lore-intensive, which may be more of what you want? And I agree with Bean Chaointe that as long as the book wasn't trying to be dogmatic, it could be really useful. Something like reading a part of The Táin and discussing elements present there. My number one request would be an annotated bibliography. Even if academic resources are accessible to you, the amount of stuff out there can be overwhelming. A list of recommended titles with brief notes on what topics they cover and any inaccuracies/bias/other issues would be extremely helpful. That makes SO much sense Edder. So one of my pet projects for the upcoming summer was going to be "dramatic" readings of Lore and folktales that relate back to GaelPolytheism. Specifically, I'd like to create resources for the HOH community, the Visually Impaired, and the short-attention-spanned (aka, myself with all my ADHD entails). If I had the skills, ability, and time to properly animate, I would. At this point in time, it may only be voice recordings with a transcript included below and uploaded to tumblr. Still, I think this is a very important thing to provide the community with. We have to remember that one of our draws as a community is our inclusiveness. I'd also like to contribue devotional artworks and comics (like those of ofools, back in the day). These are ideas I've been banging around for about a year now. Especially ideas such as prayer cards, etc., etc. While books and long articles are great, ensuring that people who can't sit through long reading can gain access to what they need is important, too. (At least in my opinion.) St Felicity's art blog is a wonderful thing, but I'd like to take some of these topics and ideas to more mainstream sites - like YouTube and DeviantArt, which are more accessible to a wide range of viewers - and have them link back up to the static homepage we've discussed here. While this is part of an overarching conversation - "how can we develop useful community resources" - I understand that it's a bit more of an addendum to the conversation and am willing to take my piece of the conversation elsewhere. Those are great ideas Etta! I think those would be valuable resources to have.
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Bean Chaointe
Newbie
Posts: 12
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Irish Polytheist
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Post by Bean Chaointe on Apr 11, 2016 22:09:44 GMT -6
Lora O'Brien did write a workbook - A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality - that you might want to check out! It's more 101-y and possibly less Lore-filled than you'd prefer, but it might or might not be your cup of tea and would (at least) give us a focus to see if it's the type of thing you're looking for. [...] While this is part of an overarching conversation - "how can we develop useful community resources" - I understand that it's a bit more of an addendum to the conversation and am willing to take my piece of the conversation elsewhere. DUDE I FORGOT ABOUT THIS ONE EVEN THOUGH IT'S LITERALLY SITTING ON MY BED RIGHT NOW. I fuckin love Lora, and she's so much fun to chat with. But yeah, the book emphasizes personal exploration of common themes in a way that I found extremely helpful. Don't go elsewhere! These are important details to keep in mind while we hash out the broader outline. I had started a list of titles here, although they're not annotated and it skews more towards Irish-specific sources. When it comes to devotional works, this may be where Tumblr comes in handy: deity- or path-specific blogs and eshrines are great for collecting these. The static site could just link back to the Tumblr blogs, and then it's up to the blog's owner to keep shit organized. So as it stands, what we seem to be wanting: - Defining and expanding upon shared beliefs and elements. This could be done with polls like Allec mentioned. Threads on this forum would keep discussions on individual topics organized and then someone can go through and collate the information. We could also use an open but moderated Google Doc to which people can add info and citations on their own, taking the onus of the work off the one or two people, but there's a higher level of trust required there.
- Summaries of academic information. Could be for both a general subject and for individual texts, linked to a kind of Table of Contents somewhere. Hmm. What I'm imagining is gloriously organized but would require a fair amount of work. I'm willing to volunteer my neuroticism for this.
- Devotional works. More of a for-the-future thing, maybe, until a home is made, but variety = yay!
- List of devotees/people willing to answer questions. I know echtrai is/was keeping a list of Celtic polytheists, but I don't know how current it is and it doesn't list who likes to chat.
So what we need to do: - Find a way to allow people to pool their knowledge and then collect it into a coherent text, whether on a thread like this or a more democratic Google Doc. I vote for a forum thread and then having someone collect it all; thoughts?
- Collect names of people who like to
hear themselves talk be helpful. I suppose sending a post around Tumblr would be easiest for this, in addition to a forum thread here asking people to leave their name if they're cool with it.
- Encourage people to keep making those devotional works they don't mind sharing, which pretty much happens anyway, and if they're comfortable, maybe describe personal practices/experiences as examples for newbies (and oldbies, too!). No idea how to collect these efficiently without just having people reblog them onto the aforementioned devotional Tumblr blogs.
- Get people to write relevant information from and/or reviews about whatever they're reading. Like, when I finally get around to reading the funerary-related folklore articles from Béaloideas, I'll jot down those bits relevant to our historical and contemporary practice.
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Bean Chaointe
Newbie
Posts: 12
Pronouns: She/Her
Religion: Irish Polytheist
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Post by Bean Chaointe on Apr 12, 2016 17:05:35 GMT -6
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Post by Allec on Apr 12, 2016 18:38:07 GMT -6
The google doc works for me!
If we're gonna be doing a collaborative work with other branches of the Celtic community, I think the doc should be A) Labelled as a "Celtic Polytheist Resource" not just a Gaelic one and B) we should have a thread discussing it on the comparative religions thread. This thread then could serve to be about specific GaelPol resources and how to collect them.
Bean-Chaointe and I agreed to make this specific to Gaelic Polytheism, and if we find the need later on, branch out from there.
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Post by Radha Ní Dhaimhín on Apr 12, 2016 20:58:44 GMT -6
I got my grubby green little fingers all over it! SOOOO EXCITED! Please keep us updated in this thread, as well!
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