Touch-stones.....

Lore is IMPORTANT. It gives you both a template, toward the Nordic Ways, it gives you a touch-stone, esp. in things UPG. Yes, Knowing the Lore doesn’t negate UPG, it Enhances it. It helps you Know whether that which you are getting is at least in the Spirit of pre-C Heathenry. If you’re well-read enough in the Lore, you have that within yourselves to both discern and judge that which you’re getting. One of the easiest ways is to picture a group of pre-c Heathens. Then picture their reaction to the UPG. Let’s say a Being has appeared to you, stating that they are _____. Would that pre-C crowd in the hall Accept, Reject or ask for a Spaeworker for clarification?
A less “Visual” way is simply to compare the event/experience to that in the Lore. Does it match, resemble or at least be in the “spirit” of ___? If not, it may be valid for you but certainly be in the Utangarðr dept, Heathen-wise...
I’ve been on Heathen BBS’s, Groups and lists even before I was Heathen. I’ve read(and at moots Listened) to a lot of stuff that I Know my Ancestors would have though Utangarðr at Least and Insane at Best. Sadly, some will quote Lore but it’s after the fact, not before. IMO, if you’re searching for material to back up your UPG, it’s a bad sign. That means that you Know that you’re on shaky ground and are looking for a vague passage or one translation that might be able to back it up(like Lore where someone dresses as a Regin and is mistaken for it as backup for the trendy practices of Channeling or Possession). Digging through Lore to Justify a UPG(or Practice) is never a good sign of it’s Validity, IMO…
Of course, this is only valid for Recon Heathens...
Troth,
Pat

It was easy to be a vegetarian by day, it was harder preventing yourself becoming a humanitarian at night –Angua the Werewolf, ‘Feet of Clay’