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mdehners‘The Pentagram & the Hammer’ was a good article. I wish I’d saved it to file, ‘cuz I’ve lost the url. The only problem with it is that it’s almost always Reconstructionists who read it, not Inspirationalists who are the one’s who need to. The truth is, most Heathens have been around Pagans while the reverse generally isn’t. Therefore, it’s the Pagans that need to Understand us, not the other way around….
When you are of a Way that is RECONSTRUCTING, just like in Archeology you try to be as accurate as possible. Mistakes or “flights of fancy” end up taking forever to clean up and can “taint” the project. This means checks, dbl-checks and triple-checks. It means colleagues watch your work and when it shows discrepancies from common knowledge, you better be ready to back up your material. And considering that unlike Archeology we’re dealing with the Soul, this is even more important. ..
When a member of an Inspirationalist Way comes on to a Recon platform, they are in for a shock. On an Inspirationalist platform, since anything is as valid as fact, no one questions declamations. They are stunned when statements beyond common knowledge are asked to be backed up…with documentation and evidence! They don’t know what to do. No one’s told them to their face before that their statements aren’t Universally Accepted. To others, godz yes! I’ve been to enough Pagan gatherings where totally crazy crap is accepted politely or even enthusiastically in front of the presenter but behind their back? Meeeeoooowwww;>!
‘Course, for those of us willing to be on Inspirationalist platforms or forums we have to remember that Honesty is not a virtue there. Politeness is. Even stating documentable evidence can be grounds for a moderator to come down on you because quite simply facts imply that some things AREN’T.
It’s not as easy as it seems. Many Craft and Alt Med forums are dominated by Inspirationalist Folk. You can get in trouble for pointing out that there is no evidence that Europeans used New World Plants before Columbus or that pre-C Anglo-Saxons did not use the “Isis, Astarte…” chant in Healing rites(one of my favs since I knew the guy who wrote it, Charlie Murphy as the chorus for his ‘Burning Times’ song…).
I don’t know what one can do except realize that all non-Recon spaces are potential enemy territories. I certainly Understand the concept of Utgarðr/ Innangarðr the longer I’m “Home”;>…..
Truth,
Pat
When you are of a Way that is RECONSTRUCTING, just like in Archeology you try to be as accurate as possible. Mistakes or “flights of fancy” end up taking forever to clean up and can “taint” the project. This means checks, dbl-checks and triple-checks. It means colleagues watch your work and when it shows discrepancies from common knowledge, you better be ready to back up your material. And considering that unlike Archeology we’re dealing with the Soul, this is even more important. ..
When a member of an Inspirationalist Way comes on to a Recon platform, they are in for a shock. On an Inspirationalist platform, since anything is as valid as fact, no one questions declamations. They are stunned when statements beyond common knowledge are asked to be backed up…with documentation and evidence! They don’t know what to do. No one’s told them to their face before that their statements aren’t Universally Accepted. To others, godz yes! I’ve been to enough Pagan gatherings where totally crazy crap is accepted politely or even enthusiastically in front of the presenter but behind their back? Meeeeoooowwww;>!
‘Course, for those of us willing to be on Inspirationalist platforms or forums we have to remember that Honesty is not a virtue there. Politeness is. Even stating documentable evidence can be grounds for a moderator to come down on you because quite simply facts imply that some things AREN’T.
It’s not as easy as it seems. Many Craft and Alt Med forums are dominated by Inspirationalist Folk. You can get in trouble for pointing out that there is no evidence that Europeans used New World Plants before Columbus or that pre-C Anglo-Saxons did not use the “Isis, Astarte…” chant in Healing rites(one of my favs since I knew the guy who wrote it, Charlie Murphy as the chorus for his ‘Burning Times’ song…).
I don’t know what one can do except realize that all non-Recon spaces are potential enemy territories. I certainly Understand the concept of Utgarðr/ Innangarðr the longer I’m “Home”;>…..
Truth,
Pat
