Intro

[northernsoul]

I am actually not a Tumbler refugee, but I'm getting tired of Facebook and mindless memes.

I remember the heydey of Livejournal back in the early 2000s and I wish we could go back to that.  

Name you would like to go by: "northernsoul"   was the most creative  nom de plume I could devise when I registered the account.  

-Present path or tradition: mostly Heathenry, but I  have dabbled, and continue to dabble, in Druidry, ceremonial magick, Greco-Roman paganism, Celtic paganism, and some other things. 

-Interests: well, polytheism, obviously, or I wouldn't be here. :)   I have interests outside religion but my journal here deals exclusively with my spirituality.

-Age (not mandatory): 41

-Brief Bio:   I'm really not that interesting

Cultural heritage and practice

[ilthit]

Speaking as a Finn who has lived more than a third of her life abroad, and in the spirit of the comm rules (no elitism, personal attacks, trolling, etc.), I'd like to bring up this topic.

Because a lot of Pagan paths are tied to a particular cultural heritage or then combine or conflate gods or ideas from many strains, I'm often second-guessing myself about my "right" to follow a certain idea or invite a certain God, and on the other hand feeling both connected and disconnected from the Paganism of my own heritage. I tend to make my peace over and over again by reminding myself gods have never stuck to one place only and the thing that matters is that my connection with them is authentic and I approach them with respect. The niggle of self-doubt remains. 

As background: The first Pagan path I discovered was Wicca, as is often the case, which is a tradition that conflates. Over the years I've come to believe in a cosmology that differs from the Wiccan one, so while I can still agree with the five points, I'm not sure I want to call that my path anymore. The main sticking point being the idea that all gods are the same god. Yes and no, I think. But more on the "no" side in practical terms. I'd still like to celebrate the Wheel of the Year, and do, because who's stopping me, but it's only this Imbolc that I've really tried to connect with Brighid herself as an individual goddess. This is an ongoing project. But I am not of Irish (or even Celtic) heritage. So it's been on my mind, and the material I've been reading has, if anything, reinforced my hesitation. She appears to "belong" to Irish reconstructionism. 

On the other hand I am sitting here in ancient Gaul, where we had the earliest mentions of Brigandu. On yet another hand, I'm sitting where Hekate received sacrifices at least up to the sixth century. Gods travel. 

Any thoughts, experiences on the subject of relating your personal cultural heritage with your faith?