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A place for Aryan (European) Folkish Pagans
Have a good Monday!
By the way there’s almost no good paintings/drawing of Mani. Surprising considering that he’s an important God, albeit not one mentioned much in the Eddas. The usual suspects probably contribute to it. Naturalist interpretation is common among fake pagans who do the same thing as christians by saying that ancient Gods are metaphors for nature. If you have an altar you wouldn’t put a NASA moon photo instead of Mani, right?
Anyways, have a good one.
I still got some material from other sources which will be translated shortly. It’s stories about shapeshifting and witches again. Real folklore told by real people.
My big issue with Pagan stuff online is that often times we see authors just jumping on a bandwagon and creating what we call fakelore. A very personalized, dramatized, version of folklore. Those generous say that it’s just people being inspired, but they don’t put it like that and eventually many Pagans (or just those interested) start quoting those stories clearly written by a modern writer as something legitimate. Whenever you see someone making a post on folklore beware the usual suspects such as: clearly defined rules (folklore is never big on details and the latter can vary drastically), drama and action (real folk stories are short and never feel epic).
Know what I hate about modern academia the most? Subversive modern works are easily found with a single click, while old classics ones are not either not digitized at all or hidden behind the subscriptions and other money-grabbing. Makes my research very frustrating at times. Found a great book today but it’s not online at all despite not even being that old.
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Edgington? Fitting but Cringington sounds more accurate.
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Another new idol of Perun
Just delivered today. Already placed it on the altar. It’s freshly cut and has great shine to it.
Druid sketch by Jaime C. Dibujante
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An example of a historical figure who was also a shapeshifter is kharakternyk cossack chief Sirko
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Not all shapeshifters were evil. There are tales of heroes who turn into animals, not just occasionally too. The best example would be Volh, a rather obscure hero whose tale is one of the oldest in folklore. He turned into a wolf, pike, falcon, ermine and an aurochs (depends on the version).
Art by Brother Bjorn
At night sorcerers turned with knives and could become anything.
Her mother was a sorceress. She turned into animals.
There used to be shapeshifters. I didn’t get to see them turning so I don’t know how they did it. It is said they turned into swine.
They say we used to have many sorcerers here. There’s less now. They gathered on a hill, turned into dogs, cats, horses. They had 12 knives for this.
She used to turn by flipping over the head…
In Slavic languages the terms used for people who can turn into animals are not limited to werewolf or any other were-animal, but are derived from the verbs which mean to turn around or spin. For this dive I’ll translate those as shapeshifter just for simplicity’s sake, though something like a turner would be more fitting, as odd as it sounds.
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Human sacrifice by the druid
Alphonse de Neuville
Typical platonist (ie atheist) on X with his enlightened takes us myth-believing plebs can’t understand. Praying to Pagan gods is pure stupidity because they are non-existent, meanwhile praying to christ-logos is based and intellectual.
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In this passage from The Njal Saga, Steinvora challenges the Christian missionary Thangbrand by asserting the reality of Thor’s power. She claims that Thor once challenged Christ to single combat, and Christ did not dare fight him. She further argues that Thor shattered Thangbrand’s ship, describing in verse how Thor, in his wrath, caused a storm that destroyed the vessel. This shows that Thor was seen as a literal, powerful being, capable of physical intervention and superior to Christ in Steinvora’s view.
Kyle Davis
In this passage from Herodotus’ Histories (Book 6, 105-106), Phidippides, an Athenian runner, encounters the god Pan while traveling to Sparta. Pan speaks to him, asking why the Athenians had neglected to honor him, despite his past help and future promises. The Athenians believed Phidippides’ account and, in response, built a temple for Pan and offered yearly sacrifices. This story shows how the ancient Greeks viewed their gods as literal beings who could directly intervene in human affairs, influencing decisions and demanding worship.
Kyle Davis
Plato departs from the traditional approach of mythic literalism by emphasizing the use of myths as allegories rather than taking them as literal accounts of the gods’ actions. He promotes the idea that myths should be reinterpreted to convey moral lessons and serve as tools for ethical education. By rejecting the literal belief in the gods as portrayed in traditional mythology, Plato challenges widely accepted views and reshapes the stories to reflect his philosophical values of justice, virtue, and reason. This move toward allegorical interpretation represents a clear break from the conventional Greek belief in the gods as real, interventionist beings.
Kyle Davis
Perun’s idol by Olena Kulchitska
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At least I have the book's cover. It’s a pretty nice image I must say. If only I could read the text. All I needed was the first tome (there’s 10 in total).
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^ the fruits of mistake #2 described above. Pagans who don’t know their own theology.
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Mistakes of early revival
Mistake #2 casting a wide net
It’s obvious by now that Pagansphere has a problem with gatekeeping. Not keeping non-Pagans out of the club early on was justified by small numbers we’d have otherwise, but look what we ended up with. For some it was always a matter of money. Most organizations are like that. Guess it’s hard to turn people down when they give you cash each month. There’s also a lot of leftists using the term. Bored housewives with crystals and cards. Homos who can’t read the ancient laws ect. There’s some pushback, but the media will always be on their side so I don’t see much sense in wasting hours on debates. A post here and there is enough.
Temple to Venus
Chantilly, France
😍
Another example of a heroic shapeshifter is a kharakternyk cossack. A special type of Ukrainian cossack who could turn into a falcon or a hound and was invulnerable to arrows and bullets.
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One of the most prominent activities of shapeshifting witches was stealing milk of their unfortunate neighbors’ cows. Though the latter were often protected by special candles (among many other charms).
This led to the creation of the term milk witch.
Art by A.Basak
An ethnographic research was conducted from 1992 to 99. Elderly were asked about shapeshifters and here are their words:
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Going to write about the milk witch and shapeshifting soon.
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Daily reminder that platonists (and other philosophers) were considered atheists by Hellenic Pagans while early christians praised them as their precursors. Here’s what Justyn Martyr wrote:
He is the Word of whom every race of men were partakers; and those who lived reasonably are Christians, even though they have been thought atheists; as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus, and men like them.
While myths were indeed stories, I argue that these stories were understood as literal truths by most ancient people.
The gods were revered as living beings that actively shaped the world and their lives. Archaeological findings and written records provide undeniable evidence of this veneration, demonstrating that from our earliest accounts to the last known attestations, these myths were regarded as reflections of a real history.
This history was passed down through generations to ensure that future descendants could learn from and carry on the beliefs of their ancestors.
To reject literalism is to break from the historical continuity of these beliefs.
Kyle Davis
In this passage from Arrian’s “Anabasis,” the historian expresses his belief that Alexander the Great’s extraordinary life and achievements were the result of divine influence. Arrian suggests that a figure as remarkable as Alexander could not have been born without the intervention of the gods, indicating the widespread belief in divine involvement in human affairs.
Kyle Davis
In contrast, the works of Homer, Herodotus, and others portray the ancient Greeks as both respecting and fearing their gods as literal beings who held sway over their daily lives, emotions, and fortunes, often depicting the gods as making their presence known to their followers.
Kyle Davis
Are myths meant to be viewed literally?
Those who reject mythic literalism often turn to ancient Greek philosophers to support their beliefs.
Xenophanes was among the first to challenge this traditional worldview, which held that humans were the direct descendants or creations of the gods, a belief deeply embedded in Greek society and reflected in the works of Homer and Hesiod. By advocating for a more abstract and symbolic understanding of the divine, Xenophanes broke from the prevailing mythic literalism of his time, arguing that humans mold their gods to fit their own image and comfort.
https://norroena.org/mythic-literalism-vs-allegorical-interpretation/