{"id":5005,"date":"2016-05-08T15:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-08T21:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=5005"},"modified":"2016-05-07T08:41:21","modified_gmt":"2016-05-07T14:41:21","slug":"many-ways-to-be-a-celt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2016\/05\/many-ways-to-be-a-celt.html","title":{"rendered":"Many Ways to Be a Celt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"National<\/a>
National Museum of Ireland \u2013 Dublin<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

There are three seemingly-random observations from my recent trip that taken together create an interesting proposition for modern Pagans.<\/p>\n

The first comes from the short interpretative films in the Celts exhibit<\/a>, which emphasized how \u201cCeltic\u201d refers to language and culture, not a bloodline. While Celtic people did move across Europe, their influence far exceeded their numbers as people who were already \u201cthere\u201d adopted Celtic language and culture. One of the films said \u201cthere were many ways to be a Celt\u201d \u2013 as you would expect for a culture that spans over 2500 years.<\/p>\n

The second is the realization of just how isolated many people were in Neolithic Britain and Ireland. Skara Brae is a 5000 year old village \u2013 it\u2019s estimated that it was home to around 20 families<\/a>. Barnhouse settlement (six miles away) was even smaller. Today, while there are 20,000 people in Orkney, many of the islands are uninhabited and some have no more people on them than lived in Skara Brae. They stay connected by air and ferry services between the islands and to the Scottish mainland.<\/p>\n

The third was a point made by the guide at Skara Brae and again by the guide at Maeshowe. From the earliest settlers to today, people from isolated places have come together on a regular basis. They were trading goods, looking for mates and arranging marriages, building alliances and making plans for future raids and exploration. They may have lived on remote islands, but as Gordon White explained in Star.Ships<\/a><\/em>, ancient people had no trouble navigating the ocean, and in any case Scotland and Northern Ireland are only 12 miles apart at their closest.<\/p>\n

\"Skara<\/a>
Skara Brae<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don\u2019t imagine I\u2019m the only one to see the parallels between these three observations of ancient societies and today\u2019s Pagan community.<\/p>\n

There are many ways to be a Pagan. There are Wiccans and Druids and Heathens, polytheists and pantheists and non-theists, expert magicians and those who think magic is impious. While I\u2019ve made it very clear I think it\u2019s best if our many individual traditions put down deep roots and be honest with ourselves and with each other about our differences, I still hold out hope for the Big Tent of Paganism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And like the Celts, our influence exceeds our numbers. Magic, witchcraft, the Gods, and Nature \u2013 all of which are in our Tent \u2013 are attractive to the mainstream culture. They don\u2019t always get it right (sometimes to the point of offensiveness), but they\u2019re listening (sometimes) and they\u2019re picking up bits and pieces of Paganism and Pagan culture.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re isolated. Most of us live in ordinary neighborhoods and work in ordinary jobs and attend ordinary schools where there are Christians and Muslims and Hindus and atheists, but we\u2019re likely the only Pagans we know. Many of us are part of local groups, but the vast majority of them could live together in Skara Brae with plenty of room left for overnight guests. We have the internet (for which I am thankful), but it\u2019s as much a source of turmoil as it is a source of connections.<\/p>\n

We can come together on a regular basis. There are Pagan Pride Days. There is Pantheacon<\/a>. There are any number of local and regional gatherings<\/a>. I\u2019ve been to three already this year; I\u2019ll be at Pagans of Texas<\/a> June 4, at\u00a0Many Gods West<\/a> August 5-7, and at CUUPS Convo<\/a> August 26-28. These gatherings let us see and touch and talk with our fellow Pagans face-to-face. The workshops and concerts are great, but I mostly enjoy the informal conversations you just can\u2019t have anywhere else. These gatherings are also good opportunities to form and strengthen friendships and alliances \u2013 relationships we can build on and draw on in times of trouble\u2026 or just when you encounter something you\u2019ve never seen before.<\/p>\n

As Pagans, we have a complicated relationship with the past. We speak of \u201cthe old Gods\u201d and \u201cthe old ways\u201d even though we know we\u2019re building religious and spiritual practices for contemporary people living in contemporary times. We honor our ancestors and we try to learn from them even as we\u2019re trying to live so as to be good ancestors for future generations.<\/p>\n

Our world is very different from the world of the Celts, Picts, Vikings, and others who inhabited Britain and Ireland thousands of years ago. But there are situations and circumstances that are quite similar, and if we are wise, we will learn from those who came before us.<\/p>\n

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