There\u2019s a place for sequential, ordered learning and advancement. But life rarely works that way outside of structured institutions. If I can be a math geek for a moment, life is usually a step function, not a linear function.<\/p>\n
This means we do the work day in and day out, year in and year out, and nothing happens \u2013 not visibly, anyway. Then one day it hits us like the proverbial ton of bricks. Call it initiation, call it enlightenment, call it moving up and moving on \u2013 something big changes and nothing is ever the same again.<\/p>\n It would not be accurate to say I\u2019ve been hit with a ton of bricks \u2013 more like a wheelbarrow full of bricks. The step in this particular step function is manageable, but more bricks are coming and they\u2019re coming soon. That\u2019s what happens when you hang out in a brickyard (\u201cI\u2019ll take vaguebooking for $500, Alex\u201d). But a lot of these bricks came at Many Gods West and in the on-going conversations that came out of it. So I think it\u2019s worthwhile to talk about what I\u2019ve learned lately and what I\u2019m going to try to do with it.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have a whole religious tradition (yet)<\/strong>. Back in February I wrote that Druidry is not my religion<\/a>. I listed the things that are<\/em> my religion: honoring the Gods, building relationships, caring for Nature, and other activities. For personal practice, that\u2019s enough. But when I leave my altar and move out into the wider polytheist community, how do I identify myself? Who do I gather with? Who helps me deepen my practice, and who can I help deepen theirs?<\/p>\n In the conversations about devotion vs. folklore in contemporary polytheism, it became clear to me that we\u2019re having this problem in large part because we\u2019re trying to decide what polytheism is. And as some of my most vocal critics like to remind me, polytheism isn\u2019t a religion \u2013 it\u2019s a religious approach. I have an approach and a practice, but not a whole religion. A good religious tradition has devotional rites and<\/em> it has shared stories and<\/em> it has communal activities.<\/p>\n Should I call myself a Celtic Reconstructionist and try to build a restored and reimagined pan-Celtic religion? That would fit in nicely with my Druidry, but there are a few Egyptian deities who might have something to say<\/a> about it. No, there are no simple answers \u2013 I\u2019m going to have to work through this and I expect it will take quite some time. I suspect I\u2019m not the only one in this situation.<\/p>\n A important part of my religious life has concluded<\/strong>. Just before MGW, I turned in the final draft of my first book The Path of Paganism: An Experience-Based Guide to Modern Pagan Practice<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s tentatively scheduled for publication next May. When the editor accepted my final draft, one load of bricks was lifted off my shoulders and another load of bricks hit me right in the face.<\/p>\n This is a Paganism 201 book. It does many of the things I do on this blog, namely, it makes a reasoned case for Paganism and polytheism for readers coming out of a mainstream culture where Christian assumptions still dominate and where atheist and humanist assumptions carry far more weight than most of us realize. My writing \u2013 and the reading and thinking that support it \u2013 has been geared toward this religious outreach and education for the three and a half years I\u2019ve been on Patheos.<\/p>\n That book is done. More importantly, that part of my own spiritual journey is done. I\u2019m out of Christianity, and I was never in atheism. While I will continue to point out errors and misconceptions as they occur (such as Tuesday\u2019s post on Re-Paganing<\/a>), neither I nor the community at large need more large scale rebuttals. What we need \u2013 what I need \u2013 are foundations for the Pagan and polytheist religions we\u2019re trying to build.<\/p>\n If you already have a good foundation, great. That\u2019s one of the advantages of working in a tradition that\u2019s at least partially established, or a tradition where there are good historical records. I don\u2019t \u2013 and I need one.<\/p>\n But my first and primary calling is here, in Denton Texas. My job is to be here for the people who come looking for a good, healthy Pagan group<\/a> to practice with \u2013 just as Summer, Monique, and Cheryl were here for me in 2003. My job is to help lead devotion, to present the Gods and Their stories to the public, and to support those who hear Their call. My first responsibility is to do<\/em> Paganism and polytheism. Writing about it comes later.<\/p>\n Rhyd Wildermuth once called me \u201cthe Pagan equivalent of a parish priest.\u201d He said that based on my writing and social media conversations, but he was more right than he could have known. I\u2019m going to keep traveling as time and money permit, and I\u2019ll quit writing when I move into the Otherworld. But my primary responsibility is my local responsibility, and I need to remember that.<\/p>\n I have more foundational work to do<\/strong>. When you finish high school, it\u2019s assumed you\u2019re ready for college. Not everyone is ready \u2013 for a variety of reasons that are important but not relevant here \u2013 but that\u2019s the expectation of the linear model.<\/p>\n In life, and especially in religious work, sometimes you finish one task, one quest, one calling, and you find that in order to move on to the next, you\u2019ve got to go back to school. Yes, you can dive right in and figure it out as you go \u2013 a process I prefer to the never-ending never-ready preparation advocated by some \u2013 but when you know you\u2019re missing some critical skills and knowledge, it\u2019s best to try to learn them sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Some of this is deeply personal, but much of it is the foundational work necessary to support a whole religious tradition: the context of beliefs and practices<\/a>, their historical roots, and their contemporary implications. It\u2019s picking up some of the Big Questions of Life and wrestling with them<\/a> once again. It\u2019s going back to some of the literature I read in my early Pagan years and reading it again, only this time with 15 years more experience.<\/p>\n Though I talk a lot about my personal practices and experiences, I don\u2019t talk much about my plans. I see too many people \u2013 Pagan and otherwise \u2013 who talk about big plans and then never carry through with them. But I get the feeling I\u2019m not the only one who\u2019s been hit with this particular load of bricks. If some of this sounds familiar, there\u2019s probably a reason<\/a>. We\u2019re going to need each other\u2019s help.<\/p>\n If this doesn\u2019t seem to fit you, consider yourself fortunate. But don\u2019t get too comfortable \u2013 your next big step will come sooner or later.<\/p>\n![\"linear](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2016\/08\/linear-vs-step-rev-B.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Beltane](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2016\/08\/Beltane-2015-50-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>My work is here<\/strong>. I love going to conferences, conventions, and retreats \u2013 I\u2019ve been going to them since the first OBOD House of Danu Gorsedd in 2009<\/a>. I love trying to help shape the future of Paganism and polytheism \u2013 I\u2019m going to keep showing up<\/a>.<\/p>\n
![\"steps](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2016\/08\/steps-at-Dinosaur-Valley-State-Park.jpg\")
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