The Gods/Shining Ones
Indo-European cultures are replete with gods, and unsurprisingly each culture boasted its own pantheon in the Pagan period. Sometimes the gods of those pantheons overlap, and sometimes they're different cultural expressions of the same root deity (e.g., Perkwunos – Perkun – Taranis – Thor). Generally speaking, Indo-European deities are dimorphic, although finds such as the Aphroditus statues may call that into question, and it's generally easier to track the provenance of the gods than it is for a lot of the goddesses1. Scholars theorise that at least some goddesses were adopted in from other cultures at various points in time2.
The relationships we have with our gods are reciprocal in nature and based on layers of gifting built over time. As the king and subject exchange service and duty for protection and favour, so we exchange offerings and service for luck from the gods.
The old myths often tell us that the gods created the world, that they maintain the boundaries of this world, and that they also created us. Some of those myths also indicate our gods have their own gods to pray to. For example, in Norse myth, we're told that the gods themselves erected shrines and temples at Ithavoll3. Unlike the god of Abraham, our gods are not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient, are are all the more closer to us for it.
The gods are typically associated with the 'above world', or the realm of sky, and are gifted to via the medium of fire. In Indo-European traditions, fire is a sacred medium, through which our gifts are transformed and conveyed to the gods. Prayer may also be conveyed to the Shining Ones through fire. However, historically speaking, there is a subsection of (mostly) goddesses (perhaps of non-IE origin that were later adopted in) that are connected to and offered to via the medium of water.The Wights/Land Spirits
As human beings, we inhabit what might be known as 'the around world', a realm that we share with all manner of flora and fauna. However, for all Indo-European descendant cultures, this sharing goes further. There is, what might be termed as, an 'Unseen' type of inhabitant too. Known by various names in the various cultures, collectively they might be referred to as 'Land Spirits'4.
In a lot of ways, the Land Spirits are a lot more immediate to us than the gods because of our shared inhabitation of the land, however, some of them might also be considered as lesser gods. They are our neighbours in the around world, in both countryside and urban areas, often choosing a physical place such as a tree, pool, or rock as their domain or home5.
At times, Land Spirits have been depicted as being capricious, or harmful even, and with a hatred and distrust of humans. In some cases, it is possible to placate these Spirits with offerings, but it's important to remember that this is not always the case6.
Fortunately, Land Spirits are very diverse, and might be considered to have their own cultures, traditions, and ideas of etiquette. Land Spirits of the same 'nationality' will have varying personalities, and while there are many that want nothing to do with humankind, there are also many that are open to building reciprocal relationships with humans that acknowledge their existence and treat them with respect7.
In building reciprocal relatioships with these Noble Spirits of the around world, these 'Good Neighbours', we hope to make both of our lives easier through our mutual cooperation and gifts of items and aid. If we initiate and maintain good gifting relationships with the Land Spirits, then we might find things going better for us in life.The Mighty Dead
Human life has very few certainties, except for the fact that we are all born, and we all eventually die. From the perspective of the greater Indo European worldview though, death is not necessarily the absolute end. Like many cultures around the globe, the descendant cultures of the Indo Europeans practiced ancestor veneration8.
Whereas the Shining Ones are our allies, and some of the Noble Ones our potential allies, the Mighty Dead are our kin, the 'Dead of the Clan of Mortals'9. During their lives they worked, fought, sacrificed, and died that the next generation might advance, they have a vested interest in seeing us do well as we work, fight, sacrifice, and die to advance the lot of our own children. Through our own travails we can understand what they ultimately did for us, and one day, we'll be welcomed among their number to watch over our descendants.
In some of the Indo European descendant traditions, some members of the Mighty Dead are more like lesser deities (eg the 'matronae' among the Gauls, Romans, and Germans)10, in other cases, members of the Mighty Dead become conflated with the Noble Spirits (such as in the case of some elves)11.
The Ancestors are often connected with the medium of water, some cultures held that the dead went to an island in the west, the burial rites of others connected the ship with the journey to the otherworld, and pollen analysis has shown that the ditches around some of the burial mounds in Scandinavia were designed to fill with water, thus rendering the mound a literal island12.
Our dead watch over us, they have magic and knowledge beyond what we humans can have, they may protect us, or influence our lives in ways they believe to be beneficial. They deserve nothing less than our love, reverence, and offerings in return.
Words = 958 total.
Indo-European cultures are replete with gods, and unsurprisingly each culture boasted its own pantheon in the Pagan period. Sometimes the gods of those pantheons overlap, and sometimes they're different cultural expressions of the same root deity (e.g., Perkwunos – Perkun – Taranis – Thor). Generally speaking, Indo-European deities are dimorphic, although finds such as the Aphroditus statues may call that into question, and it's generally easier to track the provenance of the gods than it is for a lot of the goddesses1. Scholars theorise that at least some goddesses were adopted in from other cultures at various points in time2.
The relationships we have with our gods are reciprocal in nature and based on layers of gifting built over time. As the king and subject exchange service and duty for protection and favour, so we exchange offerings and service for luck from the gods.
The old myths often tell us that the gods created the world, that they maintain the boundaries of this world, and that they also created us. Some of those myths also indicate our gods have their own gods to pray to. For example, in Norse myth, we're told that the gods themselves erected shrines and temples at Ithavoll3. Unlike the god of Abraham, our gods are not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient, are are all the more closer to us for it.
The gods are typically associated with the 'above world', or the realm of sky, and are gifted to via the medium of fire. In Indo-European traditions, fire is a sacred medium, through which our gifts are transformed and conveyed to the gods. Prayer may also be conveyed to the Shining Ones through fire. However, historically speaking, there is a subsection of (mostly) goddesses (perhaps of non-IE origin that were later adopted in) that are connected to and offered to via the medium of water.The Wights/Land Spirits
As human beings, we inhabit what might be known as 'the around world', a realm that we share with all manner of flora and fauna. However, for all Indo-European descendant cultures, this sharing goes further. There is, what might be termed as, an 'Unseen' type of inhabitant too. Known by various names in the various cultures, collectively they might be referred to as 'Land Spirits'4.
In a lot of ways, the Land Spirits are a lot more immediate to us than the gods because of our shared inhabitation of the land, however, some of them might also be considered as lesser gods. They are our neighbours in the around world, in both countryside and urban areas, often choosing a physical place such as a tree, pool, or rock as their domain or home5.
At times, Land Spirits have been depicted as being capricious, or harmful even, and with a hatred and distrust of humans. In some cases, it is possible to placate these Spirits with offerings, but it's important to remember that this is not always the case6.
Fortunately, Land Spirits are very diverse, and might be considered to have their own cultures, traditions, and ideas of etiquette. Land Spirits of the same 'nationality' will have varying personalities, and while there are many that want nothing to do with humankind, there are also many that are open to building reciprocal relationships with humans that acknowledge their existence and treat them with respect7.
In building reciprocal relatioships with these Noble Spirits of the around world, these 'Good Neighbours', we hope to make both of our lives easier through our mutual cooperation and gifts of items and aid. If we initiate and maintain good gifting relationships with the Land Spirits, then we might find things going better for us in life.The Mighty Dead
Human life has very few certainties, except for the fact that we are all born, and we all eventually die. From the perspective of the greater Indo European worldview though, death is not necessarily the absolute end. Like many cultures around the globe, the descendant cultures of the Indo Europeans practiced ancestor veneration8.
Whereas the Shining Ones are our allies, and some of the Noble Ones our potential allies, the Mighty Dead are our kin, the 'Dead of the Clan of Mortals'9. During their lives they worked, fought, sacrificed, and died that the next generation might advance, they have a vested interest in seeing us do well as we work, fight, sacrifice, and die to advance the lot of our own children. Through our own travails we can understand what they ultimately did for us, and one day, we'll be welcomed among their number to watch over our descendants.
In some of the Indo European descendant traditions, some members of the Mighty Dead are more like lesser deities (eg the 'matronae' among the Gauls, Romans, and Germans)10, in other cases, members of the Mighty Dead become conflated with the Noble Spirits (such as in the case of some elves)11.
The Ancestors are often connected with the medium of water, some cultures held that the dead went to an island in the west, the burial rites of others connected the ship with the journey to the otherworld, and pollen analysis has shown that the ditches around some of the burial mounds in Scandinavia were designed to fill with water, thus rendering the mound a literal island12.
Our dead watch over us, they have magic and knowledge beyond what we humans can have, they may protect us, or influence our lives in ways they believe to be beneficial. They deserve nothing less than our love, reverence, and offerings in return.
Words = 958 total.
1Serith,
Ceisiwr ( ). Deep Ancestors: Practicing the Religion of the
Proto-Indo-Europeans
2Ibid.
3Völuspá,
stanza 7, H.A Bellows Trans.
4ADF.
Our Own Druidry: An Introduction to Ár nDraíocht Féin and the
Druid Path. Tucson: ADF Publishing, 2009
5Ibid.
6Ibid.
7Ibid.
8Ibid.
9Ibid.
10Davidson,
H.R Ellis. (1988). Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe. p. 108.
11Davidson,
H.R.Ellis. (1988). Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe. p. 122.
12Heide,
E. (2011). Holy Islands and the Otherworld: Places beyond Water (T.
Jørgensen & G. Jaritz, Eds.). In Isolated
islands in medieval nature, culture and mind
(pp. 57-80). Budapest: Central European University Press.
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