Heathen

I really like the word Heathen.

Most of what I've read regarding Paganism over the years has emphasized Goddess(es). God(s) were mentioned as well, but mostly as a strictly secondary theological concern compared to the primary focus on "getting in touch with the spiritually feminine." And (due to that emphasis in topic, I suspect) most of the people I have met who are into Paganism have been female, not male. To make a parallel: my experience reading about Paganism has been akin to an action adventure kind of guy sitting through a chick-flick.

I have no doubt that other books on Paganism have been written which balance both Goddess(es) and God(s), as well as men who are into Paganism, these days. I'm not saying they either can't or don't exist. They've just been the exception to the rule in my experience.

Heathen seems more comfortable for me to use.

[Tobi]

I live in a place where a lot of Goddesses live.
Some of these (in the1990's) ran meditation groups, spiritual gatherings, and events where they "connected to the Great Goddess" in various ways -some of them very noisy. No harm in that. Why not scream to release inner anger at masculine oppression so long, or to re-birth the Self, or to "run with the wolves"....etc?
They booked rooms above the place where I sold books with a business partner.
One day a men's group booked the rooms. These men were doing a dynamic meditation. There was some drumming and some stomping going on, and a lot of laughter.
A Goddess who ran the whole operation then went up to this men's group and tipped them all out "because they were causing too much noise....too much masculine energy....and too much disturbance"
I give up. And I am a woman.
I posted the head Goddess a note (as she wasn't in her room when I called round) and said without the God, where would we be? In a state of imbalance, that's where.

Now I don't bother about titles, I go by nice feelings within.

A Heathen....someone who worships on the open Heath? Is that what it means? If so, I've been doing that all my life. I have Christian inclinations also, owing to some experiences of mine. But am open minded about all forms of spirituality. Heathen sounds good to me.....

The Heath seems to me to be another way of saying The Wilds.

So I consider being Heathen, in the most basic way, to being Wildling: instead of following the paved highway, we're walking in the wilderness off the road, blazing our own respective paths, according to our own respective ways. Sure, there might be similarities with others, but there also are differences - and both can be respected and celebrated.

That's how I basically see it. It's a simple term, like Pagan, but doesn't have those feminine theological associations with Heathen that make it seem primarily for women (and specific kinds of males), to me.

I don't insist that anyone else consider, or use, the word like that.
But as I've been thinking about it for the last little while, it simply fits without the frills.

[norseman]

I always thought that Heathen was just the Germanic variety of Pagan.

[Albalida]

Originally Posted by norseman

I always thought that Heathen was just the Germanic variety of Pagan.

Only going by my own experience, that's a recent "term reclamation". For a long while, I got the impression that Heathen was a derogatory term for Pagan... after, you know, the actual term Pagan was reclaimed from its own derogatory "hick" meaning origin.

I wondered that Hellenistic Reconstructionists who focus on Hestia didn't get to it first. In any case, since I'm being called to Rokkatru (and then having some Aesir thwap me) I love Heathen. It applies if I'm dealing with the Rokkr, Aesir, or land wights... and outsiders don't want for that much explanation ;) As opposed to, if I identified as Rokkatru, and then would have to do this sort of, "Um, uh, it's kind of Norse Paganism but not strict reconstruction but not as eclectic as Wicca..."



Khaldun, I'm guessing that you might have stumbled through Pagan groups that were very Dianic Wiccan dominant or Dianic Wiccan influenced? Because, for some reason, goddesses don't like me. All of my patrons have been very masculine polarized... but with the Pagan community that I was in, it never felt as if I was missing out on feminine guidance or feminine energy or whatnot feminine "requirement" for Paganism.

It's almost as if the word Pagan was reclaimed to rally behind, and represent, everything Biblianity was not. Lack of classic fear and guilt tactics to pressure people to conform, polytheism instead of monotheism - but also a shift from being theologically patriarchal to theologically matriarchal with regard to emphasizing Goddess instead of God: a kind of swing to the other side with the spiritual gender pendulum.

I only actually have met one or two Dianic Wiccans. All the rest were just a bunch of gals and a few guys who called themselves Pagans, wrote about Paganism, and who were all gung-ho about getting in touch with, and expressing, their "feminine side" (seemingly both spiritually and non-spiritually).

Don't get me wrong here: I'm all for both God and Goddess. But the key words there are both as well as and. I cannot run with theologies that are either patriarchal or matriarchal, whether blatantly or subtly so.

I like the word Heathen because it seems neutral compared to the alternatives. There's a kind of roominess with the term for theologies that don't covertly try to wage a gender war by analogizing either one gender or another on theological top. And given that the term has traditionally been used by culturally organized religions to reference anyone who doesn't follow their particular pied pipers, I kind of like the defiant independence the word Heathen immediately suggests. A kind of "Yeah, that's right. I'm not one of you. And although I might celebrate with others, I'm not necessarily a True Believer of their stuff, or a card-carrying member of their groups, either. I live according to my own pathway."

Heathen suggests a simple, rugged and grounded, doing my own thang approach, which the word eccelectic just never really was able to get across well at all, for me.

Originally Posted by Khaldun

I live according to my own pathway."

So basically you are a Taoist From the almighty Wikipedia: Taoism (modernly: Daoism) is a philosophical and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (modernly romanized as "Dao"). The term Tao means "way", "path" or "principle",

If Heathen is the expression that makes sense to you I think it is great. Pagan is the one that makes sense on my path (though I will admit that I had not heard the of this Heathen before 2013 so it might just not have taken a form in me yet). And Paganism to me is not specified in any way towards either the Feminine or the Masculine, though as my path grows it becomes more and more focused towards Mother Earth (Gaea) at the core and Nature as the guide. From Hermes I get the understanding that we should not take things too serious or literal. That we should make room in our belief/heart for others interpretations of the same. He says: it is in the reflection of others we understand the image of ourselves.

The Odroerir Journal Issue #2 has a good piece on the word heathen. You might like it.

http://odroerirjournal.com/?wpfb_dl=2

Thanks for that article. It was an interesting read.

I tend to keep my explanation for the term as straightforward as I can. I don't doubt that some who only want the word used in a specific historical and cultural context will never be satisfied with how I reclaim, and use, it without adherence to their belief systems. But I'm ok with that. And I'm willing to describe what I simply mean by use of the term when I encounter them.

That was a good read, though, written by an interesting group.