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[15 Oct 2007|05:27pm] |
1. What name do you prefer to go by in the community? If you don't mind saying, how old are you? How long have you considered yourself Pagan?
Ruadhan McElroy, just like it says on my profile. The "J" is just "J", but I have been thinking of legally changing it to "Iannis", the Greek form of "John". Man-thing in his late-twenties. I have been considering myself a pagan of some variety off-and-on for a little over ten years (since about eighth grade).
2. What tradition do you follow? What religious/metaphysical ideas (pagan and nonpagan) influence your beliefs?
I'm an Hellenic Recon, but most of the time I just say "Greek Pagan" if somebody outside the pagan community asks — seriously, how many non-pagans know what a religious reconstructionist is, makes the distinction between "pagan" and "polytheist" (like so many Recons I know of), and last I checked, most English-speaking non-academics have never heard of the word "Hellenic" or "Hellenist".
As far as what has influenced my spirituality and beliefs in general, well, I did take about a year off to be a Satanist (as defined by Anton LaVey), and while I now find most Satanists to be generally immature in their all-or-nothing and black-white-grey views of the world, I do keep a couple around as friends. I think that year mainly influenced me in the following ways:
1) I refuse to believe any wild stories that anybody says about their experiences. Of course, I have had some really unusual "mystical" experiences myself (part of what made me stop calling myself a Satanist), as well as smacks upside the head with The Divine Obvious Stick™, so if somebody says that they have had Experience X with, say, Hermes and it sounds entirely plausible, I will give you the benefit-of-the-doubt and believe you until I see I have reason to do otherwise. On the other hand, if somebody else says that they have had Experience C with Hermes and it just sounds completely out of nowhere, and unlike anything that I have ever known of Him spiritually or academically, I'm probably going to either ask them to expand on what the heck they're talking about, stressing that it just strikes me as really bizarre that they would say C -but mostly, I just smile and nod and keep my eye on them.
2) I am also a stickler for facts. Here is an example of how I mean this: Say I have an experience and believe it is a sign from Apollon. I will first check back on everything that I know of Apollon to see what fits and what does not about this experience. If everything matches, great! If only a few things do, I will explore other possible deities and all the symbols in that experience (usually a dream) to try and figure out where it is coming from. I do this because I understand that I "play favourites" with my Gods sometimes (and most, if not all of us do that at least on occasion). If I think it is Apollon, it is quite possible that it is, since I know a lot about Him — on the other hand, I also know that it may be some other God in cahoots with Apollon or possibly even using one or two of His symbols to get my attention to tell me something. Just because I want it to be Apollon and I have some evidence to suggest that it may, in fact, be Apollon does not necessarily mean that always is Apollon. It may be Hermes asking Apollon to get my attention for Him.
3) Then there's the fact that I like science. Of course, I also seem to have some unusual ideas about science and religion. I do not believe that the two are mutually exclusive concepts. For starters, the "Big Bang Theory" can be compatible with the ancient Greek idea that everything came from Khaos, a "void" of existence, that just randomly generated Nyx and Erebos (Night and Darkness, respectively), the Goddess and God who all subsequent Gods and Goddesses can trace themselves back to. (and, just to expand on that, I believe that Nyx was "born", as it were, impregnated with the egg that bore Eros, the God of Love, Creativity, Procreation, and one of many Gods associated with Youth and Beauty. With Eros in the picture now, Erebos and Nyx each saw that the other was beautiful and subsequently, Nyx gave birth to The Fates, Hemara (day), Aither (light), and the celestial bodies of night (moon, stars, astaera planeta, etc.. -- dawn and the sun are the children of Hemara and Aether) — and I arrived to this belief initially through "personal gnosis" and later saw many parallels in ancient Hellenic creation mythos.)
4) OK, I am sure that there are other ways that it has influenced me, but I really cannot think of anything else right now.
3. Tell us a little about your religious and spiritual background. What led you to paganism, and what has kept you on your particular path?
Long story short, it is just the way that I have always experienced Divinity — I can trace experiences with Apollon back to about the age of seven or eight. I tried connecting with the Gods of the ancient Keltoi when I was in eighth and ninth grade because I was under the misguided belief that since I was "Irish" that I should worship "Irish" Gods. I looked into Wicca and neo-Druidism in high-school, but never really called myself either because I just did not feel a "belonging" to the beliefs I was reading about.
I started calling myself a Greek Pagan about two years ago, found the community on-line a little over a year ago.
4. What deities do you honour (if you recognize any specifically)?
Primarily: Apollon, Hermes, Dionysos, Eros, Hermaphroditos, Narkissos (as a hero), Hyakintos, Adonis (as mortals who died and were reborn as demi-Gods)
Peripherally/Daily ritual: Nyx, Erebos, Hemara, Aether, Eos, Helios, Selene, the Astaera, Demeter, Hestia, Hypnos, Zeus
Peripherally (in general): the Khthonic deities (Hekate, Hades, Persephone), the Seasons, Gaia, Athene, Hephaestos, the Nymphai, the Muses
...holy crap, i just realised how many Goddesses are actually involved in my regular worship and practise. Hrmm... I think I see a sort of an essay coming out of this....
5. What would you say is the most important aspect of your spiritual practice?
Direct experience with the Gods.
6. What do you hope to see in this community? Any questions for us? Suggestions? Concerns?
Interesting discussion, points-of-view that I could gain some insight from. No questions, concerns or suggestions at the moment, though.
But, as some complete fluff, I would have to say that my favourite Pagan musicians would have to be Wendy Rule, Daemonia Nymphe, Faith & the Muse and Daughters of Gaia. Definitely cool stuff, you should check them all out if you still have yet to do so. :-)
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