Well, I am a Pagan. I am a Polytheist. I am a member of a Druid order. All of that is a part of who I am, how I approach my daily routine and the manner in which I find a connection with the wider world around me. I am not here to rebuild or reconstruct ANYTHING. Nor am I here to slam anyone who does use that approach for their own Pagan practices. In fact, I would like to applaud them for finding that works for them. And as much as I would love for some of them to stop slamming others for not following their approach, I am going to try my dead-level best not to do so. Why? Well, let’s explore that a bit, shall we?

Every so often, it seems to pop up in my news feed…how we need to do ritual this way in order to be “authentic”. We need to follow what the research of others has shown us as the “proper” way to do our rites. Otherwise, we are doing it wrong, and we have no right to call ourselves “[insert whatever descriptive you need here]”. Usually, the constant re-cycle and re-hash of this manifest in a three-to-four year cycle. Twelve to fifteen years ago, I would roll up my sleeves, adjust my personal Bulletin Board armor, lower my lance, and charge right at that windmill. Or ferocious Giant. I forget which. Anyway, I would charge right in, ready to argue the merits against the concept of such “standards” within Pagan belief systems. I would receive a response a day or two later, and off we went dancing our dance. Well, the internet makes such communications much faster. And the days of the old Bulletin Board systems were shouldered out of the way by the Twitters, Facebooks and various blogging platforms of today.

The “right” way. Sounds familiar, eh? Yeah, fundamentalist perspectives. Especially when dealing with concepts such as the Divine, the Sacred, the literal essence of our Spirituality. How do we appease the Gods? How do we contact Them? How do we curry favor with Them? Well, we should use what is tried and true, eh? What our ancestors did. We should handle our daily rites in the same fashion. using the same methods, the same words, the same phrasing, the same approaches. I completely understand the need for all of this for folks who utilize this and find usefulness from it. There is not one thing wrong with that. For them.

I have talked about this before throughout this blog, my approach is far more eclectic, and to some degree more utilitarian. Off-the-cuff ritual formulas are not uncommon for me. While I am unlikely to call the North while facing West, it *could* happen. I am not ready to rule that out, changing the correspondences of the cardinal directions. What feels “right” at that moment, I am willing to use (short of harming people, animals, plants, etc etc). I have my limits, those places where it becomes a bridge too far. But I am willing to step up, place my toes at the very edge and stare down into the abyss. Reconstructionist, I am not. Nor would I consider myself a fundamentalist. My rules are a little more malleable and flexible than those of others.

See, I look back at what those that have come before have done. I see their efforts as a framework to start with, a place of inspiration. An initial step on the Path, if you will. But this time is now, not then. The times have evolved. The Gods have evolved as well. We have evolved. Our understanding of the connectivity with the world around us is different than it was during the time of our ancestors. Nine Hells, our understanding is different than it was a year ago, five years ago, a decade…we are ever-evolving. My rites are moments of devotion, awe-inspired clarity, a celebration of our connection with the Gods and/or Goddesses that call us.

I am not sure about you, but the same old thing every single rite; the same gestures, the same words, the same timing, the same…everything….that gets rather rote, boring and stale after a while. Sort of like my younger, far more broke days of eating Ramen noodles every night for dinner. You just cannot beat five packs for a dollar, in terms of frugality, especially in those tights of paycheck to paycheck living. No offense to the reconstructionists and the fundamentalists out there, but I am not ready to turn my rites, daily or otherwise, into five packs for a dollar Ramen meal. Sure, it worked way back before, and to be honest, I can spice that same Ramen pack up with some added fresh vegetables, a little bit of meat, and some spices. The basic ingredient is still there, that little rectangular brick of noodles – all screaming for hot water and release. But look at all the extra stuff that got added: vegetables, spices, protein…and what if, every once in a while, we left out the Ramen?

I think you can see why fundamentalist anything does not appeal to me. And its fairly clear that a reconstructionist’s territory is somewhere I do not belong. And there is still nothing wrong with either side of that. So long, as we agree that there is no one, singular way to approach our individual approach to the Gods. Or even to how we perceive the Gods. The fundamentalist and reconstructionist approaches do not work for me. I can speak of the hows and the whys that neither appeal to me. I can even provide a narrative, as I have here, about why my approach is better. For me. I have the answers for me. But the honest truth is that the only person who has the truth for you is you. You know what speaks to you, what gets you excited about being under the moonlight (this serious moonlight), participating in the rites to your God(s) and/or Goddess(es). If the reconstructionist path or the fundamental path work for you…awesome. For me…let’s sway, under the moonlight. This serious moonlight. And if you say run, I’ll run with you. And if you say hide, we’ll hide. Probably somewhere in the cabinet. Behind the packs of Ramen.  –T /|\