A EU sanctioned paganism with a god per NUTS I could be a solution, plus a god per portfolio of the EU commission. This should cover all our spiritual needs in a way that strengthens European integration and cooperation. Just think about it 🧘🏻🙇🏻🇪🇺
Religions aren’t necessarily just picking some superhuman being to worship. There’s a lot about spirituality that’s simply trying to be in harmony with the world you find yourself in. Reviving paganism as it was might be hard (though there are revivalist groups that might be worth connecting with) but you can try to understand what experience of life made your ancestors characterize their understanding of metaphysics in whatever way they did. Meditate in nature etc. Find out if there are still any old holy sites in your region and see if you can’t visit them. If you have elderly relatives, you can just try asking them about superstitions etc. that they used to have as kids - there might be some grain of wisdom there that’s worth thinking about. Not as a belief to adopt but to wonder, what gave rise to the superstition and did behaving in accordance to it give beneficial results (for totally non-magical reasons). A good example of a superstition that may have had practical roots is whistling at night. It’s an easy way of coordinate and communicate if you’re thieving, raiding etc. so hearing whistling at night might be a sign of legitimate danger. That then may have morphed into various beliefs about whistling at night bringing evil spirits etc.
I realize you might be joking but if you really want a god or goddess to worship, go ahead. Just think about what you want it to symbolize for yourself. Gods have realms of influence for a reason - and it’s that tangible realm that should be what your worship centers around, not the symbol. Want a Goddess of Love? Focus on Love, not the Goddess. Want a God of Bravery? Focus on Bravery. And so on. How much you want to use a symbol to help you orient towards the realm that symbol points to is up to you.
Grab a rock you like from a place you like, put it on an altar. Symbolizes your connection to your land. Put a flower on it every week. Symbolizes your commitment to keeping your land beautiful. Do it with a presence of mind, not as an empty ritual. The magic is in the psychology.
I remember watching “The Wicker Man” decades ago and honestly thought: “Wow, these fella look happy with their Paganism, while the Christian guy looks even more deluded than they are”.
@NorskSud Leave those sociable, intelligent fellow mortal critters alone. We already have such a minor deity and all they require in offerings is tannins and caffeine.
Time to revive paganism, these middle eastern monotheism has nothing to do with us. Europe has always been politheist till those invaders came.
Paganism is more decentral, so fair, but still, I think the best would be laïcité altogether.
Wasn’t the Roman empire very successfull because it did not intervene in peoples beliefs and religions?
A EU sanctioned paganism with a god per NUTS I could be a solution, plus a god per portfolio of the EU commission. This should cover all our spiritual needs in a way that strengthens European integration and cooperation. Just think about it 🧘🏻🙇🏻🇪🇺
No thanks, church and state should be separate, and the church should not attempt to subjugate Europe into yet another fundamentalist state.
@NorskSud Or we could try thinking for ourselves and growing up into accepting mortality as just another critter in a finite universe.
(I do love any good shittalking about the middle eastern fanfic tho. See also the reject modernity, embrace tradition gay Greek memes…)
Yeah but… I kind of really need a god or goddess of the European Way of Life right now. Will sacrifice a pig to invoke them, hope it works 🤞
I recommend you read Spell of The Sensuous
Religions aren’t necessarily just picking some superhuman being to worship. There’s a lot about spirituality that’s simply trying to be in harmony with the world you find yourself in. Reviving paganism as it was might be hard (though there are revivalist groups that might be worth connecting with) but you can try to understand what experience of life made your ancestors characterize their understanding of metaphysics in whatever way they did. Meditate in nature etc. Find out if there are still any old holy sites in your region and see if you can’t visit them. If you have elderly relatives, you can just try asking them about superstitions etc. that they used to have as kids - there might be some grain of wisdom there that’s worth thinking about. Not as a belief to adopt but to wonder, what gave rise to the superstition and did behaving in accordance to it give beneficial results (for totally non-magical reasons). A good example of a superstition that may have had practical roots is whistling at night. It’s an easy way of coordinate and communicate if you’re thieving, raiding etc. so hearing whistling at night might be a sign of legitimate danger. That then may have morphed into various beliefs about whistling at night bringing evil spirits etc.
I realize you might be joking but if you really want a god or goddess to worship, go ahead. Just think about what you want it to symbolize for yourself. Gods have realms of influence for a reason - and it’s that tangible realm that should be what your worship centers around, not the symbol. Want a Goddess of Love? Focus on Love, not the Goddess. Want a God of Bravery? Focus on Bravery. And so on. How much you want to use a symbol to help you orient towards the realm that symbol points to is up to you.
Grab a rock you like from a place you like, put it on an altar. Symbolizes your connection to your land. Put a flower on it every week. Symbolizes your commitment to keeping your land beautiful. Do it with a presence of mind, not as an empty ritual. The magic is in the psychology.
I remember watching “The Wicker Man” decades ago and honestly thought: “Wow, these fella look happy with their Paganism, while the Christian guy looks even more deluded than they are”.
@NorskSud Leave those sociable, intelligent fellow mortal critters alone. We already have such a minor deity and all they require in offerings is tannins and caffeine.
![Europemaxxing meme featuring Mads Mikkelsen lounging in the sunshine at a terrace. List of items on the Euro agenda:
Which level? 3 would be insane :D
They wrote nuts 1, but with tht og european numbers. Btw we should bring back those too. Io Saturnalia!
I’m open to minor gods and local fairies and elfs from NUTS III also. Mermaids for the insular regions plus Luxembourg, where Melusine is already worshipped.
Silly me… read that as I, as in “I am”.
ᛚᛟᚹᛖ᛫ᚦᛖ᛫ᛟᛚᛞ᛫ᚷᛟᛞᛊ᛬
Go back further: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2153599X.2022.2065345