What is Polytheism? | Approaches and Paths to the Gods

[@TheOakWitch]

Something I want to clarify: Defining Paganism is super tricky and I'm certain that many other factors come into play when we talk about what makes somebody a Pagan - I have no doubt about that. I think the definition I ended with is rather broad, I should've expanded a bit more into it and the valid existence of non-European polytheistic religions within Paganism. So, I wanted to add here that, by no means do I meant to exclude anybody, any groups, or non-European traditions from identifying as Pagan. I 100% believe they have a seat at the table and strong place in our community! Where I was coming from was, there are many instances where we are quick to assign the term "Pagan" or even "Witch" onto other magical or polytheistic cultures, when they themselves don't assign to that label or would feel comfortable in doing so. So we should respect how people identify with certain labels. It was an over-simplification of defining Paganism on my part, but I hope this clears things up for anyone.

[@AzhidaReminiec9999]

There also is the paganism that's from Brittany in France

[@lindsayp8131]

I've been thinking about this topic a lot as I examine my own spirituality, what a timely video! You have such a natural ability of articulating really vast and complex subject matter in a digestible way which I very much appreciate. Such a wonderful breadth of research to explore! Thank you so much for sharing this along with endless resources to deepen one's knowledge!

[@TheOakWitch]

Thank you so much Lindsay 💜

[@wishonafoxtail2819]

I would love to see a video on how your practice has changed and evolved over the years.

[@TheOakWitch]

Noted! 👀

[@FeltheBlithe]

wonderful vid! easy to grasp and full of info. Plus, thanks for the shout out 🧡

[@TheOakWitch]

Thank you Fel, it means a lot! And no problem, your content is fab!! 💛

[@lionatheart42]

Do you organize your books by publisher? I’d love to see a video about how you organize your personal library! I find it fascinating how different people organize and so many of your fans are also book lovers! I organize mine by subject and size (so they look nice on the shelf and are easy to find)

[@TheOakWitch]

I have my books currently by publisher yes! Honestly I could do a video, but I reorganise my books every other week 😂 I'm obsessed with moving them about.

[@kyleahauser2921]

So I’m new to Paganism and the idea of having or believing in deities feels daunting to me. I’ve been agnostic for much of my life and perhaps overly cautious of being a part of a religion due to personal circumstances. I suppose I identify more as a Secular Pagan but I am open to deities. I don’t know if I am making much sense. 😅I’m currently comfortable with adoring and working along side my Appalachian forests and it’s spirits. I still have so much to learn but I would like to think that one day I may actually understand deities better and work with them. It seems like a beautiful concept. Anyway, thank you as always for your amazing and thoughtful videos. I always learn so much♥️

[@TheOakWitch]

Where you are right now is totally valid, there's no rush to jump into worshipping deities if you aren't comfortable with that for the moment! Thank you for the kind words and support 💙

[@prateekatt]

The sun rises from east. Wrong. East is where the sun rises from.

[@ZestonN]

High Kylea, I also live in the Appalachian area. :) Have you considered looking deeper into Animism? Seeing that you're working with your local spirits and environment, you're essentially three quarters into being an Appalachian Animist. :)

[@AzhidaReminiec9999]

Devana ( Slavic Paganism) is comparible to the Roman Goddess Diana

[@AzhidaReminiec9999]

Ari, Could Norse / Germanic paganism be Compared with Slavic ?

[@TheOakWitch]

Sure, many people draw comparisons and syncretism with lots of different combinations of cultural pantheons

[@joenathan8059]

Personally soft polytheism makes more sense to me. We know historically that most if not all of the deities come from prodo indo European cultures, which changed as people traveled and settled in other parts of the world. Like we all know most demons in the bible are pagan gods with different names and you have to be blind to not see that odin and wotan aren't the same being.

[@plwtonium]

I'm doing a presentation about polytheism next week and this helped a lot. Thank you for the information:)

[@harley7356]

Hi I am looking to get into Britonic Paganism so I was wondering if you could make a video on specifically Britonic Paganism such as the a lot of the Deities that are Britonic in origin and what they are associated with? as I am not sure how to interpret the nature of these deities, and how do you work with them?

[@TheOakWitch]

I'm definitely planning on doing a Brittonic Paganism video! I'm still early on my path so I am also figuring things out. So, it might not be too soon, but I'm always happy to chat about it in my discord server if you wanted to discuss it.

[@littledragon5642]

I see the Sutton Hoo mask 😙👌. Where are you from?

[@harley7356]

@@littledragon5642 hey there you are also a fan of Anglo-Saxon history? ☺️ I am from Oxfordshire in England how about you?

[@russkiraider01]

Another great kemetic resource is the Kemetic Independent KZbin channel! It's run by a woman named Sharon and she bases her practice on reconstructionism, trying to use as many sources from Ancient Egypt for prayers, rites and ceremonies. I recommend her channel and her books 1,000%!

[@TheOakWitch]

I'll have to check her out, thank you for the recommendation!

[@pamelasavage5157]

And what would the indigenous spiritual beliefs and. Path be say like the Cherokee Indian's?

[@pamelasavage5157]

Where there Christain witches back when that changes took place? I've heard both?

[@CosmicPsychonauts]

29:17 Does that also apply to "closed practices" that exclude other ethnicities and cultures such as voodoo and native american spiritual practices? Also why are most of the closed practices belonging to cultures of color, whereas most of the traditional European practices are wide open for everyone to use? Is there more of a reason to it than just colonialism? I'm all for everybody practicing whatever they want, but this closed practice concept seems to be a double standard. I really hope somebody can answer this for me.

[@TheOakWitch]

Closed practices as a concept is not specific to BIPOC cultural traditions. There's a lot of European hereditary folk traditions that are closed (I have some Irish friends who have hereditary practices that they cannot and will not share with others, rightfully so) and British Traditional Wicca, for example, is closed as the covens are initiatory based. Closed doesn't necessarily mean forbidden either, it just means its not immediately open and public for everyone. With ATRs for example, (to my knowledge, and please don't just take my word for it - go research and read perspectives from people belonging to an ATR) it depends on the tradition within ATR, but for some, you don't have to be of African descent to be trained and initiated to the religion. But you need to seek, and get invited in. Same with Traditional Wicca. Many of these religious groups are welcoming if you are respectful and genuine in your seeking/interest. But a lot of the time, especially in online spiritual and religious spaces, these cultural practices are whitewashed, removed from their original cultural context and disrespected. But overall to answer your question, I think its about being mindful of the historical and present, social and systematic suppression of these minority cultures and ethnic groups of people. There is sensitivity there and yes, the effects of colonialism are still being had today. With the growing interest in spirituality, there's a lot of non-BIPOC people who look to these other cultural practices and take what they want from them because they seem """"exotic"""" and romanticise them. Thus begins the commodification of the practices; a notable example being white sage smudge sticks. I did a recent video on this specific example called "Endangered Sacred Plants | White Sage and Palo Santo" if you were interested in that. Here, what people don't realise, in relatively recent American history, Native people were forbidden to practice their own religion. They'd have their rations revoked, be imprisoned and, on the whole, were heavily suppressed for participating in their own culture. Fast forward to now, where white sage smudge bundles are being sold widely, with none of that money going to Native peoples (who are still suffering from suppression and discrimination) and no cultural context at all to where the practice originated from. It's especially worrying when you consider the environmental implications of this commercialisation of white sage, and how because of the overharvesting and climate change, Native Americans have limited access to their own sacred herbs. It's definitely a complicated subject, and I certainly don't have all the answers. My tip is just to be mindful in our approach, be respectful and learn from people who actively participate and are from that culture. I hope this clears things up more?

[@CosmicPsychonauts]

@@TheOakWitch Yes it did, thank you for taking the time to respond in such detail. 😊

[@CosmicPsychonauts]

@@TheOakWitch Since your username is The Oak Witch, would you happen to know anything about tree magick? If so would you be able to do videos about it, as there is not much content on KZbin about that particular subject.

[@russkiraider01]

Hello Ari! I hope you are doing well! In the Hold's book club, we have been reading "A Practical Heathen's Guide to Astaru". Wolf and Ocean have been leading the talks about it, and the more we dive into the book, the worse it becomes. They don't recommend it anymore because of shoddy writing, poor sources/citing, incorrect citing, incredibly bad takes, and promoting shadow work without a therapist, among other things. Just wanted to make sure you know!

[@TheOakWitch]

Oh thank you for alerting me! It's been a few years since I read it so I must've overlooked or misremembered some things.