Jacob, I love this video. As a venezuelan, I feel all these same things you were mentioning about the complexity of our ancestry, mixed with the love and traditions for our land. Thank you for giving this a deep thought and make it accessible to all, in a kind, honest and loving way, that embraces peoples from all paths and ethnicities to join in peacefully together. Our world needs more of this type of thought nowadays.
You have influenced me to look into paganism, especially Celtic. I am currently reading Irish pre-history, archaeology, and mythology. I may end up studying to be a Druid. Thank you!
I recommend Wood-Martin's Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland: a Folklore Sketch....I was researching comparisons between Native American and Irish Pagan sweat traditions, and found this one of the few to have illustrations of Irish Sweat Houses made of stone.
I get you dude, as a pagan who lives in Australia i feel very attached to this land,the bush,billabongs and creeks,the ocean and im only first generation here! The land is what gave my mother nourishment as i grew and is a part of me as much as my parents. Hail to the land spirits, those ancient beings who will always be here. Long after we are all gone.
You perfectly explained how I feel. I have lived in the Appalachian mountains of East TN and VA for nearly 40 years. I deeply connect with native Cherokee ideas, even though I am not Cherokee (that I know of). I have always felt it must be the connections to the spirit and energy of the land.
Thank you! I'm in Ojai California . Here is Chumash land. When asked about my path, I say I'm an Eclectic Pagan. I honor this land and respect the indigenous people. These mountains and this ocean are my church. This land feeds my soul
As someone who's been practicing Old Ways heathenry for a good while, and who works on the East Coast at a history museum, learning about the Eastern Woodland Natives, and teaching visitors, I'd like to say this: I'm well aware of not only the fact that I am on foreign land, praising foreign ancestors [foreign to the land, not I], spirits, and deities, but of the fact that, frankly, the tribal, pre-Christian customs and beliefs held in Europe, aren't all that alien to what tribal pre-Christian peoples did here. It simply is a matter of respect in transactions. When I perform a working I never offer the native land spirits alcohol, I always have freshly cured tobacco for them, and make it a point to distinguish one from the other, and who/what they are for. I'm lucky that I work at a living history museum, that I'm able to grow the actual species of tobacco they would have used for spiritual/religious purposes [Tobacco Rustica, if you're inclined to grab some seeds and grow yourself]. I'm a European, practicing a fusion of Gallic and Old Saxon polytheistic beliefs, but you're absolutely correct, living in America, I inherently absorb some customs from the native practices. You have to. My ancestors and deities are very real, just as are the spirits and deities from this land. I'm aware the power my ancestors and the deities linked to said ancestors aren't as strong over here, as say they'd be over in England, Germany, or Norway. So to NOT do business with the local land spirits where you live, frankly, isn't "cultural appropriation" like so many "particular" folk like to espouse, it's just daft and bad business. Here's an example of what I mean: My co-workers and I visited a neighboring living history museum, depicting the same tribal culture [technically not same, different tribes but neighbors and both Eastern Woodland Native cultures, both from the Algonquian language group] . I was immediately struck at the fact that they had what were basically god poles, or spirit poles, on their site. As the dirty little heathen I am, I immediately was interested in having something similar at our site. Expressed an interest to the bosses, and they happily wanted ME to carve the pole. I immediately declined and recommended they find someone who is a native from the area to do that. If I carved it, I'd be carving my own energy, welcoming my own ancestors into it, and passing it off as "native" That's the sort of things we should be mindful of.
I am Whitey McWhiterson living on Ozark Plateau, and as an Animist Folk Heathen, I mix Gaelic, Germanic, and Woodland Native practices. Alcoholic Libation offerings are for My Ancestors, other local Spirits are given food and tobacco, or sometimes certain objects.
I will carve my own poles, and will have no problem erecting a Maypole on former Osage/Quapah land. Talk to the Same Spirits they talked to, because I live with those Spirits here. Would I carve a Native Pole? No, certainly not, but I will carve my own.
This is exactly what I have been trying to explain to those I have these conversations with. Thanks for touching on this topic and encouraging people to think differently.
A very thoughtful take. In Drawing Down the Moon it ties the early American wiccan and pagan movements very closely with the counter culture and environmental movements that were happening at the same time. This place is a unique mix of cultures and backgrounds that should be acknowledged and celebrated!
I wish to see a true "American" paganism movement, we should be giving our own names to these archetype beings the same way the Romans or the Greeks did to the indoeuropean god archetypes given to them.
At the same time, I wouldn't want paganism to become an "organized religion." The whole pagan attraction for me, is the freedom to interpret things individually without rules.
@@rockingredpoppy9119still be nice if communities formed up and could be found a lil easier Only thing I miss from my Christian days is the “fellowship” 🤷♂️I just like people And would be nice if I could talk about this stuff without freaking dogmatic fools out 😂
In Scandinavia we that follow Asatro/Fornsed put a lot of emphasis on the "minor" powers like rådare, not just the Gods. Beings of nature. Rådare (Rulers) are extremely local. They are in that lake, on that mountain, in that forest. They never move. So if I went to America these powers would be the local equivalent beings of nature. They would not be Scandinavian.
Would you say the same for the icelanders who use the same stories for their landscape? Are the europeans who went further west but in time severed the political relationship unlike the icelanders that they are exempt from that connection?
@@YamiPoyo Yes in Iceland they have similar beings in nature, but these days they prefer elves, or they call rådare elves. They came from Scandinavia and had the same religion. Probably the same in Faroe Islands that was also colonized by Scandinavians.
Other Germanic areas like England, Germany, Netherlands, Flemmish Belgium, Southern Scotland probably will give a similar feeling since their native religion(s) was close to the Scandinavian.
What im asking is this, icelanders are a mix of peoples not just scandinavian, and are the north american settlers, why are the european settlers not considered scandinavian in their landscape lore but iceland is, hence the question of political severed ties
@@YamiPoyo Because the Scandinavians where the first to settle Iceland. They where the first to give names to the powers of nature there. And they are still the etnnic and linguistic group there ever since. But you have a point, maybe you can just see the nature in North America from whatever cultural background you have. I don't know, I have never been there. Use your cultures names for the cratures and powers in nature that has always been there before Europeans arrived. Ii some of the Scanidnacians that came from Greenland to Canada (Vinland) where still heathen they probabaly did in Canade becasue they didn't know what culture the localss had there.
You've really grown since you picked up and left. I think your pilgrimage / vision quest (nobody hate on me for calling it that, please; I don't mean to appropriate indigenous beliefs or Hollywood perceptions of them) broadened your perception of the world of spirits. The Gods, the land, and the ancestors. Do them proud!
You form the land and the land forms you! If you got a good feeling for spirituality, you cannot look away from the local spirits, no matter who your personal gods might be, you will feel the land
Great Video! It gives me a lot to think about. I am a second generation American. My grandparents were from Italy ,Hungry, and the Czech Republic. I have a strong attachment to Scotland. I have visited many times. Only recently through DNA and archeological data have found ancestry in England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. I have always felt a connection to these areas. I am also drawn to the American southwest, particularly Arizona. My ancient DNA calls to my soul. I am an American Pagan!!!!
Here, here! And well said. We were brought here by our ancestors under good and bad circumstances, but we don’t have to cling to what was done in the past. We can create something specific to this new realization we are coming to🌀 Riding the spiral friends.
Acknowledging the past isn't claiming to it. If anything, people in this country have an obsession with whitewashing our history and treating the past as if it is significant. This is part of the reason why so many White Americans of willful immigrant descent have very little cultural ties to where their families came from back in Europe
Loved this!! The personal practice is varied because we are varied. That’s been a crazy struggle because it feels like i have to choose one over the other but in reality, I’ve learned so much from ancestors on different spectrums so it’s a waste of our time to worry about it. The ones that speak loudly are the ones to listen to…. Good guides. I mentioned this on instagram before I deleted the account (too distracting) but it’s all about relationship. It’s worth it to explore Elementals and ways to “connect” to the land….that’s how it’s done. That’s where their names come from, especially when we all get to experience the same beings. Some of those get described as “gods”. :)
This is a great video. I teach a very similar concept in my book Australian Druidry with what I call the Three Ancestors: those of our bloodline, inspirations and the land. I think there is a lot to compare and discuss with the similarities and differences between Australian and American Paganism. We are all learning so much.
This moved me, so thank you! I've long had very similar thoughts, being a person of Northwestern European ancestry who is also an eclectic and non-traditional Animist and Folk Magician who is ALSO an American with a deep love and respect for Indigenous and Native cultures and people. It's a delicate balance, and I have sometimes had to be very careful not to appropriate. Most especially since local spirits interact with me a great deal. It is true that some Native and First Nations peoples were gone long before European colonialism arrived. And that tragically a great many more are gone exactly because of that brutality and the disease, economic and political disenfranchisement, demonization, violence, cultural-religious indoctrination and erasure that occurred as a result. But in general, it's very important to emphasize that a huge panoply of tribes and nations are ALIVE within both the North and South Americas and that they are vital cultures made up of real human beings. Part of decolonialization is not talking about them in a perpetually past tense. And also, to know that most of them are under cultural, linguistic and religious/spiritual threat by the majority cultures, languages and faiths around them. I don't speak for any of them, and that should be made clear. But personally I find the some of the best ways to honor the Land in this country where I was born, which my ancestors emigrated to in the past for various reasons, is to advocate for Indigenous and Native peoples in increasing their opportunities and protecting their rights, pointing folks to their immense variety and beauty (they are not a monolith), advocating for the protection of their sacred spaces when I can, treating the Land around me as sacred (it is, like all the Earth, but in its own unique ways) and walking lightly upon it, and most especially NOT culturally or spiritually appropriating what isn't mine (sweat lodges, culturally-specific terminology like medicine, totem and spirit guide, smudging, traditional costumes, etc.). That can't fix everything that was done the last 500 years, but maybe it can help a little now. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes like we all do. But I do the best I can. And yeah, Americans are a weird bunch. Except for the aforementioned Native peoples and also for relatively recent immigrants (the first and last to get here, as it were), a great many of us seem to feel disconnected from our ancestry and the places our heritage comes from. And others are focused too much on that, sometimes in hateful ways. Getting that balance right is tricky, especially if you've never been to your ancestral lands. Especially for Black Americans who had that heritage stolen from them with the advent of slavery, but in other groups also. There's a lot of White malaise and searching desperately for roots to connect to as well. America's gumbo-like nature gives most of us a nation but not as much of a culture, if that makes sense, at least not one with any more than a few centuries of combined history. And it is an especially hybridized culture that is rarely seen elsewhere. I am drawn to many deities, most of them of "Celtic" extraction (the Britons and Brythons, Gaels and Gauls, etc.), whom my ancestors worshipped, but also to many others from elsewhere. But almost entirely these are from dead faiths, reconstructions and revivals aside. That keeps me from feeling weird about that. Sorry for all the rambling. Great video!
Your practice is YOUR practice and what I tell everyone Don't forget your roots we are trees we stay rooted but branch off to different paths in honor. American is a cluster fuck of different cultures, religion, beliefs, and paths but our ancestors have always honor the lands and the gods in there way the OG's of America will always be the true Native American's and the indigenous Mexican(Mexica) and they have always honored the land and spirits and we can learn so much from all of our native ancestors Jacob once again a beautiful video my friend much gratitude to you my friend ❤️🔥
Thank you for saying all of this. I've been on a spiritual journey for most of my 66 years here. I've thought many of the things that you are talking about. Blended people from many diaspora are what America is. How do we find our place with the other natural beings?
a good way to look at things, im going to make that into a sticker for my car "the earth is my temple." as always with your videos and when we talk in person, i take away something that makes me think and dig deeper into my spiritual journey.
This video is an extremely interesting perspective. It's hard to find information on our ancestors because we are many ethnicities no matter race. When immigrants came to America slowly their traditions, language and life changed and was lost through years. Alot of Americans go outwards to find answers. Overall no matter where our ancestors came from or where we were born and or live(d) Earth is home. We should honor Earth and respect Earth it's everyone's home. We are one family across the whole globe just separated by boarders, seas, and diversity. When we understand oneness we heal together. 💕
You are talking about the exact things I have struggled with in my Paganism. We European mutts long for a connection to our ancestors and to the land. We may be able to trace our ancestors back across the pond and we might try to practice what we can reconstruct of their Paganism but still, we are practicing it in a land that is not that of our Pagan ancestors. Can I really honor the land spirits as my Celtic, Saxon, and Norse ancestors might have in a land they never saw? I don't have a drop of Native American blood, am not even an adopted member of any tribe, have zero teaching from any elder so I can't very well try to honor the spirits as the Native Americans did. So what am I to do? I hope your video either gives me an answer, not the answer but an answer or a start to finding the answer.
Do you or your group do any activism or give support to the indigenous cultures you draw from? Alot of American First Nation tribes are still to this day, undergoing cultural and identity erasure and would be a great thing if you used your group and platform to help out in an animist perspective
I love this idea and suspect it could only work if they WANT the help. A connection to the land feels so strong that I want to connect with the native tribes about it, but if there are walls up, I have to respect them.
I love how you talked about acknowledging and honoring the land and native spirits and I think it’s very important to tie it into current events and stay informed on current struggles indigenous people struggle with and honor their voices and their struggles from YEARS ago still to this day 🫶🏽 I am a reconnecting native I have a lot of native blood but my family has assimilated so much that reconnecting has been such a journey and goes deeper than acknowledging their religion and spirits but great video and thank you
I was definitely ready to sperg out when you hit my trigger phrases but the fact is you’re right, it is complicated and should be talked about more among US/Can heathens.
Here from Louisiana. I personally formed my own faith on animistic and totemic beliefs. Totemic as in, the general concept, but not stealing from any tribe’s personal beliefs or something. I’m super disconnected from Europe and its faiths and info on them seems lacking in the first place. I have oaks in my yard that are sacred to me, the local river, etc. I’ve developed my own ideas on the afterlife, though I’m yet to take-up a deity. I have principles set for myself, some in-stone, rules for myself to stay how I see being moral.
Also American Paganism includes traditions from many places... not only the Native side and to me is important to honor the culture you came from... Ancestors are not exclussive to the heritage within USA. This is is deeper & longer conversation. I am not going to leave my culture just to practice spirituality from the places I live. I respect it, but it has to click and resonate for me to connect with it at a ritualistic level.
I also felt a similar way when I went to Scotland for the first time to study Gaelic for the summer. I was so excited, and I did feel a deep connection, but at the same time I was acutely aware that it was not my home. Even "small" things like the fact that there are no cardinals or blue jays there. An ancient "familiarity" mixed with an alienness. As much as I have enjoyed each time I've been to Scotland, almost every molecule in my body is within me from the food and water here in this land. Coming home after such sojourns gives a deep "settling" to my soul. The quality and angle of the light in my area on any given day of the year, etc. It's just different, and those differences really play a large role in our self-identities more than one may realize until they travel. I also happen to be (a very small ) part Choctaw, though I wasn't raised in the culture directly. But I also will never choose to be a spiritual "second class citizen". I usually find it more helpful to my spiritual and emotional health to connect to the land, the land spirits, and the dead, more than breathing pagans today because the proof of my paganism is the successful connections I have with them more so than having the "correct" opinion about a modern issue. It's amazing how accommodating and forgiving the spirits are compared to other breathing humans, and how little they lay original sin on the children for the crimes of their fathers compared to other breathing (even pagan) humans. That's why it is and will continue to be basically impossible to speak of "American paganism" as a monolith in any way.
I do agree, that it’s up to you to figure out who’s god, what god and what beliefs you choose to live, helps you live fulfilled a happy life, is completely of your own..
Well said. I began my spiritual journey in my early 20s and I'm now twice your current age. The time when I wandered. I was raised in Utah in a very American religion Mormonism. I renounced that tradition and my practicies have morphed and changed over the years. Now the land of California that I moved too 32 years ago is my spiritual home. The sacred overlock on Mt. Tamalpais north of the Golden Gate Bridge with its sacred Oak Tree and the rock outcroppings that are a seat of power from which you can see the ocean to your right and the land unfold before you. To the majesty of Yosemite that I return to every year. No, I have no indidgenous blood. I am not Ohlone or Miwok, but this place called me and is the place where my ashes will be scattered. The majick of place is ubdeed the place too start and too end.
As an european, i can only see america from the sideline. But i think the main difference is is that you chose your gods. Nobody in america is questioning christianity - how it came from palestina and is brought to this new lands. Same goes for the (irish) celts who arrived in ireland. There are stories of other people living there, but they just brought their gods and culture with them. Yes ancestors play it's part. Yes history plays it's part. But it was your _choice_ to become a pagan, not something you were born into
They're was Iron Age Europeans too Celts,Iberians ,Persians , Greeks Phoenicians after them Scandinavians then Spanish Galicians Portuguese and Then English French and other later Celts then Germans and others time frame varies
yes, the united states of america is a fairly young county. however, i think many of us are here long enough to claim our own, american (by that i mean the united states), heritage. have you seen any of arith harger's videos? he's brilliant (in my opinion).
I'll always be a pluralist. Extreme pluralism, if you will. There should be as many American Paganisms as there are lineages of American peoples. Every subtype of European settlers, (there are at least five unique "nations" in the US South alone) by majority ancestry to an Old World region, the language of that region, the deities of that region, and so on. Every subtype of African that made their way here, and of course every kind of Amerindian (easy mode, can skip the next step) Take that, and multiply that by biospheres. Wherever the son or daughter of the above nations happens to live today. There's at least 120 ecoregions, as designated by the EPA, and that would've had an influence on local folklore, religiosity, survival, and customs had they progressed from the stone age to now in that region. So take the ancestry/tradition(s) in your veins, the biosphere around you, and inform that by the long and storied histories that brought those things together, and you have a kind of prism of practices that would or will create a fractal kaleidoscope of folkways and paths suited to the multiplicity of personalities, perspectives, and backgrounds here in the States. Whether you or how much you choose to appropriate other indigenous paths or lean on 19-20th century occultism is between a) you and your relationship with that tradition's holders, and b) your willingness to get dirty with research and willingness break out of the last 2000 years of forced cultural suppression. Make sense?
I like so much of what you say in this video, but I think it's also important to draw focus to the fact that the indigenous people of north American are very much alive and practicing their traditional beliefs. Too often we imagine them as historical figures and extinct tribes, but they're not. We'd be very ignorant to simply honor what they "believed" rather than what they do actively believe today. I know you've taken the effort to talk with indigenous practitioners before, especially in your experience in south America, but I don't think I hear you talk enough about the still-living practices of the indigenous people where you and many of your viewers live in the US. I know you're passionate about understanding and respecting traditional beliefs, and I think your practice and the educational content would be seriously lacking a perspective from native American people without more focus on them. These questions and conversations are difficult to talk about, as you know, but I think you are very capable of engaging respectfully with the topic and of interacting respectfully with these indigenous voices, and helping to boost their message. And I'd be very excited to see that.
Another deeper dimension of spirituality can be found at: FTDNA Big Y 700. Learn where you ancestors lived for the past 60,000 years. I don't work for FTDNA, but I have done the testing to find where my paternal ancestors lived for the past 60K years through the stone age out of Africa. Similar can be done for mitochondrial DNA for maternal ancestors.
I probably mention this almost every time I comment, but I'm Swedish, and we have some of the same here in Europe, unavoidably, though in a less extreme way than America. What I mean is that all European paganism is splintered and with only small shards spread very far for us to pick up. We CANNOT reconstruct a spirituality without looking far and wide to Hinduism, Buddhism, and above all, animistic and shamanistic paganism from north and south America, Siberia, and elsewhere. As you have brought up extensively, in your videos, and walked the walk as well. And even us indigenous Europeans(!) are always mixed to some extent, as are all humans (except perhaps for someone like the Sentinelese 😅). I'm "all Swedish", but actually 1/6th Finnish and a tiny bit Baltic and Sami, and through that and my father's male line, I descend from Siberians. So while I switch between calling myself Odinist (the goal is achieving "Odin consciousness", similar to enlightenment in other non-Abrahamic religions) and simply a heathen, I must look everywhere and learn from everywhere to help reconstruct something that makes a complete spirituality. We're today (some since the 1970s, really) just starting to place the building blocks our descendants 100-200 years from now will benefit greatly from. 💜
You have exactly described what has been happening for hundreds of thousands of years. A syncratic perennial eveolutaion through time and space. Christian, islamic, hindu, pagan, Wicca or hermeticism what ever religious spirtual practice have all gone through change over time. Does it make it any less valid... my opinion no. Its all valid to the practitioners all is mind everything is mental. All within as above 🤘
Hi from Seattle! I'm trying to learn more about land spirits, and specifically the ones who inhabit this region. Does anyone here have a rough idea on how to go about this? I just wish that I could hear them over all the traffic...
I call my spirituality "Eclectic Heathen". I have Germanic People ancestry that I consider, but I progress and find truths along my path. No "gods" involved. Nature and Source of all/ Oneness of all things is my only requirements.
@@larryfulmer I once called myself Solitary Eclectic, early-ish in the Revival, as Wiccans were very prominent in my scene...but I just call myself an Animist Folk Heathen now...and nobody bothers me. I live in a VERY Pentecostal/ Baptist area, and am pleased at how little drama I get.
Have to disagree about us being "a country of immigrations." There is no Western Civilisation without Westernkind, you cant be an "immigration" to a country that only exists because you and your people built it.
"American Paganism"? We have basically very scarce records on Europe, where Paganism originated, most sources are biased written accounts by Christian priests. We are almost clueless about what Paganism was, so we reinvent it and attribute new meaning to it. Modern Paganism is like a copy of a copy of a copy, where the end result is very different from it's original. So American Paganism is just the extreme version of this.
"Modern Paganism is like a copy of a copy of a copy, where the end result is very different from it's original." And all paganism is this. "Viking Age Paganism" would be a copy of earlier iron age paganism, that a copy of bronze age, then back and back it goes. This is how culture evolves. We may have gaps in the knowledge, but saying paganism is not valid simply because it is modern is not correct. Paganism has always been an ever evolving thing.
@@TheWisdomOfOdin From Stone Age to Viking age there was an uninterrupted pass on of traditions, culture, symbols, meaning. An evolution, like you mentioned, there was no loss, just a constant evolving. This was interrupted and almost completely eradicated by the Christianization of Europe. Even if Vikings or Celts had to make up stuff to fill in a gap here and there, we now have all gaps and a bit of information here and there. We had to make up pretty much everything, hence my view on modern Paganism. We know almost nothing about it's original meaning, we just speculate and act as if it's official.
Hi Jacob, how are you? Could you do a "Explaining Thor in 4 Minutes"? Does he really kill humans for fun like in GOW Ragnarok? If he does, why did the ancient Germans see him as a hero?
@@TheWisdomOfOdin They're going to release a series on Netflix where he looks exactly like in GOW Ragnarok, killing people for fun. In fact, several current media are portraying him that way, which is why I thought he committed those acts.
Im not sure everyone celebrating at stonehenge necesarily identifies as pagan other than loosely. You dont need to go neolithic sites to Blōt. You just find a Stede on a hill ir by a river and worship there. The sacred places of past cultures tended to be used as moot sites rather than religious ritual.
A lot of things make sense and it is true. However, please stop calling USA "America" because that is like if the rest of it is less or not important and it is important to acknowledge and respect that.
Jacob do you think you have to go to a medicine man to honor the land that logic is like telling a Catholic that they can only go to a priest to worship Christ. Here is another thing ninety nine percent of our ancestry in our live times are Christian should we still honor them even though their choice religion would not like us to.
I feel zero ties to the Indians or their spirits. My ancestors cut a path, conquered even, West like the Indo-Europeans Horse Lords of old. We settled the West with Blood and Tears, in the 1880's when the West was still wild. Conquering the West as we did, like living avatars of the very beginning, rebirthed something older in our souls. That is what I honor.
@@TheWisdomOfOdin action movies? Na man. This is my family history. To honor it I did 5 years in the United States Marine Corps, 10 years in private security, I work rodeos multiple times a year, work with the bulls, and maintain the family horse ranch. I'm not a larper like most of those dudes that think they are "Vikings."
A country of immigrants? Not necessarily true. The United States of America did not exist until 1776. Europeans who came here before this date are settlers, not immigrants, who immigrated to the United States to become American. My ancestors were settlers in the Louisiana territory in the late 1600s, and early 1700s. Therefore, my family did not immigrate to the United Sates of America.
Good point. I am not that versed in American history, but it seems to me logical that the Indians did not occupy all the territory, northamerica must have been quite an empty space at least in a lot of certain areas
They IMMIGRATED to a new country. Whatever its name was when they got here, they were still strangers in a foreign land, who took their chunk and made a life, regardless of who else lived there.
Do humans have to be one-dimensional? What is so difficult about both honoring the manifest and the transcendent as well. Primitive people honored nature and also The Great Spirit who oversaw it all. Now people are turning to Paganism and rejecting the transcendent. Hearing anything that is one-dimensional is sad and it is foolish. Try being both, honoring nature and the Godhead both; it doesn’t have to be a choice as both the manifest and the transcendent make up the universal; what is real. The transcendent God should be also mentioned here as the origin of all that is manifest; otherwise this is a regress. Spirit and Nature both. It should be: “Spirit and Nature dancing together; victory to Spirit and victory to Nature.”
@@MikefromTexas1 I don't consider myself an immigrant as my family did not immigrate to the United States to become Americans. Instead, Americans immigrated into the Louisiana territory after 1803. I don't buy into Obama's lie that we are a nation of immigrants. We know our history and refuse to allow someone from another state to falsify our own history for us. You are not even of our own culture. Your opinion doesn't mean squat to me.
@@raymalbrough9631 You're not an immigrant because you never migrated anywhere. Your ancestors did, therefore THEY were immigrants. Every single person not of "native heritage" is *descended* from someone who *migrated* to the Americas. Your feelings are irrelevant, any goddamn president is irrelevant, all that matters is the simple fact that 99% of the North American population wouldn't be here if some distant relative of theirs, yours, mine, didn't MIGRATE here. I'm not an immigrant, and neither are you. But we are descended from them. You seem to be stuck on "it wasn't the US, so it's not immigration", which is just a stupid thing to say and shows you don't even know what immigration means.
The Europeans were being pushed out, unalived, "murd...ered" by American Indians from the settlements they made in the wilderness and experienced unprovoked deadly attacks when they traveled through areas in their wagons and on horseback simply to get from one place to another. Not only do I know this from real historical accounts, it's part of my family's historical account, to be murdered, kidnapped, held hostage by American Indians. I get tired of only one side of this story being told. I get tired of Europeans being presented as simply gen.o.ci.dal maniacs who killed Indians without any reason or provocation. They had reasons to fight with Indians and reasons to not want them in the areas they settled for their own safety. And they also didn't fight with ALL the Indians either.
Well said. It is a disservice to our own people to allow this narrative of blameless indians to be peddled continuously; and this dilution of our own culture through this universalist blending of contrasting cultures and peoples. Honor your own people, to not do so is an insult to the Gods.
Yes....they were pushed back...... BECAUSE THEY WERE FOREIGN INVADERS. LIKE, ARE WE REALLY GOING TO SIT HERE AND PRETEND THAT EUROPEANS WOULD NOT/HAVE NOT DONE THE SAME WHEN FOREIGN INVADERS LANDED ON EUROPEAN SHORES OR CROSSED INTO YOUR EUROPEAN TERRITORIES? You're unwillingness to accept that the history of the United States of America begins with Europeans invading North America (when they simply didn't need to) is clear proof that you are not at all enlightened nor are you ready for enlightenment. If you were really enlightened you would be willing to acknowledge that truth and not at all feel that it defines all of who you or your ancestors are. Until you drop your preoccupation with defending the image and honor of Whiteness, real enlightenment won't come. This is the danger of the pagan community......it is often times treated like a refuge for bigots. I can assure you, none of your pagan ancestors were bigoted or one-sided in their perceptions of non-white people nor would they have conceived of an identity of whiteness or European miss that they would extend towards themselves and all other people groups in Europe. Your ancestors in Europe would have resisted invasion from foreigners the exact same way that Native Indigenous folks attempted to when Europeans landed on their shores.
You sound a bit cynical. You need to understand that certain europeans were even kicked out from their own continent, because of their criminal life style. Unfortunately, they migrated to the americas to cause nuisances for the native tribes. You see this among the Gyp_sies, in which no one wants them in any way shape or form. Also, they are extremely perverted, incestious, nefarious, and fictitious where given a chance will take advantage of lesser small groups.
American Paganism is ridiculous ... the native American or Redskin are the real natives that probably made thought Bering Strait crossing some centuries before Christopher Columbus or even I dare to say that the Induits that live in Canada could be descendants from Viking and some people went Souther to be come the RedSkin, but I'm just speculating... what about the natives from Mexico to Panama prior Christopher Columbus? What about the Incas in South-America? American Paganism but talk about Odin?...Seriously ?? Even in Europe there are differences between Germanic, Welsh, etc ...
Very interesting points to consider. One thing I've been coming to understand while learning about ProtoIndoEuropean history is that, people take their gods with them. Sometimes they become part of a new pantheon or change their name. But the gods travel. Now land spirits are very different, and we absolutely do need to be respectful of them in every place. Ancestors likewise, are part of us and follow us. So it's these three elements that make up our worship (I think at least). It's funny bc I was just thinking I'd be interested in a video like this and then it just appeared on my feed 🪄✨
I love 4 1/2 hours from Cahokia been there a few times they have a lot of mound builders snake mount in Ohio's interesting too snake eating the egg or the Sun!
Sorry what Scott’s garlic 🏴 🧄 , I’m only messing. It’s more gay lick than garlic. Loving the video though you bring some very good points to the conversation
I am drawn to caring for and protecting the land.
America's land is truly something to be proud of ❤️
Jacob, I love this video. As a venezuelan, I feel all these same things you were mentioning about the complexity of our ancestry, mixed with the love and traditions for our land. Thank you for giving this a deep thought and make it accessible to all, in a kind, honest and loving way, that embraces peoples from all paths and ethnicities to join in peacefully together. Our world needs more of this type of thought nowadays.
You have influenced me to look into paganism, especially Celtic. I am currently reading Irish pre-history, archaeology, and mythology. I may end up studying to be a Druid. Thank you!
If you havent read it, I recommend picking up the Sacred Isle: a.co/d/gSuOT08
Great read!
I recommend Wood-Martin's Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland: a Folklore Sketch....I was researching comparisons between Native American and Irish Pagan sweat traditions, and found this one of the few to have illustrations of Irish Sweat Houses made of stone.
I LOVE OBOD's course!! It's fascinating. (The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids)
@@TheWolfsnack thanks!
I get you dude, as a pagan who lives in Australia i feel very attached to this land,the bush,billabongs and creeks,the ocean and im only first generation here! The land is what gave my mother nourishment as i grew and is a part of me as much as my parents. Hail to the land spirits, those ancient beings who will always be here. Long after we are all gone.
You perfectly explained how I feel. I have lived in the Appalachian mountains of East TN and VA for nearly 40 years. I deeply connect with native Cherokee ideas, even though I am not Cherokee (that I know of). I have always felt it must be the connections to the spirit and energy of the land.
Thank you! I'm in Ojai California . Here is Chumash land. When asked about my path, I say I'm an Eclectic Pagan. I honor this land and respect the indigenous people. These mountains and this ocean are my church. This land feeds my soul
It’s important to acknowledge that Native American nations and traditions STILL exist and shouldn’t be spoken of as if they dont.
True. I am very cautious about adopting from any living tradition useless I was given permission by someone who was an elder in that tradition.
As someone who's been practicing Old Ways heathenry for a good while, and who works on the East Coast at a history museum, learning about the Eastern Woodland Natives, and teaching visitors, I'd like to say this:
I'm well aware of not only the fact that I am on foreign land, praising foreign ancestors [foreign to the land, not I], spirits, and deities, but of the fact that, frankly, the tribal, pre-Christian customs and beliefs held in Europe, aren't all that alien to what tribal pre-Christian peoples did here. It simply is a matter of respect in transactions. When I perform a working I never offer the native land spirits alcohol, I always have freshly cured tobacco for them, and make it a point to distinguish one from the other, and who/what they are for. I'm lucky that I work at a living history museum, that I'm able to grow the actual species of tobacco they would have used for spiritual/religious purposes [Tobacco Rustica, if you're inclined to grab some seeds and grow yourself].
I'm a European, practicing a fusion of Gallic and Old Saxon polytheistic beliefs, but you're absolutely correct, living in America, I inherently absorb some customs from the native practices. You have to. My ancestors and deities are very real, just as are the spirits and deities from this land. I'm aware the power my ancestors and the deities linked to said ancestors aren't as strong over here, as say they'd be over in England, Germany, or Norway. So to NOT do business with the local land spirits where you live, frankly, isn't "cultural appropriation" like so many "particular" folk like to espouse, it's just daft and bad business.
Here's an example of what I mean: My co-workers and I visited a neighboring living history museum, depicting the same tribal culture [technically not same, different tribes but neighbors and both Eastern Woodland Native cultures, both from the Algonquian language group] . I was immediately struck at the fact that they had what were basically god poles, or spirit poles, on their site. As the dirty little heathen I am, I immediately was interested in having something similar at our site. Expressed an interest to the bosses, and they happily wanted ME to carve the pole. I immediately declined and recommended they find someone who is a native from the area to do that. If I carved it, I'd be carving my own energy, welcoming my own ancestors into it, and passing it off as "native" That's the sort of things we should be mindful of.
Thank you for sharing your perspective 🙏
What you said from beginning to end ... exactly. And I especially like and agree with what you said to your boss about who should carve the poles.
I am Whitey McWhiterson living on Ozark Plateau, and as an Animist Folk Heathen, I mix Gaelic, Germanic, and Woodland Native practices. Alcoholic Libation offerings are for My Ancestors, other local Spirits are given food and tobacco, or sometimes certain objects.
I will carve my own poles, and will have no problem erecting a Maypole on former Osage/Quapah land. Talk to the Same Spirits they talked to, because I live with those Spirits here. Would I carve a Native Pole? No, certainly not, but I will carve my own.
@@TheWisdomOfOdin And I thank you for your videos, long-time viewer, first-time commenter
“For all of us, becoming indigenous to place means living as if your children’s future matters” -Robin Wall Kimmerer
This is exactly what I have been trying to explain to those I have these conversations with. Thanks for touching on this topic and encouraging people to think differently.
A very thoughtful take. In Drawing Down the Moon it ties the early American wiccan and pagan movements very closely with the counter culture and environmental movements that were happening at the same time. This place is a unique mix of cultures and backgrounds that should be acknowledged and celebrated!
Been wanting to read that one
I wish to see a true "American" paganism movement, we should be giving our own names to these archetype beings the same way the Romans or the Greeks did to the indoeuropean god archetypes given to them.
At the same time, I wouldn't want paganism to become an "organized religion." The whole pagan attraction for me, is the freedom to interpret things individually without rules.
@@rockingredpoppy9119still be nice if communities formed up and could be found a lil easier
Only thing I miss from my Christian days is the “fellowship”
🤷♂️I just like people
And would be nice if I could talk about this stuff without freaking dogmatic fools out 😂
@@Dovahkiin0117 yes "community" is lacking in our modern society.
In Scandinavia we that follow Asatro/Fornsed put a lot of emphasis on the "minor" powers like rådare, not just the Gods. Beings of nature. Rådare (Rulers) are extremely local. They are in that lake, on that mountain, in that forest. They never move. So if I went to America these powers would be the local equivalent beings of nature. They would not be Scandinavian.
Would you say the same for the icelanders who use the same stories for their landscape? Are the europeans who went further west but in time severed the political relationship unlike the icelanders that they are exempt from that connection?
@@YamiPoyo Yes in Iceland they have similar beings in nature, but these days they prefer elves, or they call rådare elves. They came from Scandinavia and had the same religion. Probably the same in Faroe Islands that was also colonized by Scandinavians.
Other Germanic areas like England, Germany, Netherlands, Flemmish Belgium, Southern Scotland probably will give a similar feeling since their native religion(s) was close to the Scandinavian.
What im asking is this, icelanders are a mix of peoples not just scandinavian, and are the north american settlers, why are the european settlers not considered scandinavian in their landscape lore but iceland is, hence the question of political severed ties
@@YamiPoyo Because the Scandinavians where the first to settle Iceland. They where the first to give names to the powers of nature there. And they are still the etnnic and linguistic group there ever since. But you have a point, maybe you can just see the nature in North America from whatever cultural background you have. I don't know, I have never been there. Use your cultures names for the cratures and powers in nature that has always been there before Europeans arrived. Ii some of the Scanidnacians that came from Greenland to Canada (Vinland) where still heathen they probabaly did in Canade becasue they didn't know what culture the localss had there.
This is a wonderful conversation! American pagan. I will reflect on that and see what comes through for me. ❤
You've really grown since you picked up and left. I think your pilgrimage / vision quest (nobody hate on me for calling it that, please; I don't mean to appropriate indigenous beliefs or Hollywood perceptions of them) broadened your perception of the world of spirits. The Gods, the land, and the ancestors. Do them proud!
You form the land and the land forms you! If you got a good feeling for spirituality, you cannot look away from the local spirits, no matter who your personal gods might be, you will feel the land
Beautifully said❤️
Great Video! It gives me a lot to think about. I am a second generation American. My grandparents were from Italy ,Hungry, and the Czech Republic. I have a strong attachment to Scotland. I have visited many times. Only recently through DNA and archeological data have found ancestry in England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. I have always felt a connection to these areas. I am also drawn to the American southwest, particularly Arizona. My ancient DNA calls to my soul. I am an American Pagan!!!!
Yes I did family tree and where I long to move and nature and not fitting in California it all made such sense. ❤
So happy to hear about the Norse gods again. Your videos just get better and better
Here, here! And well said. We were brought here by our ancestors under good and bad circumstances, but we don’t have to cling to what was done in the past. We can create something specific to this new realization we are coming to🌀 Riding the spiral friends.
Acknowledging the past isn't claiming to it. If anything, people in this country have an obsession with whitewashing our history and treating the past as if it is significant. This is part of the reason why so many White Americans of willful immigrant descent have very little cultural ties to where their families came from back in Europe
Loved this!! The personal practice is varied because we are varied. That’s been a crazy struggle because it feels like i have to choose one over the other but in reality, I’ve learned so much from ancestors on different spectrums so it’s a waste of our time to worry about it. The ones that speak loudly are the ones to listen to…. Good guides. I mentioned this on instagram before I deleted the account (too distracting) but it’s all about relationship. It’s worth it to explore Elementals and ways to “connect” to the land….that’s how it’s done. That’s where their names come from, especially when we all get to experience the same beings. Some of those get described as “gods”. :)
This is a great video. I teach a very similar concept in my book Australian Druidry with what I call the Three Ancestors: those of our bloodline, inspirations and the land. I think there is a lot to compare and discuss with the similarities and differences between Australian and American Paganism. We are all learning so much.
Beautiful presentation! I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Beautiful ❤
Very nicely put together and very nicely put together the point.
This moved me, so thank you!
I've long had very similar thoughts, being a person of Northwestern European ancestry who is also an eclectic and non-traditional Animist and Folk Magician who is ALSO an American with a deep love and respect for Indigenous and Native cultures and people. It's a delicate balance, and I have sometimes had to be very careful not to appropriate. Most especially since local spirits interact with me a great deal.
It is true that some Native and First Nations peoples were gone long before European colonialism arrived. And that tragically a great many more are gone exactly because of that brutality and the disease, economic and political disenfranchisement, demonization, violence, cultural-religious indoctrination and erasure that occurred as a result.
But in general, it's very important to emphasize that a huge panoply of tribes and nations are ALIVE within both the North and South Americas and that they are vital cultures made up of real human beings. Part of decolonialization is not talking about them in a perpetually past tense. And also, to know that most of them are under cultural, linguistic and religious/spiritual threat by the majority cultures, languages and faiths around them.
I don't speak for any of them, and that should be made clear. But personally I find the some of the best ways to honor the Land in this country where I was born, which my ancestors emigrated to in the past for various reasons, is to advocate for Indigenous and Native peoples in increasing their opportunities and protecting their rights, pointing folks to their immense variety and beauty (they are not a monolith), advocating for the protection of their sacred spaces when I can, treating the Land around me as sacred (it is, like all the Earth, but in its own unique ways) and walking lightly upon it, and most especially NOT culturally or spiritually appropriating what isn't mine (sweat lodges, culturally-specific terminology like medicine, totem and spirit guide, smudging, traditional costumes, etc.). That can't fix everything that was done the last 500 years, but maybe it can help a little now. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes like we all do. But I do the best I can.
And yeah, Americans are a weird bunch. Except for the aforementioned Native peoples and also for relatively recent immigrants (the first and last to get here, as it were), a great many of us seem to feel disconnected from our ancestry and the places our heritage comes from. And others are focused too much on that, sometimes in hateful ways.
Getting that balance right is tricky, especially if you've never been to your ancestral lands. Especially for Black Americans who had that heritage stolen from them with the advent of slavery, but in other groups also. There's a lot of White malaise and searching desperately for roots to connect to as well. America's gumbo-like nature gives most of us a nation but not as much of a culture, if that makes sense, at least not one with any more than a few centuries of combined history. And it is an especially hybridized culture that is rarely seen elsewhere.
I am drawn to many deities, most of them of "Celtic" extraction (the Britons and Brythons, Gaels and Gauls, etc.), whom my ancestors worshipped, but also to many others from elsewhere. But almost entirely these are from dead faiths, reconstructions and revivals aside. That keeps me from feeling weird about that.
Sorry for all the rambling. Great video!
Absolutely awesome,, the explanation you give is what I have felt my entire life....thanks so much for putting it in words
Your practice is YOUR practice and what I tell everyone Don't forget your roots we are trees we stay rooted but branch off to different paths in honor. American is a cluster fuck of different cultures, religion, beliefs, and paths but our ancestors have always honor the lands and the gods in there way the OG's of America will always be the true Native American's and the indigenous Mexican(Mexica) and they have always honored the land and spirits and we can learn so much from all of our native ancestors Jacob once again a beautiful video my friend much gratitude to you my friend ❤️🔥
Thankyou! I love the concept, I'm an American Pagan. And as colorful our past we are spiritual and proud🙋🫂❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤✌️
I so resonate with you message here in your talk. Much gratitude 🙏 ♾️
Europeans came murdered, killed, and pushed out... conquered is the word youre looking for, for better or worse, it was conquered...
American Paganism is the term I’ve been using for the last few months because the other titles just don’t hit right.
Thank you for saying all of this. I've been on a spiritual journey for most of my 66 years here. I've thought many of the things that you are talking about. Blended people from many diaspora are what America is. How do we find our place with the other natural beings?
a good way to look at things, im going to make that into a sticker for my car "the earth is my temple."
as always with your videos and when we talk in person, i take away something that makes me think and dig deeper into my spiritual journey.
I don't know who this is according to your youtube name, but I am glad I have been able to help 🙏
I'm in north Arkansas deep In the woods, living offgrid w 20 dogs, being my own Shaman. Hit me up if you swing by.
This video is an extremely interesting perspective. It's hard to find information on our ancestors because we are many ethnicities no matter race. When immigrants came to America slowly their traditions, language and life changed and was lost through years. Alot of Americans go outwards to find answers. Overall no matter where our ancestors came from or where we were born and or live(d) Earth is home. We should honor Earth and respect Earth it's everyone's home. We are one family across the whole globe just separated by boarders, seas, and diversity. When we understand oneness we heal together. 💕
You are talking about the exact things I have struggled with in my Paganism. We European mutts long for a connection to our ancestors and to the land. We may be able to trace our ancestors back across the pond and we might try to practice what we can reconstruct of their Paganism but still, we are practicing it in a land that is not that of our Pagan ancestors. Can I really honor the land spirits as my Celtic, Saxon, and Norse ancestors might have in a land they never saw? I don't have a drop of Native American blood, am not even an adopted member of any tribe, have zero teaching from any elder so I can't very well try to honor the spirits as the Native Americans did. So what am I to do? I hope your video either gives me an answer, not the answer but an answer or a start to finding the answer.
Do you or your group do any activism or give support to the indigenous cultures you draw from? Alot of American First Nation tribes are still to this day, undergoing cultural and identity erasure and would be a great thing if you used your group and platform to help out in an animist perspective
I love this idea and suspect it could only work if they WANT the help. A connection to the land feels so strong that I want to connect with the native tribes about it, but if there are walls up, I have to respect them.
I love how you talked about acknowledging and honoring the land and native spirits and I think it’s very important to tie it into current events and stay informed on current struggles indigenous people struggle with and honor their voices and their struggles from YEARS ago still to this day 🫶🏽 I am a reconnecting native
I have a lot of native blood but my family has assimilated so much that reconnecting has been such a journey and goes deeper than acknowledging their religion and spirits but great video and thank you
I was definitely ready to sperg out when you hit my trigger phrases but the fact is you’re right, it is complicated and should be talked about more among US/Can heathens.
Here from Louisiana. I personally formed my own faith on animistic and totemic beliefs. Totemic as in, the general concept, but not stealing from any tribe’s personal beliefs or something. I’m super disconnected from Europe and its faiths and info on them seems lacking in the first place.
I have oaks in my yard that are sacred to me, the local river, etc. I’ve developed my own ideas on the afterlife, though I’m yet to take-up a deity. I have principles set for myself, some in-stone, rules for myself to stay how I see being moral.
Also American Paganism includes traditions from many places... not only the Native side and to me is important to honor the culture you came from... Ancestors are not exclussive to the heritage within USA. This is is deeper & longer conversation. I am not going to leave my culture just to practice spirituality from the places I live. I respect it, but it has to click and resonate for me to connect with it at a ritualistic level.
I also felt a similar way when I went to Scotland for the first time to study Gaelic for the summer. I was so excited, and I did feel a deep connection, but at the same time I was acutely aware that it was not my home. Even "small" things like the fact that there are no cardinals or blue jays there. An ancient "familiarity" mixed with an alienness. As much as I have enjoyed each time I've been to Scotland, almost every molecule in my body is within me from the food and water here in this land. Coming home after such sojourns gives a deep "settling" to my soul. The quality and angle of the light in my area on any given day of the year, etc. It's just different, and those differences really play a large role in our self-identities more than one may realize until they travel. I also happen to be (a very small ) part Choctaw, though I wasn't raised in the culture directly. But I also will never choose to be a spiritual "second class citizen". I usually find it more helpful to my spiritual and emotional health to connect to the land, the land spirits, and the dead, more than breathing pagans today because the proof of my paganism is the successful connections I have with them more so than having the "correct" opinion about a modern issue. It's amazing how accommodating and forgiving the spirits are compared to other breathing humans, and how little they lay original sin on the children for the crimes of their fathers compared to other breathing (even pagan) humans. That's why it is and will continue to be basically impossible to speak of "American paganism" as a monolith in any way.
Glad you were able to visit scotland!
For me, I definitely felt home in Scotland 😂
I agree with your prospective on this subject.
I do agree, that it’s up to you to figure out who’s god, what god and what beliefs you choose to live, helps you live fulfilled a happy life, is completely of your own..
Well said. I began my spiritual journey in my early 20s and I'm now twice your current age. The time when I wandered. I was raised in Utah in a very American religion Mormonism. I renounced that tradition and my practicies have morphed and changed over the years. Now the land of California that I moved too 32 years ago is my spiritual home. The sacred overlock on Mt. Tamalpais north of the Golden Gate Bridge with its sacred Oak Tree and the rock outcroppings that are a seat of power from which you can see the ocean to your right and the land unfold before you. To the majesty of Yosemite that I return to every year. No, I have no indidgenous blood. I am not Ohlone or Miwok, but this place called me and is the place where my ashes will be scattered. The majick of place is ubdeed the place too start and too end.
I totally agree with your words that this should be religion.
As an european, i can only see america from the sideline. But i think the main difference is is that you chose your gods. Nobody in america is questioning christianity - how it came from palestina and is brought to this new lands. Same goes for the (irish) celts who arrived in ireland. There are stories of other people living there, but they just brought their gods and culture with them.
Yes ancestors play it's part. Yes history plays it's part. But it was your _choice_ to become a pagan, not something you were born into
They're was Iron Age Europeans too Celts,Iberians ,Persians , Greeks Phoenicians after them Scandinavians then Spanish Galicians Portuguese and Then English French and other later Celts then Germans and others time frame varies
yes, the united states of america is a fairly young county. however, i think many of us are here long enough to claim our own, american (by that i mean the united states), heritage. have you seen any of arith harger's videos? he's brilliant (in my opinion).
I'll always be a pluralist. Extreme pluralism, if you will. There should be as many American Paganisms as there are lineages of American peoples. Every subtype of European settlers, (there are at least five unique "nations" in the US South alone) by majority ancestry to an Old World region, the language of that region, the deities of that region, and so on. Every subtype of African that made their way here, and of course every kind of Amerindian (easy mode, can skip the next step)
Take that, and multiply that by biospheres. Wherever the son or daughter of the above nations happens to live today. There's at least 120 ecoregions, as designated by the EPA, and that would've had an influence on local folklore, religiosity, survival, and customs had they progressed from the stone age to now in that region.
So take the ancestry/tradition(s) in your veins, the biosphere around you, and inform that by the long and storied histories that brought those things together, and you have a kind of prism of practices that would or will create a fractal kaleidoscope of folkways and paths suited to the multiplicity of personalities, perspectives, and backgrounds here in the States.
Whether you or how much you choose to appropriate other indigenous paths or lean on 19-20th century occultism is between a) you and your relationship with that tradition's holders, and b) your willingness to get dirty with research and willingness break out of the last 2000 years of forced cultural suppression.
Make sense?
Omg, your sweater is so intense
Jacob will you be at Wardruna in red rocks this year?
I like so much of what you say in this video, but I think it's also important to draw focus to the fact that the indigenous people of north American are very much alive and practicing their traditional beliefs. Too often we imagine them as historical figures and extinct tribes, but they're not. We'd be very ignorant to simply honor what they "believed" rather than what they do actively believe today. I know you've taken the effort to talk with indigenous practitioners before, especially in your experience in south America, but I don't think I hear you talk enough about the still-living practices of the indigenous people where you and many of your viewers live in the US. I know you're passionate about understanding and respecting traditional beliefs, and I think your practice and the educational content would be seriously lacking a perspective from native American people without more focus on them. These questions and conversations are difficult to talk about, as you know, but I think you are very capable of engaging respectfully with the topic and of interacting respectfully with these indigenous voices, and helping to boost their message. And I'd be very excited to see that.
Another deeper dimension of spirituality can be found at: FTDNA Big Y 700. Learn where you ancestors lived for the past 60,000 years. I don't work for FTDNA, but I have done the testing to find where my paternal ancestors lived for the past 60K years through the stone age out of Africa. Similar can be done for mitochondrial DNA for maternal ancestors.
Do the deities of Hawaii next
I am the BRIGHTEST NIGHT.
I am the DARKEST LIGHT. ❤
I probably mention this almost every time I comment, but I'm Swedish, and we have some of the same here in Europe, unavoidably, though in a less extreme way than America.
What I mean is that all European paganism is splintered and with only small shards spread very far for us to pick up. We CANNOT reconstruct a spirituality without looking far and wide to Hinduism, Buddhism, and above all, animistic and shamanistic paganism from north and south America, Siberia, and elsewhere. As you have brought up extensively, in your videos, and walked the walk as well.
And even us indigenous Europeans(!) are always mixed to some extent, as are all humans (except perhaps for someone like the Sentinelese 😅). I'm "all Swedish", but actually 1/6th Finnish and a tiny bit Baltic and Sami, and through that and my father's male line, I descend from Siberians.
So while I switch between calling myself Odinist (the goal is achieving "Odin consciousness", similar to enlightenment in other non-Abrahamic religions) and simply a heathen, I must look everywhere and learn from everywhere to help reconstruct something that makes a complete spirituality. We're today (some since the 1970s, really) just starting to place the building blocks our descendants 100-200 years from now will benefit greatly from. 💜
You have exactly described what has been happening for hundreds of thousands of years. A syncratic perennial eveolutaion through time and space.
Christian, islamic, hindu, pagan, Wicca or hermeticism what ever religious spirtual practice have all gone through change over time.
Does it make it any less valid... my opinion no. Its all valid to the practitioners all is mind everything is mental. All within as above 🤘
thank u for talking ab this when not enough people are 🫶🏻
This is on my mind a lot. I’ve decided I don’t belong anywhere.
Hi from Seattle! I'm trying to learn more about land spirits, and specifically the ones who inhabit this region. Does anyone here have a rough idea on how to go about this? I just wish that I could hear them over all the traffic...
True I am Irish German and English.
I live in Colorado and have since I was a kid I'm very lucky to so close to the gods
I thank God every day that my mom raised me as Pagan. 😂😂😂
I call my spirituality "Eclectic Heathen". I have Germanic People ancestry that I consider, but I progress and find truths along my path. No "gods" involved. Nature and Source of all/ Oneness of all things is my only requirements.
btw - Well Done video.
@@larryfulmer I once called myself Solitary Eclectic, early-ish in the Revival, as Wiccans were very prominent in my scene...but I just call myself an Animist Folk Heathen now...and nobody bothers me. I live in a VERY Pentecostal/ Baptist area, and am pleased at how little drama I get.
Have to disagree about us being "a country of immigrations." There is no Western Civilisation without Westernkind, you cant be an "immigration" to a country that only exists because you and your people built it.
"American Paganism"? We have basically very scarce records on Europe, where Paganism originated, most sources are biased written accounts by Christian priests. We are almost clueless about what Paganism was, so we reinvent it and attribute new meaning to it. Modern Paganism is like a copy of a copy of a copy, where the end result is very different from it's original. So American Paganism is just the extreme version of this.
"Modern Paganism is like a copy of a copy of a copy, where the end result is very different from it's original."
And all paganism is this.
"Viking Age Paganism" would be a copy of earlier iron age paganism, that a copy of bronze age, then back and back it goes. This is how culture evolves.
We may have gaps in the knowledge, but saying paganism is not valid simply because it is modern is not correct. Paganism has always been an ever evolving thing.
@@TheWisdomOfOdin From Stone Age to Viking age there was an uninterrupted pass on of traditions, culture, symbols, meaning. An evolution, like you mentioned, there was no loss, just a constant evolving. This was interrupted and almost completely eradicated by the Christianization of Europe. Even if Vikings or Celts had to make up stuff to fill in a gap here and there, we now have all gaps and a bit of information here and there. We had to make up pretty much everything, hence my view on modern Paganism. We know almost nothing about it's original meaning, we just speculate and act as if it's official.
I think it is not culture stealing to be in native religions.
Hi Jacob, how are you? Could you do a "Explaining Thor in 4 Minutes"? Does he really kill humans for fun like in GOW Ragnarok? If he does, why did the ancient Germans see him as a hero?
WHAT 😂
Lesson 1, don't learn mythology from video games
@@TheWisdomOfOdin They're going to release a series on Netflix where he looks exactly like in GOW Ragnarok, killing people for fun. In fact, several current media are portraying him that way, which is why I thought he committed those acts.
Im not sure everyone celebrating at stonehenge necesarily identifies as pagan other than loosely.
You dont need to go neolithic sites to Blōt. You just find a Stede on a hill ir by a river and worship there. The sacred places of past cultures tended to be used as moot sites rather than religious ritual.
You removed your armring... 😮
Hail odin
A lot of things make sense and it is true. However, please stop calling USA "America" because that is like if the rest of it is less or not important and it is important to acknowledge and respect that.
Jacob do you think you have to go to a medicine man to honor the land that logic is like telling a Catholic that they can only go to a priest to worship Christ. Here is another thing ninety nine percent of our ancestry in our live times are Christian should we still honor them even though their choice religion would not like us to.
I feel zero ties to the Indians or their spirits. My ancestors cut a path, conquered even, West like the Indo-Europeans Horse Lords of old. We settled the West with Blood and Tears, in the 1880's when the West was still wild. Conquering the West as we did, like living avatars of the very beginning, rebirthed something older in our souls. That is what I honor.
Someone has watched too many action movies
@@TheWisdomOfOdin action movies? Na man. This is my family history. To honor it I did 5 years in the United States Marine Corps, 10 years in private security, I work rodeos multiple times a year, work with the bulls, and maintain the family horse ranch. I'm not a larper like most of those dudes that think they are "Vikings."
A country of immigrants? Not necessarily true. The United States of America did not exist until 1776. Europeans who came here before this date are settlers, not immigrants, who immigrated to the United States to become American. My ancestors were settlers in the Louisiana territory in the late 1600s, and early 1700s. Therefore, my family did not immigrate to the United Sates of America.
Good point. I am not that versed in American history, but it seems to me logical that the Indians did not occupy all the territory, northamerica must have been quite an empty space at least in a lot of certain areas
They IMMIGRATED to a new country. Whatever its name was when they got here, they were still strangers in a foreign land, who took their chunk and made a life, regardless of who else lived there.
Do humans have to be one-dimensional? What is so difficult about both honoring the manifest and the transcendent as well. Primitive people honored nature and also The Great Spirit who oversaw it all. Now people are turning to Paganism and rejecting the transcendent. Hearing anything that is one-dimensional is sad and it is foolish. Try being both, honoring nature and the Godhead both; it doesn’t have to be a choice as both the manifest and the transcendent make up the universal; what is real. The transcendent God should be also mentioned here as the origin of all that is manifest; otherwise this is a regress. Spirit and Nature both. It should be: “Spirit and Nature dancing together; victory to Spirit and victory to Nature.”
@@MikefromTexas1 I don't consider myself an immigrant as my family did not immigrate to the United States to become Americans. Instead, Americans immigrated into the Louisiana territory after 1803. I don't buy into Obama's lie that we are a nation of immigrants. We know our history and refuse to allow someone from another state to falsify our own history for us. You are not even of our own culture. Your opinion doesn't mean squat to me.
@@raymalbrough9631 You're not an immigrant because you never migrated anywhere.
Your ancestors did, therefore THEY were immigrants. Every single person not of "native heritage" is *descended* from someone who *migrated* to the Americas.
Your feelings are irrelevant, any goddamn president is irrelevant, all that matters is the simple fact that 99% of the North American population wouldn't be here if some distant relative of theirs, yours, mine, didn't MIGRATE here. I'm not an immigrant, and neither are you. But we are descended from them.
You seem to be stuck on "it wasn't the US, so it's not immigration", which is just a stupid thing to say and shows you don't even know what immigration means.
"America" is a continent, not a country.
I aint called an United Staten 😂
Actually, it’s 2 continents.
The Europeans were being pushed out, unalived, "murd...ered" by American Indians from the settlements they made in the wilderness and experienced unprovoked deadly attacks when they traveled through areas in their wagons and on horseback simply to get from one place to another. Not only do I know this from real historical accounts, it's part of my family's historical account, to be murdered, kidnapped, held hostage by American Indians. I get tired of only one side of this story being told. I get tired of Europeans being presented as simply gen.o.ci.dal maniacs who killed Indians without any reason or provocation. They had reasons to fight with Indians and reasons to not want them in the areas they settled for their own safety. And they also didn't fight with ALL the Indians either.
Well said. It is a disservice to our own people to allow this narrative of blameless indians to be peddled continuously; and this dilution of our own culture through this universalist blending of contrasting cultures and peoples. Honor your own people, to not do so is an insult to the Gods.
Yes....they were pushed back...... BECAUSE THEY WERE FOREIGN INVADERS.
LIKE, ARE WE REALLY GOING TO SIT HERE AND PRETEND THAT EUROPEANS WOULD NOT/HAVE NOT DONE THE SAME WHEN FOREIGN INVADERS LANDED ON EUROPEAN SHORES OR CROSSED INTO YOUR EUROPEAN TERRITORIES?
You're unwillingness to accept that the history of the United States of America begins with Europeans invading North America (when they simply didn't need to) is clear proof that you are not at all enlightened nor are you ready for enlightenment. If you were really enlightened you would be willing to acknowledge that truth and not at all feel that it defines all of who you or your ancestors are. Until you drop your preoccupation with defending the image and honor of Whiteness, real enlightenment won't come. This is the danger of the pagan community......it is often times treated like a refuge for bigots. I can assure you, none of your pagan ancestors were bigoted or one-sided in their perceptions of non-white people nor would they have conceived of an identity of whiteness or European miss that they would extend towards themselves and all other people groups in Europe. Your ancestors in Europe would have resisted invasion from foreigners the exact same way that Native Indigenous folks attempted to when Europeans landed on their shores.
You sound a bit cynical.
You need to understand that certain europeans were even kicked out from their own continent, because of their criminal life style.
Unfortunately, they migrated to the americas to cause nuisances for the native tribes.
You see this among the Gyp_sies, in which no one wants them in any way shape or form. Also, they are extremely perverted, incestious, nefarious, and fictitious where given a chance will take advantage of lesser small groups.
American Paganism is ridiculous ... the native American or Redskin are the real natives that probably made thought Bering Strait crossing some centuries before Christopher Columbus or even I dare to say that the Induits that live in Canada could be descendants from Viking and some people went Souther to be come the RedSkin, but I'm just speculating... what about the natives from Mexico to Panama prior Christopher Columbus? What about the Incas in South-America?
American Paganism but talk about Odin?...Seriously ?? Even in Europe there are differences between Germanic, Welsh, etc ...
So are you saying people in america should follow the native american practices if they are seeking to get into paganism?
Very interesting points to consider. One thing I've been coming to understand while learning about ProtoIndoEuropean history is that, people take their gods with them. Sometimes they become part of a new pantheon or change their name. But the gods travel. Now land spirits are very different, and we absolutely do need to be respectful of them in every place. Ancestors likewise, are part of us and follow us. So it's these three elements that make up our worship (I think at least).
It's funny bc I was just thinking I'd be interested in a video like this and then it just appeared on my feed 🪄✨
I hope people really understand that you live what you preach! And for that I can salute 🫡
Ps: The scenery is TOP NOTCH!! 🏔️
I love 4 1/2 hours from Cahokia been there a few times they have a lot of mound builders snake mount in Ohio's interesting too snake eating the egg or the Sun!
I needed to hear this! Thank you Jacob. The earth has so much ancient wisdom not shared
🏜🪷🌌
Sorry what Scott’s garlic 🏴 🧄 , I’m only messing. It’s more gay lick than garlic. Loving the video though you bring some very good points to the conversation