The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/category/paganism/spotlight-on-tradition/page/2)
The Wild Hunt welcomes guest columns that provide information on or introductions to some of the lesser-known Pagan traditions. We call it our “Spotlight on Tradition” section of our site. We would love to spotlight more – please use the “Contact Us” link at the top of the page to pitch a column on your tradition to our editors.
Of the two divisions of deities in Norse mythology and religion, the Æsir are – largely thanks to Jack Kirby and Stan Lee – the better known in today’s popular culture. The Vanir, however, are just as complex and worthy of veneration as their Æsir counterparts.
For years, the Pagan organization Romuva has has sought recognition by the Lithuanian state, but the legislature repeatedly rejected its bids – even after the European Court of Human Rights declared the state was violating religious liberty. But following October elections, a new legislature has finally recognized the religion.
Like a “Sunday Catholic” who is extremely devout on Sunday mornings but lives a decidedly un-Christian life for the rest of the week, we can all too easily make grand speeches over the drinking horn at blót but neglect to put intention into action when we step out into the wider world. Are we honoring the ancestors in our lives? Or are we dishonoring them?
“Made up of a mix of all the grains, legumes, and edible seeds grown in any given area,” writes Siobhan Ball, “polysporia belongs to that most fundamental class of agricultural ritual: the kind that gets down to the bare bones of the relationship between man and gods, expressing plainly what we want and what we’re willing to give in exchange.”
David Marrè shares his experience with Italian traditions during he days of the dead: “In our peninsula, the celebration of the days dedicated to the dead has given rise to many different customs. Modern Paganism is one of the ways of their integration and rediscovery in contemporary times.”