Eclecticism, Syncretism, and McNeopaganism

At one time I identified as Wiccan, and gave it up in favor of Asatru.  While I no longer consider myself to be Asatru (in large part due to primary dedication to Vanir Deities), I have not reverted to Wicca, no matter what some of my detractors may think (which is not so much insulting to me as to what real Wiccan traditions actually believe and practice).  When I was identifying as Wiccan, I became very frustrated with others who took issue with my hard polytheism, and honoring the Norse pantheon more than other Gods.  It was assumed this was "narrow-minded", especially when the Norse Gods are "warlike" and were called "patriarchal".

Now, 13 years into my Neopagan Career (TM), I have matured quite a bit.  I know not all Wiccans are fluffy, and I know that the generic "McNeopaganism" of many people calling themselves Wiccan in the United States is not actual traditional Wicca.  Moreover, I have seen some people who honor a wide variety of Deities who are serious about their Gods, serious about their magickal and religious practices, serious about research, and serious about having a positive experience and creating one for others.  A good portion of my friends are "dual-trad", whether Celtic-Norse or Norse-Egyptian or Norse-Hellenic, and seem to make it work.  I also have a couple of Greco-Egyptian syncretist friends who are reconstructing the culture of Alexandria, where Greek and Egyptian cultures, ideas, and Gods came together for a time. 

There is a difference, in my opinion and experience, between dual-trad and syncretists, and eclecticism.  And there is a lot of confusion about what these terms mean, so let me define these terms as per my viewpoint and experience, yours can and will vary.


SYNCRETISM: I define syncretism as being a merge of two cultures and pantheons in areas where the merger was historical or historically probable.  For example, the culture of Alexandria had Greek as well as Egyptian dwellers, and a convergence of the Greek and Egyptian cultures *and* beliefs.  The group Neos Alexandria (I'm friends with a few members there, yes) are Greco-Egyptian syncretists as similar to was practiced in Alexandria.  Serapis was in fact a Deity that came out of Greco-Egyptian syncretism.

For something that was not concrete but highly likely, we have Celtic-Norse syncretism, such as the temple of Black Thor in Dublin, and many overlaps between cultures such as the boar as a sacred animal, the harp and lyre as similar musical instruments, etc.  There is a trend I have noticed of Odin recruiting from among Morrighan's people, and vice versa.  The very Anglo-Saxon culture is syncretic, as the Germanic Saxons intermarried and blended with the Celtic Britons, and I believe Cernunnos/Herne is an example of a God revered by both the Germanic and Celtic peoples.

However, it is still not always the case that a syncretist will call Deities from both pantheons in the same ritual.

While this is purely a matter of semantics and I have friends who would disagree with this, I do not consider any combination of 2 or 3 pantheons to be "syncretism" even if there is an effort made to honor the different Gods in the manner They are accustomed to.  I see syncretism *only* as being pantheons connected via geographical area and a historical meshing of cultures: Roman-Celtic, Celtic-Norse, Greco-Egyptian, etc.

Which leads me to defining dual/multi-trad:


DUAL/MULTI-TRAD: I define dual-trad as dealing with two different pantheons who may or may not have been historically connected, but having equal or near-equal involvement with both pantheons, or perhaps a little of one and a lot of the other, and usually separate rituals for separate pantheons.  There are also a few examples of multi-trad with more than two different pantheons, still kept separate and with a going back-and-forth, round-and-around.

Example... I have a few friends who honor both the Norse and Hellenic Gods, but it is not a mishmash of "anything I want it to be", rather well-thought out festivals and altars and devotions.  There are also friends I have who honor the Norse Gods and the Umbanda orixas, and while you can say what you will about that (plenty has been said already, thank you), there has been an arrangement between the two groups regarding trance possession which may probably have been practiced in elder Northern times and lost to us as when/where/how, ergo deals were made.  They seem to get along more or less fine from what I understand, I feel because these pantheons or power-groups were introduced to each other properly.  In fact, it could be said as our society becomes increasingly global, there are not any Deities/Powers who are not aware of other Deities/Powers from other pantheons/cultures.   Whether or not They all get on well is a completely different topic...

I also separate dual- and multi-trad from eclecticism because, again, usually the rituals for different pantheons are separate (as opposed to, say, calling Mars and the Morrighan in the same circle, or Kali-Ma and Odin), and semantically speaking, "trad" to me is short for "tradition", which means "some semblance of reconstruction if not strict Recon practice", as opposed to "pulling anything out of my arse because I feel like it right now".  There may be an attempt to keep historical feast days, as one example, with somewhat historical offerings (alcohol, foods appropriate to the culture).


ECLECTICISM: I understand eclecticism to be working with "whatever works" and not only having elements from various traditions in a ritual, such as beginning with the LBP and doing sumble to Isis and Lugh, but perhaps doing a spell that involves constructing an Enochian sigil to boot.  Unfortunately, much of Llewicca is very much like this -- I have met eclectic Wiccans and Neopagans who are mindful of the fact that different pantheons are accustomed to different kinds of treatment and you can't just throw everything in a blender and say "I can do whatever feels right", but they seem to be few and far between.  When you are working with real Gods and real magick, you cannot be casual about it, and you cannot assume it is going to work because you will it to.  But, that hasn't stopped many others from mindless eclecticism, that is, collecting Deities and magickal ideas like baseball cards is the "soft polytheist" attitude that all Gods are archetypes and facets of the Great God and Great Goddess, who are halves of The All, "using" Gods for a spell.  Anyone who has actually ever encountered real Gods knows you don't *use* a God for anything.  If anything, you are the one who will be used.  The Gods are bigger than us, and while I don't think They smite everyone who offends Them, it doesn't bode well for spells working, or the threads of one's Wyrd for that matter.

With the example of "using" Deities, said Deities are often thrown together carelessly in a working without thought of the complex nature of Their characters and whether or not They would actually want to be in the same ritual space.  Truces and alliances between some Deities does not mean that of all: Mars and the Morrigan were frequently invoked by the Celts and Romans when warring against each other, why do you think They would want to be in Circle together?  Combine this with being sensitive to presences of Gods when invoked, and knowing when They are not happy.  I can tell you that I don't like being in dis-harmonious ritual space, and it's happened to me enough times that I don't want to experience that on a regular basis.

If you think I may be overreacting much, it matters to *me* because it's a matter of respect.  Odin is not only different from Zeus in characteristics and agenda, They were honored differently.  Frey was honored much differently than Dionysus.  The Morrighan was honored differently than Freyja.  As a matter of respect to the Deities involved, it is important to be mindful of what They might like, rather than treating Them all the same.

There also is a tendency with the Llewicca mindless eclecticism to be clueless as to what the Deities are like.  The Morrighan is not some dreamy love Goddess -- She loves blood.  That's what She loves.  Hekate is not a maiden frolicking in the forest singing lullabies to the bunny rabbits.  No matter how many flowers you put on your statue of Kali-Ma, that does not change the fact that in certain parts of India, thugees give Her human sacrifice.  Obviously, as one who worships "bright" Vanir and "destructive" Jotnar, I understand that there is no Deity so destructive that They do not have a benevolent and compassionate side, nor a Deity so good and kind that They do not have a fearful spooky death face when someone pushes Them to that point.  But it's important to know the full scope of the Deity, and unfortunately too many Pagans are not willing to deal with the more unsavory aspects of the Gods they "use" for spells, and besides this potentially messing up magickal workings, to say you love a Deity and not recognize the complexities of Their character is to put Them on a pedestal, and though They may be Gods, They are not perfect, especially if you hold any truth to we being made in Their image.  Just as nature can often be beautiful and dangerous, the Gods are both, and more.  So, a Deity can get pissed off, not just for the hubris of trying to boss Them around, but also for failing to "get it".


Now, I don't have an allergic reaction to "the carrots and peas don't go together" -- I have heard a number of Heathens who get wanky over the dual-trad issue, even Celtic-Saxon dual-trad, because as one person in my acquaintance put it, "Asatru means Troth to the Aesir, not to these other Gods.  These other Gods are utgard, They are our enemies."  Last thing I knew, Rhiannon was not declaring a fatwa on Heathens.  That being said, the Norsemen in particular traveled far and wide, and were most likely respectful to the people and cultures and Gods of those cultures when they travailed (that is, when they weren't raiding and pillaging), and even brought things back with them, the Birka Buddha as one example. 

And beyond that, most of my friends who are dual-trad still do not call Gods of different pantheons in the same ritual, mainly because it is understood the Gods were honored in a specific cultural context.  I have friends who are eclectic who have explained the example of global awareness and working with the different Gods as a form of explolration and peace-weaving, some of my friends in Feri as an example.  If you can give a clear and well-thought out explanation of why you are eclectic, why you work with as many Deities from as many different pantheons as you do, what it means to you, and what you hope to accomplish, this satisfies me, and I won't tell the thoughtful eclectic "you're doing it wrong".  It's actually not my place to tell anyone they're doing it wrong -- it is my place to worry about what I'm doing.  That being said, I am a Gydhia (so it's been said), and there are people who come to me when the proverbial shit hits the fan, to ask for my assistance.  So, before I have to clean up your mess, please avoid that mess in the first place.

I have mentioned that the pantheons of Gods are like branches of a family tree.  Just like one family might have a different way of running their household, what they like on their dinner table, how they spend their recreational time, than other families, I view the different pantheons very much the same way.  There is some overlap with what some Deities appreciate, and They're usually not screaming for blood and human flesh these days, which is good from a Norse perspective.  My main concern with eclectic practice is if you can respect the differences between "families" and the way They do things.

Religion is not a buffet table.  On the other hand, eating the same food every day, day after day, is not always nutritious and can be quite boring.  It is OK to study different belief systems to compare notes and glean what you can from it.  For example, I have found much of worth in Tibetan Buddhism, although I am not "technically" a Buddhist.  I use Buddhist meditation practices, as well as actively practicing tonglen.  I also believe it is OK to maintain altars to different pantheons if more than one has taken an interest in you, and develop relationships with different Deities as They come around.  It's kind of rude to tell Odin (or any God/dess) "go fuck off, I already have too many" if He decides He wants something from you, nor should you stand there and grumble if you've been invited to a pan-Pagan event with multiple rites for different pantheons.  I believe that if you are serving in a priestly or shamanic capacity you should be aware that not everyone who comes to you will be of your tradition, so you need to have studied some comparative mythology and have some interfaith dialogue to know what you're doing.  That being said, just as I do not have the resources to adopt every stray cat that I see, I cannot take in every God that catches my attention for ten seconds, either.  And since I believe every God exists, it's good that someone else is honoring Deities that I don't have time for, or who don't really want me for one reason or another.

Whether you are an eclectic Pagan or a one-pantheon-only Pagan, or somewhere else on the spectrum of Paganism, please think about what you are doing, and why you are doing it.  Too many people don't think.  Ultimately, I think in the best interests of promoting frith-weaving and peace-keeping on Midgard, it's OK to honor different Deities, just please do it respectfully -- don't "use" Gods, be mindful of how the Gods might like to be honored, and Who They want and don't want sharing Their ritual space.  Please have a good reason for working with the Deities you do, other than "well this One seems really cool".  And also, please realize that those who work only with one pantheon are usually not doing it to be intolerant, narrow-minded, or otherwise insensitive.

As with anything else, I think the maxim "you are your deeds" applies.  It ultimately doesn't matter to *me* what *you* do in your own private practice, so long as you're not trying to interfere with mine.  What does matter is whether or not we are trying to do the right thing, to become part of the solution in this world rather than yet more parts of the problem.  And I think that no matter what you call yourself, if you are trying to do good, and to be Love, that is what counts, and that can be done whether you believe correctly by my standards or anyone else's.  If you view the Gods as archetypes, does it matter if you're trying to work with that to do the right thing in this world?  Not really, no.  Unfortunately, it is rarely as simple as that.

(C) 2008 Sigrun Freyskona.