Old Gods and New Pagans
"Old Gods & New Pagans" is a welcoming space for new and curious pagans, heathens, and animists to explore the basics of paganism. Rooted in an Animist perspective, this podcast takes an inclusive approach, covering topics relevant to a variety of pagan paths. Each episode breaks down complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand language, with guest discussions, stories, and insights. Whether you're just starting your pagan journey or looking to learn more, join us as we dive into the wisdom of the old gods and the practices of modern pagans.
Old Gods and New Pagans
Ep 7 Discovering the Role of Myths in Pagan Traditions
Can mythology shape our understanding of the world and our place within it? Discover the answer as we journey through the intriguing realm of pagan traditions and mythology on Old Gods and New Pagans. Join Matt Holloway as he unravels the complex tapestry of pagan storytelling, where myths are not just tales of yore but powerful narratives that continue to influence cultures and spiritual practices today. We'll explore how these stories serve as moral compasses, explain natural phenomena, and preserve the essence of pagan cultures across history. Whether you're a devoted practitioner or simply curious, this episode promises to enrich your perspective on the timeless art of myth-making.
In this enlightening discussion, Matt delves into the diverse ways pagans interpret their myths, from atheistic perspectives that see deities as symbolic archetypes to theistic views that embrace them as manifestations of natural forces. With examples like the Norse god Odin, who embodies wisdom and war, we'll explore how atheistic pagans find meaning in myth without literal belief in gods. This episode respects the multiplicity of interpretations and beliefs within paganism, offering insights into the various ways mythology can be understood and appreciated. Grab a cup of tea, get comfortable, and embark on a journey through the colorful world of pagan myths, where every story holds a piece of history and soul.
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Hey there and welcome to Old Gods and New Pagans. I'm your host, matt Holloway, your guide through the wild and wonderful world of pagan traditions. Matt Holloway, your guide through the wild and wonderful world of pagan traditions. Whether you're a seasoned pagan, a curious newcomer or just here for the stories, you're in the right place. I am all about exploring ancient wisdom, modern practices and everything in between.
Matt:So grab a cup of tea, get comfortable and let's dive in today's topic. Remember, nobody has all the answers, but asking questions that's where we learn. So today we're diving into one of the most fascinating aspects of paganism the mythology. Not the actual stories, though, but the overall concept of mythology as it pertains to paganism. You see, pagan mythology is rich. It's diverse and offers countless stories that have shaped cultures and spiritual practices for centuries or millennia. But how do different pagans view these myths? Do some people just view them as made-up stories with no context? Are they stories that hold deeper truths? Are they actual historical accounts? Today, we're going to explore those questions. So let's get started. Before we get into the nuances, let's talk about what is mythology.
Matt:Mythology, in a broad sense, is a collection of stories that explain the beliefs, practices and values of a culture. These stories often involve the gods, the goddesses and other supernatural and metaphysical beings and how they interacted with humans. The term mythology often carries a negative context, as if it's the opposite of fact or truth. For example, you see topics like fact versus myth or six common food myths debunked. The thing is, language is an interesting beast because a word is capable of having multiple meanings and they can all be true within particular context. So if you're one of the people that gets upset about me referring to these stories as myths, please remember that I am defining myth simply as a collection of stories that explain the beliefs, practices and values of a culture. In paganism, mythology plays a very crucial role in shaping how we understand the world and really our place within it. Myths can explain natural phenomena, they can convey moral lessons, they can preserve the history and soul of that culture, of that pagan culture. And what is paganism, but just the customs and traditions of a people.
Matt:Okay, so today we're going to address the main ways the majority of pagans approach their mythology. We're going to jump into both the atheistic and the theistic pagans and the different ways that the myths can be interpreted. I'm not saying whether one way is right or one way is wrong. I'm just here to convey that there are multiple perspectives, as the myths are are explored. This podcast certainly does not take a dogmatic approach to paganism. So keep that in mind and I understand that there are different beliefs, different cultures and customs out there, and to say that one is right or one is wrong is really up to the individual to decide for themselves, not others. Just like paganism as it was practiced in the past and today, there are many, many nuances, branches, interpretations of how all this comes about. So first we're going to start at the bottom. We're going to look into atheistic paganism.
Matt:Okay, so the term atheist we're all familiar with this term someone who doesn't believe in gods. But you may ask yourself, with paganism we've got many gods. How can someone be a pagan and an atheist? Well, atheistic pagans embrace many of the practices, the symbolism and the rituals found in paganism, but they may not necessarily believe in literal deities or supernatural beings. Some of these people may even just be agnostic, meaning they are open to the idea that some of these beings may have existed or do exist, but instead they might see the gods and goddesses as more personifications or archetypes and symbols of natural forces or just even as metaphors for the human existence.
Matt:Some examples would be like the Norse god Odin he represents wisdom, war, death, magic, poetry, prophecy. You know Odin is associated with the knowledge, with the runes and the pursuit of wisdom. So for an atheistic perspective of that is, we had the concept of wisdom, concept of war, death, magic, and we created a being that personified those aspects. So you think of wisdom, you think of the old man with a beard and they just created Odin from that. Or it could be, from the theistic perspective, that Odin was a god that had those characteristics and then we just learn to associate those characteristics with him. See, there's two different sides to that. A couple other gods to note would be like Anubis, that A couple other gods to note would be like Anubis. You know he's the aspect of death, mummification, the afterlife protection, etc. In Egyptian mythology. You know he's associated with those things or those are things that are associated with him. We don't really know for a fact, but that's, you know, open interpretations for this.
Matt:One other thing that sets atheist pagans apart is how they view and interpret the mythology surrounding a particular pagan practice, the interpretations that all myths are just made-up stories or true events that evolved over time. From an atheistic perspective, myths are often viewed as just that, just stories. They are narratives created by humans to either explain the world around them, teach moral lessons or to convey complex ideas in a way that's easy for them to understand. You have to understand that a lot of these myths were written by very primitive peoples that didn't have a full understanding of sciences and the world and geology and things around them, so they just created these stories to explain things that they just didn't understand. Another way to interpret the myths from an atheistic perspective is that they aren't seen as literal truths, but rather like cultural artifacts that hold a symbolic significance. One example would be Odin's story of sacrifice to learn the runes.
Matt:You know the concept of a written language is a powerful thing and holds so much power within a civilization. But where do written languages come from? We know now where most written languages evolved and how they evolved through time, but for an ancient civilization this may have been seen as something that came from the gods, you know. So they created a story and a myth to surround something that was part of their everyday life, much like a people who lived near a volcano really wouldn't understand seismic activity, but attest something supernatural to the sounds coming from that volcano and consider it wrath from the gods when it erupted violently. Another example would be people that were from an arid climate might praise the gods for rain and consider rain a really good thing, whereas in the tropics, rain usually came with violent storms like hurricanes and typhoons. So they may have seen rain, personified rain as a violent, destructive force, force. So for atheistic pagans, the value of a myth lies not in whether it actually happened, but what it can teach us about ourselves, our society and our place in the universe.
Matt:Next we're going to dive into a theistic pagan's interpretation of mythology. So an explanation of theistic paganism, you know. So on the other side of that spectrum, we have theistic paganism. Theistic pagans believe in the existence of deities and supernatural beings, metaphysical beings who are active and present in the world today. For them, myths are not just stories. They are sacred texts that convey divine truths. These myths are often seen as a way to connect with the gods, to understand their will and to learn from their actions. Some of the ways that theistic pagans interpret the myths would be literal and fallible. Literal Some of the ways that theistic pagans would interpret the myths would be as literal and infallible, as metaphorical or true but fallible.
Matt:So literal and infallible. What does this mean? So some theistic pagans believe that the myths are literal. This means the stories are accurate accounts of historical events or divine actions. Literal means it happened. Infallible means that it's not capable of being wrong. For example, a myth about a god creating the world might be taken as a literal truth about how the world was actually created. In this view, myths are not just symbolic. They are the real, unchanging truth handed down through generations. They are the real, unchanging truth handed down through generations.
Matt:Other theistic pagans might see the myths more metaphorically. In this interpretation, myths are stories that were created to teach important lessons or to explain complex concepts, rather than to record actual literal history. For example, a myth about a god battling a monster could be seen as a metaphor for the struggle between good and evil or as a way to explain away natural disasters. Here, the focus of that myth is on the underlying message rather than the specific details of that story. Message rather than the specific details of that story. The third way that theistic pagans might interpret myths are that they are true stories but fallible. So this is sort of a middle ground between literal and infallible and complete metaphor. So this is that middle ground. So some theistic pagans believe that they see these myths as containing real truths. But they also acknowledge that not everything in the myth is meant to be taken literally.
Matt:Perhaps the myth might reflect a real event, but the details have been exaggerated or altered over time. I mean, for the longest time these myths were just spoken word. They were never written down. So we've all played that old-timey you know that game in like elementary school telephone, where you whisper something in someone's ear and everyone kind of keep telling that story over and over and eventually it gets changed. And a lot of pagans believe that this is possibly what happened to the stories. You know. They were embellished over time. You know, maybe one person was really into Thor. He, you know, was all about some Thor. So he might have embellished those stories about Thor to make him seem larger than life.
Matt:Or someone who did not, like a particular god or goddess, told the stories in such a way to paint them in a negative light. We don't know for a fact how this happened, but this is one way to interpret those myths and maybe the myth is just a mix of historical fact and symbolic storytelling. Maybe it was purposely, you know, mixed the real and unreal aspects of the story on purpose to tell these stories, to make them seem just better and more fun to tell and, of course, to teach a lesson. You know, this perspective allows for a lot more nuanced interpretation of the myths, recognizing both that they can be sacred and also that they do have human origins as well. So it's definitely an interesting perspective and something to consider. So, in summary, we've seen that pagan mythology can be interpreted in many, many different ways. We've seen that pagan mythology can be interpreted in many, many different ways.
Matt:Whether you're an atheistic pagan who sees these myths as symbolic stories and metaphor, or if you're a theistic pagan who believes in the literal truth of these tales, I'm here to tell you there's no right or wrong way to approach these mythologies. These stories have been passed down through generations and they continue to inspire, to challenge and to guide us in our spiritual journeys. Paganism is always evolving. Paganism is always growing and shrinking, just like the world around us. New trees pop up every day, old trees fall and die. These stories, these cultural traditions, are always moving, just like the natural world. So consider that when you read these mythologies the next time, consider all the different perspectives and think about how you interpret them and really meditate on that fact. Like I said, there's no right or wrong way. If you see these as metaphors, well, meditate on the stories and the lessons that they hold. And if you interpret these as literal truths, think about the situations that these gods, goddesses or just everyday beings, humans in these stories, how they interacted, and again, see what kind of lessons can be learned from those.
Matt:I hope this discussion has given you some food for thought about how you view mythology within your own practice and whether you see these stories as literal metaphors or somewhere in between.
Matt:They are a valuable part of cultural heritage and I hope that we can keep these stories alive for the fact that they contain so much wisdom that is still relevant today. I'd love to hear your thoughts. How do you interpret these myths in your tradition? You can go to the website oldgodsnewpaganscom. Fill out the little contact form, let me know how you feel about it, depending on what podcast platform you listen to this on, leave a review, leave a message and feel free to share your views with me on social media or in comments. Thank you for joining me on this exploration of the interpretation of pagan mythology. If you enjoyed today's episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review or sharing it with someone else who might find it interesting or helpful. You can find more content on my website, oldgodsnewpaganscom or find me on social media. Until next time, may your path bring you the challenges you can overcome and always leave you a bit wiser with every step. Thank you.
