I Promised More

Here are the pictures from hike number two. What a day that was!

Into the Clouds

I haven't blogged in a few days, mostly because I haven't been doing much as far as research goes. I'm in Cumbria, the Lake Country, with its mountains and moors and glacial lakes thousands of feet above the valleys. During the morning and daytime, when my host is out teaching mathematics, I am working on the computer, brushing up on Celtic and Anglo-Saxon history to better inform my decisions concerning the rather questionable accuracy of some of the Neo-Pagan movements. I have also been selecting films from my host's formidable cheesy horror movie collection to see where some of the misconceptions about paganism in our modern society may have originated. Primary in the movies that formed at least the British perception of paganism is the excellent (but of course extremely inaccurate) movie, The Wicker Man, a thriller about an isolated pagan isle who's crops failed and perform a human sacrifice.
Although isolated incidents similar to the Wicker man happened over a thousand years ago, the groups that you may hear about nowadays that perform these strange and criminal acts are in no way connected to the Neo-Pagan movement. Almost all Neo-Pagans really despise The Wicker Man because of the horrible picture it paints of lascivious and violent people paying homage to the 'old gods.' However, this is not the practice of pagans, either in the past or today.
After my host gets home from work, we have been going out and hiking in the beautiful hills in the Lake Country. The first day we went out to some of the Northern Lakes, taking a small hike around the hills, visiting a slate mine, scrambling on rock faces, and generally taking in the magnificent scenery. I have never seen a more beautiful landscape. We climbed up a place called Castle Ridge, and at the top, there was an abandoned slate mine. The mine has long since been closed up, but there is a mountainous pile of surplus slate that the quarriers had formed a labyrinthine path into, winding all the way to the top. There, in a flat clearing there has been a tradition for who knows how long to erect a small bit of slate in memorandum of the climb. James calls it the slate graveyard, and I must admit that the field of jutting black rocks does look a bit cemetery-like. You can see small sections of it below, along with other pictures from the first hike.
The second day we hiked, rather than took a walk. The hills were farther to the east, and much higher. The weather was overcast, windy, and temperamental. Atmospheric, misty, blue, cold, sharp, the weather, rather than bringing me down or discouraging James and I, simply egged us on, like Thor himself was beckoning us to do war with him. "Onward!" we would shout after a rest on the wet stones, nearly beaten by the sheer difficulty of the upward climb. When we got to the Red Tarn, a glacial lake near the summit of one of the highest peaks (Helvellyn), we turned and walked down the ridge back to Glenridding, where we had parked the car. Far from being the hellishly cold, wet, and tiring experience that it sounds like, I don't think I've felt more empowered in my life! Take your thunder back, Thor! Again, the pictures below will give you some indication of the beautiful landscape.
We're thinking now about journeying into Scotland, to see the hiking up there. From there, I think I'd like to go to Newcastle for a day, then down to London for a day. And from there, I will be going West into Cornwall, where there are some very ancient ways of life, and tons of ancient sites. That is actually much closer to my area of study, which focuses on folklore and 'superstitions' in the British community. I will then go to Bristol where I will meet Ronald Hutton, the expert on British paganism and someone I am considering studying with. Anyway, that's the plan for now, of course subject to change. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Preston Pagancon

I had a great day today at the Preston Pagancon 2010. Not only was it actually quite fun, but I got much information for my research, and made good contacts for the distribution of the questionnaire, which I should finish tonight.
I met several prominent members of the pagan community, and eventually furnished an invitation to a house in Manchester for an extended discussion. I swear I have yet to meet kinder people than the people in the pagan (especially the heathen) community. I got to interview Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone (big names in the Neo-Pagan circles, especially concerning Wiccan traditions. I got to hear talks by 'Runic John,' a Northern Shaman and a really great guy, and Thor Skegga, a Northern practitioner, who gave a great talk (recorded by me of course) on land spirits in the Northern Tradition. And, on the whole, I had a great time.
 Also, I'm making some great progress with all the damn determinists in England, trying my hardest to convince them to fall back in love with their own culture and history (which is a surprisingly difficult task).
Well, then, happy fourth of July!

In between activity, there is...

...Inactivity.
I wish I could say that I have been using the extra time to write, journal, and work, but generally I have been wandering aimlessly around for 4 days, exploring. I've found my way onto the Roaches (from Old French Roches" meaning Rocks), which lie at the edge of the peak district (where England ceases to be nice rolling green hills and gets a little rockier and wilder). I've explored the little town of Leek, with its delicious crepe-like oat-cakes, and explored the museum of ceramics at Stoke-on-Trent, learning the fascinating history of the five-town city from a French woman who was wonderfully gracious! I stayed with an group of students from Staffordshire University (also in Stoke-on-Trent), and talked to them about humanism vs. determinism, a theme that I find suspiciously emerging whenever socialism vs. capitalism is involved, which was echoed in an interesting conversation today in Preston. Preston is a decently nice little town, and the people I am staying with are funny and kind. Tomorrow I will go to 'Pagancon' a conference devoted to paganism, with speakers and everything! I also might have an interview with a strange occultist (that is, if I get the transportation!).
I've discovered that English really like talking about Texas, and I am uncovering all sorts of amusing stereotypes about us gun-totin' cowboys!
Thinking about these conversations, I realize quickly that I have an odd stance; I have a foot in Texas, and a foot over here. I was surprised to discover that the English are not aware of any common prevailing sense of culture between America and Britain, even though I've always felt that I belonged to a continuing Anglo-American cultural tradition where I lived! Although I doubt many Englishmen feel this way, I feel that a part of me belongs here, and a part of me belongs on the prairies.
Yee-haw.

Re-thinking the Re-thought

My thesis is changing quite significantly in view of the responses I have been getting in my interviews.

Originally, I was trying to come up with a system (or at least a guideline) for classifying Neo-Pagan groups. Already, scholars have tried classifying them according to the sources they use, where they live, what they believe, what they do, and what they call themselves. I was trying to explore the possibility of classifying groups by the intent of the practitioner. But I have realized that nearly every Neo-pagan has a different purpose in practicing his religion! So there goes that idea.

Then, I realized I was thinking about it in the wrong direction. Instead of going from the individual to the classification, why not go from the classification to the individual?

Now, I'm trying to distribute questionnaires and interviewing people that are already in a specific tradition such as Druidry, Heathenry, Wicca, or Goddess-Worship. I am asking the individuals what draws them to that specific tradition, so instead trying to classify already uncertain people, I am using the people to define the classifications! I think that this is quite a different attitude than has been felt before. Since paganism is so tied with personal spirituality, why wouldn't I use the individuals to further define these vague, contested labels.

I also have a faint suspicion that New Agers and Neo-Pagans are the last people that should be thrown together, which they often are. I think the attitude and intent of the practitioners are completely disparate. But I will soon find out whether they intentionally draw that line, or if it is a difference in political views to the extent that it seems like a true disparity.

Anyway, I thought you might like to hear something about my actual research for a change.