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Reality of the old gods

Its a cool, cloudless night and pulling my thick dark green cloak around me, I trundle through the woodland. Driven by a strange desire and sense of presence rising with in me, I hear the lady of the greenwood singing her haunting refrain and smell the lusty, musky smell of the Lord as he hunts those who have been and yet to be. The stars hang silently against the inky blackness of the still night air. The fox, the badger and the bat begin their journey for nourishment. As the darkness descends even further my eyes become sharp, my ears are pricked, my talons grow and my wings unfold in praise of slumber of the Greenwood. As I reach my destination the doors to the other realm swing open, I am immersed in the bliss of creation and destruction, the nothingness that is everything and the desire begins to be fulfilled and fuelled. I greet the guardian spirit of my grove who responds with open arms. The old Gods are called and are calling and my intention of peace and love is declared. The Fire sprites leaping into the dark Air, licking the edge of my brow, the Water flows around my circles edge and the Earth beckons me below. As the heartbeat of the Earth begins to rise, I descend into the womb and rise into the trees with wings of freedom. ‘Fly, Fly my lad and drink in the ecstasy of Freedom’, my guide pushes me from my branch and with a moment of panic and a moment of ecstasy, I am that Kestrel fair.

Over the last ten to fifteen years that I have evolved through Paganism, my relationship to the old gods has deepen. My understanding of them has been developed to an extent that their reality is a reality that I can shift my consciousness into. I can stand up and say – They exist, not necessarily tangible but present in this world all the same. This is personal experience, I am not suggesting that this is what you should be feeling, sensing or experiencing, or offering dogma for you all to follow, but I am saying that you should allow yourselves to be open to feel, sense and have the courage to allow the old gods to touch you, for the sprits of place to work with you, for the tree to teach you to unlock that ancestral memory within you. Also this comes with time, practise and getting out there to experience them.

It’s this animism that can seem to be missing in some spiritualities and indeed in Paganism. I see the spirit in all things, in the Trees, Rocks, Plants, Animals, River, Spring and Well. This is animism, within which allows our awareness to see beyond our normal reality, to journey to worlds that are accessible and become tangible in our inner landscape. The spirit of place can be greeted, their presence felt as we enter the grove or circle of stones, where the ancestral spirits can allow us to drink from the cauldron of wisdom and inspiration, of death and rebirth. Once we have the courage the allow the free flowing spirit to wash through our stagnated reading and begin to feel and sense what we do in ritual, journeying and mediation we allow the spirit of the natural world to become our teachers, guides and keys to unlock that wisdom within us. Here we begin to find shifts in our consciousness, in our normal reality and with a good healthy dose of scepticism, we can increase our awareness, as these spirits become a reality in ourlives.

Soon the gesture of giving offerings, of honouring and respecting sacred sites become more than gestures of goodwill, but become building blocks in building a relationship to the spirit of place, the ancestors and indeed the old gods; soul to soul and spirit to spirit.

So what of the reality of the old Gods? Once this animism is accepted into our practice, we soon can sense and feel that these separate entities are a force beyond our known realties, a presence so powerfully felt, an encounter with deity. Here we enter the realms of polytheism. This takes us a steep further and deeper into our spiritual path, to our religion. Here deity exists! Even within Paganism we see many approaches to this, often it does not go beyond the primordial god and goddess, of earth and sky, of moon and sun. There is also a belief that the gods and goddesses are aspects, facet’s of one energy source, like a glitter ball made up of tiny mirrors, each having their own purpose, but collectively making up the glitter ball. In the polytheist view and experience this is not the case. The gods and goddesses are separate beings with their own distinct energies. There is no real understanding of Great Spirit, or One being of Light. The lord and lady become localized, yet recognized universally throughout native and pagan religions alike.

There are pagans who has direct experience of deity and there are those who’s belief is strong that a direct experience is not needed as proof of existence. However, to fully appreciate the reality of the old gods they need to been sensed, felt and experienced. They need to be more than heroes in our mythic tales, they need to be more than archetypes. This is true paganism. And a lot of us hold ourselves back, for we still have within us the fear of insanity, of not fitting into society, of orthodox social upbringing. This can create two general traits. One is what I call the emperors clothes syndrome, where everyone agrees with a common vision, sense or experience when this has not been the case. This is born out of a fear of not fitting in, of not experiencing the same as others, we all have a need to belong. The second trait is the outcast. A fear of others perceiving us as being insane, we relegate our experiences to our imagination, of psychological mind games, figures of myth yet great archetypes. This can lead to further fears of experiences, of self-doubt. It’s easy to put it all down to imagination.

Until we can have the courage to develop our relationships with the old gods, to dance, love, journey with them, to learn from them, to talk to them as separate beings then there reality is always just outside our grasp. To express our insanity in a normal world needs courage, trust, respect and honour for, ourselves, and the old gods. When we loose the idea that our imagination is false and fantasy, and that every experience or spiritual encounter provides what we are ready to experience, then we do not need to dream of the reality of the old gods, but allow the reality to take us into the dreaming, we truly become the walker between worlds.

Once we dwell in the reality of the old gods we need to change also our mindset. All too often within Paganism, we forget our basic principals and understanding. Firstly why should these gods come to us? What authority do we have to call tem to our circle? None! Regardless of training, experience, third degree, Pendragon, hereditary or status. Secondly, why should their energy be spent upon us?

These are the question we must ask ourselves. We can not and must not be too self-righteous to assume that the gods are ready and waiting for our beckon call. This is where we need to work to build a relationship with the old gods. To be open to the old gods as they approach and touch us. We enchant the spirits with our music, song and chant. With offering of bread, mead, flowers and seeds. The scent of burning herbs that drift deep into the otherworld, shows our intent, our desire, our willingness and indeed readiness to experience the reality that is the Old Gods.