response 1 of 42:

Mar 7 19:30 UTC 1994

I got a copy elsewhere, but it is a good survey that covers a lot of ground

response 3 of 42:

Mar 7 21:49 UTC 1994

this thing's everywhere these days! go ahead and complete it, but don't for
get and do it over, or the results get skewed.

response 5 of 42:

Mar 21 18:03 UTC 1994

thanks, rob.  by the way- what do you do with old digests? I don't want to
take up disk space, but I do want to be able to refer to them.

response 7 of 42:

Mar 22 06:55 UTC 1994

super- I am much relieved.

response 9 of 42:

Jun 8 23:31 UTC 1994

It's around.  I believe someone has a copy of it on line, yes?  It was put
together by some reputable and responsible people in the Boston area.  I know
Andras but not the university person he's working with.  One purpose is for
us to find out who "we" are.  Another is so we can use comparatively accurate
numbers when looking for fiscal and public legitimacy as a religion and
community.

response 11 of 42:

Jun 9 00:59 UTC 1994

uh oh.  I ditched mine, since I figured you had it.  Think I may have hard
copy somewhere.

response 13 of 42:

Sep 10 04:21 UTC 2000

well looks like I missed the boat on this topic, but I'm hoping my question
is close enough to the topic. I'm an well i guess an agnostic pagan if such
a thing exsist, I guess part of it goes with I've never really talked to a
pagan, wiccan, druid, etc on the matter. I'm kicking myself for not asking
this question before I left Ann Arbor for college in arizona because at this
school I'm forced into the perverbial closet for pagans. But I'm wondering
what's Paganism in a nutshell? I know this question will evoke several varying
responses since everyone has their own views on religion but I just want to
get a sense of things. Thanks.

response 15 of 42:

Sep 11 16:02 UTC 2000

An agnostic pagan?  Hmm, if "agnostic" means "not sure about the existence
of the gods", then I guess I've known many of them.  If by "agnostic", you
mean "I think I'm pagan but I'm not sure", then I've run into a fair number
of those, too. Doesn't invalidate your sense of your own spirituality, just
gives you a starting point.

Brighn- well spoken!  Clear and concise.  Coolness.
But what makes you think I can do anywhere near as good a job about the
Druids?
Try this;
Where most Wiccans tend to be duotheistic- a Goddess and a God, who may wear
many forms and names, Druids and Asatruar tend to be polytheistic; the gods
are each individual and should be addressed as such.  Depending on the "brand"
of Druid, they may work specifically with Celtic deities as the Asatru work
specifically with Norse/Germanic gods, but other folks calling themselves
Druids work with gods from anywhere in the IndoEuropean world. They may be
inclined more toward structured, public worship and community building, while
most Wiccans tend toward small, tightly-knit groups.  There is more of
research and spiritual exploration and less of the extatic communion which
is considered desireable in Wiccan ritual.  The Asatru and some of the Druids
seek to bring a sense of the spiritual into the practice of daily life, and
many Wiccans experience it as intrinsic; not through small personal rituals
so much as a basic reverence for nature and the workings of divinity in daily
life.  Asatru may use formal deity-based magic, Wiccans use both deity based
and energy based magic within and outside of ritual, but most Druids use very
little magic or spell-crafting and more of directed prayer.
That help?

>jarring to many Pagans, such as the Boast, where you brag in ritual about
Um, Brighn, that's not quite right; a Boast or Bragi is a way of thanking the
gods for the successes of the past year while also owning those successes,
and of strengthening yourself to do more by making vows for future
accomplishments which will be successful partly through the good will of the
gods.  That's why it's done in ritual and not just sitting around the bar.
The beer or mead drunk in a Bragi is shared with the gods, not just a way to
get drunk; as alcohol has suffered an alchemical transformation which makes
it more "potent", so ingesting it is to bring that transformation to the folks
who imbibe it, and so make *them* "more potent"- more godlike, I guess. Most
peoples of the world seem to have that concept in one way or another, and
occasional cautionary  tales about the dangers of taking that particular
alchemy too lightly or too far.

Darkwolf, is that helpful, or more confusing?

response 17 of 42:

Sep 11 19:22 UTC 2000

Kami> Re: The Boast. I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek and/or simplisitc
with that description. Also, having been to both SLG Boasts (Druidic) and
Har's Hall Boasts (Asatru), I'd have to say that "real" Asatru boasts do come
off more arrogantly, less growth-through-thanking/communion/owning. The
purpose is roughly the same, and the reality rusn somewhere between the
extremes set off by your description and mine.

Re: Druidry. BTW, I didn't mean to snub out Rob or anyone else who wanted to
answer, Kami just came to mind because she's more bardically inclined than
Rob.

In general, I'll go with your comments, and not bother with the minute
disagreements. ;}

response 19 of 42:

Sep 12 03:25 UTC 2000

Thankyou guys for answering some of my questions some things such as some
different categories of paganism. I also realize I still have some soul
searching to do in order to anwser some questions that only individuals can
answer.  I propably shouldn't do the soul searching in between my physics
homework and my engineering homework. I do have another question which I'm
quessing will evoke a lot of varied responses what's the view on millitary
services in the various families of paganism?

response 21 of 42:

Sep 12 17:03 UTC 2000

That pretty much covers it I'm in the Air Force ROTC so I waas just wondering
about the views on the matter. Thanks.
.]
.,

response 23 of 42:

Sep 13 03:57 UTC 2000

Um, from what little conversation I've had with the Har's Hall folks, my
impression is that they've had limited sources of information to start with.
Moreover, the Asatru follks are a bit of a mixed bag; some are really educated
and sincere, both.  Others are, perhaps, well meaning but pretty shallow in
their experience.  So I guess my point was that their version of a "boast"
may or may not be particularly close to the spirit and practice of a
traditional Bragi.  Dunno.  My experience is pretty limited, too.