I have briefly read about pagan paths rooted in goddess worship — but have also read about criticism toward these groups and their exclusionary practices that go beyond feminism and into TERF territory, which is NOT what I want.
As a pagan (no commentary on your opinion of that needed here, just mentioned for context), I believe that the practice should be open to all, and each person's practice will likely differ from one person to the next. I think this is a good thing – because connecting with the earth and spirit looks different on a person by person basis, and so long as your intentions are not to cause harm, I can support it.
So far in my practice, I have been extremely hesitant to include deity worship. As an ex-Christian, I have had bad experiences with false gods and deity worship for self flagellation and egoism. I have no interest in this. I also have a very hard time with any sort of male-presenting god worship. I have no interest in adhering to conservative views of how women should behave, nor will I ever.
Still, I would like to find some literature on pagan deities that align with my roots. Since my family is still Christian, they don't really talk about historical pagan worship or celebration, or anything that isn't related to their faith in some sect of Christianity or Catholicism. I want to reach deeper and farther back than the era of Christianity, and learn about deities and pagan worship from the following countries of my origin:
- Norway
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Ireland
- Germany
- Slovakia
- Scotland
- Wales
- Baltic region (that's as specific as I know)
- Anatolia and the Caucasus (that's as specific as I know)
This is clearly a wide-ranging territory, which I hope will result in an abundance of resources. This is an area that I am very interested in pursuing, hopefully my whole life long. The more resources, guidance, and recommendations you can provide to me, the better.
I realize that some historical content will contain misogyny, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and classism, among other -isms. While I would like to avoid these, I understand that it cannot be completely avoided in most archival research. Still, I wanted to include this blurb – bonus points if the reccs don't contain these.
While I have predominantly requested resources on deity worship, I am also keenly interested in exploring folklore and tales, along with any pagan practices within these realms. Please include that in your search results as well.
I thank you for reading through this query and thank you in advance for the resources that you may provide. It means a great deal to me to connect to my ancestors and ancestral worship practice, pre-Christianity. I will continue my independent research on this topic, and I thank you for your invaluable insight in pointing me toward additional content and resources.
by GreenieSar