#Reconstuctionist Polytheism

[themodernsouthernpolytheist]

can you please talk about the difference between Revivalism and Reconstructionism with regards to your practice, and how you came to practice one way over the other?

Another good one! So, the difference here is really semantic. Reconstructionism is the idea of completely reconstructing a tradition. This is often based in a particular point in time of a given culture, using a combination of archaeological, historical, comparative, and other sources in order to reconstruct what society was like. This may or many not contain elements like an adherence to gender roles (I’m thinking of Folkish Heathens here who tend to be incredibly patriarchal and misogynistic) or may have to do with the ritual language used (for instance, I prefer Old Irish spellings of many words to connote a tie to pre-Christian Ireland, while also recognizing and understanding the modern Irish variations/evolutions). Recosntructionists tend to be a little more hardline about sources, having evidence for practices being carried out in a particular way, and tend to be very focused on academic rigor. None of this is inherently good or bad, it’s simply a preferred approach. 

Revivalists are really another facet of the same gem. There’s not a hard and fast definition for this term imo, but it tends to signal that someone is historically informed, interested in reviving or reimagining what a religio-cultural tradition might have looked like had it evolved naturally—which it holds in common with Reconstructionists—but at the same time allows for more UPG, modern variation, and reimagining. 

In terms of my practice, it was a multi-fold issue. Without belaboring the details, I was part of a religious organization that was hardcore Recon. It was made abundantly clear that this was the way the org was and, at the time, what I thought I was looking for. Over time, little things happened that sent up little pings of discomfort for me, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. For instance, I have several statuettes, paintings, and iconographic representations of deities from non-Gaelic cultures. There are a lot of reasons for this, both personal and professional. Some of these items were gifts. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I should get rid of these items because they weren’t Gaelic and therefore inappropriate. 1) I’m a grown ass man and don’t do well with dictates from others lol. 2) I have a variety of reasons for having these things. 3) While ancient Indian and Irish cultures weren’t in contact that I know of, the idea that Ireland was untouched by those around it is simply ignorant. I can very much appreciate the idea of honoring deities from different cultures in ways that are culturally significant, absolutely. But this was more than that. This group also clings (I assume they’re still around in some capacity) to the label of Recon as if it’s the one and only true way, which I find incredibly off-putting. So, I dropped the label of Recon for a while and then someone (I wanna say no-longer-on-tumblr @nine-hazels) introduced it to me and it just made so much sense. I have no desire to live in the Iron Age and that’s what it felt like this group wanted. So I often still use the term Recon in some instances, but ultimately, Revivalist is much more accurate a term for what I do (especially as my Southern folk magic and Garlic Polytheism have intertwined over the years) and one that doesn’t have all the personal baggage for me. 

That was likely a weird turn for some people, lol, but it is what it is. :)