Friday 27 September 2013

Gewessi Gothi

Thoughts upon what it is to be a Gewessi Gothi (with help from an Explorer)

Druidry - A Western Mystery School

As a Druid I consider myself an autonomous natural philosopher-mystic, aka a Gewessi Gothi, who discovers it all for himself. But at other times I am ritually proclaiming the power of (possibly imaginary) gods or spirits as a well indoctrinated pagan. I am flexible, and lazy, and sometimes it is handy to follow religious procedure or ritual, and sometimes it is not (and this is more a paradox than a contradiction).
Mysticism means that spiritual awareness comes from direct experience and not from what others (or books) tell you what to believe.
Wikipedia says this about it: "Mysticism can be distinguished from ordinary religious belief by its emphasis on the direct personal experience of unique states of consciousness, particularly those of a transcendentally blissful character"

Logos - A Natural Philosophy

Natural Philosopher means a person who regulates his or her life, actions, judgements, utterances, etc., by the light of their direct experience, learnt knowledge and reflections upon the world around them.
Wikipedia says this about it: "Major branches of natural philosophy include astronomy and cosmology, the study of nature on the grand scale; etiology, the study of (intrinsic and sometimes extrinsic) causes; the study of chance, probability and randomness; the study of elements; the study of the infinite and the unlimited (virtual or actual); the study of matter; mechanics, the study of translation of motion and change; the study of nature or the various sources of actions; the study of natural qualities; the study of physical quantities; the study of relations between physical entities; and the philosophy of space and time. (Adler, 1993)" Mortimer J Adler - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_J._Adler

Heathenry - a Gothi

As a Gewessi I consider my relationship to the Gods, Alfs and Ancestors of this land to be a personal one. There is no need for anyone else to administer sacred rituals or rites to communicate with the Gods or spirits of this land. Each Gewessi is his or her own priest and therefore 'owns' their relationship with their deities or spiritual energies.
Additionally, as a parent & householder, in the modern world I'm a chieftain of this nuclear family. With the progress of individualism within our society an adult householder is responsible for their household's legal and financial contribution to society as a whole.
Within Heathenry, or the Norse/Germanic lore, a priest is a spiritual leader of his group, tribe or supporters. However, this approach of delegating spiritual responsibility has (in the past) shown to be flawed as it gives away an individuals spiritual power to a priest. That priest then 'owns' and has the sole power in relationship to a God or Goddess. This can be a source of great corruption; 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely'. It is where the spirituality of the relationship with the divine energies moves into a human political world of social control. This is, in my opinion, the source of the corruption. The human conflict for social power.
In my personal approach no Gewessi should ever give away, to another, their relationship with the divine. You are your Gothi and your personal Gods, Goddesses and land spirits are your Guru's.
Wikipedia says this about it: "A goði or gothi (plural goðar) is the Old Norse term for a priest and chieftain. Gyðja signifies a priestess.... The goðar are depicted in the Sagas as the religious and political leaders of their district or goðorð. In Iceland, prior to Christianization, religious temples or hofs were privately owned and maintained by a hofgoði or temple priest."

The Gewessi are goðar.

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