"The tree bends over, if the roots are hewed from under it."
--from The Greenlandish Lay of Atli
It's time for me to define what I mean by traditionalist.
Many social conservatives and would-be traditionalists believe that "traditionalist" is equivalent to "conservative." Bill O'Reilly seems to believe that a traditionalist is someone who agrees with him. Others think that a "traditionalist" must be a Christian.
Then there is the Traditionalist School of Guenon, Evola, asf.--note the capital "T."
(Another great Traditionalist resource is here).
As if that weren't enough, up pops John Michell with the term "radical traditionalist," co-opted by the editors of the journal TYR.
If you care to follow that last link, it bears quite a resemblance to my own stance.
But back to the Traditionalist school. The Traditionalists posit a primordial Tradition which is the basis for all true religions, and which is transmitted via certain lines in initiatory schools. The early Traditionalists rejected the idea of reviving the native religions of Europe; most of them have followed the lead of Rene Guenon, and converted to al-Islam in the belief that Islam's Sufi tradition is the best option for Westerners who wish to come into contact with the true Primordial Tradition.
That's where I get off the Traditionalist Bus.
The idea that indigenous European religion cannot be revived is a dogma which began with Guenon and has been parroted by almost every Traditionalist ever since. He did have a point; the word "tradition" comes from Latin traditio, "handing down," and for pagans of European descent it is more like "digging up." Some Traditionalists have disagreed with Guenon's position--Evola at one time thought that European paganism could be revived--and I for one am not going to embrace a foreign faith just because Guenon said that I need to.
Though I do not fully agree with the Traditionalist School, their work is extremely useful, and any modern-day Pagan would be foolish to ignore it.
So what do I mean by traditionalist? An individual who is concerned with orienting himself toward the world in harmony with the traditional culture of his ancestors; an orientation which predates the Modern era and the introduction of Christianity. To be a traditionalist is to have a profound sense of roots--linguistic, symbolic, spiritual, and ethnic--which is what makes us true radicals (from Latin radix, root).
This kind of orientation has an impact on every aspect of life, and often puts one at odds with a world which is more concerned with material benefits than with transcendent reality. These points of conflict are often the same for all traditionalists, despite the variety of cultural backgrounds from which they come. Many of the topics which I address will be of interest only to Teutonic Pagans; but many of my posts will be relevant to all who seek to live a true life in harmony with their heritage. Whether you are Pagan, Christian, or just curious, I hope to shed light on the peculiar challenges we face.
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