Brythons and Heathens: what's the difference?
The members of Brython are predominantly polytheist with some members being more comfortable with animism than polytheism.Heathens are also predominantly polytheist.
Both Brythons and Heathens develop personal relationships with their ancestors, spirits of place and their gods.
Both groups could be said to have a reconstructionist approach although Brythons prefer to talk about re-connection.
Neither Brythons or Heathens require ceremonies to be held in a cast circle as is more common among many neo-pagan paths.
We have many things in common.
The main difference is our gods. The gods of Brython are those of pre-Roman and pre-Christian Britain. Heathen gods are those of Norse or Anglo-Saxon peoples.
The spirit or wight of any given place may be perfectly happy to develop a relationship with you regardless of your path or ancestry if you are living and working in its sphere of influence.
Your ancestors of more recent times are more likely to have been Christian than anything else if you are from Britain or mainland Europe. It is only when we go much further back that our ancestors will have followed a pagan path of some kind.
I am a Brython who has had the honour of being the celebrant for heathen couples getting married. For a range of reasons I have been asked to invite the presence of certain heathen deities on behalf of the couples. I do not have a personal relationship with the heathen deities at the present time but I am now acquainted with them and gaining a little more familiarity with them. I know of others who have described themselves as primarily Brythonic with strong relationships with one or two heathen deities. I also know heathens who have developed relationships with Brythonic deities.
Brython has already been influenced by modern heathenry and personally I feel that we can learn a great deal from the heathen community.
We are different yes, but we are neighbours, often living and working in the same land and working with many of the same spirits.
Potia 2010
Both Brythons and Heathens develop personal relationships with their ancestors, spirits of place and their gods.
Both groups could be said to have a reconstructionist approach although Brythons prefer to talk about re-connection.
Neither Brythons or Heathens require ceremonies to be held in a cast circle as is more common among many neo-pagan paths.
We have many things in common.
The main difference is our gods. The gods of Brython are those of pre-Roman and pre-Christian Britain. Heathen gods are those of Norse or Anglo-Saxon peoples.
The spirit or wight of any given place may be perfectly happy to develop a relationship with you regardless of your path or ancestry if you are living and working in its sphere of influence.
Your ancestors of more recent times are more likely to have been Christian than anything else if you are from Britain or mainland Europe. It is only when we go much further back that our ancestors will have followed a pagan path of some kind.
I am a Brython who has had the honour of being the celebrant for heathen couples getting married. For a range of reasons I have been asked to invite the presence of certain heathen deities on behalf of the couples. I do not have a personal relationship with the heathen deities at the present time but I am now acquainted with them and gaining a little more familiarity with them. I know of others who have described themselves as primarily Brythonic with strong relationships with one or two heathen deities. I also know heathens who have developed relationships with Brythonic deities.
Brython has already been influenced by modern heathenry and personally I feel that we can learn a great deal from the heathen community.
We are different yes, but we are neighbours, often living and working in the same land and working with many of the same spirits.
Potia 2010
