A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

Now Playing: Heathen Divine by Elvenking

Words are funny markings (or collections of funny sounds, depending on what part of language you’re looking at) that we’ve collectively decided to mean specific things, and now I have to learn how to speak two separate times to actually have more of a chance of getting a job in my chosen field. But what does that mean for paganism?

Many branches of paganism come from cultures and times long before our own in the modern day, and as a result, they have culturally associated languages that are now considered dead in modern society. So what is the role of language in an ancient religion?

It’s actually not as major as some might think. Since the modern revival of paganism is based almost entirely on second and third hand accounts of the religion and practices, many of which have heavy bias, it’s a religion that is often left to individual interpretation and application.

This means that most people won’t speak the languages associated with the ancient forms of what we now call paganism. Those who do are often historians or others in related fields specialising in that particular area of the world and that particular time period, many having some sort of graduate degree (though there are also many who are passionate amateurs, as well).

Learning the language on an individual level isn’t usually necessary, since most pagans agree that the gods can understand us regardless of language, but it can be a fun thing to do and a nice skill to have, though there probably isn’t much use to be gotten out of it. It mostly depends on what each person wants out of learning the language.