When thinking about modern neo-pagan, reconstructionist, and revivalist traditions, I realized when trying to learn the knowledge of the past different paths often face the same issues. I came up with a metaphor to describe the challenges we all face. I welcome feedback, and appreciate if there is anything that needs expansion or clarification.
Imagine a post apocalyptic world where the electrical grid has been destroyed. Generations later, a group decides to build it again. They have the remains of electric appliances that haven’t worked in decades. Stories have spread about the wonders of electric lights and microwaves. But there are also stories of people killed by electricity. People have been taught to be afraid of electricity, and those trying to rebuild the grid need to forget the stories they have been told while also finding the nuggets of truth.
The records are spotty, and some have been deliberately destroyed or altered. Its clear people died from electricity, but it is hard to figure out who was killed in an accident, who got the electric chair, and what are just stories told to frighten people from trying to bring the electric grid back.
Most of the textbooks have been burned, and they are only able to recover a small portion of the information. There is a page about wiring a residential home, and a few pages about how to build the electric chair. People read you’re supposed to use rubber gloves when working with live wires, but the information as to why is lost. There are ads for microwaves and TVs, but no step by step blueprints on how to build one.
A few families have managed to maintain a generator. Some have solar power, some wind, and a few have a battery that is slowly dying. All of them have only been able to use a very limited amount of electricity, and only for very specific purposes. They have also had to hide the fact they are using electricity. Some families camouflaged the generators so they appear a part of the landscape. Other families put large fences up, so no one can come on their land and see their generators. However, some people were able to sneak in and told others what they found, without the family that owned the generator knowing or approving.
So when people get together to figure out how to rebuild the electric grid, they have:
-broken and destroyed items that once used electricity
-small portions of accurate information, that is missing a greater context
-inaccurate information mixed with accurate information that it is hard to sort which is which
-experience with working with types of electricity that have many similarities, but also differences
It feels like that is where most of the modern Pagan paths are at the moment. People getting together to try to form a new electrical grid, but only having pieces to build from. Nowadays, I think we need to acknowledge it is time to rebuild as best we can.