Gewessi
What's Gewessi?
A
Gewessi is a person who honours the old gods of Britain, the spirit
of the land that can be found in the landscape, for those prepared
to look.
A
spiritual outlook which honours nature and which recognises many divine
beings, both Goddesses, Gods and the Fair Folk. Venerating nature
isn't just a diffuse awareness of a greater power but includes a strong
sense of the spirit of the place, of the sanctity of particular locations,
and working with the local & national hero-cults Maybe it was better
said by Rich Westwood in Moonshine 1 Nov 86:
"Paganism
is the name we give to the religion/philosophy native to this land.
The religion of Alba, Kymru, Eirean & Albion, of Mannin & Kernow.
It is not so much a religion in the Christian sense of the word
- it is a celebration of the land. Of the Earth that feeds us -
of the Trees and Plants that give us air that is fresh and heals
our hurts. Of the sun and moon that give us energy and growth.
It
is the religion of the Land - and the Powers and energies inherent
in the land. It is the recognition of the Godforce - the Great Spirit
- in its emanations around us. That force is purer and rawer than
when emanated through man - be he the Son of God or not. There are
no prophets, Guru's or Masters to interpret the word of the spirit
for us. We are all recognised as a son or daughter of spirit. The
aim is for each to recognise and act upon that quality in ourselves.
Spirit hums and vibrates all around us - it feeds and clothes us.
It heals and can balance us. No-one except you can tell you how
it should be - what you should be doing. The responsibility for
your life is yours alone. The tree will speak to you if you care
to have respect for it and listen. The sky, the thunder the birds
and the animals, the rocks. All are your teachers, and will teach
you directly of the power of spirit. If you are capable of hearing.
Call
these powers what you will - names do not matter, and neither do
images. The Kelts, when they came upon Imperialist Classicist Greece
& Rome, laughed at nations that needed images in their temples to
remind them of what their gods looked like. For they had forgotten,
or never knew, the essence, the Spirit, and the Kelts had not.
For the Kelt was not ever divorced from the Great Spirit of All.
They had no need for temples and churches of stone - a space set
aside as sacred implies the profanity of all else. This is not truly
a pagan way - all is sacred and is recognised as such. All is an
emanation of Spirit and so all is Sacred and Holy."
There
is one point where I disagree with Rich Westwood, in his assertion
that 'names do not matter'. They do. You won't get very far understanding
the power of the Oak if you insist on calling it a pine nor will you
understand the Spirit of this land by accessing an Egyptian goddess..
When
Rich was writing in 1986 Paganism did, or still had the potential
to, describe the religion/philosophy native to this land. In 2001
Paganism has come to be an umbrella term covering a number of different
spiritual traditions that mix and match Eastern, Western, & Northern
cultures (I'm personally not aware that the Southern - Aborigines
& Maori- cultures are yet incorporated in the mix) to suit an individuals
personal mood of the moment.
Any
discussion of what paganism means seems to ends up with as many pagans
saying it doesn't fit as agreeing it does.
Paganism
isn't a single religion, it's an umbrella term used to cover a number
of paths/faiths/religions that share certain concepts in common (though
no one group will necessarily hold to all of them, they tend to respect
the differences).
I
therefore offer up a new name for pagans trying to follow the native
pre-Christian faith of Britain:
The
name Gewessi comes from a British tribe
Gewessi
Values.What I find missing from most pagan paths are any values by
which to live in this world. Apart of course from the Wiccan rede,
which many pagans after examining in good conscience reject as unworkable.
I
think in part, this is because we are still in the main a religion
of converts we come to paganism with a set of values based on the
mainstream culture in which we live. Then throw in a touch of eastern
karmic debt to scare people into 'behaving' So I'm putting a set of
values at the core of Gewessi, they are I believe primarily Celtic
values:
