Homework VS UPG

Often times in the forii, people will say that "Heathenism is the religion with homework." My first thought is that they have clearly never been Jewish, and my next thought is that research is good, but practice is better. And then I think about balance, which is a word I mention a lot because I seek it a lot.

In our faith, which is not one of unbroken lineage, no matter what anyone claims about their family, a lot is unknown. How did people Do Heathenism on a daily basis? There were no Popes of Heathenry (and I hope there never are), and it was an oral culture - sans prayer books and proscriptions. The only bits we have written down were not recorded to preserve the beliefs nor to present a system of belief. Yet we are often exhorted to look to the Eddas in much the same way Christians are told to treat the Bible. If it isn't in the Eddas somehow, nor the Sagas, then it is Suspect.

My experience with Thor, for example, does not have precedent in the written sources. Here:

I mostly relate with Hel, Frigga, Freyja, and Odin. Hel is my primary god, though, and a Jotun - a Thurs. Thor is known for killing Thurses, and so I had been reticent to contact him. But then I started getting signs that I should get to know him better and so I did a ritual. First, I traced a Thurisaz onto my forehead in oil, and then I prayed, hailing Thor. And then I grasped my head with both hands because I was in pain right behind that Thurisaz, which I wiped away as fast as I could. OW. I figured it was a failed attempt, and possibly a harsh rebuff.

My mentor and friend suggested I had made successful contact, and that I needed to remember Thor is not too bright, but very enthusiastic. "So... It was like a Scotch kiss?" (headbutt) "Something like that." We discussed a different way to approach, which has worked well.

Now. Nowhere in any of the tales that have come to us does Thor headbutt a person seeking him out. But it is in keeping with his general demeanor. Who is to say he had not been watching some 80's frat film and thought it a good and friendly way to greet people? My trance experience and runes I pulled during my time with him indicate a positive connection has been made, and I am going to go with that.

This kind of thing is often called UPG - unverified personal gnosis. There's a lot of contention about that acronym. UPG can be regarded as worthless or delusional or otherwise Not Real. But I ask this: If we are not making personal connections with the energies and beings, what exactly are we doing? Homework? How are we advancing a faith if we are disregarding our experiences?

I think if we look at the gods and energies as being stuck in the stories we have - the very limited stories we have - we are killing their potential for our time. There are many reasons people feel called to this particular pantheon, and to confine our answering of the call to replicating the experiences of yore is to re-bury the gods. They are wanting to live today.