Furthermore, this paper steps back to examine why modern practitioners or would-be adherents of Heathenry are drawn to incorporate such elements in the first place. A common pejorative leveled at heathens who seek to include folk magic, ritual formulae, or direct contact with deities in their practice of Asatru or Heathen faith is " Wiccatru " : that the inclusion of such elements derives primarily from modern 19th-and 20th-century British and American Wicca, and therefore that some, most, or even all practices involving folk magic and mystical experience are invalid as reconstructionist practices. Reconstructionist methods seek to provide both a historical foundation and an inspiration for modern Heathen practice, yet many lay researchers and practitioners overlook, disregard, or are simply unaware of historical precedents for these elements in Heathen practice. The impetus for this research grew out of debates in modern-day Heathenry regarding the validity of including magical and mystical elements in a reconstruction of Heathen praxis and worldview. I originally set out to explore the historical precedent for folk magic, shamanic practice, and mysticism in a Heathen context.
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