Handwork, traditional crafts, and cooking as a spiritual focus.

 Dear Reader,

As one looks around, they find that in the pagan religions there is a push to go back to the land, revive traditional crafts, and engage in artful expressions of beauty that are found in heritage crafts (in some cases requiring a bit of archeological study and experimentation to figure out how our ancestors did it). This push is also present in Filianism and Déanism, though it is more of an unspoken undercurrent.

Engaging in heritage crafts and practices (i.e. making a crochet bedspread or cooking old family recipes) does a number of things. Firstly, they keep these things 'alive' and the knowledge of how to survive in hard times is hidden in these seeds of hobbies that people engage in. Preserving food is not an easy craft to master, but it has become quite popular. You need not be a modern day homesteader or a 'prepper' to do these things. In the case of preserving food, not only can you adjust batch size with a little math, there are many books and resources about how to do it safely. As such, you can give truly unique, homemade gifts to friends and family, some that may not have been seen since your grandparents or great-grandparent's era. Such a gift is a direct link to your ancestors and they will be delighted to see you reviving the skills they used out of necessity and making beloved recipes.

I propose that in the Filianic and Déanic community, we share our successes and mishaps in our effort to revive heritage skills. Not only are we sharing knowledge and growing together in our ability to be successful in this, we can prove witness to the goodness that was present in the past and carry it forward into the future.

As a spiritual focus, heritage crafts tie us to a long line of ancestors and innovators that made life easier to bear during hard times and allows us to focus on the gratitude of the convenience of the modern day. As a spiritual focus, we learn patience, forbearance, and the value of our efforts in all areas. These heritage crafts are a gift from our ancestors and Déa to engage with them and keep their memory alive in this world.