Germanicus' Journeys Through Rome

A Roman by any other name

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 04:02:23 GMT

I mentioned changing my name last October, and now I've finally done it. The process was much simpler than I thought it would be. I'd anticipated a long, drawn-out process, but Censor Modianus handled my request immediately.

So now my (Roman) name is Servius Ambrosius Alaricus. A name much more appropriate for me.

And I'll be able to try it out at our next Colles Ferreus gathering, which we're talking about holding in June. If these Colles Ferreus events are going to become a regular thing I need to get some kind of decent clothing together. The "sheet togas" that Scott and I wore to the last gathering were dorky.

Happy Saturnalia!

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 04:47:02 GMT

I thought I should send out that greeting to the few people on my friends' list here. As most of you know, I don't personally observe the Saturnalia. In fact the closest brush I've had with the Religio Romana this year was at the autumnal rite to Ceres that Sassafras Grove held last September.

One thing I love about Sassafras Grove is its broad ecumenical inclusion of all IE hearth cultures. My own spirituality has a northern Anglo-Saxon inspiration, so for me this holiday season is the Géol. And last night I had the honor and priviledge of serving as one of the primary liturgists for Sassafras Grove's first Anglo-Saxon Yuletide ritual, right here in Pittsburgh. About 45-50 people came, which is a fairly decent attendance for one of the grove's winter solstice rituals. Our senior druid (Earrach) called upon Þunor to ward the site, and we asked Woden to open and watch over the gates between the worlds. The honored deities were my lord Ing and his sister Fréo. At the climax of the ritual I processed in with a boar's head, upon which we called the blessings of the gods. Then we invited people to come forward and make oaths on the boar's head, in the Germanic custom.

It was a good rite, and I was acutely aware of Ing's presence guiding our work both during the ritual and in the preceding days of planning and preparation. And it was especially meaningful to me on several levels:

1. This was the first time I'd taken a leading role in one of the grove's High Day rituals, which was pretty significant.

2. I became a resident of Pennsylvania exactly five years - to the hour - before this ritual (I drove up to my new home on the evening of December 21st, 2001).

3. And last night I turned in all of my paperwork for the ADF Dedicant Program. Then, when it came time for me to approach the boar, I gave my dedicant's oath.

None of this has anything to do with Nova Roma or Roman religion or culture, but it's something I wanted to share. Finding Sassafras Grove was the best thing that's happened to me in the past five years.

Flow Morpheus, slow, let the sun and light come streaming into my life...

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:05:05 GMT

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??

Morpheus
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I don't think of myself as a normally quiet person. Nor as particularly "private".

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:15:46 GMT

Nemesis
33% Extroversion, 100% Intuition, 100% Emotiveness, 33% Perceptiveness

You are a normally quiet person with very strong convictions and a marked activist streak. You have a clearly defined sense of right and wrong, and you like seeing people punished for their transgressions. You are Nemesis, goddess of punishment. You are a champion for the defenseless, you love poetic justice and, if karmic retribution doesn't have its say, then you'll have yours. You are astute, rarely fooled, and idealistic.

Your defining characteristic is your internal and inflexible system of morals. Because of your highly intuitive nature, you possess the theoretical nature required to define those morals, but you sometimes lack the ability to verbalize and expound on them, especially on the more nuanced parts of your worldview. Regardless, you have strong instincts which often prove to be correct, and rather than preaching, you act on them. You don't compromise -- ever.

You can sometimes be a person of great internal stress. You don't have double standards, and so you expect the same of yourself as you expect of others. You might find, sometimes, that you have just as hard of a time in living up to those expectations as the people around you. As a result, you are rarely at peace with yourself, but you're also likely to think of this in a positive light -- you're always forcing yourself to improve, and you avoid making mistakes.

You tend to be a private person, and don't like to talk much about those staunch morals of yours until, that is, they become violated. Once that happens, everyone is going to know exactly where you stand. You have a distaste of nihilism and intellectual relativism that will make you naturally compatible with scientists and certain kinds of philosophers, even if they don't share your activist streak.

Famous People like you: Goethe, Voltaire, Susan B. Anthony, Robert Burns
Similar Personality Types: Prometheus, The Oracle, Hermes, Orpheus
Avoid: Icarus, Dionysus, Agamemnon, Atlas
You may or may not be able to get along with an Odysseus -- it will depend on his/her upbringing.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Extroversion

You scored higher than 99% on Intuition

You scored higher than 99% on Emotiveness

You scored higher than 99% on Perceptiveness

Link: The Greek Mythology Personality Test written by Aleph_Nine on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

This was totally unexpected

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 17:49:14 GMT

It has taken me a couple of weeks to process this enough to even write about it. And I thought it best to record my thoughts here, rather than in my regular Woodwose journal. There are people friended on that journal who would think I've turned into a complete eclectic flake-job. Although I really haven't, by any stretch of the imagination. But this is something I have to acknowledge. It may become significant somewhere down the road.

Three weeks ago at the Sassafras Grove ritual Scott and I had what was for me an unsettling experience. During the rite each of us was blindfolded and led by "Hermes" (tarenshadowwolf) to confront "Persephone" (Sarina) and "Hades" (Earrach). That part was okay, and in fact I was the person originally intended to portray Hermes. However I don't think it's appropriate to impersonate or compare oneself to a deity (does anybody other than me remember the story of Medusa?) so I declined the role. Otherwise participating in the rite didn't bother me at all. It was what happened at the end that I found disturbing. After our symbolic descent to the Hellenic underworld we each then went to a seeress (Emerald) and drew a card with the image of a god or goddess who presumably had some message for us.

Scott and I both drew Hades.

Later Emerald herself agreed that the coincidence was remarkable. Scott took it as a good omen, reasoning that we'd just completed a rite honoring Hades. But I found it a little disturbing. Granted, Hades has a respectful place in the Hellenic pantheon. He's not one of those dysfunctional deities like Loki or Eris. But still, it was Hades! If I'm to be touched by a Greek deity, why couldn't it have been beautiful Apollo, or Pan or Hera, or wise Athena? Why the god of the dead?

So I've been doing some research since then. Not constantly, of course, but whenever I have a bit of free time. And I'm less bothered by the experience now. Hades is also a god of prosperity. He's called Plouton (cognate with his Roman name Pluto) which means "wealth". And it can't be denied that we're indeed wealthy in comparison to most other contemporary Pagan families.

Furthermore it's equally true that our household's spirituality is very, very earth-focused. And in Hellenic myth it's Hades who takes Persephone - the life of the earth - as his consort. From the perspective of the Demeter/Persephone/Hades connection it does make sense that Hades would a deity who would reach out to us.

Of course I've no intention of worshipping foreign deities now. But an occasional nod in Hades' direction, and perhaps an offering once in a while, might be a good idea.

A Roman by any other name

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 19:37:08 GMT

Our gathering last week seems to have planted a seed of interest in Nova Roma locally. A friend of mine is now applying to be a citizen. She hasn't chosen a cognomen yet, but I'll know her as Lucia Ambrosia. It will be interesting to learn about the new citizenship process as she works her way through it. I suspect we may have one or two others become citizens after Lucia passes the test and probationary period.

While she's doing that, I may look into the process of changing my own name. When I joined NR, I took the cognomen Germanicus thinking it to mean "the German" or "Germanic". Not an unreasonable assumption considering that the legions were comprised primarily of Germanic warriors by the end of the Imperium. But apparently the cognomen Germanicus implies that I've waged a victorious battle against a Germanic tribe. And that isn't descriptive of me at all. According to the NR website I could Latinize my regular name and use that as a cognomen. Which would make me (I think) Servius Ambrosius Alaricus. I rather like that. One thing I didn't care for when I became a citizen was discarding my name. My real, legal name is Alaric. My SCA name, Lord Alaric. My "majyckal" name, Alaric. I've never been a big fan of fake names. I understand the rationale for Latinizing my name, and that's okay. I'd be perfectly happy with Alaricus.

And I don't think the censors would object at all. They don't even allow the cognomen 'Germanicus' anymore, so I doubt very much they'd mind me giving it up. I guess what it will boil down to is how complicated the process is going to be. If it's just a matter of me submitting the name change request, then I'll probably do it. If I have to jump through hoops or take a test or go through a probationary period then I probably won't.

It's just a name, after all.

Nova Romans meet in Colles Ferreus

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 14:29:34 GMT

It was a small group with only five of us - myself, Deana, Alexandria, Justinius and Antonius - but I think it was a reasonably productive evening. Antonius and I laid out an assortment of Romanesque munchies; olives, grapes, bread with honey, and almonds. And both Deana and Alexandria brought wine.

The women had nice tunics, but by the end of the evening all three of us guys had shucked the togas in favor of more practical clothing. Real togas may have worked better. The makeshift sheets were fun, but ultimately impractical. However I managed to get some good photos of everyone while we were still dressed.

Earlier in the day I spoke with Propraetor Galerius on the telephone and suggested that he might want to wait until we're more organized before making a personal trip out to Colles Ferreus. However I remembered to ask him some of the questions that local people had already brought to me. So before watching Gladiator we were able to discuss Nova Roma itself and address some of those questions. The primary concern was the issue of citizenship, which now requires a "test" of some sort. There's no mention of what the test will cover, and Rome is a rather broad subject. So it helped to talk with Galerius and learn something about the reasoning behind the new test. (I didn't have to take this test. When I became a citizenship it was just a matter of signing up.) At his suggestion I'm going to write to the censors and find out more about the topics covered so I can help people in this region prepare for the test.

I was especially pleased when we opened the floor to everyone discussing what he or she hoped to get out of Nova Roma. Everyone had something to contribute, some interest or desire.

We've tentatively agreed to have another gathering some time this spring. Right now we're talking about an authentic Roman dinner. Alexandria wants reclining couches, but that may be impractical if we have a group of any substantial size!

This may actually happen

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 03:35:24 GMT

We officially have a date for the first Colles Ferreus gathering. October 14th, 2759. The tentative plan is a toga party watching the movie Gladiator. Afterward we'll talk a little about what Nova Roma is and what direction(s) we might take Colles Ferreus. I currently see it as a sort of Roman SIG for the Pagans of western Pennsylvania.

Seems to me that we should have at least some brief prayer to Iuppiter O.M., Iuno and Minerva. But I don't feel comfortable doing that myself. Wish we had someone among us who actually follows the Religio Romana.

Getting Scott into a toga should be interesting. I haven't mentioned this to him yet. Not sure how to word it...

It's Official

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:57:49 GMT

Today, after returning home from a week of festivities in Lacus Magni, I found an email announcement from Propraetor Tiberius Galerius Paulinus announcing my appointment to the office of Legatus Pennsylvaniensis Colles Ferreus. I'm also listed as such on the Nova Roma website. So now, after I plough through a pile of obligations coming up over the next few weeks, I'll need to sit down and develop a plan of action for Colles Ferreus.

While at the festival I had the pleasure of meeting Consul Gaius Fabius Buteo Modianus in person and talking to him briefly about my position as Legate and my role in Nova Roma in general. We had a very interesting discussion of the place of religion in Nova Roma. Modianus is obviously a good person to have as a contact, but he's the sort of fellow who I'd enjoy hanging out with regardless of his position or influence. By the end of the festival I felt like I'd made a new friend.

Legate Colles Ferreus

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 05:55:25 GMT

Well I didn't wait until after PSG. Tonight I went ahead and accepted the position of Legate for Colles Ferreus. Although I don't know if that name will stick. It's just something I came up with myself - something with a more Roman flavor than 'Pittsburgh'. Accepting the position wasn't a rash decision on my part. After I posted something about it on the Sassafras Grove list, three people have already expressed an interest in attending NR gatherings. So I'm reasonably confident that I can host some successful events here.

I think a local Nova Roma group could be fun and interesting, especially for those of us who follow indigenous European faiths. You don't have to follow the Religio Romana to appreciate the profound effect Rome had (both positive and negative) on all of the cultures of Europe.

Now I need to figure out how to make a toga...

Latin Meme

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 04:34:52 GMT

Princeps Senatus
You scored 85%!

Congratualtions! You have been voted to be the First Counselor of the Senate. Your eloquence with the Latin tongue is well-known, and you have been elevated to a position of authority within the Senate. You are always the first to speak at the Senate meetings (after the Emperor, of course) and are a very powerful ally (or enemy) to have. More than likely, you have the backing of some of the military, which could come in handy should you ever decide that being the Princeps Senatus is not enough for you...

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Knowledge

Link: The Latin sayings Test written by NurseTim on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

How cool is this?

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:13:58 GMT

The Praetor of Mediatlantica contacted me today via email to ask if I'd consider serving as Legatus for western Pennsylvania, specifically Pittsburgh. Of course my ego wanted scream out a resounding YES because it's flattering to even be considered for the position. But the sensible part of me asked if I could have a couple of weeks to decide. With Pagan Spirit Gathering just a couple days away most of my attention is currently focused on packing and purchasing supplies. And I think the question is one that deserves at least some consideration before answering.

One of my concerns is whether there's any interest in Roman culture here in Colles Ferreus (Pittsburgh). I've sent an email to Sassafras Grove, and I may try some other e-lists to see if anyone would actually show up for the party. If I do this I'm going to have to host or sponsor at least two gatherings annually. I don't need a huge turnout. I don't even need a decent turnout. But I do need two or three people to show up, which in the decidedly peculiar Burgh o' the Pitts can sometimes be problematic.

Praetor Galerius wants to double the number of citizens in Mediatlantica. Which means the bar is set pretty low out here in the western region.

I told him that I'd give him an answer when I return from PSG on the 25th. By then I'll have a pretty good idea as to whether this is something I can do, and do well.

Most people (who I know) seem to be getting this result

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 05:16:50 GMT

You fit in with:
Spiritualism

Your ideals are mostly spiritual, but in an individualistic way. While spirituality is very important in your life, organized religion itself may not be for you. It is best for you to seek these things on your own terms.

80% spiritual.
80% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Nothing like the result of that other quiz!

Sat, 15 Oct 2005 04:53:19 GMT

Aphrodite
Gods! You scored 62!

You are most like the Goddess Aphrodite! Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and desire. Although she was married she had many affairs with both other gods and men - most famously with Ares. Her husband Hephaestus caught them in a net he had made and paraded them in front of the other gods. Aphrodite is mean, vain and jealous, and most often depicted with a mirror.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 94% on Godliness

Link: The What Greek God Are You Test written by mellyelf on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 02:36:48 GMT

Nemesis

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

My continuing culture quest

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 16:19:29 GMT

I'm seriously considering the idea of joining Ár nDraíocht Féin. Our local grove is one of the best things going around here, and I really like ADF's overall philosophy.

Outside of ADF and the Heathen community, the majority of "Pagans" I've met over the past four years have been either new-agers or kids who don't seem to have any particular spiritual philosophy at all. The ADF folk are actually doing something and seem to have at least a marginal appreciation for real, historical Pagan cultures. Because of the druid concept I was a little hesitant when I first met them back in May. But the druidry is more of an image. I've met ADF people who follow the Religio Germania, the Religio Graeca and one woman who follows the Religio Romana.

I think the Dedicant Program would be good for me. But mostly this is my ongoing search for culture. It would be nice to associate with people who know the gods.

I guess it's better than slave or catamite

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 05:04:13 GMT

Citizen
You scored 64% on Social Skills!

You are the bulk of the Roman world. You sweat and toil in Rome's name, but you are free to do so. No one beats you to force your labor. You most likely do it out of love for your country, and a desire to better it. Through bettering it, you may yet better your own station in life. You pay taxes, but are rewarded with free beer and wheat to aid in you life. Caesar and the Patricians both want your love and loyalty, and throw immense parties (and very often at that) to keep you on their side. For they know, it is only through your acceptance of them being better than you that they rule you. You probably own a shop, or an appartment building as your source of income. You will usually have at least two slaves, if not several freed persons working for you. You most likely own your own home, and have it decorated as lavishly as you can afford (in immitation of a true Patrician household or even the Emporer's Palace).

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on social skill

Link: The What Roman Are You Test written by irishwitch78 on Ok Cupid

I like this result, he was a great man

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 04:42:00 GMT

You scored as Hadrian. You are the great emperor Hadrian. Not only great for the fact that he didn't mess something up, but he relentlessly administered the empire and set viable borders. Art, cultivation and wisdom mark your reign. The fact that you prefer the boys really helps with the wise handing over of the purple to only the most qualified.

</td>

Hadrian

68%

Augustus

64%

Domitian

64%

Antoninus Pius

57%

Marcus Aurelius

57%

Nerva

54%

Claudius

50%

Vitellius

50%

Commodus

50%

Caligula

46%

Trajan

43%

Tiberius

39%

Nero

36%

Vespasian

32%

Which Roman Emperor Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

SVR update

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 18:19:58 GMT

It's been more than a fortnight since I wrote the apparently non-existent censores of Societas Via Romana inquiring as to how somebody in gens Ambrosia would register as a member. Never heard anything from them. Which suggests that SVR is really nothing more than a website.

I'm beginning to think that the Germanic folk are the only Pagans (other than Wiccans and the ever-present Llewiccans) who're nurturing any substantial "real world" restoration of the old faiths.

SVR

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:23:16 GMT

I tried to apply for membership in Societas Via Romana, but their online application process doesn't offer Ambrosia as a nomen. Which is sort of wierd because two Ambrosii are already members. Today I took etichonides's advice and sent a letter to the censores. If SVR won't let me register as Ambrosius then I'll probably just forget about joining. It may seem odd, but being a part of gens Ambrosia actually does mean something to me. I know it's an ephemeral relationship, but Ambrosia is much more real to me than online societies like NR and SVR.

In other news, I never have heard back from the PPD people. I wrote them quite some time ago to let them know that Dru was willing to come and speak about the Religio Romana, and that somebody else had contacted me about giving a talk on Hellenism. It's no skin off my back if they aren't interested in these speakers, but it makes me wonder if this year's Pride Day isn't going to be some hippy-dippy Llewiccafest.

Vale Irik

Fri, 24 Dec 2004 15:54:36 GMT

Our materfamilia's husband died earlier this week. He was only 49 years old. I'm not sure of what to do. I've offered incense to Minerva on behalf of my materfamilia. Because of her husband's name (Irik) and a reference in his obituary to the Wild Hunt, I suspect he was himself more Germanic than Roman. And in that context I can honor him properly. The folk of Earendel will raise a myne-horn to Irik when we hold symbel this week.

If anyone knows of what I can do on a spiritual level to support Merlinia, please let me know. My knowledge of the Religio is somewhat lacking.

Io Saturnalia

Fri, 17 Dec 2004 23:51:14 GMT

Today is the first day of the Saturnalia. Hope everyone enjoys a festive season.

Sort of annoyed...

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 21:46:43 GMT

I received the nicest email from Drusilla Iulia Hibernia asking if we'd like her to speak at Pride Day again this year. Yeah, ASKING for the priviledge of driving for hours to contribute to somebody else's event. Of course Pittsburgh's PPD is long over now. All it would have taken was somebody taking 45 seconds to shoot off a brief e-mail to Dru. "Hey, could you come down again for this year's Pride Day?" Big effort there.

I would have done it myself, but I didn't want to step on anybody's toes and I was told that she would be invited to speak.

If you want something done right you just have to do it yourself. At least that's the way it is here in western Mediatlantica.

Well, I tried

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:43:57 GMT

Sadly, the Religio Romana won't be represented at this year's Pagan Pride Day celebration in the city of Pittsburgh. I asked around hoping to find someone who would speak, but nobody stepped forward. Yesterday was the deadline to get listings in the program booklet. There won't be any Roman representation, nor anything Hellenic.

But the northern presence will be awesome.

NR or not, the photo's great

Sun, 29 Aug 2004 18:35:46 GMT

A friend of mine sent me the link to a photo of a Roman encampment at this year's Pennsic.

PHOTO

My first impression (which I erroneously shared with others) was that it was a Nova Roma group. I've since been informed by a fellow Ambrosii that the camp belonged to a SCA household, presumably with no connection to Nova Roma. The photo is very cool nevertheless (or at least I think so) and would be an inspiration to anyone trying to establish an oppidum or even a less formal Roman group.