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[from http://www.oakgrove.org/GreenPages/bos/0764.txt ] 764 Subject: ODINISM, WHAT IS IT? 1. What do you mean by Odinism? Odinism isthe indigenous religiousfaith of theScandinavian, B ritish and other peoples of Northern Europe; it is an amalgam of attitudes, ideas and behavior, both a personal faith and a communal way of life. In its beginnings Odinism is probably as old as our race. Historically it ma y be divided into three periods: A. Before the coming of Christianity B. Its gradual merging with Christianity and the ensuing Perio d of Dual Faith, and C. Its efforts in the present century to free itself of Christ ian influences and to reassert its ancient independence. 2. How have the tenets of Odinism been preserved? Is there an Odinist holy book? The ancient oral traditions of Odinism were during the Middle Age s embodied in writings, the Odinist books of wisdom, the principle of w hich are the Eddas. The poetic Elder Edda presents the Odinist cosmogony, the mythological lays and the heroic lays, including the story of Sigurd and Brynhild which were in later times moulded into the Lay of the Nibelu ngs. The Younger Edda is a prose synopsis of the Odinist faith. 3. When did Britain and the rest of Europe cease to be Odinist? The first of our Northern countries to succumb to the false promi ses of the new religion were the Goths, in the fourth century of the Chr istian era; the Icelanders became Christians by official decree in the yea r 1000 CE, to be followed by the Scandinavian countries over the next two h undred years. England was "converted" between 597 and 686 CE and Scotland so mewhat earlier (although some of the people of Ross-shire were still worsh ipping the old Gods as late as the seventeenth century). Ireland, when Patri ck the Proselytizer landed there in the year 432, was described as "a h eathen land"; Dublin and the other principal Irish towns were actually foun ded by Odinist Vikings, who dedicated the country to the god Thor. 4. Well, the people were converted to Christianity. Would you have denied them their freedom of choice? They had no choice. Most of those who were "converted" had little knowledge of Christian doctrine; the new religion was imposed on them by sword and sermon. The Revd S. C. Olland's Dictionary of English Churc h History is explicit: "The adoption of Christianity generally depend ed upon State action: the king and his nobles were baptized and the peop le largely followed their example. . . . .The wholesale conversions. . . . . could not have implied individual conviction." On one day alone in t he year 598 more than ten thousand English "converts" were baptized in a mass ceremony; it is unlikely that they had received a great deal of instr uction in the Christian faith. Even in the twentieth century the vast major ity of Christians are still quite ignorant of Christian doctrine. It was always so. 765 5. Why do you say that Odinism was practiced in the Church during what you have called "the Period of Dual Faith"? We can see the evidence everywhere, even today. When the foreign missionaries subverted Britain what they could they repressed and wh at they could not they ignored or adopted. The ancient spring renewal fe stival of Summer Finding was transformed into the Christian feast o f the resurrection; the Mid-winter festival of Yule became Christmas. Not o nly the folk festivals connected with the great changes of season - May D ay and Midsummer and Harvest - but numerous customs associated with life's milestones, birth and marriage and death, all showed that the ol d Gods lived on in the life and in the language of the people. Many o f the external signs of the ancient faith were retained: water was consecra ted and wood was blessed. A Christian writer, Professor P. D. Chantepie d e la Saussaye DD, has said, "We recognize in this folklore a form of histo rical continuity, the bond of union between the life of the people in pagan and In Christian times." Even today when we say, "Touch wood!" we are rec alling the sacred nature of an important symbol of our ancient religion; a nd how many people are aware that they are paying unconscious tribute to th e Gods of Odinism when they light their Christmas or Paschal candles or their bonfire on the fifth of November? Or that the very "Christmas tr ee" is itself the World Ash of Odinism? Even the sign of the cross is real ly the sign of Thor's hammer! 6. How long did the Period of Dual Faith last? The period during which Odinism was actually practiced with in the Church extended in Britain from about the seventh century CE right d own to the 1930's, when the purity of ancient worship was revived by a numbe r of groups working outside the Church for the first time for more than a thousand years. 7. But the adoption of Christianity, a creed that preaches peace on earth and the equality of all men was, surely you must agree, a step forw ard in the civilizing of our people? Odinists were happy enough to put up with the new doctrines so lo ng as they were allowed to go on practicing their own faith in peace. B ut the inherent contradiction at the heart of Christianity is that it den ies in action the faith that it professes verbally. There is no histo ry of religious warfare in Europe before the coming of Christianity. It is ironic indeed that the message of peace on earth has been propagated with s o much bloodshed. As for the equality of all men, we just do not believe in it; and even the Christian god has his "chosen people". 8. Why is it now necessary to reassert what you describe as Odinism' s ancient independence? Why can you not , in the present unsettled stat e of society, leave well alone. Surely we should be getting togethe r, not creating more divisions amongst ourselves? First of all it is necessary to state that because of its organic origins and development Odinism is a religion of visual truth. Nevertheless,for just so long as Christian and Odinist ethics coinc ided - even superficially - it was possible for Odinists to worship the Gods under their Christian designations; but only for so long as they re mained adequate interpretations of the true divinities of Odinism (the natur e of a god being of greater importance than his name). 766 The Churches are today opposed to many of the things that Odinist s hold sacred: they sin against nation and people by espousing causes whose ultimate aim is our destruction; they condone legislation that has given statutory approval to unnatural sexual deviance and perversion; they encourage criminal activities by calling for the exemption from punis hment, or even prosecution, of whole categories of lawbreakers; they p rovide financial aid for revolutionary propaganda and even terrorist acti vities against our own people; they remain totally indifferent to the rape of our countryside in the short-term interests of economic gain and techn ology; and they have successfully divided the people of our own islands a gainst themselves (eg, in Ireland). Life in Northern Europe is today, after fifteen hundred years of Christianity, almost entirely concerned with material wealth and self-indulgence and the Christian clergy have l argely forsaken their spiritual vocations in order to preach the caus es of subversion and revolution. The people yearn for spiritual bread but have been offered b y the Churches only a political stone. It is no longer possible for anyone who is aware of his debt to our past or who has concern for the future of our nation and race to remain within the Christian Church. This must not, however be taken to imply that Odinists bear hatred towards Christia ns; we recognize that there are many good and sincere people within the Chr istian community from whose example Odinists themselves could not fail to p rofit. But the Church is itself largely responsible for the "present uns ettled state of society". Odinists see it as their duty to oppose those who menace the things that they regard as holy. If we cannot in justice always blame the sheep we should and do attack the shepherds. 9. But surely it would be preferable to have one god for all mankind ? Why? One god or many Gods, it really does not matter. Our true Go ds are actually worshipped by peoples all over the world, using thei r own mythologies and adapting their worship to local cultures and conditio ns. We prefer to worship the Gods in our own way with people of our own kind. And we respect the right of others to their own beliefs. It was an O dinist gothi (priest), Sigrith, who told the foreign missionaries, "I mus t not part from the faith which I have held, and my forefathers before me; on the other hand I shall make no objection to your believing in the god that pleases you best." 10. You have mentioned the "Gods of Nature". Does this mean that Odin ists are nature-worshippers? Odinists recognize man's spiritual kinship with Nature, that with in himself are in essence all that is in the greater world, which perfor m within him the same functions as in the world. Thus there are in man the four elements, the vegetative life of plants, an ethereal body - the god- soul - corresponding to the heavens, the sense of animals, of spiritu al things and reason and understanding. Because in this way man comprise s all the parts of the world within himself he is thus a true image of the Gods. 767 Also containing the essence of the universe within themselves, th e Gods are everywhere and in everything: they show themselves to us as fire, as a flower, as a tree. Odinists believe that all life should be liv ed in communion and in accord with the mind of the Gods. Christianity turne d away from Nature and concentrated its adherents' attention on the human so ul and became obsessed with the fall of man, by which it was implied that m an had brought all Nature down into sin with him. Christian teaching enco uraged man to see Nature only in her physical form whereas Odinists regard Nature as a true manifestation of the divine. "We and the cosmos are one," wrote D. H. Lawrence, "The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still part. The sun is the great heart whose tremors run through our sm allest veins. The moon is a great gleaming nerve-centre from which we quiver forever. . . . Now all this is literally true, as men knew in the great past and as they will know again." Whoever shall properly know himse lf and all things in himself shall know the Gods. The Odinist, because of his awareness of his relationship with Nature, is able to feel a consangu ineous kinship with plants and animals and the land - a complete oneness. 11. You speak of "the Odinist mythology". Do you really expect anyone to believe in a myth? Every religion is mythical in its development. Mythology is the knowledge that the ancients had of the divine; it is religious truth expressing in poetical terms mankind's desire for personal and v isible gods. The mythology of Odinism consists of a group of legends, fabl es and tales relating to The Gods, heroes, demons and other beings whose names have been preserved in popular belief. Our object must be to discover , with the help of our mythology, the Gods who manifest themselves thro ughout Nature: in the streets and in the trees and in the rocks, in the r unning streams and in the heavy ear of grain, in the splendor of the sun by day and in the star-strewn sky at night. But it is not the myth that Od inists believe in but the Gods whom that myth helps us to understand. 12. What, then, is the Odinist mythology? Briefly, our mythology unfolds in five acts (which may be compare d to the evolution of the seasons of the year): A. the Creation (spring) B. the time preceding the death of Balder (summer) C. the death of Balder (summer's end) D. the time immediately after the death of Balder (autumn) E. Ragnarok, the decline and fall followed by the regeneratio n of the world (winter and spring) The first effort of speculative man has always been to solve the mystery of existence, to ask what was in the beginning. The condi tion of things before the world's creation is expressed in the Eddas negatively; there was nothing of that which sprang into existence : Nothing was Neither land nor sea, Nor cool waves. Earth was not , Sky was not, But a gaping void And no grass. 768 Ymir was a frost-giant, eg chaotic matter: From Ymir's flesh The world was made, And from his blood the sea. Mountains from his bones, Trees from his hair, And the welkin from his skull. There were as yet no human beings upon the earth when one day as the Gods Odin, Hoener and Loder were walking along the seashore they s aw two trees from which they created the first human pair. Odin gave them li fe and spirit, Hoener endowed them with reason and the power of motion and Loder gave them blood, hearing, and a fair complexion. The man they called Ask ash)--and the woman Embla (elm). As their abode the newly-created pai r received from the Gods Midgarth and from them is descended the whole human race. Balder is the godof the summer, the favorite god ofall Nature and a son of Odin; he is one of the wisest and most eloquent of the Gods an d his dwelling is in a place where nothing impure can enter. The story of B alder, well-known in the Northern countries, finds explanation in the seas ons of the year, in the change from light to darkness; he represents the bright and clear summer and his death is the impermanent victory of darknes s over light, of winter over summer, of death over life. When Balder is dea d, all Nature mourns. His death presages the disaster of Ragnarok , the consummation of the world, followed by its cleansing and return t o the primal state. Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, represents a great conflict b etween good and evil powers. The idea is already suggested in the story of the Creation in which the Gods are represented as proceeding from giants, that is from an evil and chaotic force. And whatever can be born must surely die. In the seasons and activities of Nature we see a constantly recu rring picture of the necessity for death and the equal certainty of its bei ng overcome. At Ragnarok all the worlds of Nature will be destroyed and even the giants must die. But from that catastrophe will emerge a renewed world and the Gods themselves will be born again. We see this drama enacted every year in miniature when autumn heralds the period of decline and decay until with the spring we witness the magic of resurrection and new li fe. This, briefly told, is the myth that explained to our ancestors t heir origin and the origin of the world, the creation of life from chaos a nd the mergence of evolution and harmony. 13. Who is Odin? Odinis the first and eldest ofthe Gods, the all-pervading spi rit of the sun, the moon, the stars, the hills, the plains and of man. Wi th his help were made heaven and earth and the first man and woman. All kno wledge came from him; he is the inventor of poetry and discovered the runes; he governs all things, protects the social organization influences the h uman mind, avenges murder and upholds the sanctity of the oath. He is well named Allfather. And because he chooses to surround himself with a bodyguard of those who have fallen in battle he is also known as Valfather, Father of the Slain. 769 In the mythology Odin's single eye (the other he sacrificed in ex change for wisdom) is the sun, his broad-brimmed hat the arched vault of hea ven, his blue cloak the sky. A conspicuous passage in the Edda is Odin's sacrifice of himself to himself: I know I hung on the windy tree nine nights through: I know I hung I know I hung myself to myself, on the tree that springs from roots unknown. Order is the basis of Odin's government. Nature the garment by wh ich he manifests himself. Odinism says: study the natural laws, conform to them and you will prosper; ignore them or violate them and you must suffer . Just so far as you study and obey Nature exactly so far will Nature r eward or punish you. For under Odin the government of Nature is harmonious and unchangeable. 14. Who are the other Gods of Odinism? What kind of Gods are they? We have already spoken of Odin and Balder. Of the other Gods the best- known is Thor, the most famous story concerning whom tells of this Warrior-God crushing the powers of chaos. He rules over clouds and ra in and makes his presence known in the lightning's flash. He is the prot ector of the farm worker, the chief god of agriculture, a helpful deity who makes the crops grow and who also blesses the bride with fertility. In the words of Professor P. V. Glob, " He wishes all men well and stands by t hem in face of their enemies and against the new God, Christ." Tyr is the God of martial honor, the most daring and intrepid of the Gods. He dis penses justice in time of peace and valor in war. He it was who sacrificed a hand when overpowering the evil Fenris Wolf, showing us that we ourselve s must be prepared to make sacrifices in order to protect ourselves and o ur kin from those who seek to cast our society into anarchy and chaos. Frey is God of the harvest and is therefore also a God of fecundi ty and growth; some authorities believe that he and Christ may have become blended, in England at least, in so a God of fecundity and growth; so me authorities believe that he and Christ may have become blended, in En gland at least, in the new religion of Christianity. Freya is a Goddess of love and the sister of Frey: barren women may invoke her and she is also t he Goddess of death for all women. Another God, Vali, is called he Aveng er because when he was yet only one night old he avenged Balder's death, thus demonstrating the moral obligation we have of punishing society's ene mies. Other Gods include Brage, Heimdal, Vidar, Frigg and Forsete. 770 The Gods of Odinism are the ordaining powers of Nature clothed in personality. They direct the world which they themselves created. The y are referred to collectively as the Aesir, of whom every living thing for ms a part (thus not all the Gods are necessarily good ones). Objects and phenomena that are regarded as greater or lesser Aesir are qualities such as thought and memory, and natural things such as the sun, rivers, mountains and trees as well as animals and ancestral spirits. The re are also the guardian Gods of the land, of skills and occupations a nd the spirits of national heroes, the Einheriar and other men and women who se outstanding deeds and virtues have contributed to our civilization, culture and well-being. 15. Is there a table of commandments that sets out the rules to be followed by Odinists? The main rules of Odinist conduct are listed in the Nine Charges which are: 1. To maintain candor and fidelity in love and devotions to the tried friend: though he strike me I will do him no scathe. 2. Neverto make a wrongsome oath: for great andgrim is the reward for the breaking of plighted troth. 3. To deal not hardly with the humble and lowly. 4. To remember the respect that is due great age. 5. To suffer noevil to go unremedied andto fight against the enemies of family, nation, race and faith: my foes will I fight in the field nor be burnt in my house. 6. To succor thefriendless but to putno faith in the pledged word of a stranger people. 7. If I hear the fool's word of a drunken man I will strive not : for many a grief and the very death groweth out of such things. 8. To give kind heedto dead men: straw-dead, sea-dead or sword-dead. 9. To abide by the enactments of lawful authority and to bear w ith courage and fortitude the decrees of the Norns. The Chargesare based on the rules oflife indicated by the Hig h Song of Odin and in the Lay of Sigurd in which the Valkyrie gives counsel to Sigurd. They may be summarized as demanding in the struggle for life a self-reliance which should be earned by a love of learning and indust ry, a prudent foresight in word and deed, moderation in the gratification o f the senses and in the exercise of power, modesty and politeness in interc ourse and a desire to earn the goodwill of our fellow men. 16. The first four Charges seem fairly innocuous, but I must say the Fifth Charge sounds rather sinister! Isn't it all very violent an d retributive? 771 "To suffer no evil to gounremedied," does appear to run contr ary to the trends of modern progressive thinking. And the idea of fi ghting "against the enemies of family, nation, race and faith" would be an athema to many people. Unlike the Christian, whose duty it is to "turn the other cheek" (advice that is more often observed ub tge breach than othe rwise) and to be patient and long-suffering under the most grievous attacks, it is the duty of the Odinist to punish wrongs and above all those wrongs o ffered to his own family and kin. Society's enemies already know the basic l aw of life: that the race is to the strong and that the meek will inherit th earth only when the earth inherits them dust to dust. Others should a lso learn to recognize this truth. 17. What do you mean by "kinship loyalty"? We mustof course give loyal service to anyoneor any concept t o whom or to which loyalty is due. But we owe our loyalty in the fullest deg ree to our immediate family and to those who are related to us by blood-ti es or blood-brotherhood. A husband owes loyalty to his wife, for instanc e, and vice versa, just as a son owes loyalty to his parents to a greater extent than to anyone outside the immediate family circle. Beyond that we owe allegiance to our own country and racial kindred before we can even consider giving it to strangers who must therefore have the last cal l upon us. But there may be occasions when loyalty to nation and kin must transcend even our loyalty to our own family. This concern for kin is an essential part of Odinist teaching . More than twelve centuries ago the Christian proselytizer, Boniface, wro te of the Odinists, "Have pity on them, because even they themselve s are accustomed to say, "We are of one blood and one bone". Filial love, patriotism and kinship loyalty are religious principles still adhered to by Odinists. In the words of the Edda: We shall help our kinsmen as foot helps foot. . . If one foot stumbles then shall the other restore balance. 18. You seem to have an exaggerated respect for things like law and o rder! What about unjust laws? No, not an "exaggerated respect for law and order"; just rega rd for the rules by which civilized man must live. But laws, to be just , must apply equally to all citizens and groups without discrimination. Odin ists certainly have a duty to oppose what they regard as unjust laws but i n doing so they accept the consequences of their opposition and do not expect to be given exemption or favorable treatment. 19. What view do Odinists take of modern, enlightened substitutes for traditional, repressive forms of punishment? Do you agree that th e wrong-doer in our society is more often than not the victim of hi s environment and that we are thus all guilty? 772 Odinists refuse to accept responsibility for the actions of o thers. Just as it would be wrong to accept credit for another person's mer its so it is wrong to relieve the wrong-doer of responsibility for his ac tions. "Crime should be blazoned abroad by its retribution," wrote Ta citus. Punishment should be an unpleasant and memorable experience. Tho se in authority who neglect to punish the criminal adequately place themsel ves in the position of being accessories after the fact. Odinists believe that anyone who seriously or continually flouts the law should forfeit for a period of time his rights to protection under that law; enemies of the community should not be permitted to run with the hare and hunt wit h the hounds! 20. The Sixth Charge speaks about putting no faith in the pledged wor d of a stranger people. What is meant by "a stranger people"? By "a strangerpeople" we mean those from differentcultures th an our own. It is a warning that words often mean different things to diffe rent peoples, that their standards are not always the same as our own. It is simply one of those things in life that ought to be widely known and appreciated but does not seem to be! 21. Please explain the Ninth Charge, which speaks of "the decrees of the Norns". Who or where are the Norns? The Norns are the three Fates of Northern mythology, the Goddesse s of time. They are named Urd (the past), Verdande (the present) and Skuld (the future). They watch over man; they spin his thread of fate at his bir th and mark out with it the limits of his sphere of action through life; their decrees are inviolable destiny, their dispensations inevitable necessity. Urd and Verdande, the past and present, may be se en as stretching a web from the radiant dawn of life to the glowing sunset, while Skuld, the future tears it to pieces! Man's fate must be met but the way in which it is met rests with the individual; and by the way in which he meets his fate man is able to demonstrate his free will. This important principle shows a man that it is worth while fighting life's battles courageously while at the same ti me fate's inexorable nature allows no room for careful weighing of argu ments for and against or for anxiety about the nature of things that are in any case destined to happen. 22. What other aspects of human behavior are admired by Odinists? The Noble Virtues are held in high esteem. They are: Courage Truth Honor Fidelity Discipline Hospitality Industriousness Self-reliance Perseverance 773 The Odinist must do what lies before him without fear of either f oes, friends or the Norns. He must hold his own council, speak his mind an d seek fame without respect of persons; be free, independent and daring in his actions; act with gentleness and generosity towards friends and kinsmen but be stern and grim to his enemies (but even towards the la tter to feel bound to fulfill necessary duties); be as forgiving to some as he is unyielding and unforgiving to others. He should be neither trucebr eaker nor oathbreaker and utter nothing against any person that he would no t say to his face. These are the broad principles of Odinist behavior, feat ures of the spirit that made our Northern peoples great. 23. You call industriousness a Noble Virtue? What is so spiritual ab out that? Industriousness is a virtue which, partly inherited, is neverthel ess acquired largely through training and self-discipline; it is at once something we owe to ourselves, to our family and to the community. Th ere is a time for relaxation as there is a time for most things but it is not, for instance, during our working hours; neither should it be at the e xpense of other members of the community by way of the so-called welfare sta te. 24. What about material possessions? A principle of Odinism is the realization of the worthlessnes sand fleeting nature of worldly possessions. Enough should be enough. Ad am of Bremen, a Christian, remarked how Odinists with whom he had com e into contact "lack nothing of what we revere except our arrogance. They ha ve no acquisitive love of gold, silver, splendid chargers, the furs of beav er and marten or any of the other possessions we pine for". One thing alone is worth while in this life: the stability of a well-earned reputation. "Goods perish, friends perish, a man himself perishes," says the Edda "but fame never dies to him that hath won it worthily." 25. You describe self-reliance as one of the Noble Virtues. Surely ev en you must admit that none of us is, or can be, self-reliant in the se days? Self reliance does not, as you appear to suggest, imply selfishne ss or mean that a man must live in isolation from his fellows. We recognize that men are dependent upon Nature and on the community of which he forms part; he has obligations to that community as well as to his employer (or employees). He receives from society and he owes a debt to society. Odinism teaches that people must be encouraged to stand on their own feet and not to ask continually, "When is somebody going to do somethi ng for me?" 774 26. Do Odinists believe in prayer? Odinism is not a philosophy invented to ease mankind's comfort or to assuage his fears; that kind of religion acts against rather than in man's interests because it takes from him his independence and self-respect and makes of him a humble supplicant by encouraging him to she d his responsibilities. The person who prays to a saint or God asking for h elp or guidance is seeking to shift the responsibility from his own shoul ders, surrendering his own faculties of thought and physical action, unless he also does something to help himself. To pray is to beg and plead; it is self-abasement ("we worms of the earth"). That is not the object of t rue religion which, as Carlyle has told us, is "transcendent wonder": wo nder without limit or measure, reverent admiration alike for the immensity of creation, the inspiration of the human heart and the capability of th e human brain. Odinists in theirinveitan (praise); singular, inveita) callup on the Aesir to approach them in their thoughts as they themselves strive t owards the Aesir. Through increased understanding is achieved wholeness, a unity with the Gods that helps us to think out our problems and how they ma y be overcome. We project the Gods within ourselves and that, exte rnally realized, speaks to the divine in others. Through their invetian Odin ists express gratitude for life and the world they live in and resolve to try to make it better - not just to leave it to "someone up there" or ho pe for something better in the next world. 27 How do Odinists regard good and evil? Evil of itself cannot originatein man but must always beregar ded as an intruder, like an illness or an affliction; as such it must be o pposed and expelled. Good and evil are relative: there can be no absolut e norm and actions must depend upon circumstances and motives as well as tim e and place. The ethical standards relating to custom and tradition are fle xible and responsive to the specific demands of different ages, so that mor al judgments of what is right and wrong cannot be placed in a fixed syst em of standards but must vary according to time and situation. Just as t he world is constantly changing so are values constantly changing, so th at nothing can be regarded as unconditionally good or evil in all ages. In general, that which disturbs the social order and peaceful evolution and causes unhappiness - including such natural disasters as floods and earthquakes, disease and pollution - obstructs the natural developmen t of the world and must be regarded as evil. As for sin, Odinism knows but two major sins - perjury and murder: that is sin against the Gods and s in against one's fellow man. 28. Do you believe in Original sin? Man is inherently good andthe world in which he livesis good. There is no sin in man which has been inherited from his first, or any othe r, ancestor; it is enough that he should be held responsible for h is own actions. But a lthough his spirit is good, his flesh and his senses m ay succumb to evil, especially when by neglecting his own spiritual well - being he has left his defenses weakened. So it is necessary for him t o be able to distinguish between what is good and what is evil. 775 29 What do Odinists believe about marriage - and divorce? Odinists support theinstitution of marriageand marital fideli ty.But a broken marriage is and unhappy marriage and traditional Odinic law allows great latitude to separation of husband wife, at the will of both pa rties, if a good reason exists for the desired change. It is recognized that the worst possible service is rendered to those who are forced to live to gether against their will; but it must be borne in mind that marriage is bas ically a solemn exchange of vows between two people and as such can only be ended by agreement between the same two people. 30. Does Odinism offer salvation to those who believe? Odinism offers no salvation in the sense in which that term is us ed by Christians. Instead, the Odinist seeks liberation by bringing the Aes ir into the world of man and into his daily life - whether at home or at work. Liberation refers to the human condition as we know it, which is subj ect to birth and death and decay. It is not, " the kingdom of God which is w ith in you," but the Gods themselves which exist within man. 31. Does man possess an immortal soul? Is there a life after death an d will people go to Odin in heaven? Odinists believe that man consists of body (i.e. matter) and spir it or soul. Physical man is born, produces young and eventually dies. B ut the whole of Nature shows us that death is not final: the material body decomposes and recombines, it is regenerated and lives again. As it w as in the beginning so it is now; every atom continues to exist and must ex ist as in the beginning. There is nothing new under the sun and what we c all death is really nothing more than transformation. Spiritual man is divided into two distinct souls, one passiv e, the other active, the divine and the human, which we call God-sou l and human-soul. The first is in the fullest sense a divine being, contemp lating a past eternity and a future immortality, occupying itself in contemp lation rather than in action and to be regarded as a kind of guardian spirit . Although the God-soul and the material body are associated in this li fe, the former is not bound to man in the way that, say, a limb is (it ma y indeed absent itself from his body during sleep or period s of unconsciousness). Without the spirit there can be no motivation: whe n the physical change (i.e. death) takes place the God-soul passes to anoth er living organism -a human being, a tree, an animal, perhaps a bird. T his is the element that gives man his mystical attachment to a particular district or country (which is what we call patriotism): because it i s where the God-souls of countless generations of ancestors dwell. It i s because of this that man is compelled to nurture, love and defe nd his country, which is, in the purest sense, a holy land. The philosopher Fichte said, "Death is the ladder by which my spiritual vision ris es to anew life and a new nature." This is also the reason why Odinists reg ard all life as sacred and unnecessary violence as criminal. 776 The human-soul (or self-soul), is essentially individual to a particular person. It may be likened to his personality, his fame or his infamy. Because the whole of man's life is a continuing struggle o f the good and light Gods on the one hand and the offspring of chaotic matter (the giants, Nature's disturbing forces) on the other, the human-soul is extremely active. It is involved in a struggle that extends to man's innermost being: both the human-soul and the God-soul proceed from th e Gods; but the body be longs to the world of giants and they struggle for supremacy. If the human-soul conquers by virtue and courage then it g oes after death to Valhalla, to fight in concert with the Gods against th e evil powers. If on the other hand the body conquers and links the spi rit to itself by weakness then after man's death the human-soul sinks to the world of the giants and joins itself with the evil powers in their wa rfare against the Gods. Long after his individual identity has been forgott en a man's human-soul, absorbed into the corporate spirit of the reg iment, college, village, nation or other group, continues to demonstrate its immortality by inspiring future generations to noble deeds - or to ac ts of degradation. 32. If the God-soul migrates to other living things after death, how can you square this with, for example, the need to slaughter livestoc k in order to sustain human life? Isn't it rather like killing a God? The God-soul must not be confused with the being that it inhabits . Animals, birds and trees have always been regarded by Odinists with respect; it is indeed probable that the domestication of some creatur es arose from their former sacred character. Every living thing is a manifestation of the divine and its spirit is immortal: every time a tree is felled or an animal slaughtered it is indeed a kind of sacrifice. But the tree or the animal is only a temporary dwelling-place for the imm ortal God. Everything in Nature has a purpose and it is necessary in order that life may be sustained in others for such "sacrifices" to be made. Suc h an attitude encourages consideration and reverence for Nature and discou rages its wanton despoliation. It is the unnecessary, cruel or unnatural ki lling of animals (or of human beings), the unjustifiable destruction of tre es or landscape and the defiling of natural resources, that is wrong. 33. You have mentioned "ancestral spirits". Does this mean that Odini sts believe in ancestor-worship? The human-souls of one's own family ancestors provide us with mo ral strength and inspiration. Just as we received our spirit from Odin, s o we received our physical being through our parents and our ancestors fro m time memorial. Our respect for ancestors maintains the continuity of the family, the kin and the race. We have a duty to try to attain the ide als of our ancestors and an equal duty of cherishing our descendants so t hat they in their turn will come to understand and realize our own hopes and ideals. Life is continuing process: we must try to visualize ourselv es as ancestors; for ancestors and descendants are genealogically one. Edmu nd Burke once remarked that society was a partnership between those who were living, those who are dead and those yet to be born; past and present and future are seen as a continuing evolvement and must be looked upon as complete being. 777 34. What kind of status do women have within the Odinist community? Odinists do not need reminding of women's rights! Our re ligion anciently held women in high honor: not only are Goddesses included in the Odinist pantheon, but, when the Odinist priesthood is restored, all o ffices will be open to women just as they were before the Christian usurpati on relegated them to permanent backbenches of religious life. 35. What are the chief festivals of the Odinic Rite? In ancient times there were three great festivals: Yule (the Mid- Winter Festival), Summer Finding (or spring equinox) and Winter Finding (aut umn equinox). To these we nowadays add the Midsummer Festival. Yule, the popularFestival ofMid-Winter (sometimescalled theFe stival of Light), heralds the beginning of the Odinist year. It is the birth day of the unconquered sun, which at this time begins to new vigor after its autumnal decline when, having descended into darkness, it pauses, kin dles the fire of germination and ascends renewed with the fruit of hope. T he Mid-Winter Festival includes the Twelve Nights of Yule, encapsulating the twelve months of the year in miniature, and culminates in the celebra tion of Twelfth Night. Summer Finding, in March, is the Festival of Odin. It celebrates the renewal, or resurrection, of Nature after the darkness of winter. It was transformed by the Christians into their Easter (named after the Odin ist Goddess of the Saxons, Ostara), Rogation and Whitsun and was also rec alled in folk custom by the festivities of May Day. The Midsummer Festival, theFeast of Balder, is thegreat celeb ration of the triumph of light and the sun. Winter Finding mourns the death of summer and heralds the coming of autumn. It is dedicated to the god Frey, patron of the harvest, and i s also sometimes called the Charming of the Fruits of Earth, when we re nder thanks for the years supply of life-giving foods. 36. What other Odinist festivals are there? Besides the great festivalsthere are a number ofsecondary fes tivals and also some commemorations of local Gods or various aspects of life . The secondary festivals of the Odinic Rite are: The Charming of the Plough, January 3 The festival ofVali, Febuary 14, whichcommemorates the family andis an occasion for betrothals, the renewal of marriage vows and vo ws of kinshiployalty. The festival of the Einheriar on November 11, known asHeroes' day, which honors the dead. 778 37. What is the Odinist Committee? The committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite (to give its full title) was set up on April 23, 1973 with the limited objects of resto ring Odinist ritual and ceremonies, to define Odinist faith and doctrine a nd to constitute a teaching order of gothar (singular: gothi, meaning pries t of teacher). When these immediate objects have been achieved the Committ ee will disband. In the past not a great deal of attention was paid to systemizing the doctrinal aspects of Odinism and consequently the bod y of writing on the subject has remained limited and uneven. The Odinist Committee will place the worship of the Aesir on a more formal and permanent basis. 38. How do I go about becoming an Odinist? First of all by understanding, thenby believing. You do not h ave to "be born again" but you are expected to live your whole life accord ing to the Odinist precepts. There is a ceremony of reception (or initiation ) into the Odinist community for those who wish it. The secretary of the Odi nist Committee, 10 Trinity Green, London, E1, will be able to tell you whe ther there is an Odinist group in your neighborhood or, if there is not on e, how you may form one. 39. Can the Odinist Committee supply me with a list of Odinist temple s and shall I be permitted to attend some of the inveitan? There are at presentno Odinist hofs (temples) in Great Britai n open for public worship. Odinism starts with the individual and extends, t hrough the family, to the community and the world. So with worship, which is at present practiced mostly at family level, the festivals of the Odinis t year being celebrated in the home, with friends and other Odinist sometimes being invited to participate. But it is expected that vario us regional meeting places will be authorized when eventually the ritual of Odinist worship has been fully restored and gothar licensed by the successor body to the Odinist committee. These things are thought the best: Fire, the sight of the sun, Good health with the gift to keep it, And a life that avoids vice. The High Song of Odin * * The verse from The High Song of Odin is from Paul B. Taylor and W H Auden's translation of The Elder Edda and is reproduced by permission of Messrs Faber and Faber. Other quotations from the Eddas in the forego ing pages are from the translation by Rasmus B. Anderson. FOR MORE INFORMATION WRITE: Midgard Pagan Computer Bulletin Board P.O. Box 256 North Highlands, CA. 95660 (916) 338-4214 8:00 pm to 6:00 am (PST) daily 300/1200 baud ***** Call at these times with your computer. *****
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