Religious Discussion: Asatru (Odinism): Norse Heathenism

[Northtrax]

Actually I didn't know about Therion.  I'm going to track it down, however.  Thank you.

As for the Viking thing, keep in mind that just about ALL ancient cultures had god(s), beliefs and histories, but the loss of information due to religious/political takeovers over time has left people of MANY ethnicities not knowing what their culture was.
The Jewish faith is actually pretty cool and well-documented.

I saw a program about a group in... either Austria or what was then Checkoslovakia, I forget which, a group of ethnic Europeans trying to re-create the culture of the American Indians.  I don't know whether the group succeeded in the long run, but the fact is, they seriously TRIED it.

The question of whether people should stick to (or return to) the religion of their ancestors is incredibly touchy.
While a Native American can practice (for example) Christianity without adverse comment, the same probably wouldn't be true of a person of  European or Asian descent trying to be taken seriously in Native American Shamanisim.  -At the very least they'd initially be seen as something of a wannabee.

It's a double standard with a lot of historical reasons behind it, but there it is.
I think part of the reason people wish they were a Viking, Scotsman, Indian, etc., is that nobody's told them about their ancestors' culture/religion.  -Did you know the Chinese had (/have) Dragon river gods?
I think people should at least find out what their ancestors' beliefs are/were before they rule them out and practice something else.

With all that said, if someone of one ethnicity seriously wants to practice the religion of another group, I do NOT believe they should be prevented from doing so.  Not only is that illegal in most civilized countries, it's outright racist.  The gods have their own reasons for who they call, and I don't think we should mess with that.

[Eternimus]

I personally believe that everyone should practice the religion they want to. I don't believe that people should be limited on their culture. The religions simply can not work for everyone. I follow Asatru. I'm not a fanatic by any means. But the stories and beliefs make sense to me. They appeal to me. I also have another reason why I am so firmly set in Asatru. However the reason seems a bit far fetched, and I realize that. So I only tell the ones closest to me. Yet, if you're a quiet pacifist that just wants to get through the day without confrontation, it probably wouldn't work for you. Maybe Buddhism would appeal to you more. The religion depends on the person. There is literally something for everyone out there and it is just a matter of looking. And for every religion, there is at least one group of people keeping it alive. The old ways do not disappear. They are just hidden away to appease the larger, more influential religions. Which I think is BS. And then, there are some religions that are simply made up. I won't go into those, because I am not here to bash on other ones. I am here to educate. With that being said, I now put us back on topic.

~Values in Asatru~

The values we hold most dear are not a requirement. They are guidelines. Asatru has no set "good" and "evil" principals. Because each situation is different. Because of that, Asatru basically says "Honor the Gods and Ancestors by living a fulfilling life." but not everyone understands that phrase. So there are certain guidelines to use. Listed in no particular order:

1) Courage: If you take 1000 norsemen and ask them what the most important value is, most would immediately say courage. Nearly all will list courage first in any list. Now first, there is a difference between courage and fearlessness. Anyone who says they cannot feel fear is unimaginative, insensitive, and probably full of sh**. I have felt fear. Known it. And eventually I embraced it, and overcame it. I feel it. I know it's there. But it does not rule me. Fear is the single most common cause for religions faltering. People are scared of what may happen to them if they go against the grain, therefore they conform. The Spanish Inquisition was a real good source of fear. Believe what we tell you to or be tortured and die cause God says so. A group of fanatical rich boys bought loyalty, and had people killed over what they wanted them to think. And people say we were the barbarians? As a matter of fact, we had laws, tribunals, trial by jury, and a whole mess of other things way before even the Romans. Our people were ruled by honor, Romans ruled by fear. Now the Romans are nothing and we're still here. The Spanish Inquisition is done. And Asatru still thrives. Fear lost. As it always will. Courage to persevere in the face of adversity, to be yourself even under intense scrutiny, knowing your fears, and mastering them, this is what it truly means to be fearless. Do not pretend to be something you aren't. Do not pretend to believe something you don't. You aren't really living otherwise.

2) Strength: You will not find any "Turn the other cheek" stuff with us. Unless it's to give us more leverage on the retaliation strike. Christian writers are actually documented as saying "We are supposed to worship defeat, not victory. Failure, not success. Surrender, not defiance. Deprivation, not satiety. Weakness, not strength."

The fact that people listened makes me sick to my stomach.

What's so great about weakness?

I'll tell you.

It's easy.

That's all there is to it. Being weak is easy. Cowardice in the face of any danger, shying away from confrontations, it's mind numbingly easy. But strength is something you work at. And it takes on many guises. Mental, spiritual, physical, emotional... Merely being physically strong is not enough. A bully is weak. The child that opposes him is strong. If you are defeated, get up and try it again. You only lose when you decide to stay down. Christians say ~Matthew 5:5~ "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."

I don't think so. Blessed are the strong, for they shall survive, breed, and live long prosperous lives. Think about it. You shy away from all confrontations. You take no chances. You let everyone else do what they desire. What kind of life is that? I suppose if you wanted you could argue that it's the life of a submissive slave, but if that's the life you choose, and stick to that, and it makes you happy, that is a kind of strength as well. Not physical by any means. But emotional, maybe mental too. This is your life, if that's what you want to do, to be, then damn anyone that says otherwise. But the ones that suffer in silence without going after anything they enjoy, over the promise of some reward later, are weak. We'll get to joys later though.

3) Joy: Our lives these days are commonly filled with guilt. We do things we like, then feel bad in the morning. Well, I'm sure most of society does. I don't. If I do something I feel bad about, I fix it and make sure it doesn't happen again. Most days people do something they feel bad about, then dwell on it for months. "guilty pleasures" aka SINS!!! All our natural feelings and instincts are considered BAD, EVIL, DARK, DEMONIC and just plain unacceptable. Sex? Only for reproduction, and you aren't suppose to like it. Sexuality? Straight, otherwise you can't reproduce. Anger? Unacceptable, forgive it and move on. Ambition? Oh no, you are supposed to stay right where you are in life, that's God's plan. Prosperity? No, see you have to give your money to the church. Ancestry? The only people you need to remember are God and Jesus. This is a bunch of sh**. We are told what we can enjoy and what we can't enjoy, because guilt tripping people is how you control thought. And that's all mainstream religion and government is interested in. It's things like this that surprises me more homosexuals do not follow Asatru, and instead go for Christianity. But that's irrelevant. Our outlook is enjoy what you do. Enjoy every second of it, and don't feel bad later. What was the most demoralizing act during the height of viking combat? Laughter. Genuinely enjoying hacking someone to pieces. The opposing army would always be "Oh we are dealing with some CRAZY motherfuckers right here. This is really bad... maybe we should run?" Use that kind of unrestrained enjoyment in your daily life. I'm not saying laugh all the time. I'm saying show you genuinely enjoy every minute of every day. That's living. And don't let anyone tell you for a moment it isn't right.

4) Honor: Honor to yourself, your family, your house, these were revered in the old days. Most people merely dismiss honor these days. Because it's impractical. The laws of the ruling caste are not designed for it. They are designed for control. There are more laws to protect the criminals then there are to protect the victims. And that's really sad. Let's say your little brother gets stomped on because he "wore the wrong colors around there." And you go down to the wannabe gang and violently obliterate each and every one. You went out of your way to use undue force, so you'll be arrested. And if you resist arrest cause you weren't wrong, you may be shot by "law enforcement officers." Whereas if you go to the police about it in the first place, they dismiss it as "rival gang activity." So walking right up and facing off as honorable as it may seem, is wrong in today's society. Whereas in the old days, you impugn someone's honor, you might just have killed yourself.Honor lasts well after you have fallen. As the saying goes:

Cattle die, Kinsmen die, every man is mortal. But the good name never dies of one that has done well.

You have to believe you are an honorable person. Look at yourself at the end of the day. If you live your life by deceit, lies, falsely making people believe you are right, or you are something you really aren't, you are garbage. Deceit has its uses, such as combat, but when you use it for nothing more than your own personal pleasure, you deserve to be beaten and fade into obscurity. Everything I do or say, no matter if it's perceived as good or evil, always has a benevolent ideal behind it. I do what is needed, wether I look good or evil. I don't care. I will fight for what I believe in. I will help people in crusades I think have merit. I can stand up and proudly say in the society where deception and betrayal are the only ways to get anywhere,  I will not bend, and I will not break. I will fight in one capacity or another for what I believe is good and honorable, and I will do it on my terms. Not theirs. That's a hard thing to say, believe, and actually DO, in modern society.

5) Freedom: Asatru's followers were the freest people in the world. And proud of it. Being free is the single hardest thing to do in this world now. You simply aren't allowed to. America was doing alright, but each year we lose more and more freedom. We are basically a dictatorship now. Sad but true. The only real way to be free is to create a new society. But until then, we have to relish what freedom we have left in the world. They are few, sure. But they are all we have. Choice is one. Do not listen to the media. Don't listen to the government. Form your own opinions. You decide what to buy. You decide who to listen to. You decide what to eat, how to dress, what to watch and who to love. If everyone thought like that, the governments would collapse. They would have no more sheep to order around. They would lose their power over us. And we could live free. As we once were.

6) Kinship: Family is an integral part of Asatru. Wether you love em, or you hate em, your kin is there to stay. We are all connected to our ancestors and our descendants for all eternity. That is the reality. I dislike most of my family. But I leave them alone. Because wether I hate them or not, they're still family and I still help them when they need it. I will not raise arms against them, though I might raise my hand to them. The family I live with I defend with the ferocity of all the denizens of Niflheim and Valhalla. Even friends can be at risk for harming, endangering or even insulting my family. Because my family, my wife, kids, mother, brothers and sisters, my blood, comes first. As it should be. I would expect the same out of anyone else. Modern society and mainstream religion have told us we should treat everyone equally. And I think that's stupid. If everyone just took care of their family, the quality of life would improve everywhere. Here's an example. All these school shootings? Read the family interviews. They blame video games. They blame bullies. They blame girlfriends. They blame movies, schools, society or even the internet. Not once did they blame themselves. I can garuntee you if these out of touch "modern parents" bothered to take an active interest in their kids' progress, growth, or education, there wouldn't be a single shooting, ever. A little love goes a long way.

7) Realism: This is a hard one for most religion. Reality. Christians are told the reality is their god impregnated a virgin, she had a baby with a 300 IQ who later grew up and hung out with a bunch of sweaty hairy men who walked everywhere and told everyone to be groovy, and then was betrayed by a gay one kissing him so he got stapled to railroad ties with railroad spikes, and suffered for awhile and died, only to come back 3 days later after his short hiatus in hell so you can go to the magical sky castle. Long as you are a sissy on earth. They also tell you there are only certain sections in their holy book you are supposed to listen to, ever. The rest you disregard. That part always got to me. If I had a holy book that was the words of my GOD, I would use it all, not just the convenient parts. Asatru has some fantastic tales from the realm of the Gods, however the purpose is benevolent. The Gods are not our masters. They are our idols. They are like what we should try to become. They give us stories for living a happy and free life. There is no good and evil, there are just actions. Their context makes them good or evil. Loki's actions make him appear evil. Thor's actions make him appear good. It's all in the why. And the side. That's reality. Christianity says "killing is evil, unless you need to convert them from barbarians to Christians, then it's perfectly alright." What if you come home to intruders trying to violate your partner? Christians would say leave the house and call the authorities. If it's God's will, she will be safe and the authorities will take the men away. If it's God's will she will be violated. Norsemen would say start chopping. The Gods would approve. This may seem a bit extreme, but I was at a church retreat and a woman said she needed a shoulder to cry on, because the night before, she was raped. And she and the pastor agreed it was god's will, and SHE KEPT THE CHILD SHE WAS IMPREGNATED WITH!!! I asked her if he had a weapon, and she said no. I asked her if she called out for help, and she said initially, but she knew her place as a woman so she stayed quiet afterward, because God deemed it necessary for whatever reason. Ok I can swing with the no abortion thing. But the rape was God's will? Give me a damn break. You have to be completely fucking retarded to believe everything bad happens for a reason. Bad sh** happens because bad sh** happens. Bad men do bad things because they make bad choices. There is no reason to accept everything in this life for the promise of a reward in the afterlife. Make the most of this life. It's what its there for.

8 ) Vigor: The basis of this ideal is to live a exciting and energetic life. There is no reason to sit in front of the tv eating McDonald's till you die from clogged arteries. If you aren't vigorous, physically and mentally, you become all fat, even between your ears, and are generally useless. I'm a heavy guy, sure. But I have sharp wits, and I am obscenely strong. Without weight training. Last count I can bench about 350, 425 pound lat pulls, and leg press vehicles. Naturally. Because I do work out. My mind. And my body occasionally. I eat what I want, and I do what I want. My life is filled with excitement and danger. I love every minute of it. I don't see the point in playing a mmo for 30 hours straight. I don't understand how people can spend hours in front of a tv watching commercials. I'd rather eat a home cooked meal then fast food. I'd rather spend time with my wife than with a machine. It's really not that hard to do, either. All you have to do is make the choice to do stuff. There is a lot life has to offer. You just have to want it.

9) Ancestry: You are here because of one reason. Your ancestors. Everything they did, they brought to this world, they accomplished, no matter how far back, should be admired and respected. Strive to be like the good ones, and learn from the bad ones. You carry a shard of memory from each and every one of them. And wether you realize it or not, they help you more than the Gods do.

There you go. Congrats to any one who actually read the whole post.

Any questions?

[Bliss]

I'm curious:

Do you have undergo a certain ritual to become an Asatru-ian?  Like baptism for Christians and fasting to reach a higher Spiritual plane for other religions? Is there some sort of way of saying 'I am now an Asatru-ian'?

Thank you for the list of virtues, by the way.  I absolutely LOVE the way you put this:

Christians are told the reality is their god impregnated a virgin, she had a baby with a 300 IQ who later grew up and hung out with a bunch of sweaty hairy men who walked everywhere and told everyone to be groovy, and then was betrayed by a gay one kissing him so he got stapled to railroad ties with railroad spikes, and suffered for awhile and died, only to come back 3 days later after his short hiatus in hell so you can go to the magical sky castle.

Personally, I like my reality better. 

[Northtrax]

Initiation ritual...
Um...

I would say it depends on how much of the traditions you're familiar with at the time you come to the conclusion that you're serious about it.
Regardless, the gods may give you doors and if you both recognize them and choose to walk through them, you may learn something.  -Call it an initiation if you wish.
If you're lucky enough to live near an Asatru Kindred (extended family/church type group) you may have some kind of structured initiation ritual.  If you're by yourself or you don't get along with the Asatru folks in your area, personal initiations or oaths are totally valid.  In olden times, people would be 'initiated' when they received their names and were presented to the gods as infants. 
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.shtml

I agree with what Eternimus said about the gods being more to be emulated and admired than actually worshiped in the bow-and-scrape sense.  The gods should be HONORED, but them being great doesn't make the rest of us worms.  Who wants the admiration of a worm anyway? 

To further complicate matters as far as the initiation question is concerned, some people dedicate themselves to one or more gods/godesses in particular (a priest of Loki I once met springs immediately to mind), and some people prefer to honor the gods as a whole.  Or just the Aesir gods.  Or just the Vanir gods.  It's incredibly personal.  I believe that it is wise to at least acknowledge the gods as a whole from time to time, but in dealings with the gods, NEVER SAY ANYTHING YOU DO NOT TRULY MEAN.  This is important.  While most of the gods have a sense of humor of one kind or another, saying what you mean and following through with what you promise is a big deal to in Asatru.  I know of no quicker way to piss off the Norse gods than oath-breaking.
-Truth is one of a set of goals known as the Nine Noble Virtues:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Noble_Virtues

Asa-tru means that you have chosen to be true to the gods.  You honor them (by your thoughts, words, and deeds as one of their people, and by honoring the holy days), you keep troth with them (you do not break your word), and if you CHOOSE to and you MEAN it, you may at some point to take an oath to one or dedicate yourself to the god(s) or goddess(s) to whom you feel closest. 
I say again, this last part is NOT required, especially if you're just testing the waters.
-Declaring yourself Asatru and meaning it is promise enough.

I honor the gods in general by remembering them, toasting them, and telling those who wish to know, who the gods are as far as I understand them.
I honor Tyr by taking my word seriously.
I honor Freya by being aware of the live and beautiful things in the world, and by a special kind of courage which frankly I'm still working on.
I honor Odin by trying to do what needs to be done even if it costs me.  After working with the Runes for some years, I also have a Runic tattoo.  ...Which has about as much to do with Odin as learning to play guitar has to do with honoring Eddie Van Halen. 
I digress.  My point is that while I HONOR the gods, I have not offered the, "If I should die before I wake I pray the lord my soul, etc." deal to ANY of them.  For one thing, that particular Christian prayer has ALWAYS creeped me out, and for another, the Norse gods don't demand tribute like that.  They usually take it when it's offered sincerely, but not having pledged yourself to a god/goddess does not make you any less of an Asatru.
Indeed, taking such an oath and later recanting it would be worse.

(That being said, people did and do make mistakes.  You're not 'forgiven' in Asatu by accepting a particular god and begging for forgiveness or reciting verses of holy text, but if the balance of your honorable deeds outweighs the tally of your dishonorable ones, that's a good place to start.  This balance of deeds and fate is called 'orlog', a concept which bears some similarities to the Wiccan Rule of Three and Eastern Karma.)

Personally, I made a series of decisions and eventually realized that they ADDED UP to a kind of initiation, culminating with the tattoo.
I've often wondered what the more organized branches of Asatru were like, though.  Asatru is such a family/community-based religion, it's difficult to get a fix on the finer points when you've never seen more than a handful gathered together at one time.
Hmm.
Much as I dislike the lower 48, maybe I should go to an Allthing (Asatru festival/convention) sometime.