ODINISM
by Wodensson (David Lane)
An objective study of history will show beyond dispute by rational
men that religion has been a major, if not the major, force in shaping
our conditions and destiny. A religion can preserve or destroy a people,
depending primarily on its structure and the motives of its agents.
Fundamental to any religion is its Gods: God, or Goddesses. They are
what distinguish the religious entity from the secular. The belief that
one saves the will of whatever higher power the "Gods" represent is a
motivational force that has inspired both men and women to perform
acts above and beyond the ordinavy. Indeed, many have made the ultimate
sacrifice, their lives, in service to the will of the Gods.
As one who has made his reason for existence the preservation of his
own race, I've given literally thousands of hours of study and reflection
to the religious teachings affecting the Aryan race. In this treatise,
I’d like to show why I believe in a higher power which men call "God",
and why Odimsm is the best representation of that power.
First, prior to biblical, the Aryan race was secure in its nations and
existence, as well as dominant throughout the known world. Today,
after over 2,000 years of biblical religion, including inquisitions, the
dark ages, the slaughter and murder of millions in the name of Jesus,
the Aryan race faces near certain extinction. The effects must now
outweigh the "could have beens" and "would have beens".
Second, a Folk preserving religion must follow a God of the whole
Folk, not a personal God of personal advantage.
Third, a Folkish religion must teach fertility, not "sex is sin" and
woman hatred (as Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:1, John in Revelation 14:4,
and Jesus in Matthew 5:28). 1 could continue, but the purpose is to
promote my religion, not attack others.
I've been asked why, considering my judgments regarding biblical
religion, that 1 don't endorse the atheistic concept known as the
Church Of The Creator. I've expressed admiration for those portions
of COTC teachings which seem valuable, but I'm not an Atheist anymore
than a Theist or biblical religionist in the tradition of the ancients,
and of many great thinkers of our race, I am a Deist. Echoing
the words of far greater thinkers than myself, I see an intelligent
motivating force throughout the universe and behind Nature's Laws.
Our Norse Forefathers, in uncompromising intellectual integrity, admitted
that there are things as yet beyond our understanding. Eternity,
infinity, the origin of matter, energy, and species, are still subjects of
inquiry today. As in other religions, nations, and teachings, our Odinist
Forefathers used symbols to represent abstract concepts. All father
represented the unknowable mysteries of infinity and eternity.
However, unlike the practitioners of priestcraft in biblical religion,
Odinists did not, and do not, pretend to speak for "God”. The Gods
speak to man or woman directly through the evidence of Nature's
Laws. The whole purpose of priestcraft is to allow the priest, or the
people he represents, to control or have power over others. The power
of the pulpit and of "Divine Right to Rule” rests on the words "God
said”, and a claim of superior access to God. Odinists denounce the
whole philosophy of one man having power of compulsion over others.
To Odinists, the Gods and Godesses with names such as Woden
(English version of Odin), Thor, Frigga, and Sif, represent forces of
Nature, fertility, and noble ancestors. They provide linkage between
past, present and future. Their deeds are parables teaching courage
and other Aryan virtues. Even a treacherous God like Loki teaches a
lesson in the dangers from internal subversion.
Regarding "belief" in a God, or a motive intelligent force throughout
the universe, let’s again define the word belief: Belief can be blind
faith, which is a mark of ignorance, and which allows the adherent to
be led anywhere like sheep to the slaughter. A constructive belief is a
conclusion based on the best available evidence, where such evidence
is insufficient to warrant a statement of fact I believe in the God of
my understanding, but to make a statement of fact or demand that
others conform to my belief would be intellectually dishonest.
The biblical religionists (sometimes called creationists) and the
evolutionists have quarreled for many years over their beliefs. As usual,
no one considers other alternatives such as intelligent guidance in an
evolutionary process, or a kind of genetic engineering, or other
possibilities. To the limits of my capabilities, I've tried to find a
possibility of evolution as an answer for all life. But, it simply won't
work without intelligent intervention. I've read many volumes on evolution
and biology. Nowhere can I find an adequate explanation for the development
of male and female of the same species. Throughout all the
lengthy dissertations on cellular divisions and the growth of ever more
complex organisms, there is never a rational acceptable explanation of
when the first man fertilized the first woman, or how they developed
separately, yet complimentary and in treed of each other. Furthermore,
modem geneticists tell us that a race of people cannot descend from
one couple because the inbreeding would destroy them. So, we are
faced with the necessary premise that numerous couples of identical
men and women evolved at the exact same period in tire eternity of
time.
Darwinian evolutionists tell us that White people are merely Negroes
who migrated north from Africa eons of time ago, and there, in the
cold northern climes, we evolved light skin, hair and eyes. Yet, by
their own teachings of natural selectivity, the first thing we should
have developed is fur to protect us from the cold. Blue or green eyes,
fair skin, or light hair are not profiles of needs or characteristics
developed as defense against cold climate.
One could continue almost endlessly on the problems with the theory
of evolution as a random circumstance guided only by natural
selectivity and survival of the fittest, but it seems the evolutionists
have become as doctrinaire as the biblical religionists, so why beat
one's head against the wall. We should all agree that we are subject to
Nature's Laws.
There are many other reasons to consider Odinism, some concrete,
some abstract, some esoteric.
Having studied the works of Carl Jung, I believe the old Gods are a
potential colossus within our collective subconscious. The old Gods
and the old religion were exclusively ours, and thus are a rudder for
our floundering racial vessel. We shall find it necessary to use the
vehicle of religion to expound our message of racial survival. It is
exceedingly difficult for our enemies to deny that the worship of the old
Gods is a bona fide religion, since it has a history of at least several
thousand years. Here one might also consider that in the courtrooms of the
occupational government a "religion" without a God will soon be judged not
to be a religion, and outside the governmental guarantees of religious freedom.
Odinism has the authority of antiquity. Despite 2000 years of persecution,
such as Charlemagne's beheading of 5000 Odinists before the
Pope, Odin yet lives in our hearts. The rich and powerful symbolism
stirs our racial souls.
Odinists are not intolerant. Like others, we expound our beliefs, and
that naturally involves pointing out the errors in our beliefs of others.
But we do not excommunicate kinfolk of other beliefs from our company, as
long as they share our goal of racial preservation. We would
not "slay all those who would not have our God reign over them” as
the followers of another religion have done to us and our kinfolk by
the millions.
Robert Jay Mathews was an Odinist, and the finest man I've known
In Valhalla he waits for those who fight for the life of the Folk. I don't
think he cares if you are a Creator, a Christian, or an Odinist, but only
that you are White and Proud.
But for my part, his Gods are the Folk's Gods, and they are my Gods.
-Wodensson
_________________________________________________________________________________
An Introduction To Odinism
(Editor's Note: This was written in the early 1980s
by the Qdlnlc Rite out of England.)
1. What do you mean by Odinism?
Odinism is the indigenous religious faith of the
Scandinavian, British 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 may be divided into three periods:
A. Before the coming of Christianity.
B. Its gradual merging with Christianity.
C. Its efforts in the present century to free itself of Christian
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
Ages embodied in writings, the Odinist books of wisdom, the
principals of which 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
molded into the Lay of the Nibelungs. 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
promises of the new religion were the Goths, in the fourth century
of the Christian era; the Icelanders became Christians by official
decree in the year 1000 CE, to be followed by the Scandinavian
countries over the next two hundred years. England was
"converted” between 597 and 686 CE and Scotland somewhat
earlier (although some of the people of Ross-shire were still
worshipping the old Gods as late as the seventeenth century) {Editor s
Note: Large parts of Russia and the Baltic area, especially in the
region which is modem day Poland, worshipped the Norse Gods
up to the Great Witch Hunts of the 1600s}. Ireland, when Patrick
the Proselytizer landed there in the year 432, was described as ”a
heathen land”; Dublin and the other principal Irish towns were
actually founded 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 Rev. S. C. Olland’s Dic-
tionary of English Church History is explicit: "The adoption of
Christianity generally depended upon State action: the king and
his nobles were baptized and the people largely followed their
example. The wholesale conversions could not have implied
individual conviction." On one day alone in the 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
instruction in the Christian faith. Even in the twentieth century the
vast majority of Christians are still quite ignorant of Christian
doctrine. It was always so.
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, they repressed what they
could and what they could not they ignored or adopted. The
ancient spring renewal festival of Summer Finding was transformed
into the Christian feast of the Resurrection; the Mid-winter festival
of Yule became Christmas. Not only the folk festivals connected
with the great changes of season - May Day and Midsummer and
Harvest - but numerous customs associated with life's milestones,
birth and marriage and death, all showed that the old Gods lived on
in the life and in the language of the people. Many of the external
signs of the ancient faith were retained: water was consecrated and
wood was blessed. A Christian writer, Professor P. D. Chantepie
de la Saussaye DD, has said, "We recognize in this folklore a form
of historical continuity, the bond of union between the life of the
people in pagan and in Christian times." Even today when we say,
"Touch (or, knock on) wood!" we are recalling the sacred nature of
an important symbol of our ancient religion; and how many people
are aware that they are paying unconscious tribute to the Gods of
Odinism when they light their Christmas or Paschal candles or
their bonfire on the fifth of November? Or that the very "Christmas
tree" is itself the World Ash of Odinism? Even the sign of the
cross is really the sign of Thor's hammer!
6. How long did the Period of Dual Faith last?
The period during which Odinism was actually practiced within
the Church extended in Britain from about the seventh century CE
right down to the 1930's, when the purity of ancient worship was
revived by a number 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 forward in the civilizing of our people?
Odinists were happy enough to put up with the new doctrines so
long as they were allowed to go on practicing their own faith in
peace. But the inherent contradiction at the heart of Christianity is
that it denies in action the faith that it professes verbally. There is
no history 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 so 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 state of society, leave well alone . Surely we should be
getting together, not creating more divisions among 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
coincided - even superficially - it was possible for Odinists to
worship the Gods under their Christian designations; but only for
so long as they remained adequate interpretations of the true
divinities of Odinism (the nature of a god being of greater
importance than his name).
The Churches are today opposed to many of the things that
Odinists hold sacred: they sin against nation and people by
espousing causes whose ultimate aim is the destruction of our
personal freedom they encourage criminal activities by calling for
the exemption from punishment, or even prosecution, of whole
categories of lawbreakers; they provide financial aid for
revolutionaiy propaganda and even terrorist activities against our own
people; they remain totally indifferent to the rape of our
countryside in the short-term interests of economic gain and
technology; and they have successfully divided the people of our own
islands against themselves (e.g., 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 largely forsaken their spiritual vocations in order
to preach the causes of subversion and revolution.
The people yearn for spiritual bread but have been offered by
the Churches only a political stone. It is no longer possible for
anyone 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 Christians; we
recognize that there are many good and sincere people within the
Christian community from whose example Odinists themselves
could not fail to profit. But the Church is itself largely responsible
for the "present unsettled state of society".
Odinists see it as their duly 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
Gods are actually worshipped by peoples all over the world, using
their own mythologies and adapting their worship to local cultures
and conditions.
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 Odinist gothi (priest), Sigrith, who told the foreign
missionaries, "I must not part from the faith which I have held,
and my forefathers before me; on the other hand 1 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 Odinists are nature-worshippers?
Odinists recognize man’s spiritual kinship with Nature, that
within himself are in essence all that is in the greater world, which
perform 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 spiritual things and reason and understanding. Because
in this way man comprises all the parts of the world within
himself he is thus a true image of the Gods.
Also containing the essence of the universe within themselves,
the 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 lived in communion with Nature and with. . .the Gods.
Christianity turned away from Nature and concentrated its adherents'
attention on the human soul and became obsessed with the
fall of man, by which it was implied that man had brought all
Nature down into sin with him. Christian teaching encouraged 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 smallest 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 himself 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 consanguineous 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 visible
gods. The mythology of Odinism consists of a group of legends, fables
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 throughout Nature: in the streets and in the trees and in
the rocks, in the running 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 Odinists 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 compared
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 pf Balder (summer's end)
D. the time immediately after the death of Balder (autumn)
E. Ragnarok, the decline and fall followed by the regeneration
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 condition
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. ”
Ymir was a frost-giant, or 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
the Gods Odin, Hoener and Loder (the latter two being probably
hypostases of Odin) were walking along the seashore they saw two
trees from which they created the first human pair. Odin gave them
life 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 pair received from the Gods Midgarth
and from them is descended the whole human race.
Balder is the god of the summer, the favorite god of all Nature
and a son of Odin; he is one of the wisest and most eloquent of the
Gods and his dwelling is in a place where nothing impure can enter.
The story of Balder, well-known in the Northern countries,
finds explanation in the seasons 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 darkness over light, of winter
over summer, of death over life. When Balder is dead, all Nature
mourns. His death presages the disaster of Ragnarok, the
consummation of the world, followed by its cleansing and return
to the primal state.
Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, represents a great conflict
between. . .lawful and chaotic 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. . .unconscious and chaotic
force. And whatever can be born must surely die. In the seasons and
activities of Nature we see a constantly recurring picture of the
necessity for death and the equal certainty of its being 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 his 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 life.
This, briefly told, is the myth that explained to our ancestors their
origin and the origin of the world, the creation of life from chaos
and the emergence of evolution and harmony.
13. Who is Odin?
Odin is the first and eldest of the Gods, the all-pervading spirit of
the sun, the moon, the stars, the hills, the plains and of man. With
his help were made heaven and earth and the first man and woman.
All knowledge came from him; he is the inventor of poetry and
discovered the runes; he governs all things, protects the social
organization, influences the human 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.
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 heaven, 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
which he manifests himself. Odinism says: study the natural
laws...
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 rain and makes his presence known in the lightning's
flash. He is the protector 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 them 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 dispenses
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 ourselves must be prepared to make sacrifices in order to
protect ourselves and our 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 fecundity
and growth; some authorities believe that he and Christ may have
become blended, in England at least, in the new religion of
Christianity. Freya is a Goddess of love and the sister and lover of Frey:
barren women may invoke her and she is also the Goddess of death
for all women. Another God, Vali, is called the Avenger because
when he was yet only one night old he avenged Beider's death, thus
demonstrating the moral obligation we have of punishing society's
enemies. Other Gods include Bragi, Heimdal, Vidar, Frigg and
Forseti.
The Gods of Odinism are the ordaining powers of Nature clothed
in personality. They direct the world which they themselves
created. They are referred to collectively as the Aesir, of whom every
living thing forms a part (thus not all the Gods are necessarily good
ones). Objects and phenomena that are regarded as greater or
lesser. . .divinities 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. There are also the guardian Gods
of the land, of skills and occupations and the spirits of national
heroes, the Einherjar and other men and women whose outstanding
deeds and virtues have contributed to our civilization, culture and
well-being.
1 Is there a table of commandments that sets out the rules to be
followed by Odinists?
Some guidelines of Odinist conduct 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. Never to make a wrong some oath: for great and grim 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 no evil to go un-remedied and to 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 the friendless but to put no 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 heed to dead men: straw-dead, sea-dead or
sword-dead.
9. . . .To bear with courage and fortitude the decrees of the
Noms.
The Charges are based on the rules of life indicated by the High
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
industry, a prudent foresight in word and deed, moderation in the
gratification of the senses and in the exercise of power, modesty
and politeness in intercourse 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 and
retributive?
"To suffer no evil to go un-remedied," does appear to run contrary
to the trends of modem progressive thinking. And the idea of fighting
"against the enemies of family, nation, race and faith" would be
anathema to many people. Unlike the Christian, whose duty it is to
"turn the other cheek" (advice that is more often observed breached
than otherwise) 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 offered to his own family and kin. Society's
enemies already know the basic law of life: that the race is to the
strong and that the meek will inherit the earth only when the earth
inherits them dust to dust. Others should also learn to recognize
this truth.
17. What do you mean by " kinship loyalty '?
We must of course give loyal service to anyone or any concept to
whom or to which loyalty is due. But we owe our loyalty in the
fullest degree to our immediate family and to those who are related
to us by blood-ties or blood-brotherhood. A husband owes loyalty
to his wife, for instance, and vice versa, just as a son owes loyalty
to his parents to a greater extent than to anyone outside the immediate
family circle. . . .
This concern for kin is an essential part of Odinist teaching. More
than twelve centuries ago the Christian proselytizer, Boniface,
wrote of the Odinists, "Have pity on them, because even they
themselves 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 order! What about unjust laws?
No, not an "exaggerated respect for law and order"; just regard for
the rules by which civilized man must live. But laws, to be just,
must apply equally to all citizens and groups without discrimination.
Odinists certainly have a duty to oppose what they regard as
unjust laws but in 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 modem, enlightened substitutes for
traditional, repressive forms of punishment? Do you agree that the
wrong-doer in our society is more often than not the victim of his
environment and that we are thus all guilty?
Odinists refuse to accept responsibility for the actions of others.
Just as it would be wrong to accept credit for another person's merits
so it is wrong to relieve the wrong-doer of responsibility for his
actions. "Crime should be blazoned abroad by its retribution,"
wrote Tacitus. Punishment should be an unpleasant and memorable experience.
Those in authority who neglect to punish the criminal adequately place
themselves 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 with the hounds!
20. The Sixth Charge speaks about putting no faith in the
pledged word of a stranger people. What is meant by " a stranger
people ”?
By "a stranger people" We mean those from different cultures than
our own.
It is a warning that words often mean different things to different
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
Noms " Who or where are the Noms?
The Noms are the three Fates of Northern mythology, the Goddesses
of time.
They are named Urdhr (the past), Verdandi (the present) and
Skuld (the future).
They watch over man; they spin his thread of fate at his birth and
mark out with it the limits of his sphere of action through life; their
decrees are inviolable destiny, their dispensations inevitable
necessity. Urdhr and Verdandi, the past and present, may be seen as
stretching a web from the radiant dawn of life to the glowing sun-
set, 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 worthwhile fighting life's battles courageously while
at the same time fate's inexorable nature allows no room for careful
weighing of arguments 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, and Perseverance.
The Odinist must do what lies before him without fear of either
foes, friends or the Noras. He must hold his own council, speak his
mind and seek from without respect of persons; be free, independant
and daring in his actions; act with gentleness and generosity
towards friends and kinsmen but be stem and grim to his enemies
(but even towards the latter to feel bound to fulfill necessary
duties); be as forgiving to some as he is unyielding and unforgiving
to others. He should be neither trucebreaker nor oath breaker and
utter nothing against any person that he would not say to his face.
These are the broad principles of Odinist behavior, features of the
spirit that made our Northern peoples great.
23. You call industriousness a Noble Virtue? What is so spiritual
about that?
Industriousness is a virtue which, partly inherited, is nevertheless
acquired largely through training and self-dicipline; it is at once
something we owe to ourselves, to our family and to the community.
There 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 expense of other members of the community by way of
the so-called welfare state.
24. What about material possessions? .
A principle of Odinism is the realization of the worthlessness
and fleeting nature of worldly possessions. Enough should be
enough. Adam of Bremen, a Christian, remarked how Odinists
with whom he had come into contact " lack nothing of what we
revere except our arrogance. They have no aquisitive love of gold,
silver, splendid chargers, the furs of beaver 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
even you must admit that none of us is, or can be, self reliant in
these days?
Self reliance does not, as you appear to suggest, imply selfishness
or mean that a man must live in isolation from his fellows. We
recognize that man is 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 some-
thing for me?”
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 shed his responsibilities. The person who prays to a saint or
God asking for help or guidance is seeking to shift the responsibility
from his own shoulders, 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 true religion which,
as Carlyle has told us, is "trancendent wonder”: wonder without
limit or measure, reverent admiration alike for the immensity of
creation, the inspiration of the human heart and the capability of
the human brain.
Odinists in their inveitan ("praise"; singular, inveita) call upon the
Aesir to approach them in their thoughts as they themselves strive
towards the Aesir. Through increased understanding is achieved
wholeness; a unity with the Gods that helps us to think out our
problems and how they may be overcome. We project the Gods
within ourselves and that, externally realized, speaks to the divine
in others. Through their inveitan Odinists ^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 hope for something better
in the next world.
27. How do Odinists regard good and evil?
Evil of itself cannot originate in man but must always be regarded
as an intruder, like an illness or an affliction; as such it must be
opposed and expelled. Good and.evil are relative: there can be no
absolute norm and actions must depend upon circumstances and
motives as well as time and place. The ethical standards relating to
custom and tradition are flexible and responsive to the specific
demands of different ages, so that moral judgements of what is
right and wrong cannot be placed in a fixed system of standards
but must vaty according to time and situation. Just as the world is
constantly changing so are values constantly changing, so that
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 development 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 sin against one's fellow man.
28. Do you believe in Original sin?
Man is inherently good and the world in which he lives is good.
There is no sin in man which has been inherited from his first, or
any other, ancestor, it is enough that he should be held responsible
for his own actions. But although his spirit is good, his flesh and
his senses may succumb to evil, especially when by neglecting his
own spiritual well-being he has left his defenses weakened. So it is
necessary for him to be able to distinguish between what is good
and what is evil.
29 What do Odinists believe about marriage - and divorce?
Odinists support the institution of marriage and marital fidelity.
But a broken marriage is an unhappy marriage and traditional
Odinic law allows great latitude to separation of husband wife, at
the will pf both parties, 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 together against their will; but it
must be borne in mind that marriage is basically 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
used by Christians. Instead, the Odinist seeks liberation by bringing
the Aesir into the world of man and into his daily life - whether
at home or at work.
. . .It is not, "the kingdom of God which is within you,” but the
Gods themselves which exist within man.
31. Does man possess an immortal soul? Is there a life after
death and will people go to Odin in heaven?
Odinists believe that man consists of body (i.e. matter) and spirit
or soul.
Physical man is born, produces young and eventually dies. But 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
was in the beginning so it is now; every atom continues to exist
and must exist as in the beginning. There is nothing new under the
sun and what we call death is really nothing more than transformation.
Spiritual man is divided into at least two distinct souls: one passive,
the other active, the divine and the human, which we call
God-soul and human-soul. The first is in the fullest sense a divine
being, contemplating a past eternity and a future immortality,
occupying itself in contemplation 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 life, the former is not bound to
man in the way that, say, a limb is (it may indeed absent itself from
his body during sleep or periods of unconsciousness). Without
the spirit there can be no motivation: when the physical change
(i.e. death) takes place the God-soul passes to another living organism
-a human being, a tree, an animal, perhaps a bird. This is the element
that gives man his mystical attachment to a particular district or country
(which is what we call patriotism): because it is where the God-souls of
countless generations of ancestors dwell. It is because of this that man is
compelled to nurture, loVe and defend his country, which is, in the purest
sense, a holy land. The philosopher Fichte said, n Death is the ladder by
which my spiritual vision rises to a new life and a new nature." This is also
die reason why Odinists regard all life as sacred and unnecessary violence as
criminal.
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 of the
good and light Gods on the one hand and the offspring of chaotic
matter (the giants. Nature's disturbing forces) on die 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 the Gods; but the body belongs to the world of giants and they
struggle for supremacy. If the human-soul conquers by virtue and courage
then it goes after death to Valhalla, to fight in concert with the Gods
against the evil powers. If on the other hand the body conquers and links
the spirit 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
warfare against the Gods. Long after his individual identity has been
forgotten a man's human-soul, absorbed into the corporate spirit of
the regiment, college, village, nation or other group, continues to
demonstrate its immortality by inspiring future generations to noble
deeds - or to acts of degradation.
32. If the God-soul migrates to other living things after death i,
how can you square this with, for example \ the need to slaughter
livestock 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
creatures 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 immortal 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. Such an attitude encourages
consideration and reverence for Nature and discourages its wanton
despoliation. It is the unnecessary, cruel or unnatural killing of
animals (or of human beings), the unjustifiable destruction of trees
or landscape and the defiling of natural resources, that is wrong.
33. You have maintained "ancestral spirits " Does this mean that
Odinists believe in ancestor-worship?
The human-souls of one's own family ancestors provide us with
moral strength and inspiration. Just as we received our spirit from
Odin, so we received our physical being through our parents and
our ancestors from time memorial. Our respect for ancestors maintains
the continuity of the family, the kin and the race Life is a
continuing process: we must try to visualize ourselves as ancestors;
for ancestors and descendants are genealogically one. Edmund 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.
34. What kind of status do women have within the Odinist community?
Odinists do not need reminding of women's rights! Our religion
anciently held women in high honor: not only are Goddesses included
in the Odinist pantheon, but, when the Odinist priesthood is
restored, all offices will be open to women just as they were before
the Christian usurpation 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
(autumn equinox). To these we nowadays add the Mid-summer Festival.
Yule, the popular Festival of Mid-Winter (sometimes called the Festival
of Light), heralds the beginning of the Odinist year. It is the birthday
of the unconquered sun, which at this time begins to new vigor after
its autumnal decline when, having descended into darkness, it pauses,
kindles the fire of germination and ascends renewed with the fruit of hope.
The Mid-Winter Festival includes the Twelve Nights of Yule, encapsulating
the twelve months of the year in miniature, and culminates in the
celebration 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 Odinist Goddess of the Saxon s, Ostara),
Rogation and Whitsun and was also recalled in folk custom by the
festivities of May Day. The Midsummer Festival, the Feast of Balder,
is the great celebration 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 is also sometimes called the Charming of the Fruits of Earth,
when we render thanks for the years supply of life-giving foods.
36. What other Odihist festivals are there?
Besides the great festivals there are a number of secondary festivals
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 of Vali, February 14, which
commemorates the family and is an occasion for betrothals, the
renewal of marriage vows and vows of kinship loyalty. The festival
of the Einheijar on November 11, known as Heroes' day, which
honors the dead.
37. What is the Odinist Committee?
The committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite (to give its
full title) was setup on April 23, 1973 with the limited objects of
restoring Odinist ritual and ceremonies, to define Odinist faith and
doctrine and to constitute a teaching order of gothar (singular: gothi,
meaning priest or teacher). When these immediate objects have
been achieved the Committee will disband. In the past not a great
deal of attention was paid to systemizing the doctrinal aspects of
Odinism and consequently the body 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, then by believing. You do not have
to -"be born again" but you are expected to live your whole life
according 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 Odinist Committee, 10 Trinity Green, London,
El, will be able to tell you whether there is an Odinist group in
your neighborhood or, if there is not one, how you may form one.
39. Can the Odinist Committee supply me with a list of Odinist
temples and shall I be permitted to attend some of the invitations?
There are at present no Odinist hofs (temples) in Great Britain
open for public worship. Odinism starts with the individual and
extends, through the family, to the community and the world. So
with worship, which is at present practiced mostly at family level,
the festivals of the Odinist year being celebrated in the home, with
friends and other Odinists sometimes being invited to participate.
But it is expected that various 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
