Saturday, March 23, 2019

I haven't forgotten this blog...

I've just had a lot of things going on and yes, those "things" have taken up a few years of my life. But I am going to start writing again, going to start blogging again, it's therapeutic, or so they say. 

Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Great Divide...

If you've checked previous post(s) or the About page you might have read me refer to something along the lines of a "Great Divide" within Asatru. So, I figured I would go into that a little bit. Now, I'm still "new" at this whole thing - having only studied for about two years or so. If, like me, you're still new or you're just getting into it, let me go ahead and issue this"warning".

There is a Great Divide amongst our people. On one side, the re-constructionists... on the other side, the UPG people. I didn't even know what UPG was nor had I ever heard it before running into it along this path. So, if, like me, you're scratching your head as to what UPG means.. here ya go.
UPG = Unverified Personal Gnosis
Yeah. Basically, it's your opinion or interpretation about something with no sources to back up what you're saying word for word.  Join any Asatru group online and you'll soon realize what I mean when I refer to it as the "Great Divide". It does just that. It divides us. And for me, personally (UPG ALERT), that's quite sad. It truly hurts my heart to see this infighting. And I have an opinion on the matter (UPG ALERT)...

1. Re-constructionists are more along the lines of the logical thinkers in society. They are the history buffs, they are the scientists. They're the ones that require strict rules and demand order. They want to know that what they are being told is authentic and true. And, in my humble opinion, do not necessarily desire to interpret anything for themselves.

2. UPG people are the faithful. They are the ones who see the mysteries and enjoy them. They want to know the authentic information however, they want to connect on a more personal level. They want to be shown where the path begins but don't want anyone to hold their hand as they walk it.

As you can tell, I am one of those UPG people. I love the mysterious side, the mythical side, the side that brings your heart peace. The side that says there is more to this world than we can see, that there is something more, something greater, and that there is something powerful out there. Witnessing this great divide shows more and more that being Asatru is more than just a simple religion. It truly is a society unto itself. We are divided instead of united. Like so many societies, we would be much stronger and greater if we could accept one another and not look down on each other for our beliefs. Many people who identify more with the re-constructionists are those who want to keep the information free of influences from other religions, primarily christianity. This is an admirable goal however, I don't see the christian influences being a huge problem in our lore and I'll tell you why. Each and every one of us came home to this belief structure and we followed our hearts or our minds. This way of life demands that we continue to follow our hearts and minds, to continue the same curiosity that brought us back to the old ways in the first place. So, identifying the christian influences in our lore is something that we should be doing anyway and of course, disregarding that information or taking it with a grain of salt and using our investigatory ways to discern the truth from the influence. This is something I think we should all be doing. However, I don't see that as the big problem. The major christian influence that I've witnessed in these groups of heathens is their inability to accept other people's beliefs. Their pushy nature to force the "truth" on to others. The.. general talking down about people who put their "UPG" out there, to me, this is the true christian influence. And the true problem.

I don't want to sound all preachy but... it is sad to me that there is this divide. Let's be honest here, there aren't that many of us out there and our ancestral lore has been pilfered and destroyed to the point where, it got really close to being a society that just vanished. We are very lucky to have the information that we do have and it's full of holes and questions but that's where we come in. The Gods don't want us to follow blindly some text that was written centuries ago. They want us to stand on our own two feet with respect and honor to both them and our ancestors. That is the core of our religion, our society, our group, our people. Freedom. Is there another attribute that runs so deep in Asatru? It's one of the main ones. Like the Vikings, our ancestors as well, mine included, freedom was and is key. Freedom is what it's all about. Not being a slave to anything. To text, to people, to a group, to a church.

So, I say to you, internet people, whether you're Asatru or not, be... humble. Be accepting. Be grateful. Be happy.

Alright.. so.. What is Asatru?

Greetings & Salutations! So, I figured the next logical post on this blog would be a bit of an introduction to Asatru. First, let's start with the pronunciation, because (and I'll be perfectly honest here) I was actually saying it completely wrong for about a year. I was pronouncing it "A-sa-tru" when in fact.. it is actually "Au-sa-true". Yes, I know, it's kind of a wonky pronunciation until you remember what language the word actually is. It's not English. And no, it's not "old Norse". The word is actually Icelandic.

First, let's address it's translation. Literally translated,  "Ásatrú" translates into "Runic" in common Icelandic tongue. However, that is simply the translation. And we all know that translation and meaning are two different things though often related, sometimes not. The word "Asatru" as an adjective does mean "runic" or "old, ancient, of mystical origin". However, as a noun referring to a group of people or an individual, it means "belief in the Aesir" (derived from breaking the word itself down into it's root word and so on). 

So, how old is the word itself? Well, that's relatively hard to say. It is safe to say that it's usage thrived when Asatru came to these shores in the early 70's. So, does that make Asatru a "new" religion? Well.. yes and no. Many will boast that the religion is ages old, and they would be 100% correct. However, the word and thus the identification of such isn't that old. It all started, and remains today, as an attempt to recreate, re-establish, and re-form the belief structures of our ancestors. Now, this is where it goes a little wonky. 

The Norse peoples, the Northmen, the Germanic tribes of old, however you want to refer to them were a tribal people. That right there should explain a lot in the way of records. They didn't write things down, they didn't need to. Grandmother, Mother, Grandfather, Father, Aunts, Uncles, etc would verbally pass down the wealth of knowledge they held to younger generations and so on and so forth. So, writing things down wasn't needed. They were the books, scrolls, and ledgers.. their words the pens. But what about the runic "alphabet" you might be wondering. Yes, later generations saw the rise of a sort of "alphabet" comprised of runes. But these runic carvings (still, little use for scroll and charcoal) were more of a fancy, reserved for religious purposes, special events, etc. Since it understandably took quite some time to carve these glyphs into stone, whatever it was you were carving, had better of been worth it. 

To understand the origins of this religion, you have to go back.. way back. Back to Germania and ancient Scandinavia and even before. Many people assume that Germania = modern day Germany. That is, well.. to put it nicely, completely wrong. While modern day Germany was part of "Germania". You have to relate Germania to modern day "Europe". Okay, okay, wait a minute.. why is this important? Did you come here for a geographical history lesson? No. But it is important to a point. It's important to understand that the whole of modern day Europe was comprised of Germania, Scandinavia, and the Roman Empire. You can check out these awesome old maps that show what I'm talking about. They aren't as old as the lands themselves, but they're good enough to get the basics down.

 So, where did our people come from? Well, that answer varies greatly. Personally, my ancestors came from a long line that has taken years to trace back and with recent information from novelty DNA testing through both Ancestry and 23&Me, I've had to alter that research and fold it into what I've already found. So, with that in mind, the way it goes for me and mine is thus... the closest "migration" for both my husband and myself actually was from England to America. But, prior to that and I do mean like one generation before that, it was from Glasgow, Scotland. For many hundreds of years, our ancestors were from Scotland. Then, for me, again going backwards - they were from Norway. Some ancestors, more than likely on my Mother's side, since the Scottish is from my Father's side - come from this very specific spot in Germany. My husband's is fairly similar though his is a little more muddled and diverse over Europe and America. So, we are through and through European and North European descendants. Why is this important you might be wondering... well... in a nutshell. A big part of Asatru, like our ancestors beliefs, was to honor our ancestors. Ancestors play such an integral part of this belief structure that knowing where you personally come from and where your ancestors were, is key. Strictly speaking... in following the path of your ancestors, you will find your ancestral roots and what they believed. Asatru is based solely within the realm of European/primarily Northern European ancestral stomping grounds. Now, this is where it gets a bit.. touchy. If your ancestors are 100% from.. Spain, you know this, and that's where they originated/came from.. then.. Asatru is not your ancestral religion, it is not your ancestors beliefs. See what I'm getting at? Yes, religion is a choice and one that is very personal and one that no one can make for anyone else. However, Asatru is much more than a religion. Due to the ancestors being such an important part of it, honoring them and not offending them is elevated in this belief system. If you choose to be Asatru but all of your ancestors were say, Greek Orthodox, you would be offending them by following Asatru. I'm not talking about just your parents or even your grandparents, Ancestors go way back and include all of them.

Now in today's society you have so many mixtures going on that more often than not, there's going to be a drop of European/Northern European blood in there somewhere. So, Asatru is pretty open to just about everybody. Get what I'm saying? 

Okay, moving on. So, you can tell a few things so far... 
  1. Asatru is based on the ancient beliefs of our ancestors. Recreated as best we can for the information we have available today. (I'll go into this further with another post).
  2. Asatru leans heavily on the importance of the ancestors and their beliefs.
  3. In Asatru, you had better start getting brushed up on your history! ;)
And we haven't even gotten into the actual beliefs yet! Oi! This is just where they all come from. The other thing that is worth mentioning is pointing out that Asatru typically don't just adhere to the religious beliefs of our ancestors, it's more along the lines of a way of life. How you view the world and your family, those around you, and your fellow heathens. Oh yeah, heathens. This is what we are called. It's taken on a slightly sour undertone in recent centuries but prior to the smear of other.. certain.. religious factions.. the term heathen is not a derogatory term. Heathen simply means one who does not belong to a widely held religious group. So, by identifying ourselves as heathens, we simply state that we are not a part of any mainstream or majority held religious factions. 

I think I've chewed enough of your time up today, so I'm going to close it here. Never fear, this is just the beginning.

*Further Edit*
I'm going to be posting an excerpt about editing the religion and how that can be done and why it is okay to do so in the future. 


Friday, November 14, 2014

Introduction Post: What this blog is and what it isn't...

Well, here we are. Best dive right in!

I wanted to put up this initial post as a sort of guide to this blog. I wanted to explain and go into what this blog is and what it isn't. So, let's get started!

What this blog isn't...
This blog is not a place to obtain 100% factual and cited information on every single aspect of anything Asatru. And I'll tell you why... Once you start scratching the surface of the Asatru community, you come to realize a great divide amongst its followers. On one side are the believers and on the other, the re-constructionists. Neither side is "right" or "wrong" but they often war with one another (I'll go into my thoughts on this in a later post). I am a believer. We'll leave it at that for now, but suffice it to say that due to that fact, the issues I'll be posting about are going to have some of my own opinions and beliefs added in. I don't want this blog to read like a dictionary or some old stuffy tomb that is full of information that, while valuable, has lost much of its meaning in today's society.

That being said, I am not an expert by any means. I am just starting out and have only found my way to this path a few years ago. Yes, that, to me, still makes me "new at this". I'm also going to do my absolute best to attempt a blog with limited negativity. So, you'll find little to no "bashing" here. This is not a "rage" blog or a "vent" blog.

What this blog is...
This is a central location for information that I have gathered, my thoughts on said information, and my belief structures being put into written form. I personally adore the written word and tend to be rather long winded while speaking and that carries over into my writing. I want this blog to be a place where I (and anyone else for that matter) could come and read about this faith, this religion, this way of life. Because it's much more than a simple religion.

I also want this blog to be light-hearted at times and down to earth but also carrying a flare for the mysterious and mystical. And, if you missed the "About" page, a touch of silliness thrown in there for good measure.

I also want to address right here and now that I will be answering comments on each individual post as well as pages however I will not tolerate spamming or extreme negativity. Contradict me all you want, bang away on the keyboard to your heart's content, but don't insult me or any one else. If nothing, we can all be civil. We are talking about religion here and that tends to bring out both the worst and the best in people.

I think that's a good opener for now and this is where I leave you.

P.s. - Yes I know there are little accent marks on the word Asatru and yes, I know there are alt codes to produce those letters.